If you cannot attend the games in person, just a heads up that we have a liveblog! Check out Court 1 and Court 2. Head on over to stay up to date on scores, hits, and all the latest gifs. This morning we saw Team Ontario easily best Team BC while Quebec slowly earned their win against Zak Madell and Team Alberta.

If you are in the area, head on over! We were just listed as one of Vancouver’s hottest events by funnyman Daniel Chai and Daily Hive. Tickets are by donation, and we’re only a Skytrain and a quick walk away.

See you soon!

Last, but certainly not least in our team previews is the home team: Team BC.

The A-Team

The BC A-Team may not have Parasport fan Mr. T, but they do have four-time Paralympian Ian Chan  behind the bench.

Team BC has dealt with some retirements and departures over the past few years and are working hard to develop new talent and climb back up the Canadian wheelchair rugby ranks.

Without a true high-pointer, they’ll rely on a balanced offensive approach and look to national team veterans Trevor Hirschfield and Byron Green for lock-down defence and guidance on court.

17 year-old Joel Ewert of Prince George is a rapidly improving prospect who represented Canada in Prague in 2017. He’s also a member of the junior provincial wheelchair basketball team and uses his strong passing skills in both sports.

Cody Fournie, will likely be catching quite a few of Ewert’s long passes. The speedster moved to BC a few years ago and has been training hard in hopes of making the national team.

Rounding out the squad are long-time BC rugby players Jessica Kruger, Peter Isherwood, Andrew Davis and Kaspar Shouldice.

The B-Team

Many of the BC A Team members got their start playing with the development team, and this year’s B Squad includes a strong mix of youth and experience.

Brandon Perger has only been playing wheelchair rugby for several months, but is already showing great promise and potential. Look for him to form a lethal combination with the experienced Rod Bitz – who has a trophy case full of All-Star and MVP awards.

The B team also has a number of young multi-sport athletes. Josh Holton and Desiree Young both recently came back from the BC Winter Games with medals in wheelchair basketball. They’ll both add energy and youth to the team.

With the tournament only four days away, we’d like to thank Clif Bar for their support of BC Wheelchair Sports and the Vancouver Invitational.

United States Quad Rugby Association (USQRA) teams have a history of  success at the Vancouver Invitational and our southern neighbours from Seattle and Portland are back for another shot at the title – This time in Division 2.

Seattle Slam

The Seattle Slam  finished in the top four at the past three Vancouver Invitationals. However, this year they’re without Japanese Import Daisuke Ikezaki and Vancouver Invitational poster-boy Paul Watson,

Despite lacking a high-pointer, player/coach/welder Jeremy Hannaford will have his team  have his team ready to play. With no clear-cut star, the Slam will likely rely on multiple ball-handlers and crisp passing to score.

Portland Pounders

The Portland Pounders have multiple Vancouver Invitational titles and are currently ranked eighth in the USQRA.

For the second straight year, Portland will have some international flair in Colombian Jhon Orozco Nunez, a rolling highlight reel, who expertly combines aggression and agility.

Nunez is using the Vancouver Invitational to prepare next month’s  IWRF World Championship Qualifier in Switzerland.  Where the Colombian national team will attempt to qualify for their first World Wheelchair Rugby Championship.

After missing out on last year’s tournament, Alberta will return to the Vancouver Invitational with their A1 phenom, Zak Madell. Taking time away from the San Diego Sharp Edge, Madell is inarguably the best high-point Canadian player and was the primary offensive producer for the Canadian national team at the London and Rio Paralympics.

While Zak Madell is the sole  representative with Paralympic experience, he’ll be alongside Branden Troutman, a highly touted prospect who carries the same wheelchair basketball background. Troutman will likely be pushing for a national team trip to Tokyo for the Paralympics in 2020. He had an impressive first season with Team Canada, and continues to improve.

Fellow Roughnecks player Denolm Stephens, will be expected to add some youth to their lineup, 2017 Canadian All-Star Rob McIssac will be depended on for strong defense and smart picks/screens.

The Roughnecks are Alberta’s provincial A team. Alberta has a growing wheelchair rugby community, and its been suspected that Red Deer will soon get a regional club. This is a strong group of players, and will have high expectations coming into this  tournament.

Alberta’s B Team, the Bighorns are also competing and will be led by Paralympic medalist Allan Chartrand (who also played in BC for a couple years).

