The Canadian National Wheelchair Rugby Team will travel to Misawa, Japan from September 30 to October 11 for a training camp and two exhibition matches against Japan’s National Development Team.

“We are heading to Japan with two major goals in mind.  The first goal is to familiarize ourselves with the travel to Misawa City, its facilities and the Japanese culture. This will be vital to our Tokyo 2020 preparations, as we will be going to Japan several times over the coming years.” said Head Coach Patrick Côté, “The second goal, with regards to rugby, will be to focus on the development of our younger players. I want to see them handle the workload and take up a leadership role in their lineups and the team.”

October’s training camp marks the first of five camps to be hosted by the Misawa City over the next two years. The camps are part of the agreement between Wheelchair Rugby Canada and Misawa that was announced in June 2018.

“We know that Misawa City is excited to be hosting us.  We are truly humbled and are looking forward to their warm welcome.” said Côté

About Misawa City

Misawa City is located in the southeastern part of Aomori Prefecture, facing the picturesque Pacific Ocean to the east and Lake Ogawara to the west. The area stretches 11 km from east to west and 25 km from north to south, with a total land area of 119.87 km. Its flatland area is blessed with rich nature such as Hotokenuma, a site designated by the Ramsar Convention as one of the important wetlands of the world.

Training Camp

Team Canada will begin their camp on Tuesday, October 2nd at the Misawa International Sports Center and train until Wednesday, October 10th. Within that time, they will compete in two exhibitions against a Japan’s National Development Team. The first match of the double-header will be played on Monday, October 8th at 3:00 PM (local time), while the second will be played on Tuesday, October 9th at 2:00 PM (local time).

“The planned exhibition matches against Japan will be perfect for developing our younger players.” said Head Coach Patrick Côté, “As for our veteran players, I’m looking to them to fill more of a support role, this time around.”

Participating National Team Athletes

Anthony Létourneau (Boisbriand, QC)
Benjamin Perkins (North Augusta, ON)
Branden Troutman (Edmonton, AB)
Britt Mayer (Regina, SK)
Byron Green (Vancouver, BC)
Eric Furtado-Rodrigues (Mississauga, ON)
Fabien Lavoie (Quebec City, QC)
Matt Debly (Windsor, ON)
Shayne Smith (Toronto, ON)
Trevor Hirschfield (Vancouver, BC)
Yanick Racicot (Montreal, QC)

Individual bios for each athlete can be found HERE.

Coverage of the training camp and exhibition matches will be provided through wheelchairrugby.ca and our official Facebook and Twitter pages.

About Wheelchair Rugby Canada

Wheelchair Rugby Canada is the national governing body for the Canadian Heritage Sport of wheelchair rugby. Wheelchair Rugby Canada strives to be a world-leader in wheelchair rugby, a respected advocate for wheelchair athletes and a visionary organization committed to excellence in programs from recruitment to retirement.

For more information, please contact:

Ben Parker-Jones
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
Wheelchair Rugby Canada
Tel: 613.523.0004
Email: ben@wheelchairrugby.ca