CALGARY, Jan. 18, 2014 /CNW/ - Hockey Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced Saturday the 17 players nominated to play for Canada's National Sledge Team at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, March 7 to 16 in Sochi, Russia.
CLICK HERE FOR CANADA'S NATIONAL SLEDGE TEAM ROSTER NOMINATED FOR THE 2014 PARALYMPIC WINTER GAMES.
Complete athlete and coach biographies are available here.
Head coach Mike Mondin (Trail, B.C.) and assistant coach Curtis Hunt (Regina, Sask.) assembled Canada's National Sledge Team roster after competing in several camps and events during the 2013-14 season, including winning the gold medal at the Four Nations Tournament in Sochi in August, and 2013 World Sledge Hockey Challenge in Toronto, Ont., in December.
"Getting down to 17 players was by no means an easy decision, which is a testament to the sledge hockey talent this country is producing," Mondin said. "We feel we've assembled the best roster possible, and we're excited to compete for Canada at the Paralympics in Sochi."
"Hockey Canada is very proud of the players and staff nominated for the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games," said Bob Nicholson, president and CEO of Hockey Canada. "The Paralympics is biggest stage for sledge hockey in the world and I know our athletes will play their best and make Canadians proud."
Of the 17 players nominated Saturday, 16 helped Canada win the gold medal at the 2013 IPC Sledge Hockey World Championship in Goyang, South Korea, and eight represented Canada at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver, B.C.
"Canada can get excited about our sledge hockey team, announced today across the country, which enters the Games with confidence built on talent, experience and exceptional leadership," said Team Canada's Chef de Mission, Ozzie Sawicki. "I look forward to seeing our sledge hockey team perform in Sochi, as it has had a season of solid preparation and enter the Games with a defined focus on its performance task, ready to contribute to the overall team objective of top three in the gold medal count."
"It is my great pleasure to congratulate our athletes who have earned their spots on our 2014 sledge hockey team and will represent Canada at the 2014 Paralympic Games," said the Honourable Bal Gosal, Minister of State, Sport. "Canada's sledge hockey teams have proven that they have the confidence and determination to succeed at the Winter Games. Our Government is proud of your accomplishments and we wish you the best of luck as you prepare for the Games in Sochi."
The Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games will take place from March 7 to 16, 2014. With a goal of placing in the top three nations in the gold medal count, Canada will send approximately 50 athletes to compete in sledge hockey, wheelchair curling, para-Nordic skiing, biathlon, para-alpine skiing and para-snowboard.
Upcoming Canadian Paralympic Team nomination announcement events include para-alpine skiing on Jan. 21 in Calgary and para-snowboard on Jan. 26 in Big White, B.C. The wheelchair curling team nominations were announced Dec. 6.
With 100 days to go to the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) unveiled an unprecedented, fully accessible broadcast and electronic media plans for the most comprehensive coverage ever offered in Canada for a Paralympic Games - more than 65 hours of broadcast, up to 350 hours of digital streaming, and rights free news access highlights connecting Canadians via multi platforms. CPC will lead the Paralympic Broadcast Consortium partners in creating coverage on five broadcast/digital platforms: CBC/Radio-Canada, Sportsnet, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), Yahoo Sports Canada and SendtoNews.
PHOTOGRAPHY: Media are invited to visit photos.paralympic.ca and create an account to be able to download high-resolution photos of Canadian Paralympic athletes at any time, at no cost.
For more information on Canada's National Sledge Team, please visit www.hockeycanada.ca, or follow along via social media at www.facebook.com/hockeycanada, www.twitter.com/hockeycanada and www.twitter.com/hc_sledge.
Follow the Canadian Paralympic Committee at www.paralympic.ca, www.facebook.com/CDNParalympics, www.twitter.com/CDNParalympics and www.youtube.com/CDNParalympics.
About Hockey Canada
Hockey Canada is the governing body for hockey in Canada and a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), with a membership through its 13 provincial branch associations of over 700,000 players, coaches and officials. Hockey Canada is a not-for-profit organization that creates leading-edge hockey development programs for its members to deliver in communities across Canada, provides consistent rules and regulations and various other membership services from coast to coast, manages numerous regional, national and international hockey championships and events, and leads the operation of all teams that represent Canada in international hockey competition. Hockey Canada's mission is to "lead, develop and promote positive hockey experiences." For more information, visit www.hockeycanada.ca.
About the Canadian Paralympic Committee
The Canadian Paralympic Committee is a non-profit, private organization with 25 member sports organizations dedicated to strengthening the Paralympic Movement. The Canadian Paralympic Committee's vision is to be the world's leading Paralympic nation. Its mission is to lead the development of a sustainable Paralympic sport system in Canada to enable athletes to reach the podium at the Paralympic Games. By supporting Canadian high performance athletes with a disability and promoting their success, the Canadian Paralympic Committee inspires all Canadians with a disability to get involved in sport through programs delivered by its member organizations. For more information, visit www.paralympic.ca.
Image with caption: "CALGARY, Alta. - Hockey Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced Saturday the 17 players nominated to play for Canada's National Sledge Team at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, March 7 to 16 in Sochi, Russia. Among the team is Billy Bridges (Summerside PEI). (CNW Group/Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140118_C9659_PHOTO_EN_35690.jpg
Image with caption: "CALGARY, Alta. - Hockey Canada and the Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC) announced Saturday the 17 players nominated to play for Canada's National Sledge Team at the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, March 7 to 16 in Sochi, Russia. Among the team - Anthony Gale (Brampton, Ontario) is among the team. (CNW Group/Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140118_C9659_PHOTO_EN_35691.jpg
SOURCE: Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC)
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