Canada's sitting WVB team - with deep MacEwan connections - fighting for respect, medal in Tokyo
Jefferson Hagen, MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the phrase 'Let's make the Paralympics a household name,' Nicole Ban produced a social media post last weekend that went viral.
With just days to go before the 2020 Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, the head coach of Canada's sitting women's volleyball team, who is also an associate coach with the MacEwan Griffins, lobbied for proper and deserving coverage of para sport.
Three days later, the CBC told Canadian sitting volleyball athlete and MacEwan student Heidi Peters they would be showing all of the team's games.
This moment is everything ❤️@Devin_Heroux shares news with Paralympian Heidi Peters that CBC extended its sitting volleyball coverage to include live streams of Canada's first two gameshttps://t.co/HxNJMDMQ3Y@VBallCanada @CDNParalympics pic.twitter.com/TIuepuuJOm
— CBC Sports (@cbcsports) August 24, 2021
"I am beyond excited for our athletes and their families," wrote Ban in e-mail interview, stressing that CBC was planning to televise the whole time, but there wasn't a feed for them to pick up because Olympic Broadcasting Services owns the rights … until now.
"They will get the coverage they have earned."
This is just the beginning of the push for an equal platform for para sport. Ban notes that not all countries are broadcasting their teams' games, so there is still work to do. The goal is to see the entire Paralympics televised in 2024 in Paris.
"My post was meant as a reminder that para sport deserves the same representation that able-bodied sport at this level does," said Ban. "The Paralympic movement is incredible and the world will be pleasantly surprised, if they aren't already, at how amazing para sport is to watch.
"I highly recommend that everyone watches our matches because our sport is just as exciting as the indoor version that so many enjoy watching weekly at MacEwan – pre-pandemic, of course."
This has no doubt galvanized a Canadian team that is aiming for the podium five years after finishing seventh in the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
"I am beyond proud to coach such an incredible group of athletes; they stand up for what is right, every day, and this is another example of that," said Ban. "We can't wait to get out on the court and compete together. Because together, we are stronger and together, we have already accomplished so much."
Currently ranked fifth in the world, the Canadians will be in a pool with No. 3 Brazil, No. 10 Italy and host Japan. To move on to the semifinals, they'll need to place in the top two.
"We try not to focus too much on world rankings as there are many factors that play a part in rankings," said Ban. "We look to take it one match at a time and leave everything we have out there on the court."
Canada will face Brazil on Aug. 27 (3:30 a.m. MT), Italy on Aug. 29 (11 p.m. on Aug. 28 MT) and Japan on Sept. 1 (5:30 a.m. MT).
The semifinals are set for Sept. 3 (3:30 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. MT) with the bronze match on Sept. 4 (1:30 a.m. MT) and gold match on Sept. 5 (7 p.m. MT on Sept. 4).
See CBC's daily Paralympics broadcast schedule here
"The team's potential is definitely to be on the podium," said Ban. "That is the goal and we are working hard here every day to get a bit closer to that.
"It definitely isn't an easy task with so many skilled teams, but we are up for the challenge and excited to showcase our growth since we qualified for the Paralympics in March 2020."
Read more about their qualification here
Canada's national sitting women's volleyball team competes in a qualifying tournament in March 2020. They are currently ranked fifth in the world and will have a shot at a medal in Tokyo (Courtesy, Nicole Ban).
The anticipation has been building ever since – a period of time extended by a year due to the pandemic delaying the Games.
"The team is definitely ready to compete at these Paralympic Games a year later," said Ban. "It has been a difficult year with many ups and downs that came along with the pandemic, but we are excited to be at an international competition and have a chance to compete.
"We are feeling confident in the work that we have done to prepare and in the group that we have here."
Besides Ban and Peters, the team has several other MacEwan connections on the coaching staff. Assistant coaches Kate Rozendaal and Christine Biggs previously played for the Griffins, assistant coach Chelsea Hobbs was previously an AC with the MacEwan women's volleyball team and mental performance consultant Erin Brennan is also in that role with the Griffins men's team.
And when she returns from competing at the Paralympics, Peters will be an assistant coach with the Griffins women's volleyball team for the 2021-22 Canada West season.
"We definitely feel the support from the Griffins and especially from Ken Briggs and the coaching staff," said Ban. "With the pandemic, we haven't had a chance to meet a lot of the new Griffins, but we are excited for them to be cheering us on from Canada and to build those relationships when we get back."
