(May 12, 2021 – TORONTO, ONT.) The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) held its official draw Wednesday for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. The draw determined preliminary round groups for the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball competitions for Tokyo 2020.

The draw took place at the Stoke Mandeville Stadium – the birthplace of the Paralympic Games on the IWBF Facebook and YouTube channels.

Canada’s Senior Men’s National Team were drawn into Group A alongside Korea, Spain, Turkey, Columbia and hosts Japan. The United States, Great Britain, Australia, Algeria, Germany and Iran will compete in Group B.

In the women’s competition, Team Canada were slotted into Group A with Australia, Great Britain, Germany and Japan. The United States, Algeria, the Netherlands, China and Spain were drawn into Group B.

As hosts, Japan selected which pool they wished to compete in to complete the groups.

The 12 men’s teams and 10 women’s teams will compete at Tokyo 2020 when the Paralympics get underway from August 24 to September 5, 2021.

Team Canada’s women and men both qualified for Tokyo on the podium at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, where the women claimed the gold medal and the men secured silver.

The competition schedule will be announced at a later date.

For more information, visit iwbf.org.

About Wheelchair Basketball Canada

Wheelchair Basketball Canada is the national sports governing body responsible for the organization of the sport in Canada. It is a non-profit, charitable organization that is committed to excellence in the development, support and promotion of wheelchair basketball programs and services for all Canadians from grassroots to high performance. Wheelchair basketball is a fast-paced, hard-hitting, competitive sport in which Canada is held in high esteem around the world for winning a combined six gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in the last seven Paralympic Games. For more information, please visit wheelchairbasketball.ca.