UTSC welcomes Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s new year-round training academy

After winning Gold in London last year, Canada intends to continue its wheelchair basketball domination, opening a revolutionary training academy to recruit and train elite athletes for the men's and women's teams at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC). The new academy is financed by Canada's Own the Podium program, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario. The academy will open this July in UTSC's current athletics activity, and intends to move into the Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre when the new facility opens in September 2014. "This innovative training program designed to nurture Canadian talent at home is a great fit with UTSC," said Scott McRoberts, director of athletics and recreation. "We're thrilled to welcome Wheelchair Basketball Canada to our campus. Our students will gain leadership opportunities through internships, and will be immersed in the team experience." UTSC has long been heralded as a leader in providing an accessible university campus, with highlights including a wheelchair tennis program and serving as a training space for the national wheelchair rugby team. Providing a home to the academy furthers the Department of Athletics and Recreation's commitment to supporting equitable programming.