U.S. Sitting Teams to Host Brazil, Canada

B.J. Hoeptner Evans
Manager, Media Relations and Publications
Phone: (719) 228-6800
E-Mail: bj.evans@usav.org  

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Feb. 4, 2010) – The U.S. Men’s and Women’s Sitting Teams will host their counterparts from Brazil and Canada at the 2010 Parapan American Championships on March 6-8 in Denver. The matches will be played as part of the Colorado Crossroads tournament at the Colorado Convention Center.

For Brazil and Canada, the tournament will be a chance to qualify for the 2010 Sitting World Championships, to be held July 11-18 at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond.

For the U.S. teams, which have already qualified for Worlds, the focus will be on preparing for both the Sitting Volleyball World Cup in March in Egypt and for the World Championships, which will be a qualifier for the 2012 Paralympic Games in London.

“It will definitely give us some needed competition,” said Bill Hamiter (Bethany, Okla.), USA Volleyball’s Head Coach and High Performance Director for the U.S. Sitting Volleyball Teams. “Neither team has played Brazil since the U.S. Men played them at the Parapan American Games in 2007.”

Brazil defeated the United States in the gold-medal match of the Parapan American Games, earning a spot at the Beijing Paralympic Games while the U.S. Men’s Sitting Team did not qualify.

“It’s a matter of seeing where we are and how much of our training has paid off,” said Hamiter, who added that both teams will have new players trying to earn spots on the roster.

The competition will begin on Saturday (March 6) with round robin pool play and will end on Monday (March 8) with the championship matches.

A clinic and autograph session will also be part of the weekend.

For more information on the Colorado Crossroads tournament, go to www.coloradocrossroads.org.

For more information on the 2010 Sitting Volleyball World Championships, click here.

Schedule:
Saturday, March 6 (All times MST)
          9 a.m. Canada vs. Brazil (women)
          11:30 a.m. Brazil vs. Canada (men)
          4 p.m. USA vs. Brazil (women)
          6:30 p.m. USA vs. Canada (men)

Sunday
          9 a.m. Canada vs. USA (women)
          Noon: Brazil vs. USA (men)
          3 p.m. 2nd place vs. 3rd place (women)
          6 p.m. 2nd place vs. 3rd place (men)

Monday
          10 a.m. 1st place vs. 3 p.m. winner (women)
          1 p.m. 1st place vs. 6 p.m. winner (men)

 

Tags: Bill Hamiter, Parapan American Championships, Sitting Volleyball