Canada Basketball announced the 20 athletes invited to attend a Senior Women鈥檚 National Team virtual training camp this week.
Former Kalamalka Secondary Lakers standout Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe is on the list released Feb. 1.
As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the team was last together just over a year ago in Ostend, Belgium, where they swept their group at the FIBA Women鈥檚 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belgium with a 3-0 record to qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. 鈥岰anada has successfully qualified for three consecutive Olympic Games, dating back to London 2012.
鈥淭here have been tremendous individual and collective efforts made by both our athletes and staff, as they continue to diligently work together throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,鈥� said Women鈥檚 High Performance director Denise Dignard.
Raincock-Ekunwe was part of the Canadian team that finished seventh at the 2016 Rio Olympics and was on the squad that helped Canada qualify for the 2021 Games in Tokyo, originally scheduled for 2020 but cancelled due to the pandemic.
COVID-19 hasn鈥檛 prevented athletes from connecting virtually with coaches and staff to continue their development and training over the course of the past 12 months. This camp will be yet another important opportunity for the team to connect, build chemistry and continue preparations ahead of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
鈥淚鈥檓 so excited to get together with our players and staff this week,鈥� said Canadian head coach Lisa Thomaidis. 鈥淲e have an incredible group of people on this team who have displayed genuine dedication and commitment to our teams鈥� growth and improvement during this time.
鈥淲e鈥檝e had to take a different approach to our Olympic preparation process than we had originally anticipated but I know our hard work is going to pay off.鈥�
Raincock-Ekunwe, who helped the Lakers win the B.C. High School Girls AA basketball title in 2009, is taking a second year off from the WNBA鈥檚 New York Liberty to focus on helping Canada at the Olympics. She is currently playing professionally in Europe.
The Tokyo 2020 Women鈥檚 Basketball Tournament is scheduled for July 26-Aug. 8, 2021. Canada is one of 12 qualified teams that will be divided into three groups of four teams each. The Group Phase will be played in a round-robin format, with each team playing the other teams in the group once. The teams placed first and second in each group and the two best third-placed teams in the Group Phase qualify for the Final Phase.
The draw for the Tokyo 2020 Women鈥檚 Basketball Tournament is set for Tuesday, Feb. 2 in Mies, Switzerland.
Prior to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Canada will also participate in the FIBA Women鈥檚 AmeriCup 2021 from June 11-19, 2021. This event is one of four Women鈥檚 Continental Cups, which will qualify 16 teams for the FIBA Women鈥檚 Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments from Feb. 6-14, 2022. The top three teams from each Qualifying Tournament will advance to the FIBA Women鈥檚 Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Australia.
Canada鈥檚 Senior Women鈥檚 National Team remains ranked fourth in the FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike.
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