Para sport update: Canada advances to quarterfinals at wheelchair rugby world championships

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Canada won its last two games in the preliminary round Thursday to earn a berth in the quarterfinals at the wheelchair rugby world championships.

The Canadians defeated the Netherlands 44-42 in the morning then New Zealand 40-38 in the late afternoon to finish the prelims at two wins and three losses. That pulled Canada from last in Group A to third place.

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Canada, seeded sixth, faces number-four Great Britain in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1:30 p.m.

You can watch the World Championship live on the WWR YouTube channel.

Sheffield leads Canadian results at Para Dressage World Championships

Paralympian Roberta (Bert) Sheffield led Canada with a fifth-place finish as four Canadian riders opened competition in Para dressage Wednesday and Thursday at the integrated World Equestrian Championships in Aachen, Germany.

Sheffield, who now resides in Lincolnshire, U.K., scored 68.569 per cent with Nardando, owned by Jolanda Brugman, in Grade II Para Grand Prix A, the individual final and first qualifier for the Grand Prix Freestyle. She overcame a small error on course to finish fifth.

Another Paralympian Jody Schloss of Toronto scored 70.208 per cent with her own El Colorado to place 10th in Grade I.

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“He was really good. In the beginning he was shaking his head, but as he progressed he was listening to everything I asked,” said Schloss.

Laura Hall of Ladysmith, B.C., and Istrano scored 66.194 per cent to place 13th in Grade IV, while Eleonore Elstone of Langley, B.C., and Szecrecy HP scored 66.692 per cent to place 16th in Grade V.

Australia to host second Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Championships

World Para Ice Hockey announced Friday that the second Women’s Para Ice Hockey World Championships will be held in Newcastle, Australia in November 2026, joining five confirmed nations, including Canada, for the second edition of the tournament.

The six-team championship will be held Nov. 24-29 at Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Newcastle. Canada, the United States, Norway, Great Britain and host Australia have confirmed their participation, with a sixth spot available until Sept. 15.

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The tournament follows last year’s inaugural championship in Dolny Kubin, Slovakia, where the United States defeated Canada 7-1 in the final. Norway won bronze.

‘’The championship is a key step in the development of women’s Para ice hockey and toward its potential inclusion in the Paralympic Winter Games program,’’ wrote World Para IceHockey in its news release.

‘’World Para Ice Hockey has identified hosting a second women’s world championship as a requirement to apply for consideration of a women’s tournament for the Alpes 2030 Paralympic Winter Games.’’

Para ice hockey has been an open-gender sport at the Paralympic Winter Games since 2010, but only four women have competed. Japan’s Akari Fukunishi was the most recent, competing at the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.