(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Six 2012 U.S. Paralympic Team hopefuls will compete in the Montreal Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Canada this weekend.
Held in conjunction with the Defi Sportif, a 17-sport event held for disabled athletes from around the world, the Wheelchair World Cup is expected to draw athletes from 15 nations. Athletes will be competing for points on the World Ranking List that will be used in selection for the 2012 Paralympic Games.
A sixth-place finisher at the 2010 Wheelchair World Championships in saber, 15-year-old Catherine Bouwkamp (Fishers, Ind. / Category A) will be competing in both foil and epee this weekend. Bouwkamp earned the top finish for Team USA at the Malaga Wheelchair World Cup in Spain in March when she placed 10th in the foil.
Following two top-16 finishes at the event in Malaga, Ryan Estep (Florence, Miss. / Category B) also will be competing in both foil and epee where he hopes to earn his first World Cup podium finish.
While Bouwkamp and Estep are seeking to qualify for their first Paralympic Teams, Andrea DeMello (New York City, N.Y. / Category B) is a veteran of the 2008 Paralympic Team. As she did in Beijing, DeMello will compete in foil and epee in Montreal.
A three-time Paralympian, Mario Rodriguez (Ventura, Calif. / Category A) will compete in both foil and saber at the World Cup.
Competing alongside Rodriguez in the foil and saber will be Dennis Aspy (Woodstock, Ga. / Category A) who competed at his first Wheelchair World Championships in November after winning bronze at the 2010 Wheelchair National Championships.
Sonya Perduta (Phoenix, Ariz. / Category A) will compete in both foil and epee – the divisions in which she won silver medals behind Bouwkamp at the Wheelchair National Championships two weeks ago.
In addition to individual events, Perduta will compete in the women’s epee team competition with Bouwkamp and DeMello.
Competition begins on Friday and continues through Sunday with the schedule as follows:
Friday, April 29
8:30 a.m.
Men’s Foil A & B
Women’s Saber
1:30 p.m.
Women’s Epee A & B
Saturday, April 30
8:30 a.m.
Men’s Saber A & B
Women’s Foil B
1:30 p.m.
Men’s Epee A & B
Women’s Foil A
Sunday, May 1
8:30 a.m.
Women’s Team Epee
Men’s Team Saber
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