Charlottetown to Play Host to the 2016 Junior East Regional Wheelchair Basketball Championship
Wheelchair Basketball Canada has awarded the 2016 Junior East Regional Wheelchair Basketball Championship to ParaSport and Recreation PEI. The event will be held at Charlottetown’s Holland College Centre for Community Engagement, May 13-15.
“We are absolutely thrilled to work with ParaSport and Recreation PEI in order to bring the 2016 Junior East Regional Wheelchair Basketball Championship to the great city of Charlottetown,” said Wheelchair Basketball Canada Executive Director Wendy Gittens. “We know the city will rally together in support of this event and cheer on the next generation of junior wheelchair basketball stars.”
The City of Charlottetown’s sport tourism initiative, SCORE, worked with ParaSport and Recreation PEI to secure the hosting rights to the championship which will feature a 3-on-3, full court competition with participating teams from Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.
“The City of Charlottetown is honoured to be hosting the Junior East Regional Wheelchair Basketball Championship in 2016, and looks forward to working with Wheelchair Basketball Canada, ParaSport and Recreation PEI to execute a high-profile and memorable event for participants,” said Mayor Clifford Lee. “The City’s sport tourism initiative, SCORE, is very active and successful in the marketplace and our efforts continue to generate substantial economic, tourism, and community benefits for Charlottetown.”
Wheelchair Basketball Canada introduced a junior division in the 1993-94 season to give younger players a chance to compete against top junior age athletes from other cities. This initiative has complimented the Wheelchair Basketball Canada/Canada Games program development. The cycle for junior development is hinged upon the Canada Games quadrennial. In Year 1 and 2, provinces compete in Junior East/Junior West Regional Championships and in Year 3, provincial Canada Games teams compete at the Junior National Championships which double as a Canada Games seeding tournament. Year 4, the final year of the quadrennial, is the Canada Winter Games. 2016 is Year 1 of the Canada Games quadrennial. The 2016 Jr. Western Wheelchair Basketball Championships will be held in Saskatoon, SK, April 29-May 1.
For more information on the 2016 Junior East Regional Wheelchair Basketball Championship visit: http://www.wheelchairbasketball.ca.
SCORE Backgrounder:
The City of Charlottetown’s multi-national award winning sport tourism initiative, SCORE, leads the attraction and assists with the hosting of regional, national, and international sport events. Sport tourism is a a lucrative economic and tourism driver, accounting for $5.2 billion annually to the Canadian economy, and is the fastest growing segment of Canada’s tourism industry. The SCORE initiative is managed by the City’s Events Development Officer, Wayne Long. For more information about SCORE, visit www.scorecharlottetown.com.
Media contacts:
Jennifer Gavin
Communications Officer
City of Charlottetown
902-629-4102
jgavin@charlottetown.ca
Tracy Stevenson
Executive Director
ParaSport and Recreation PEI
902.368.4540
tracy@parasportpei.ca
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