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.