The Ontario Para Network is pleased to announce the 17 junior wheelchair basketball athletes who have been invited to attend the 2022-2023 Team Ontario selection camps. Athletes selected through the series of camps will represent Ontario at the 2023 Canada Winter Games from February 17-26 in Prince Edward Island.
Team Ontario Summer Camp at Sheridan College
The first of the selection camps took place this past weekend at Sheridan College – Davis Campus in Brampton, under the direction of Head Coach Kathy Ludwig, Assistant Coach Josh Davies, and Apprentice Coach Andrea Foessel. Guest coaches included Émilie Mondor, Vanessa Giancaterini, Shayne Sharkey, and Dani Bigu.
Selection camps will occur on a monthly basis, starting on July 28-31, followed by the Wheelchair Basketball Canada Ontario ‘NextGen’ Camp at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre in Toronto from August 27-28 and single-day camps at the Abilities Centre in Whitby on September 17 and October 1.
Team Ontario Junior Selection Camps – Athlete List
Tyler Bickford (Ottawa)
Laura Calovini (Brampton)
Nasif Chowdhury (Toronto)
Himmat Dhillon (Brampton)
Lara Fennell (Stoney Creek)
Devin Frogley (Whitby)
Jayvon Frogley (Whitby)
Cole Heessels (Exeter)
Rosie Long (Oakville)
Charlotte McElroy (Hamilton)
Broden Nagle (London)
Mercyline Nyakundi (Hamilton)
Desmond O’Shaughnessy (Carp)
Ibrahim Odza (Scarborough)
Grace Plumb (Brampton)
Travis Topping (Vienna)
Sana Worley (Brampton)
The Team Ontario Summer Camp at Sheridan College, which took place form July 28-31, was the first opportunity of the season for the athletes to centralize and train as a group since competing in the 2022 Junior National Championship from June 10-12. Athletes participated in multiple on-court training sessions and had the opportunity to scrimmage against highly-skilled former Team Ontario Junior athletes and club team athletes – Adel Akhmed, Julian Baird, Dani Bigu, Zoe Hahn, Maninder Hothi, Puisand Lai, Joanne Lee, Adrian Melancon, Émilie Mondor, Erik Robezniek, and Shayne Sharkey – for additional competitive experience. The junior athletes also took part in an education session focused on athlete recovery, led by Ervinia Monroe, strength & conditioning coach at Sheridan College.
Final selections for the 2023 Canada Winter Games will take place following the October 1st camp.
About the Ontario Junior Provincial Wheelchair Basketball Program
The Ontario Junior Provincial Wheelchair Basketball Program provides high performance training & competition opportunities for the province’s Junior-age athletes. The program operates on a four-year competition cycle leading up to the Canada Winter Games in the final year of the quadrennial. Wheelchair basketball provincial teams in Canada are open to athletes of all genders, with and without physical disabilities, making the sport one the most inclusive in the country. “Junior-age” wheelchair basketball players for the 2023 Canada Games cycle must be born in or after 1999 (24 years or younger the year of Canada Games).
About the Ontario Para Network
Formerly known as the Ontario Wheelchair Sports Association, our mission at the Ontario Para Network (ONPARA) is to grow opportunities for participation in adaptive sports across Ontario. As the governing body for wheelchair basketball, wheelchair rugby, and wheelchair tennis in the province, we strive to offer opportunities for individuals with disabilities to participate in recreational, competitive, and high performance programs. We lead, develop, support and advocate for athletes, coaches and volunteers to build strong and inclusive sport communities. We also deliver extensive outreach and education programs targeting schools as well as individuals and clinicians at rehabilitation hospitals and the broader health care sector.
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