Sixteen aspiring Team B.C. wheelchair basketball players are gathered in the gym this weekend at Duchess Park secondary school for a final selection camp to pick the Canada Winter Games team.
And folks who show up at the camp as spectators today from 2-5 p.m. will be given the chance to try out the sport as part of PacificSport Northern B.C.'s Explore Sport Try It Day. The public session is open to able-bodied people as well as people with disabilities.
The B.C. team is coached by Marni Abbott-Peter, a multiple gold medalist from the Paralympic Games, with help from her assistant, Simon Cass.
Among the 16 athletes trying out for the team are Avril Harris, the able-bodied son of disability advocates Pat and Nancy Harris of Prince George. Avril Harris has been playing wheelchair basketball and since he was five. He was recently announced as a sponsored athlete in Pacific Western Brewing's Hometown Heroes program.
Also invited to the tryout camp are Joel Ewert of Prince George, and Canadian under-23 national team members Jack Kosterman of Langley and Aiden Love of Victoria.
Team B.C. is hoping to improve on its seventh-place finish at the 2011 Canada Winter Games in Halifax. Wheelchair basketball will be featured during the first week of the Games, Feb. 14-20 at Duchess Park.
