Mississauga, Oakville female hoop stars to play for Canada at Americas Cup

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Published July 7, 2022 at 3:52 pm

Mississauga's Tamara Steeves (photo above) and Oakville's Melanie Hawtin (photo below) will suit up for Canada's national women's wheelchair basetball team at the upcoming Americas Cup in Brazil. BASKETBALL CANADA PHOTO

Mississauga’s Tamara Steeves and Oakville’s Melanie Hawtin will represent Canada on the court at the upcoming 2022 Americas Cup.

The two women are among the 11 players named on Thursday to the Canadian wheelchair basketball team that will compete at the Americas Cup qualifier from July 13-18 at the Brazilian Paralympic Training Site.

The Americas Cup will serve as the qualifier for the IWBF World Championships in November (Nov. 16-27, 2022) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

The top three women’s teams will earn the right to represent the IWBF Americas in Dubai.

“Both (men’s and women’s) teams have put in a tremendous amount of work over the past nine months in preparation for the Americas Cup qualifier,” said Jeff Dunbrack, High Performance Director, Wheelchair Basketball Canada.

“The mix of on-court practice time and games have both our teams ready and prepared to qualify for the World Championships in Dubai.”

The women’s team features nine returning athletes, including Hawtin and Steeves, that placed fifth at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics last summer.

Canada will play in Group B against Brazil, Bolivia, and Guatemala.

“This team is prepared and ready to build off last summer’s performance in Tokyo,” said national senior women’s head coach Marc Antoine Ducharme. “With a strong returning group and a couple of new faces, our team chemistry is strong, and the athletes are ready to perform in Brazil.”

The 33-year-old Hawtin, who was born in Hamilton made her first national senior women’s team in 2014. The former competitive track athlete uses her blazing speed to outmanoeuver her opponents on the court.

The 32-year-old Steeves first landed a spot with the senior women’s national team in 2012 and went on to compete for Canada at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England.

 

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