Canadian Sport Institute Ontario – Yours to Discover: Team Canada and the Ontario Athletes for the 2016 Olympic & Paralympic Games

TORONTO (June 9, 2016) – Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) would like to congratulate the 24 athletes nominated to the Men’s and Women’s Canadian Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Teams for the 2016 Paralympic Games.

Of the 24 athletes named to the Paralympic Team, 8 are from Ontario:

• Abdi Dini, Toronto, ON
• Adam Lancia, Toronto, ON
• Tyler Miller, Kitchener, ON
• Tracey Ferguson, Toronto, ON
• Katie Harnock, Elmira, ON
• Melanie Hawtin, Oakville, ON
• Darda Sales, London, ON
• Tamara Steeves, Mississauga, ON

CSIO works closely with Wheelchair Basketball Canada and their full-time National Academy that is based out of the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre (TPASC) in Scarborough where CSIO’s main office and performance facility are located. The Academy features current National and Provincial Team level athletes as well as other elite wheelchair basketball athletes that are progressing towards making these National Teams. Aside from the athletes listed above, many of the other players named to the Paralympic Teams now reside in Ontario and train out of the Academy.

TPASC and CSIO are also the hub for many of Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s centralized training camps and CSIO is the primary facility for wheelchair basketball athlete testing. Thus, CSIO is proud to support and work with all of the athletes named to the Paralympic Teams.

Further to the list above, these athletes are:

• Nikola Goncin, Regina, SK
• Bo Hedges, Wonowon, BC
• Liam Hickey, St. John’s NL
• Deion Green, Victoria, BC
• David Eng, Montreal QC
• Ben Moronchuk, SK
• Peter Won, Blackfalds, AB
• Jonathan Vermette, Sherbrooke, QC
• Chad Jassman, Calgary AB
• Erica Gavel, Saskatoon, SK
• Jamey Jewels, Donkin, NS
• Rosalie Lalonde, St-Clet, QC
• Janet McLachlan, Vancouver, BC
• Cindy Ouellet, Quebec City, QC
• Amanda Yan, Burnaby, BC
• Arrin Young, Legal, AB

Further, Wheelchair Basketball is also an Ontario High Performance Sport Initiative or OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) recognized sport. OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) is a program designed by CSIO and is funded by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport (MTCS), to provide sport science and sport medicine services to athletes who are best capable of achieving future international success on senior national teams in targeted winter and summer sports. The OHPSI (NEXTGEN Ontario) investment also contributes to funding athlete participation in training camps, international events, coach and technical leadership support and enhancing sports’ daily training environments.

Whether a part of the Wheelchair Basketball Academy or as part of centralized training, these athletes are able to access CSIO and its world-class facility as part of their daily training environment. Here, the athletes receive integrated support services from CSIO’s expert sport science and sport medicine practitioners including Biomechanics and Performance Analysis, Strength and Conditioning, Athletic Therapy, Sport Medicine, Mental Performance, and Sport Nutrition. CSIO staff working with the wheelchair basketball athletes include:

• Andrew Cochran, Strength and Conditioning
• Dr. Steve Dilkas, Sport Medicine Physician
• Devon Frayne, Sport Biomechanist
• Judy Goss, Mental Performance Consultant
• Colby Hathaway, Strength and Conditioning
• Melissa Kazan, Sport Nutritionist
• Krista McHardy, Athletic Therapist
• Lindsay Musalem, Biomechanics Research Assistant
• Rob Rupf, Sport Physiologist
• Nicole Springle, Lead, Sport Nutrition
• Christine St. Clair, Sport Nutritionist (maternity leave)
• Rolf Wagschal, Game Plan Advisor

CSIO is also actively engaged in research and innovation projects with Wheelchair Basketball Canada, under the direction of Heather Sprenger, CSIO’s Lead, Physiology. The goal of these projects is to solve queries posed by the sport and/or to further advance the sport and the development of the athletes and coaches, while increasing the knowledge base of our staff to better service the sport as part of their integrated support team. 

QUOTES:

“The CSIO is a tremendous partner in fueling our Canadian wheelchair basketball athletes in their pursuit of excellence at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games and beyond. From sport science and sport medicine to research and innovation, our National Academy and National Team programs are proud to work with CSIO to provide our athletes and coaches with an optimal daily training environment as we strive to be the world leader in wheelchair basketball.”   

Mike Frogley
High Performance Director, Wheelchair Basketball Canada

“CSIO wishes to congratulate all the athletes named to the Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Team for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. We are extremely proud of our partnership with Wheelchair Basketball Canada, their National Academy and Own the Podium, as well as the ongoing support we provide the athletes and coaching staff in their quest to bring home gold. We look forward to cheering on the teams when they compete in Rio!”

Debbie Low

Chief Executive Officer, CSIO 

“The use of the terms “world-class” and “world-leading” is not something CSIO takes lightly. The partnership CSIO has with Wheelchair Basketball Canada and Own the Podium is truly unique and the Rio 2016 bound athletes, coaches, and support staff are committed to their quest for the podium. We are extremely proud to see this amazing group of Paralympians train daily in the world-class space at TPASC and CSIO. Daily training environments do not get any better than this. All the best to the teams in Rio!”

Tommy Wharton

Director, High Performance Sport, CSIO

About Canadian Sport Institute Ontario

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) is a non-profit organization committed to the pursuit of excellence by providing world-class programs, services, and leadership to high performance athletes and coaches to enhance their ability to achieve international podium performances. CSIO offers athletes a range of sport science and sport medicine services including nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength & conditioning, mental performance, sport therapy and life services. CSIO also delivers programming and services to National and Provincial Sport Organizations and coaches to work towards building a stronger sport system in Ontario and Canada.

CSIO services approximately 700 high performance athletes and 250 coaches, at its main facility at the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre, its satellite location at the Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, and in daily training environments across Ontario. CSIO is part of a larger network of 4 institutes and 3 multi-sport centres across the country known as the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic Sport Institute Network, working in partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee and Canadian Paralympic Committee. CSIO is further supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, Sport Canada, Own the Podium, and the Coaching Association of Canada, along with the National and Provincial Sport Organizations within the sector.  www.csiontario.ca

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Media Contact:

Laura Albright, Senior Communications Coordinator

Canadian Sport Institute Ontario
Tel: 416.596.1240 Ext. 238

Email: lalbright@csiontario.ca

www.csiontario.ca