Sports
Canada Cup's back at Oval
Gail Hamamoto has dedicated considerable time
and energy to promoting wheelchair sport. A particular success has been
wheelchair rugby.
A member of the Canadian Paralympic
Association development committee since 2005, the Richmond woman continues to
be at the forefront of the game also known as Murder Ball.
This week, Hamamoto is overseeing the 2018 Canada Cup, an international wheelchair rugby event this year featuring teams
from Australia, Denmark, Japan, Sweden, the U.S. and host Canada. The
thrills-and-spills-a-minute tournament begins Thursday and continues through
Sunday at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
“We are very excited for the 2018 Canada Cup,”
says tournament chair Hamamoto. “Fans and spectators are guaranteed excitement
as the world-class athletes bring their best to B.C.”
Bringing to the table more than two decades
experience as an athlete, coach, official, volunteer and sport administrator,
Hamamoto was director of sport development for BC Wheelchair Sports from 1998
to 2012, and since 2007 has chaired the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Management
Committee. She co-chaired the organizing committee for the 2010 World
Wheelchair Rugby Championships at the oval, and has attended the 2004, 2008 and
2012 Paralympic Games as a representative of the sport.
Efforts such as these were instrumental in
the creating of the Canada Cup in 2004. The event is held every two years at
the oval.
All entries in the 2018 Canada Cup, the
eighth version of the tournament, are among the top six wheelchair rugby teams
in the world. The Canada Cup represents the final competition ahead of the
World Wheelchair Rugby Championships this August in Sydney, Australia.
Ranked third in the world, Canada takes on
Sweden in the opening game of the tournament June 14 at 5 p.m. Round-robin play
will continue through June 16, with the finals on June 17.
Perennial runners-up to the U.S. or Australia
at previous Canada Cups, Canada is looking to rebound from a fourth-place
finish in 2016. Sporting a new-look lineup, Canada will have five players set
to make their tournament debuts alongside seven returning Paralympians
including co-captain Trevor Hirschfield.
The team also features Richmond’s own Travis
Murao, another veteran of the squad.
The U.S. is the defending Canada Cup
champion, dethroning Australia in the 2016 final. However, Australia is ranked
No. 1 in the world, with the U.S. second.
Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for male and
female athletes with a mobility-related disability in at least three limbs. A
unique sport, it combines elements from basketball, handball and hockey. The
object of the game is to carry the ball across the opposing team’s goal line.
Two wheels must cross the goal line for a goal to count, and the player must
have firm control of the ball when he or she crosses the line. All wheelchair
rugby players compete in manual wheelchairs. Players must meet the minimum disability
criteria of the sport and must be classified under the functional
classification system.
Wheelchair rugby was invented in 1977 in Winnipeg by a group of athletes with quadriplegia who were looking for an alternative to wheelchair basketball. They wanted a sport that would allow players with reduced arm and hand function to participate equally.
For ticket information, visitcanadacupwcrugby.com/fan-zone/tickets.