Bonus video: Check out Zak talking about the Vancouver Invitational with recent BCWSA communications hire, Nathan Bragg.

The  London Annihilators and Team Québec are back at the Vancouver Invitational with star-studded squads in Division 1.

London Annihilators 

Representing Ontario comes with serious expectations. The London Annihilators have won six of the past seven Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships and are bringing a loaded team to Richmond, including four national team members (or five, if we include head coach and longtime veteran David Willsie).

All eight of the team’s players were part of the 2017-2018 National Team Program and their depth and balance should allow them to play with different combinations and line-ups. This will come to some advantage, as they’re expected to play two games on the opening day. 

Richmond native and former Team BC player Travis Murao moved to Toronto in 2016 and will surely be looking forward to playing in front of family, friends, and former teammates.

Look for longtime veteran Mike Whitehead to dish out some heavy hits to the opposition. He’s a big guy who is often the source of both turnovers and flipped chairs.

Team Québec

Led by Paralympians Patrice Simard and Fabien Lavoie (who trains out of the Richmond Oval), Quebec has a balanced team that will often have speed at all four positions on the court. Lavoie is one of the fastest players in the country and, as Québec’s only high pointer, will be relied upon to produce plenty of goals.

Anthony Létourneau should take some of the pressure off of Lavoie. He’s a fast-rising prospect who made his national team debut at the   2017 IWRF Americas Championships.On the other side of the ball,  Patrice Simard and Yanick Racicot are both great defenders capable of locking down the opposition.

After winning bronze at last year’s national championships, Quebec will be looking to challenge Ontario and make a statement ahead of the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships at Mount Royal University.

With less than two weeks to go, we’re proud to announce the support of our awesome friends at Postmark Brewing. Look forward to seeing you soon!

Hard-hitting wheelchair rugby returns to the Richmond Olympic Oval from March 9-11th and we need your help to make the event a success.

There are a variety of roles that need filling including:

• Table Officials (Scorekeepers)*
• Food Services
• Transportation
• Serving (Must be 19+)
• Merchandise/Info Table
• Spectator Support (Crowd Control).
• First Aid

To sign up click here  and fill out the form by February 23rd.

* Anyone interested in scorekeeping is encouraged attend a training session. These will be held on Tuesday, February 27th and Tuesday, March 6th from 5:45-8:15pm at Raycam Cooperative Centre.
RSVP to Hannah Macdonald at programs@bcwheelchairsports.com by February 23rd.

Japan played fantastically at the tournament, winning every one of their five games. They faced stiff competition on Sunday, facing off against a powerhouse Team Ontario for the final match of the tournament. Ontario held them to a 2 point lead through much of the 1st half, and pressured Japan to make mistakes in their own end. By the end of the 3rd, however, Japan showed the strength of their longer bench and forced a series of pass interceptions that Ontario was unable to recover from. Head coach Kevin Orr was beaming as Yukinobu Ike andMasayuki Haga headed up to collect the coveted trophy.

Team Ontario likely has no regrets about leaving this competition with a second place finish. Under the direction of Team Canada Asssistant Coach and former national team athlete Dave Willsie, they outmanoeuvred tough clubs like the Seattle Slam and the Portland Pounders on their way to the finals. They should head home proud.

In the bronze medal match, the Seattle Slam made quick work of the Portland Pounders. After a closely contested (55-53) win over the Pounders on Friday, they set the tone early by playing aggressively and intercepting a lot of Portland’s inbound passes. Paul Walston and Daisuke Ikezaki were largely responsible for this, and Portland’s defence struggled to contain them.

We’ve had a wonderful time with you ladies and gentlemen over the past three days, and were able to engage many of you here, through our Instagram feed, our Facebook page, and of course, on our website.

As you can imagine, putting on a tournament of this calibre is a real challenge, and we rely on our awesome sponsors to keep things running smoothly. We’d like to acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia. We’d also like to thank Postmark Brewing for keeping the crowds in good spirit and Superstore, Pomme Natural Market, PriceSmart Richmond, Safeway, and Save-On Foods for providing meals to our athletes and volunteers. Thanks so much!

We’d also like to thank Richmond Sport Hosting, Murphy Battista, ViaSport, the Sheraton Hotel, Chair Stuff, Run Inn, Wildwood Landscape, & Maintenance, and Addaday. We couldn’t do this without sponsors like you. Thanks for being part of our team.

