Canadian Paralympic sitting volleyball athletes set high expectations for Paris 2024

After a strong showing in Tokyo, Team Canada's sitting volleyball team is setting their sights on the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

Based in Edmonton, the Paralympians are training for their first qualifier tournament next month in Bosnia.

The adapted game offers those with physical disabilities a chance to play volleyball. While the nets are lower and the court is smaller, the game's pace is actually faster than standing volleyball.

"Sitting volleyball is a really up-and-coming para-sport," explained Heidi Peters, a two-time Paralympic athlete who plays as an attacker.

Peters has been on the team since 2013, including being a member of the 2015 squad that made program history by qualifying for the Paralympic Games.

"It's wild to say I am a two-time Paralympian," Peters added. "I'm like literally living the dream."

She grew up playing standing volleyball. In Grade 12, Peters was diagnosed with bone cancer in her left leg and underwent chemotherapy. Despite the treatment, cancer led to the amputation of her leg below the knee.

After the operation, Peters recalled how difficult it was to find support or people with physical disabilities like herself after the operation.

"If I did know anyone with a disability, they were older," Peters told CTV News Edmonton.

As she completed recovery sessions at the Stollery Children's Hospital, Peters met Jolan Wong, now a fellow teammate who plays libero. That chance meeting gave her a renewed sense of hope as she joined the sitting volleyball program.

"Initially, it was just about having a family and playing volleyball again and belonging," Peters said. "But quickly, it became about winning and being competitive."

"(It became) a community, a family," she added. "Just like a bunch of women who all have physical differences."

"That was really powerful."

Heidi Peters sends a volleyball over the net as Team Canada takes on Japan in sitting volleyball on Sept. 9, 2021 (Source: Canadian Paralympic Committee).

After making Canadian Paralympic history and earning a berth for Rio 2015, the team went on to qualify again for Tokyo at the last chance World ParaVolley tournament in Halifax by going undefeated and winning the gold medal.

PUTTING THE SPORT ON THE MAP

Once in Tokyo after pandemic delays and being underdogs, Peters said the team played their hearts out.

A loss in the semi-finals pushed the team to compete with Brazil for the bronze. A tough loss netted the Canadian women's sitting volleyball players a fourth-place finish overall.

"It's probably one of the hardest things that I've ever gone through," Peters described. "Everyone's like, you're fourth in the world, that's great.

"It is awesome for the program, but it is also really hard to lose."

Heidi Peters serves a ball as Team Canada faces Rwanda in women's sitting volleyball (Source: Canadian Paralympic Committee).

On top of training, the sitting volleyball program helps spread the word about para-sport and opportunities for those with disabilities.

"When I was younger, I didn't even know the Paralympics were a thing, which is so sad because I was born with a physical disability," said Allison Lang, a Team Canada hopeful training to play as a middle.

"(We try to) put it on the map so that younger children that have physical disabilities don't feel excluded," Lang added. "They know that they have a place and can compete at a higher level."

The longterm hope is that para-sports popularity helps build a larger community for athletes of all levels, including recreation leagues.

"Para-sport is a great opportunity," Peters said. "We are trying to just grow the sport… and the awareness."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jessica Robb