A pair of moose crashing through her windshield on a highway in Ontario may have altered the course of Erica Schmutz鈥檚 life, but nothing will alter her resolve for Rio 2016.
鈥淥h yeah, that [sa国际传媒鈥檚 wheelchair rugby silver medal at the 2012 London Summer Paralympics] is the motivating factor,鈥� said Schmutz.
鈥淲e know we can do it [win gold at the next Paralympics in Rio].鈥�
That quest begins this week during a national team training camp at Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence on the Camosun College Interurban campus, in preparation for the 2014 world championships test event this June in Denmark, the site of the 2014 worlds.
At the entrance to PISE are large posters of some of the more noted Olympians who train there, such as Simon Whitfield, Paula Findlay, Ryan Cochrane, Dave Calder and Riley McCormick. Included is a poster for the wheelchair rugby Paralympians, who have made PISE their training home.
Wheelchair rugby, immortalized in the blistering 2005 Academy Award-nominated feature documentary Murderball, is a co-ed sport. Schmutz and Miranda Biletski are part of the Canadian squad with Schmutz a trailblazer who became the sport鈥檚 first female medallist by winning bronze with sa国际传媒 at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.
鈥淪ome countries don鈥檛 give female players the time of day,鈥� said Schmutz, whose accident occurred in 2000.
鈥渟a国际传媒 has always been more accepting,鈥� added the 40-year-old, who is back on the team after being the first alternate for London 2012.
The newly-installed captain of the Canadian team is veteran international Trevor Hirschfield of Parksville. The Islander was named Sport sa国际传媒 disabled athlete of the year in 2012 for his role in leading sa国际传媒 to the silver at the London Paralympics behind the victorious Aussies.
鈥淏eing named captain of a national team is a big honour,鈥� said the Oceanside hockey product, who was a BCHL Junior A prospect with the Cowichan Valley Capitals, before a car accident in 2000 while visiting his grandparents in Sicamous.
鈥淚 have big shoes to fill because some truly influential players have held the captainship before me,鈥� added the 29-year-old Ballenas Secondary graduate.
鈥淚鈥檓 a lead-by-example guy. If I don鈥檛 ask the best from myself, how can I expect that from my teammates? If I work hard, everybody else will, too.鈥�
It is a tradition that the rookies sing O sa国际传媒 before scrimmages, as they did Wednesday night at PISE. The rendition was a little off key, but still sounded wonderful in its own way.
鈥淐ome Rio in 2016, that鈥檚 what we want to be singing atop the podium,鈥� said Hirschfield.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what these next three years are all about.鈥�
