What an incredible year it’s been for Dodgeball Canada! November 16th marks the 1st anniversary in which we became incorporated and I am in awe of how far we’ve come. With 15 league members across Canada, we are finally making great progress
in uniting the Canadian dodgeball community at large. What a response we’ve gotten from dodgeballers across Canada wanting to support and Play Together!
As Dodgeball Canada's Director of Programs, I had the privilege of running this year’s National Teams Program and I could not be more proud of our athletes who dominated the world stage at the 2016 WDBF World Dodgeball Championships in Melbourne, Australia. Our Women played a strong tournament and earned their spot in the championship game against Malaysia. Although they didn’t win, their heads were held high with a SILVER medal around their necks and an award for best and fairest player (kudos to Shauna Roe)! Our Men won 8 games of 9 in the round robin and went on to win GOLD in an overtime match against a very tough Malaysian team.
This program has exceeded beyond the expectations of the world and has brought Canada back to champion status. Our supporters both in Melbourne and back home showed that we are a team of a nation strong. We thank everyone from the athletes to those at home who supported us throughout the last year. Your comments, best wishes and generous gifts to support the team encouraged them to make you proud.
Dodgeball Canada congratulates the Australian Dodgeball Federation on hosting a phenomenal event and thanks the city of Melbourne for showing our athletes and support volunteers amazing hospitality. We had the time of our lives celebrating with you. We congratulate all the athletes and committee members that represented the participating nations of the WDBF. Thank you for entertaining us with your amazing talent.
On a personal note, I'd like to acknowledge my fellow board members of Dodgeball Canada, I cannot thank you enough for your service to our community. Your passion, professionalism and work ethic has excelled dodgeball in Canada to explode with excitement. I am so lucky to have such a great team to work with.
On behalf of Dodgeball Canada, I would like to thank Coach Victor Gravili. He has the ability to inspire greatness out of anybody. We thank you for the work you have done to bring this program back to a place where athletes are challenged to pursue personal and meaningful growth. We’d like to thank Jen Ritchie for her selfless leadership on and off the court to organize fundraisers to support this program and the community at large.
Thanks also to Assistant Coach, Michael Lasiuk and Team Assistant Coordinator, Christina Wong for their meticulous work in training and supporting our athletes; the media team (Steve Hickson, Graeme Morrison and Jessica Shmigelsky) for their work in showcasing our program; and to our ball retrievers (Spencer Sarault, Jon Wu, Danya Borenstein and Angelica Pudlico) who enabled our athletes to maintain ball control throughout the tournament. Finally, we’d like to thank Malcolm McMaster. His humour and assistance driving the team to where they needed to be (while on the left side of the road) really started the day off right for us. This team really pulled together to set a tone for the organization for years to come.
As I look back on this once in a life time experience, I feel so much excitement knowing that the cycle starts again soon and we look to continuing our legacy in 2017. TORONTO! Next year it’s our turn to put on a great show and welcome the world to our playground.
Who’s with us?
Bethel Lascano Vice President / Director of Programs DODGEBALL CANADA