UNITED STATES QUAD RUGBY ASSOCIATION
June 2003
Inaugural North America Cup A Success
On Saturday, June 14th the
United States faced off against it's northern neighbor for the inaugural
North America Cup. This elite sports competition, organized by US
Paralympics and
the
Lakeshore Foundation, was between Canada and the United States, and pitted
each countries National men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams as
well as wheelchair rugby teams
against each other.
The US and Canada are powerhouses in each of the sports featured. Both are currently ranked either number 1 or number 2 in the world, and should be top medal contenders for Athens in 2004. While world rankings would not be affected by this competition, it did provide a good chance for the long time rivals to size each other up.
The format for the day was simple, there would be three games played - one for each sport. At stake was the chance to win up to $10,000 in prize money as each games win was worth $2,500. A sweep of all three games would earn the country that pulled it off a $2,500 bonus.
Men's wheelchair basketball was up first and unfortunately for the US, things didn't go well. Canada showed up strong and raced out to a 10 point first quarter lead and never looked back. The American team could not find their mark and hit only 39% of their shots for the day. The final score was 67-52, Canada.
On the women's side, results similar to the previous game unfolded early. The US was always within striking distance of the Canadian ladies, but were never able to even the contest after the first quarter. The US connected on only 30% of their field goals and 26% of their free throws, which helps to explain the loss.
The last event of the day would be wheelchair rugby. The US had just finished tryouts the day prior and really wanted to win to stop the potential sweep. The game got off to a furious defensive start for the US, who forced their northern neighbors to use 3 timeouts in the first period. As each of the first 3 quarters ended the score was tied up, however it was the Americans who seemed to have the momentum. The final eight minutes caused frustration for the Canadians as the US's determination wore them done. The final score was 29-25, USA.
US Paralympics presented Team Canada with a $5,000 check and $2,500 to the USA to share. It was great to have the support of the Lakeshore Foundation and backing of US Paralympics in order to allow the North America Cup to happen.
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