Yesterday, Canada’s men’s sitting volleyball team defeated Costa Rica 3-0 (25-4, 25-16, 25-12) to earn Bronze at the 2017 ParaVolley Pan American Zone Sitting Volleyball Championships in Montreal, Que.

The team featured BC based athlete, Chris Bird of Nanaimo, BC.

“Unfortunately, we didn’t get the result we wanted in Montreal and it’s frustrating because we felt really confident coming,” said Canadian men’s team member Austin Hinchey, who was named best server of the tournament. “This event was important to us, not only because of the world championship berth that was available, but also as an opportunity to play at home in Canada, which we haven’t had since Toronto 2015.  That being said, we made significant progress at this event and will continue pushing ourselves to get better. We appreciate all the support from the organizers in Montreal, the Canadian Paralympic Committee, Volleyball Canada, and Defi Sportif this week.”

The women’s team finished third, behind the United States and Brazil in the three team tournament and included three BC based athletes – Danielle Ellis and Tessa Popoff and Felicia Voss-Shafiq Burnaby, BC.

“Even with a small zone, such as we have in Pan Am, the style and quality of play continues to increase in tactics and techniques,” explains Ian Halliday, Canada’s sitting Volleyball Canada’s high performance director. “Athletes are getting bigger and stronger and more technically sound. It’s exciting to see.”

Canada’s women’s team secured their spot at the 2018 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands with their third place finish. Canada’s Men’s team will have to wait and see if they will qualify for the World Championships, based on their International ranking.

For more information on sitting volleyball VISIT.