COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 24, 2021) – The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team has a training camp this weekend at its home base in Edmond, Okla., as it prepares for its World ParaVolley Paralympic Qualifier on May 31-June 4 in Duisburg, Germany.
The U.S. Men’s Sitting Team will battle six other teams, with the winner earning a berth at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on Aug. 24-Sept. 5, 2021.
In the qualifier, the U.S. Men will share Pool B with top-seeded Ukraine, Latvia and Croatia. Pool A consists of host Germany, Kazakhstan and Canada.
The qualifier has been postponed twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic and U.S. Men’s Sitting Team Head Coach Greg Walker is keeping his fingers crossed that it can be held.
“With the pandemic, things are still up in the air right now,” he said. “We are doing our best to prepare and be ready to go when the time comes.”
Ukraine is the highest ranked team in the tournament at No. 5. The U.S. Men are No. 7 in the world. The U.S. Men played Ukraine twice in the 2019 Netherlands tournament. Although the U.S. lost both matches 3-0, it kept the sets close.
Among the teams in Pool B, the U.S. Men have played Canada and Germany the most. Team USA went 4-1 against Canada in a five-match exhibition in 2019. It went 1-1 against Germany in the Netherlands tournament.
“If we can finish second in our pool, I like our chances in the crossover,” Walker said. “After that, anything can happen.”