Sitting: Women Off to Perfect Start in Halifax

The Canadian women’s sitting volleyball is off to a perfect 3-0 start at the Tokyo 2020 Women’s Final Paralympic Qualification Tournament in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The team is looking to grab the 8th and final spot in this summer’s Paralympic Games in Japan.

Ranked 5th in the world, they are competing with 🇺🇦Ukraine (No. 4), 🇸🇮Slovenia (No. 13), 🇫🇮Finland (No. 14), and 🇩🇪Germany (No. 17).

Team Canada shakes hands with Team Ukraine after their 3-0 win on Thursday at the Canada Games Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

They opened the tournament on Wednesday with a clean 3-0 (25-10, 25-17, 25-15) win over 🇸🇮Slovenia in the first match of their double-header, before showing some grit in the primetime match against 🇩🇪Germany with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22) win after the first day.

Thursday brought a match up with the other tournament favourite, 🇺🇦Ukraine. The European squad defeated 🇨🇦Canada in Pool Play at the 2016 Rio Paralympics on route to a 4th-place finish, while Canada placed 7th; and finished one spot ahead (6th) of the Sitting Canucks 7th-place finish at the 2018 Sitting World Championships in the Netherlands.

This time was different though, as 🇨🇦Canada came out with a decisive 3-0 (25-23, 25-20, 25-21) win to put themselves in the driver’s seat.

They close out pool play tomorrow at 1:00pm AT against 🇫🇮Finland with a chance to secure the top seed in the semi-finals which will be played at 6:00pm AT & 8:00pm AT. The winners of each semi will face off in the 🥇Gold Medal final at 3:00pm AT with a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics on the line, while the losers will have to settle for a chance at 🥉Bronze, going down at 1:00pm AT.

If you’re in the Halifax area, all pool play matches can be attended for free, while tickets to the semi-finals and medal matches can be purchased here. Otherwise, you can check out the matches free of charge on cbcsports.ca.