Ottawa — Wheelchair Rugby Canada has named 12 athletes who will represent the country at the 2025 Santos Wheelchair Rugby World Challenge, set to take place in Adelaide, Australia, from May 29 to June 1.

The event marks Canada’s first major international competition of the new Paralympic cycle, as the national program begins preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games. Canada is slated to compete against teams from Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Germany and the Netherlands as part of the tournament’s international lineup.

 

Team Canada roster – 2025 Wheelchair Rugby World Challenge

Name	Classification	Province
Austin MacLellan	3.5	Fredericton, NB
Matt Debly	3.0	Windsor, ON
Fabien Lavoie	3.0	Québec City, QC
Rio Kanda Kovac	2.5	Toronto, ON
Cody Caldwell	2.0	Toronto, ON
Tony Letourneau	2.0	Montréal, QC
Travis Murao	2.0	Toronto, ON
Yan Racicot	1.5	Montréal, QC
Pat Simard	1.5	Québec City, QC
Will McCreight	1.0	Kelowna, BC
Eric Rodrigues	0.5	Toronto, ON
Mel Labelle	1.0	Montréal, QC

 

“This tournament is an exciting first step in our new cycle. With a fresh group of athletes and a new coach, it’s all about starting to build our identity, grow together, and learn what we’re capable of,” said Jackie Patatas, high-performance director at Wheelchair Rugby Canada. “There’s a lot of potential in this team, and this is where the work begins—laying the foundation for where we want to be by the time LA 2028 comes around.”

The team will travel to Adelaide in late May for training and lead-in events ahead of the tournament. Canada’s first match is scheduled for May 29 (local time) against Brazil.

“Plain and simple we are here to play some rugby against some quality competition. We have a number of athletes that weren’t with us in Paris, so it’s about development and growing as a team. It will be a great opportunity for us to build on things leading into our qualifier in July,” said Trevor Hirschfield, newly appointed national team coach for Wheelchair Rugby Canada.

Stay connected with Wheelchair Rugby Canada for updates, live coverage details, and results as the team takes on the world stage in Australia.

 

Media contact:

Georgia Rudolph
 Communications and Content Coordinator
 grudolph@wheelchairrugby.ca
 www.wheelchairrugby.ca