Next up in our team profiles are the two teams from Alberta.

Alberta Roughnecks (D1)

Alberta are on the rise. They finished in 2nd at the 2018 Canadian Wheelchair Rugby Championships and will look to do one better and make a statement at the Invitational.

Wheelchair rugby is booming in Alberta and all of their A Team players have experience with the national or NextGen programs.

Watch Out For!

The Dynamic Duo: Zak Madell and Branden Troutman

These two are FAST!!!!

Speedy Zak Madell led Team Canada in scoring at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics. Although retired from international play, the silver medalist from Okotoks is still one of the country’s most talented rugby players. Defenders will have to keep their hands on their wheels to have any hope of keeping up with his pace.

His running mate is 20-year-old Branden Troutman. The youngest member of the Canadian wheelchair rugby team is fresh off winning a gold medal with Alberta’s wheelchair basketball team at the 2019 Canada Winter Games, and should deliver many exciting plays.

Try not to blink when watching this team, or you might miss a try!

Alberta Bighorns (D2)

Alberta also has a D2 team in the competition. The Bighorns have a number of newer players and will be aiming to improve on last year’s 4th place finish.

Para- rower Kyle Riva is a recent convert to wheelchair rugby and is a rookie to keep an eye out for.

Fun Facts

• Alberta’s best ever finish at the Vancouver Invitational was 3rd in 2017.
• Alberta has the most women competing at the Invitational of any province with four. Kendall Winter and Ashley Munroe on the Roughnecks and Kasey Aiello and Lana Cicko on the Bighorns.

Thank you to ChairStuff and BC Rehab Foundation for their support of the Vancouver Invitational.

First up in our team profiles are our neighbours to the south, The Seattle Slam Wheelchair Rugby Club.

History at the Vancouver Invitational

Seattle is the only team other than BC to compete at every Vancouver Invitational. Our southern neighbours have a rich history at the tournament. They won back-to-back D2 title in 2008 and 2009 and won last year’s D2 Championship in 2OT vs Portland.

In addition to their successful D2 campaigns, Seattle has also been a D1 contender. From 2015-2017, Japanese import and world champion Daisuke Ikezaki led the team to three top-four finishes. During this run, the Slam posted impressive victories over established teams like Germany, BC and Quebec.

Watch Out For?

Seattle’s captain and head-coach Jeremy Hannaford is one to look out for. However, as a picker, his impact might not be obvious to the casual fan.

Hannaford’s a tough defender who does a fantastic job of opening up lanes for his teammates and clamping down on opponents.

The Slam won’t have one clear go-to scorer. Instead, they have four or five guys who will all be expected to carry the ball and make decisions, whether that means firing off a pass or turning on the jets and burning someone for the try.

Seattle’s full roster is available here

Fun Facts

• Seattle are currently ranked 21st in the United States Quad Rugby Association
• They used to be called the Seattle AllNight
• For the 2018/2019 season, Seattle imported BC’s Andrew Davis for their domestic competitions. Canadians Rod Bitz and Fabien Lavoie have also played for the team in previous years.
• The Slam are partnered with the Seattle Saracens Rugby Club (Will we see some of them in the stands?)

Learn more

For more information on the Seattle Slam, you can follow them on Facebook here.

To stay up-to-date on all things Vancouver Invitational and Wheelchair Rugby, keep checking this site. Additionally be sure to follow BC Wheelchair Sports on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for more content leading up to and during the tournament.

High-octane Wheelchair Rugby action is returning at the Richmond Olympic Oval from March 8-10, 2019 for the 20th Annual Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament.

The three day event will see intense competition across two divisions and feature teams from Canada and the United States, as well as the German National Team.

Confirmed teams for the 2019 Vancouver Invitational Wheelchair Rugby Tournament are as follows:

D1

• Team BC
•  Alberta
•  Ontario
• Quebec
• Germany

D2

• BC Development
• Alberta
• Seattle Slam
• Portland Pounders

The tournament organizing committee has also received letters of intent from the following D1 teams

• Ability360 Phoenix Heat
• USA At-Large Team

We are still looking for more D1 Teams. Interested teams should contact Tournament Director Kevin Bowie by email at kevin@bcwheelchairsports.com  for more information including a registration package.

For more updates on the Vancouver Invitational and wheelchair rugby in BC, be sure to bookmark this page and follow BC Wheelchair Sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

The second day  of the Vancouver Invitational saw the conclusion of pool play and the semifinals.

Division 1

In Division 1, Ontario continued their undefeated run by dispatching Quebec 51-42 in their final pool game. They booked a trip to the final with a convincing 52-35 win over the hosts from BC in the semis.

Alberta got their first win of the tournament against BC. After trailing at the end of the first quarter, Zak Madell and the Roughnecks upped the defensive pressure and won 48-32.

The Roughnecks couldn’t keep the momentum going in their semifinal against Quebec. The game was close for most of the way but, Quebec wore down Alberta as the game went on, and used a strong fourth quarter to propel them to a 55-49 win and set up a rematch with Ontario for gold.

The Quebec-Alberta semifinal was the closest match of the tournament so far. It was very physical and several players hit the floor.

Team BC is still looking for their first win, but this up-and-coming side has played their bench in every game and is making strides as the tournament goes on. They’ll have one last shot at a win tomorrow against Alberta for 3rd place.

Division 2

The Seattle Slam remain undefeated and have the largest point differential of any team in the tournament at +. Their lack of hi-pointer hasn’t slowed them down as player/coach Jeremy Hannaford has his team executing at a high level.

Seattle will be joined in the final by the Portland Pounders who they beat earlier today 47-25.Portland have relied on a number of newer players at this tournament and they’ve responded well. The Pounders beat BC-B 47-25 in their opening game of the day and then finished strong with a 40-32 win over the Alberta Bighorns in the semifinals.

The Alberta Bighorns were a much-improved squad on Day 2. The arrival of Ken Hicks and the leadership he brings made a huge difference. He helped the team to their first victory as they rallied past BC-B 49-31.

BC-B will have a rematch with Alberta B on Sunday at 9:30am as they search for a win. Their rookies are getting valuable experience as the team tested out a number of line-ups and combinations.

Thanks to Hollister for their support of the Vancouver Invitational. Check them out for all of your personal care needs.

Follow BC Wheelchair Sports on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and our very own liveblog (Court 1, Court 2) for updates on tomorrow’s finals.

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.

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.