(Sheffield, England – June 25th 2010) – It took 20 minutes of regulation, two 3 minute overtimes, and then extra-throws, but the Swedish Women won the bronze medal with a 4 – 2 shootout victory over Canada on the final day of the International Blind Sports Federation’s (IBSA) 2010 Goalball World Championships.  On the men’s side, the Canadian Team ended their tournament on a high note, beating Slovakia 5 – 4 to finish the tournament in 9th place.

The Canadian Women’s Goalball Team battled the Swede’s right until extra-throws but were outscored in the tie-breaker.  They had previously handily defeated Sweden 6 – 0 when the two teams met in the round-robin.  However, the Swedes are the bronze medalist from the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, and the top international women’s teams are all very close in terms of skill.

“We are exceedingly proud of this young team,” commented Canadian Blind Sports High Performance Head Coach Janice Dawson and Women’s Coach Annie Pouliot. “They have struggled alongside us to rebuild this Goalball program, and together we are taking ownership of our Goalball destiny.”

China won the gold medal, USA the silver, and Sweden the bronze, while the Canadian Women’s Goalball Team improve their world ranking from 5th to 4th.

The Canadian Men’s Goalball Team finished their tournament on a high note by beating Slovakia 5 – 4 in the 9th / 10th place game.  Canadian Blind Sports Men’s Coach Danny Snow played most of the bench in the victory to give his players valuable international experience as the team moves forward.

"Today’s game was about showing we're able to win and that our pool dominated the results board this tournament,” said Coach Snow.  “That we won while playing our bench shows the depth of our program."

At the final ranking, positions 2, 3, and 4 were all occupied by teams from the decidedly tougher Pool A which put the Canadian Men at a disadvantage throughout the event.  Lithuania won the gold medal, while China won the silver, and Iran won the bronze.

The Canadian Men posted the same record as 7th place Algeria in the round-robin, however they did not advance to the quarter-finals as Algeria won the tie-breaker.

“Overall Team Canada showed strong progress towards our objective of Paralympic Gold in 2012,” said High Performance Head Coach Janice Dawson. “We went head to head with the best in the world showing we can play their game. With a bit more experience our teams will be ready to take those final steps to the top of the podium. Objectives we accomplished were solid game plan analysis, design and execution. We also controlled in game penalty situation without sacrificing offensive capabilities.”

Canadian Blind Sports is proud of our world class Goalball athletes, coaches, and support staff.  Congratulations to the Canadian Referees and Officials who were also selected for the World Championships.  The Canadian Goalball community has fantastic volunteers throughout the country, and we are proud to have them represented on the world stage.

The next major international Goalball event is the 2011 IBSA World Championships in Antalya, Turkey from April 1 – 11 where the teams will play to qualify for a berth in the 2012 London Paralympic Games.  Follow our teams in their quest for the top of the podium in 2012 through www.canadianblindsports.ca.

The Canadian Blind Sports Women’s National Goalball Team for the 2010 IBSA Goalball World Championships is:

Amy Kneebone (Resides: Ottawa, ON / From: Charlottetown, PEI)
Nancy Morin (Longueil, QC)
Whitney Burk (Ottawa, ON)
Shawn Marsolais (New Westminster, BC)
Cassie Orgeles (St. Catharines, ON)
Jillian MacSween (Resides: Brantford Ontario / From: Halifax, NS)
High Performance Head Coach Janice Dawson (Calgary, AB)
Women’s Coach Annie Pouliot (Gatineau, QC)

The Canadian Blind Sports Men’s National Goalball Team for the 2010 IBSA Goalball World Championships is:

Mario Caron (St-Eustache, QC)
Brendan Gaulin (Resides: Vancouver, BC / From; Montreal, QC)
Bruno Haché (Dorval, QC)
Doug Ripley (New Westminster, BC)
Jeff Christy (Ottawa, ON)
Simon Tremblay (Val-Bélair, QC)

High Performance Head Coach Janice Dawson (Calgary, AB)
Men’s Coach Danny Snow (Calgary, AB)

Canadian results will be available daily, and a final recap of all the action will be available at the tournament’s end at www.canadianblindsports.ca.

The official website for the event is www.worldgoalball2010.com.  Results are being posted regularly through the event’s Twitter account at http://twitter.com/worldgoalball.The Audio Sports Network’s Bill Teale will be providing live play-by-play throughout the event at http://pressakey.net/wc2010/ .  More information about the Paralympic Sport of Goalball is available at www.canadianblindsports.ca with a short promo video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Sjoe5yD7TI.

Canadian Blind Sports is the recognized national sports organization for Goalball in Canada and advocates within the sport system on behalf of Canadians who are blind / visually impaired. Goalball is a fast-paced, Paralympic sport played by athletes who have a visual impairment or who are blind.  Played three on three, on a volley-ball size court, players track the ball by sound as they throw and defend blistering shots upwards of 80 kilometers per hour.

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For more information on the Canadian Blind Sports Association please visit: www.canadianblindsports.ca.
For more information please contact:
Matt Morrow
Participation Director /
Communications
Canadian Blind Sports / Sports Aveugles Canada
#325 - 5055 Rue Joyce Street,
Vancouver, BC V5R 6B2  Canada
Telephone/ Téléphone : 604 419-0480

Toll Free / Sans frais: 1-877-604-0480

Mobile / Cellulaire: 604 812-6786
Fax/ Télécopieur : 604 419-0481

www.canadianblindsports.ca / www.sportsaveuglescanada.ca