Wheelchair basketball players from province make national teams

Two wheelchair basketball players from Newfoundland and Labrador will be representing Canada at international competitions this summer.

Liam Hickey, 17, will be competing in Ontario, and Danielle Arbour, 19, will be travelling to China.

Hickey, who currently plays for P.E.I. in the Maritime Wheelchair Basketball League, is the first person from the province to make the men's national wheelchair team, and is tied for the youngest person to ever be selected.

He said he'll never forget when he got the news that he'll play at the Parapan Am games in Toronto this summer.

"The two head coaches told me that they wanted me on the team and it was huge — I didn't really expect it," he said.

"I was going to the tryout more for personal experience and it turned out for the best."

Second player heading to China with women's team

Another elite wheelchair basketball player from the province, Danielle Arbour, was selected to play on the junior national women's under-25 team.

This summer she'll be competing with that team at the world championships in Beijing, China. 

"We don't have a team from Newfoundland so I didn't expect to progress so fast," she said.

"When my coach told me I was so thrilled."

Nothing less than gold

Both players say the Canadian teams are expecting nothing less than gold medals in the tournaments. Neither are afraid to admit they are nervous going into the world competitions.

"Right now the nerves aren't kicking in as much, but a few weeks before they definitely will," said Hickey.

"We're hoping we can bring home the gold," said Arbour. "I'm very nervous, it's my first international tournament — so it's a lot of pressure."