Canada Cup Wraps Up!

Canada Cup Wraps Up!
massive-dev | June 30, 2016

The Canada Cup Wheelchair Rugby Tournament wrapped things up on Sunday with a thrilling game between Team Canada and Team USA. Chuck Aoki, later named the MVP for the tournament, and his USA brethren went undefeated over the four days, clinching the final game against the Canadians 56-53. The tournament provided a huge boost for Team USA, who took the top IWRF ranking in the world from Team Canada.

Canada finished 4th in the tournament, suffering losses to Japan, Australia, and the United States, but that didn’t stop the hometown crowd from coming out in droves to cheer on Team Canada. They’ll look to regroup with the Rio Paralympic Games right around the corner.

Over 30,000 people who were unable to make the trek down to the Richmond Olympic Oval tuned in to watch the game online through Viasport and CBC Sports. If you missed out on the tournament, or wanted to relive some of your favourite Canada Cup memories, you can click here to watch the games online!

Both the silent and live auctions were also a big hit for fans attending the tournament. It got pretty competitive for many items, as fans jockied to get everything from signed team posters, tickets to the Vancouver Canadians, Landsea Tours, and a Harbour Cruises Sunset Dinner Cruise. We even auctioned off a wheelchair rugby chair!

After the event, we congratulated our All-Stars and MVP for the tournament. They are:

0.5 – Jeffrey Butler (USA)
1.0 – Trevor Hirschfield (CAN)
1.5 – Seiya Norimatsu (JPN)
2.0 – Gavin Walker (GB)
2.5 – Tomas Hjert (SWE)
3.0 – Daisuke Ikezaki (JPN)
3.5 – Ryley Batt (AUS)

MVP – Charles Aoki (USA)

Many thanks to all of our sponsors and supporters. We can’t put on a tournament of this scale without the contributions of generous donors and supporters. We’d like to thank the following organizations and people for helping us put on this wonderful tournament.

Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association
International Wheelchair Rugby Federation

Government of Canada
The Province of British Columbia
City of Richmond
Richmond Sport Hosting
Richmond Olympic Oval
Viasport
VESCO
IBEW Local 258
Soda Design
Sheraton Hotel
Mariott Hotel
Hilton Hotel
Ceili’s Modern Irish Pub
Postmark Brewing