Gold Medal Paralympians to Coach in BC Winter Games February 18, 2002 - North Vancouver's James Treuer and Vancouver's Marni Abbott will take to the basketball court as coaches not players at the BC Winter Games in Williams Lake February 21-24, 2002. Abbott, arguably one of the top wheelchair basketball players in the world, will coach zone 4 (Richmond/Burnaby) and will hope to improve on the bronze medal zone 4 won in Quesnel. "It's very exciting to see so many competitors at this level," says Abbott. "It bodes well for the future of wheelchair basketball in this province and eventually in this country." Treuer, a member of the Canadian National team bringing home gold in Sydney 2000, will coach zone 5 (Vancouver). Currently Treuer works for BC Wheelchair Sports Association concentrating on junior development. "These are our next generations of Paralympians," adds Treuer. "It's important for their development to be exposed to a multi-sport environment at such a young age. The BC Winter Games experience accomplishes this for us." Zone 3 will be coached by Vancouver's Ross MacDonald who currently trains with the provincial team with aspirations of playing on Canada's national team. Twenty-four year old, MacDonald suffers from a disease called Dystonia. In layman's terms, it is a neurological disorder whereby MacDonald suffers from involuntary muscle spasms. But it hasn't stopped him from pursuing his dream to become one of the premier wheelchair basketball players in the country and it all started with the BC Games almost a decade ago. "I competed in the BC Games from 1993 to 1997," says MacDonald. "Those were important tournaments for me as I learned about my competitive spirit." The defending champion of the BC Winter Games is zone 8 (Prince George/Quesnel). Five players from this team are prepping for the Junior Nationals and Canada Winter Games. The tournament begins on Friday and finishes up on Sunday. The BC Wheelchair Basketball Society is a non-profit organization providing support to wheelchair basketball programs throughout British Columbia. Programs are offered to people who have physical disabilities and people who do not and to all age groups from four-year-olds to seniors. For more information, contact Carrie Linegar at the BCWBS Phone: 604.737.3138 Email: bcwbs@telus.net. BC Winter Games 2002 Williams Lake, BC Zone athletes & Coaches Zone 2 Mathew Ficocelli, Kelowna Julia Beraducci, Kelowna Jeff Bourne, Kelowna Rae Henderson, Vernon Miranda Chrisp, Vernon Chris Jung, Vernon Craig Dewolfe, Kamloops Annaliis Autio, Kelowna Sonja Gaudet (Coach), Vernon Zone 3 Marco Pasqua, Surrey Aaron Broverman, Surrey Bruce Reding, Langley Emily Herd, Surrey Chris McGladdery, Abottsford Chad Williams, Coquitlam Ross MacDonald (Coach), Vancouver Zone 4 Cameron Crosby, Ladner Cameron Knowles, Richmond Nick Konishi, Richmond Selvum Friesen, Burnaby Alicia Ratchford, Delta Sunera Samarakoon, Burnaby Sheldon Turner, Ladner Derek Zimich, Richmond Marni Abbot (Coach), Vancouver Zone 5 Matt Pregent, Vancouver Filip Kosel, Vancouver Gary Jaswal, Vancouver Peter Won, North Vancouver Oz Havusha, Vancouver Matt Healy, Vancouver Lisette Ruano, Vancouver Mandeep Gurm, Vancouver James Treuer (Coach), North Vancouver Zone 6 Arley McNeney, Victoria Heather Doty , Victoria Ryan Chisholm, Brentwood Bay Steve Bertrand, Victoria Mark Saunders, Lanztville Courteney Malek, Parkville Adam Laforest, Errington Chris Abbott, Parksville David Malek (coach), Parksville Zone 8 Curt Brownmiller, Quesnel Cory Gibson, Quesnel Avril Harris, Prince George Sheldon Jarvis, Prince George Mike Lougheed, Quesnel Dallas Sirois, Prince George Dakotha Sirois, Prince George Jon Vliengehthart, Quesnel Tanya Storey (Coach), Prince George