USA Wheelchair Rugby, Canada Cup, & GIO World Championships
USA Wheelchair Rugby has selected the team that will represent the United States at the 2018 Canada Cup June 14-17th in Richmond, BC. This will be the team’s last international competition prior to the GIO IWRF World Championships in August.
“Team Canada will host international rivals including defending Paralympic and world champions Australia, five-time Canada Cup champion and reigning Paralympic silver medalists the United States of America and 2016 Paralympic bronze medalist Japan. Rounding out the field are European powers Sweden and Denmark.”
The Canada Cup International Wheelchair Rugby Tournament has been held biennially since 2004 and is the world’s most prestigious wheelchair rugby tournament outside of the Paralympics Games and World Championship.
More information about the 2018 Canada Cup including team rosters, ticket sales, and the tournament schedule/results will be posted on www.canadacupwcrugby.com
2018 Canada Cup Team
- 0.5 Jeff Butler – Austin, T
- 1.0 Chad Cohn – Tucson, AZ
- 1.0 Lee Fredette – East Moriches, N
- 1.0 Matt Milstead – Grand Rapids, MI
- 1.5 Talbot Kennedy – Atlanta, GA
- 1.5 Adam Scaturro – Lakewood, CO
- 2.0 Ernie Chun – Phoenix, AZ
- 2.0 Joe Delagrave – Prairie du Chien, WI
- 2.0 Chuck Melton – Richview, IL
- 2.0 Alejandro Pabon – Beaumont, TX
- 2.5 Josh Wheeler – Tucson, AZ
- 3.0 Chuck Aoki – Minneapolis, MN
GIO 2018 IWRF World Championships
After the Canada Cup, USA Wheelchair Rugby will turn its attention to the GIO 2018 IWRF World Championships. Twelve teams will compete at the World Championships August 5-10th in Sydney, Australia at Olympic Park. The GIO 2018 IWRF World Championships will be the largest adapted sports event held in Australia since the 2000 Paralympic Games where the U.S. captured gold.
The U.S. are currently ranked second in the world to Australia. As the host nation, Australia could choose their pool and selected Pool A. The U.S. then automatically was placed in pool B. The additional 10 qualifying nations were placed in pool A and B via draw based on current world rankings. At stake at World Championships is the first opportunity for an automatic bid to the 2020 Paralympic Games for the top finisher.
GIO2018 IWRF World Championship Pools
Pool A: Australia, Japan, Sweden, New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland
Pool B: United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Colombia, Poland
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