The Portland Pounders are back again in 2023 and have their sights set on the title after finishing as runners-up for the past two years.

A fixture at the VI, Portland has competed in every edition of the tournament and has won titles in both Division 1 and Division 2.

Offensively they’ll be led by 3.5 Justin Beavers and 3.0 Michael Summerson, while a stable of savvy and speedy low-pointers will look to cause havoc on defense and open up lanes for Beavers and Summerson to attack.

Ones to Watch

Justin Beavers (3.5)

The speedy 3.5 and emerging talent continues to improve for Portland/ Incredibly agile with phenomenal turning ability, he’s taken his game up a notch this year, learning under Canadian star Zak Madell and helping Portland to the 5th seed in the USWRA rankings.

With Madell busy with Team Alberta in Vancouver, Beavers will have the reigns of Portland’s offense in D2 as they look to make their 3rd straight final and come out on top this year.

Max Woodbury – 1.0

One of the most experienced players at this year’s event – Woodbury was named Best Low-Pointer last year and should once again cause plenty of problems for opposing teams at the Oval!

With great speed for his classification, an underrated pass and the smarts to manipulate opposing players, don’t be surprised to see Max make clutch plays for the Pounders. Great low-pointers are often x-factors at the D2 level, and Max is definitely one of them.

Portland This Season

As mentioned above, Portland is currently ranked 5th in the USWRA. They’ll be competing in Division 1 at U.S. Nationals next month in Rockford, Illinois, and have been one of the stronger teams on the West Coast this season.

Portland will open the Vancouver Invitational on Friday, March 31st at 10am against Alberta 2 on Court 2.