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OTTAWA, Canada, June 24, 2022 - Commonwealth
Sport Canada (CSC) and Volleyball
Canada today announced the athletes who will
represent Team Canada in beach volleyball at the
2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England,
taking place July 28 to August 8, 2022.
Four athletes from two teams (one per gender)
make up this year’s Commonwealth beach
volleyball Canadian team, including the
defending Games
gold medalists Melissa Humana-Paredes and Sarah
Pavan.
“I am really excited to return to compete in the
Commonwealth Games, especially after having won
the inaugural beach volleyball event in Gold
Coast 2018,” said Pavan, whose team went on to
win the 2019 World Championship
and finish fifth at the 2020 Olympic Games. “It
is great that we will have the chance to defend
our title and to represent Canada in such a fun
and unique multi-sport games environment.”
Humana-Paredes echoed her teammate’s
message: “The Commonwealth Games in Australia
was such a blast and very well organized, so
when we had the opportunity to go again this
year to Birmingham, we were very excited.
Multi-sport games like the Commonwealth Games
are always a great opportunity to experience
such a grand environment.... It gives us a
chance to put work into practice, and we are
looking to defend our title of course!”
The pair just recently won
a gold medal on the Beach Pro Tour in Latvia and
competed at the World Championship in Rome,
where they finished fifth.
The men’s team is Sam Schachter, who earned a
silver at the 2018 Games with Sam Pedlow,
and his new partner, Dan Dearing, who will be
experiencing his first Commonwealth Games.
“I am thrilled to be returning to the
Commonwealth Games. It was such an amazing
experience and it is always an honour to
represent Canada on the international stage at a
multi-sport games,” said Schachter. "There will
be a lot of pressure having already won a medal
at the
Gold Coast Games, but this year we are looking
to improve on the silver and compete to bring
home the gold for Canada."
With such great results in 2018, Team Canada
is excited to see Canada go for gold in 2022. "The
Canadian beach volleyball teams excel
worldwide," says Scott Stevenson, Executive
Director, Team Canada 2022. "We look forward to
our teams again challenging for the top of the
podium in Birmingham this summer."
These Games mark the second time that beach
volleyball is included in the program. The Canadian men’s
team will be facing teams from Gambia, St Kitts
& Nevis and Sri Lanka in pool A; and the
women will go up against New Zealand, Kenya and
Ghana also in pool A. The
tournament will be held from
July 28 to Aug. 8 at the Smithfield venue, which
also host the basketball 3x3 competitions.
Birmingham 2022 will feature 19 sports
and eight para-sports as part of its program
with up to 4,500 athletes taking part. The
Commonwealth Games are the only multi-sport
event that feature equal standing for sport and
para-sport events, and these 2022 Games will
showcase the largest para-sport program ever. In
addition, for the first time in its history, the
Games will feature more medal events for women
(135) than men (133). |