See you all next year!

And what a tournament it’s been.

We definitely saw the pack separate a bit in the 2nd day of the Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament, with both Seattle and Ontario obtaining losses. Seattle has looked like the better club, especially with the heavy minutes being put up by Daisuke Ikezaki (of the Japanese national team) who has been playing with his training club. Ontario managed to defeat them 56-46 in their final match of the day, using a deeper lineup with five Canadian national team members including Mike Whitehead, Patrice Dagenais, and and Travis Murao. With the win, Ontario will face off against Team Japan in the gold medal match at 1 PM.

These two clubs have already met; they faced off in an early afternoon match on Saturday, and Japan took a nine point spread for a commanding win. Japan has been dominant throughout the tournament, and is the only team to go undefeated throughout the tournament. Yukibobu Ike, who has played heavy minutes for Japan, was offered some rest by Team Japan yesterday. Head coach Kevin Orr was quick to relieve his starter, as Japan rolled over Portland 61-45.

Portland will face off against Seattle in the bronze medal match. Seattle narrowly defeated Portland on Friday – this battle of American clubs will be one worth watching.  Seattle has only lost once in the tournament; they fell to Team Ontario in their final match yesterday.

Haven’t been out yet? This is the last day to watch some really great teams playing right in Vancouver’s backyard. Come join us! Admission is by donation.

As you can imagine, putting on a tournament of this calibre isn’t easy, and we rely on our awesome sponsors to keep things running smoothly. We’d like to thank Postmark Brewing for keeping the crowds in good spirit and Superstore, Pomme Natural Market, PriceSmart Richmond, Safeway, and Save-On Foods for providing meals to our athletes and volunteers. Thanks guys!

Friday was a divisive day at the Vancouver Invitational, as we’ve already started to see which teams have the moxy for medals. Japan, Ontario, and Seattle all went undefeated in the opening day of the tournament. Seattle arguably had the best test of the day, narrowly defeating Portland 55-53 in a midday thriller.

Crowd attendance was solid, with even the American & Japanese clubs drawing significant support. The Seattle-Portland game was so loud, I had to turn my head and look for The Wheedle himself.

The 12:00 matches today will both be a lot of fun. On Court A, Team BC will face off against Canada’s development squad. Both clubs lost their matches yesterday, and will have something to prove in front of the “home” crowd. On Court B, both of the clubs with split (1-1) records yesterday will face off. Expect Fabien Lavoie of Team Quebec to play heavy minutes – he was quarterbacking a short bench yesterday.

If you’ve yet to see a wheelchair rugby game, the Vancouver Invitational is your best opportunity watch high calibre clubs in BC this year. Come check it out!

As you can imagine, putting on a tournament of this calibre isn’t easy, and we rely on our awesome sponsors to keep things running smoothly. We’d like to thank Postmark Brewing for keeping the crowds in good spirit and Superstore, Pomme Natural Market, PriceSmart Richmond, Safeway, and Save-On Foods for providing meals to our athletes and volunteers. Thanks guys!

With only a day before the Vancouver Invitational begins, we need to shine a little light on our own provincial club, Team BC. Did we mention we’re only a day away? We’re so excited.

Wheelchair rugby in British Columbia is blossoming. With popular clubs in Victoria, Kelowna, Kamloops, and Vancouver, our province is continuing to develop into a hotbed for the sport. Last year, several athletes banded together to create the Vancouver Wheelchair Rugby League. Playing against each other once a month, the league has served to help Vancouver develop and recruit players across the province.

Members of the Canadian national team Byron Green and Ian Chan will be on hand to lead relative newcomers Joel Ewert and Ben Hamilton. Both players have a track record with BC Wheelchair Basketball, and were featured players for the BC club when they faced off at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George. In January, Ewert was welcomed to compete at the Wheelchair Rugby Prospects Camp in Toronto where he impressed his way into a spot on the provincial club. You may have noticed him as a highlight of our 2016 winter donations campaign. Look for great things from this hard working athlete.

Also on Team BC will be some longstanding players including Rick Hansen Foundation schools ambassador Jessica Kruger, May 2016 Richmond Oval Athlete of the Month Peter Isherwood,  Andrew Davis, Cody Fournie, Ross Macdonald…this team is deep.

Dailyhive just listed us as one of the best things to do in Richmond this month! See you all soon.