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Summer Universiade: Canada sends four pairs to inaugural beach volleyball tournament
July 6, 2011
OTTAWA (CIS) – Canadian Interuniversity Sport, in conjunction with Volleyball Canada, announced Wednesday the student-athletes and team personnel who will represent Canada in beach volleyball at the 26th Summer Universiade in August in Shenzhen, China.
Beach volleyball will make its world university games debut in Shenzhen and Canada was allowed to enter the maximum of two pairs in both the women’s and men’s 32-team tournaments.
On the women’s side, the Canadian squads are comprised of Kristina Valjas of Toronto and Caleigh Whitaker of Sharon, Ont., as well as Becky Billings of Ottawa and Kristina Vlcek of Toronto.
On the men’s side, Simon Fecteau-Boutin of Lévis, Que., will team up with Cameron Wheelan of Barrie, Ont., while François-Guy Allaire of Notre-Dame-du-Laus, Que., will play alongside Michael Plantinga of Langley, B.C.
Valjas (Toronto), Billings (Queen’s), Vlcek (York), Wheelan (Wilfrid Laurier) and Plantinga (Alberta) are all current or former indoor players in CIS.
Canada 1 (Valjas-Whitaker) will compete in Pool C in the women’s preliminary round against the Czech Republic, the Ukraine and China 2. Canada 2 (Billings-Vlcek) will battle Slovakia 1, Poland and Japan in Pool F.
In the men’s prelims, Canada 1 (Fecteau-Boutin-Wheelan) is grouped in Pool C with Germany 1, the Netherlands and Indonesia, while Canada 2 (Allaire-Plantinga) is set to face USA 1, Russia 2 and Thailand in Pool H.
The men’s final is scheduled for Aug. 18, with the women’s gold-medal match following on Aug. 19.
Valjas has competed in five FIVB World Tour Opens over the past two years, with her best results being a pair of 33rd-place finishes in Shanghai (2011) and Sanya (2010), China.
Whitaker, a York University student, teamed up with Valjas at the 2011 Shanghai Open and is a veteran of two FIVB under-21 world championships in 2010 (19th) and 2009 (9th), as well as one U19 world championships in 2008 (9th).
Billings placed eighth at a NORCECA Beach Circuit tournament played last September in California and Mexico.
Vlcek was 29th at the FIVB U19 world championships in 2009.
Fecteau-Boutin, who studies at Laval University, is a former Canadian U24 champion whose international experience includes the 2010 FISU world university championships (17th) and the 2009 Francophone Games (4th).
Wheelan finished fourth at a NORCECA Beach Circuit tournament in Mexico in 2010.
Allaire, also a UQAM student, was Fecteau-Boutin’s teammate at the 2009 Canadian U24 championships, the 2010 FISU world university championships and the 2009 Francophone Games.
Plantinga took 25th place at the 2010 FIVB U21 championships.
Heading the eight-athlete Canadian delegation in Shenzhen will be coach Dolphin Kasper of Vancouver and team leader Lennard Krapp of Thornhill, Ont.
Kasper is a development coach at the National Beach Volleyball Practice Centre and helped Canada to a ninth-place finish at the 2010 youth world championships in Portugal.
Krapp is Volleyball Canada’s beach head coach. His extensive experience includes leading the Canadian men to gold and the women to silver at the 2011 NORCECA Olympic qualification tournament (central zone phase), coaching the duo of Garrett May and Sam Schachter to gold at the 2010 U21 world championships, and guiding a Canadian pair to gold and another to bronze at the 2009 Francophone Games. Between 1993 and 2008, he also led numerous national teams from his native Germany to medals at youth and junior world championships.
TEAM CANADA
ROSTER
Team Name University Hometown
CAN1 Kristina
Valjas Toronto Toronto, Ont.
CAN1 Caleigh Whitaker York Sharon,
Ont.
CAN2 Becky
Billings Queen’s Ottawa, Ont.
CAN2 Kristina Vlcek York Toronto,
Ont.
CAN1 Simon
Fecteau-Boutin Laval Lévis, Que.
CAN1 Cameron Wheelan Laurier Barrie,
Ont.
CAN2 François-Guy
Allaire UQAM Notre-Dame-du-Laus, Que.
CAN2 Michael Plantinga Alberta Langley,
B.C.
STAFF
Position Name Affiliation Hometown
Coach Dolphin Kasper Volleyball
Canada Vancouver, B.C.
Team leader Lennard Krapp Volleyball
Canada Thornhill, Ont.
UNIVERSIADE
POOLS:
The Universiade men’s beach volleyball tournament will run
from August 13-18, while the women’s tournament will run from
August 14-19. The detailed schedules will be announced at a later
date.
WOMEN
Pool A: China 1, Israel, Slovakia 2, Brazil 2
Pool B: Germany 1, Russia 2, Thailand 2, Mexico
Pool C: Czech Republic, Ukraine, China 2, CANADA 1
Pool D: Germany 2, Estonia 1, Thailand 1, USA 2
Pool E: Brazil 1, Norway, Italy, Philippines
Pool F: Slovakia 1, Poland, Japan, CANADA 2
Pool G: France, Russia 1, Hong Kong, Costa Rica
Pool H: USA 1, Estonia 2, Spain, Switzerland
MEN
Pool A: China 1, Israel, Japan, Costa Rica 1
Pool B: Germany 1, Czech Republic, Oman, Australia 1
Pool C: Germany 2, Costa Rica 2, Indonesia, CANADA 1
Pool D: Poland, Russia 1, China 2, Australia 2
Pool E: Brazil 1, Spain, Ukraine, Mexico
Pool F: Brazil 2, Italy, Thailand 2, Egypt
Pool G: France, Norway, Hong Kong, USA 2
Pool H: USA 1, Russia 2, Thailand 1, CANADA 2
-CIS-
