MEDIA KIT Team Canada Women Visit: WHEELCHAIR BASKETBALL.CA for more information MEDIA CONTACTS IN CANADA: General Inquiries or to schedule an interview: EMMA VAN STEEN Communications & Media Relations Assistant Wheelchair Basketball Canada work: (613) 260 -1296 ext. 200 cell: (613) 853 – 8267 [email protected] PRESS ATTACHÉ OVERSEAS: JODY KINGSBURY Communications & Media Relations Manager Wheelchair Basketball Canada work: (613) 260 -1296 ext. 204 cell: (613) 851 – 2337 [email protected] ABOUT THE TOURNAMENT The Great Britain Wheelchair Basketball Association (GBWBA) will host the 2010 Men’s & Women’s World Wheelchair Basketball Championships July 5-17th, 2010 in Birmingham, United Kingdom - just two years before the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. This International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) event (which is held every four years) will be staged at Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena in July 2010 and will be organised by GBWBA and Birmingham City Council, with support from the National Lottery through UK Sport’s World Class Events Programme. The tournament will see 12 men’s and 10 women’s teams compete in the most important and biggest wheelchair basketball event before the London 2012 Paralympic Games. COMPETITION SCHEDULE ABOUT TEAM CANADA Both the Canadian Men’s and Women’s National Teams are the defending World Wheelchair Basketball Champions - having won the previous World Championships held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 2006. The Canadian women are striving for an incredible 5th straight World Championship Title. TEAM CANADA MEN The 2010 Canadian Men’s Wheelchair Basketball 12-Man Roster features eight players who competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics where the team won silver (Johnson, Lancia, Eng, Durepos, Rouillard, Peter, Hedges, and Fatah Dini), and six who won gold at the 2006 World Championships (Johnson, Lancia, Eng, Durepos, Peter, and Poulin). Historical Record (at Major International Competitions) 2008 - Paralympic Games in Beijing, China - Silver 2006 - World Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands - Gold 2004 - Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece - Gold 2002 - World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan - Bronze 2000 - Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia - Gold 1998 - World Championships in Sydney, Australia - Bronze 1996 - Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA - 5th 1994 - World Championships in Edmonton, Canada - Bronze TEAM CANADA WOMEN The 2010 Canadian Women’s 12-Man Roster features 7 players who competed in the 2008 Beijing Paralympics where the team placed 5th (McLachlan, Feser, Ouellet, Benoit, Ferguson, Ohama, and Harnock), and 4 players who won gold at the 2006 World Championships (Benoit, Ferguson, Ohama, and Harnock). Historical Record (at Major International Competitions) 2008 - Paralympic Games in Beijing, China - 5th 2006 - World Championships in Amsterdam, Netherlands - Gold 2004 - Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece - Bronze 2002 - World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan - Gold 2000 - Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia - Gold 1998 - World Championships in Sydney, Australia - Gold 1996 - Paralympic Games in Atlanta, USA - Gold 1994 - World Championships in Edmonton, Canada - Gold 1992 - Paralympic Games in Barcelona, Spain - Gold 1990 - World Championships in France - Bronze 2010 TEAM CANADA / L'ÉQUIPE CANADIENNE Sr. Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team / féminine de basketball en fauteuil roulant NUMBER / CLASS / D.O.B / BIRTHPLACE / HEIGHT / CLUB TEAM / ÉQUIPE DU NAME / NOM RESIDES / RÉSIDE NUMÉRO POINTAGE NAISSANCE VILLE NATALE TAILLE CLUB 4 ALLARD, Elaine 1.5 25-Feb-77 Montreal, QC St. Eustache, QC 5'6 C.I.V.A. 5 McLACHLAN, Janet 4.5 26-Aug-77 Vancouver, BC Vancouver, BC 6'0 BC Breakers / U of Alabama 6 OHAMA, Kendra 2.5 01-Jan-65 Brooks, AB Calgary, AB 5'1 Calgary Rollers 7 OUELLET, Cindy 3.5 08-Dec-88 Rivière-Du-Loup, QC Quebec, QC 5'2 Quebec Bulldogs / U of Alabama 8 LAFLECHE, Nancy 4.0 22-Dec-73 Cornwall, ON Vancouver, BC 6'0 BC Breakers 9 BENOIT, Chantal 3.5 01-Oct-60 Beloeil, QC Mont-Saint Hilaire, QC 5'5 C.I.V.A. / Quebec 10 HARNOCK, Katie 2.5 12-Aug-83 Kitchener, ON Elmira, ON 4'6 U of Alabama 11 WILLIAMS, Elisha 4.5 09-Jun-78 Prince George, BC Burnaby, BC 5'10 BC Breakers 12 FERGUSON, Tracey 3.0 07-Sep-74 Richmond Hill, ON Holland Landing, ON 5'0 Variety Village 13 ABBOTT-PETER, Marni 1.0 06-Nov-65 West Kootenays, BC Vancouver, BC 5'5 BC Breakers 14 VLIEGENTHART, Jessica 1.0 08-Nov-83 Kamloops, BC Victoria, BC 5'10 BC Breakers 15 FESER, Tara 4.5 02-Feb-80 Edmonton, AB St. Albert, AB 5'11 Edmonton Inferno / U of Alabama Head Coach / entraîneur en chef: Bill Johnson (Winnipeg, MB) Team Canada Women’s Bios # 4 ELAINE ALLARD Resides: St. Eustache, QC Birthplace: Montréal, QC Birth Date: 25 February 1977 Height: 5’6” Occupation: Account Manager Club: C.I.V.A. Coach: Marc-Antoine Ducharme & Bill Johnson On the National Team Since: 2007 Began Wheelchair Basketball: 2005 Classification: 1.5 Elaine Allard got into wheelchair basketball in her late teens and has never looked back. She attri- butes her success in the sport to maintaining a balanced life, discipline, perseverance, good coaching and other specialists, consistency in her training and the support of her family and friends. She was introduced to wheelchair basketball during rehabiliation post an accident. She started play- ing competative wheelchair basketball in 2005, and joined the national team in 2007. International Competition 2010 Gold - BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, UK 2009 4th Invitational Tournament in Ottawa, Canada 2008 Bronze - North American Cup in Birmingham, AL 2008 Gold - Good Luck Beijing International Invitational in Beijing, China 2007 Silver - Parapanamerican Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2007 Bronze - 4 Nations Tournament in Sydney, Australia National Competition 2010 Bronze - CWBL Women`s National Championships with Team Quebec # 5 JANET MCLACHLAN Resides: West Vancouver, BC Birthplace: North Vancouver, BC Born: August 26, 1977 Height: 6’0” Occupation: Student Club: BC Breakers Coach: Bill Johnson, Marni Abbot Peter On the National Team since: 2008 Began Wheelchair Basketball: 2006 Classification: 4.5 McLachlan has always been good at basketball, since she played for University of Victoria Vikes from 1995 to 2000, winning national university championships in 1998 and 2000. She also represented Canada at the 2001 Beijing Student Games. McLachlan was introduced to wheelchair basketball after sustaining an injury to her knee while play- ing rugby. This injury came when hoping to make Canada’s national rugby squad for the 2006 World Cup. A bad tackle left her knee in a mangled state. A rugby teammate suggested she try wheelchair sports to stay in shape while recovering her knee. McLachlan began competing in wheelchair Basketball in 2006. She has been a member of the national team since 2008 and was able to participate in the Paralympics in Beijing. A natural athlete McLachlan was thrilled to be able continue playing the sport loves in a new and challenging way. McLachlan has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Victoria and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta. Despite already owning two bachelors degrees, McLachlan is attend- ing the University of Alabama to add a degree in interior design. Alabama also offers her a chance to train in wheelchair basketball during the winter. It is one of five schools in the U.S. that has a compet- ing women’s wheelchair basketball team. If she could have dinner with anyone, it would be a tie between Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Ghandi, who both kept their struggles peaceful despite all the odds. Interesting Facts about Janet • Averaged 27.8 ppg at 2010 CWBL’s Women’s National Championships and awarded MVP • Won back-to-back National Championships with University of Alabama – named 2010 MVP • Led Canada to first Paralympic World Cup title in 2010 averaging 24 ppg and 16 rebounds per game. International Competition 2010 Gold - BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, UK 2009 4th Invitational Tournament in Ottawa, Canada 2008 5th Place - Beijing Paralympics in Beijing, China 2008 Bronze - North American Cup in Birmingham, AL National Competition 2010 Gold - CWBL Women`s National Championships with BC Breakers 2010 MVP - CWBL Women`s National Championships with BC Breakers 2008 Gold - CWBL Finals with CIVA Named to the All-Star Team 2008 Gold - Nationals with Team BC and Named to the All-Star Team # 6 KENDRA OHAMA Hometown: Calgary, AB Birthplace: Brooks, AB Born: June 1, 1965 Height: 5’1” Occupation: Goldsmith Club: Calgary Rollers Coach: David Houghton, Bill Johnson On the National Team since: 1991 Began Wheelchair Basketball: 1990 Classification: 2.5 Kendra got turned on to the sport in 1990 and took to it competitively right off the bat. She has always been an athletic individual and had no doubt in her mind that she was going to crack the national line up from the start. Because of her commitment to excellence and persever- ance, she was a rookie at Stoke in 1991. Kendra became an integral part of the team in 1992 at the Barcelona paralympics and is now the third oldest veteran on the squad. Kendra Ohama is a three-time Paralympic gold medalist. She won gold with the women’s national basketball team at the Paralympics Games in 1992, 1996 and 2000. She also has a bronze medal from the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games. She first heard about wheelchair basketball in 1989 when she was approached by a player from the Calgary Grizzlies at a store. The player invited her to watch a practice. She has been hooked on the sport since. She began playing in 1990 and had joined the national team by 1991. She is a goldsmith by trade and comes from a family of six, where she is the youngest of three girls and three boys. Her support system at home, including her life partner Tom Walsh, is her key to suc- cess in basketball.