Canada Basketball U16 Women's National Team Assessment Camp coming to Edmonton

Canada Basketball has announced the 20 athletes invited to the U16 Women's National Age-Group Assessment Camp that will take place at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton from March 27-31.

Head Coach Cheryl Jean-Paul (Trinity Western University) will be joined by assistants Nate McKibbon (Mount Royal University) and Tamara Tatham (University of Toronto), while Fabienne Blizzard (Capital Courts) will serve as an apprentice coach.

“We are excited to welcome back the athletes to our U16 camp and looking forward to Edmonton’s great hospitality as our host city,” said head coach Cheryl Jean-Paul.  “Working towards the FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship 2019 is a great opportunity, both for our staff and for this age group, so we are anticipating a competitive yet learning environment.”

“Most of the athletes have now experienced a camp, so it will be exciting to witness their growth over the past few months as we build up our understanding and team play leading into this competition,” Jean-Paul said.  “Representing one’s country is such a huge honour and this group will do a great job from what we have already seen in December and throughout the past few months.”

The objective of the camp is to provide a national training environment with international focus to top identified athletes born in 2003 and later.  Players will continue to be evaluated by national team coaches and technical staff for the purposes of identifying those who will be invited to the represent Canada this summer.

“Our Canadian women’s high performance program is excited to be back in Edmonton to continue growing the sport expertise in the community as well as inspire the Next Generation of participants and leaders in sport,” said Denise Dignard, Director, Women's High Performance.  “Our national staff will provide technical leadership during coaching clinics and make connections through school visits and other activities during our week in Edmonton”.   

“Edmonton is a fantastic city for sport and we are grateful to our partners at the City of Edmonton, Alberta Basketball Association, Edmonton Events, Saville Community Sports Centre and the University of Alberta for their continued support," Dignard said.  "We are looking forward to our collective efforts to build fun, healthy and safe opportunities through the sport of basketball."

Canada Basketball and Alberta Basketball are also hosting coaches clinics on both March 30^th (Saville Community Sports Centre) and April 1^st (St. Albert Catholic High School). Registration for both events is now open and interested coaches can book their spot via Game Plan.

Fans are also invited to come out to the Saville Community Sports Centre on Sunday, March 31^st to cheer on Canada as the team will be holding an open scrimmage from 9:30 am - 11:30 am.

In addition, Canada Basketball staff will be visiting Riverbend Junior High School, John D. Bracco Junior High School, Sturgeon High School and St. Albert Central High School on April 1.

Athletes born 2003 or later will be assessed for their participation on the U16 team, competing at the FIBA U16 Women's Americas Championship 2019 in Aysen, Chile.

A full list of athletes and coaches can be found below. Assessment camp is closed to the public.

2019 U16 WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM ASSESSMENT CAMP COACHES & STAFF