Last Day at the Vancouver Invitational

We had an awesome final day at the 2018 Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament. Things got off to a great start with Team-B winning the opening game of the day. Jeff Scott helped Rod “The Bod” Bitz and prospect Brandon Perger get their first win of the tournament over the Alberta club that had beaten them on Saturday afternoon.

Rod Bitz, 2018 Vancouver Invitational — You want to take Rod’s ball? Nobody takes Rod’s ball.

In the afternoon, BC-A just couldn’t keep up with Alberta’s A squad, but the tournament provided some very good looks of up-and-coming prospect Joel Ewert. On the other court, the Seattle Slam won a very narrow victory in double overtime against the Portland Pounders. This USQRA standoff was a highlight of the tournament and drew a large and loud crowd. Seattle manages to leave the tournament unscathed with a 4-0 record.

Thanks to Nando’s for providing today’s (awesome) lunch.

Athletes eating Nando's at the 2018 Vancouver Invitational — Heck yes.

The final match of the game featured Team Ontario and Team Quebec; both clubs are stacked with Canadian national players looking to hold bragging rights over one another. Quebec managed to stay right alongside Ontario for the first half, but Ontario’s longer bench allowed them to dictate the tempo and control much of the play though the 2nd. Congratulations to head coach David Willsie and his squad for their A-division tournament victory.

At the conclusion of the tournament, awards were given to Kip Johnson of the Portland Pounders (Best Picker), Jeff Scott of Team BC (Most Heart), Trevor Hirschfield of Team BC (Clutch Performer), and, of course, Patrice Simard of Team Quebec as the Vancouver Invitational’s Most Valuable Player.

We could not put on a tournament of this calibre without the generous aid of our supporters. We can’t thank them enough for being part of the parasport community, and are in their debt. Thanks so much to Postmark Brewing, Ceilis Modern Irish Pub, Viasport, Sheraton Vancouver Airport Hotel, Richmond Sport Hosting, Hollister International, Chairstuff, Save On Foods, Clif, Cobs Bread, Freshii, Nando’s, Murphy Bautista, the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association, Costco, Superstore, Canadian Tire, and, of course, we would like to acknowledge the financial support of the Province of British Columbia.