‍TORONTO (June 14, 2024) – Canada Basketball announced Friday the 15 players attending Senior Women’s National Team training camp in Victoria next week as the team continues its preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“We’re looking forward to getting back together next week in Victoria as we continue to improve daily both individually and as a team,” said Víctor Lapeña, Head Coach of Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team. “This training and competition window not only allows us the opportunity to challenge each other in practice but also face a strong international opponent in Portugal as we build toward the Games.”

During this phase of pre-Olympic preparation, Canada will train at the Centre for Athletics, Recreation and Special Abilities (CARSA) on the campus of the University of Victoria from June 16-29. 

Canada will face Portugal’s women’s national team in a W’Hoop It Up exhibition game on June 26, 2024 at 7 p.m. PT (10 p.m. ET), at the Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Tickets for the game are on sale now at www.selectyourtickets.com. All bowl seats are $27 (plus s/c), and floor seats are $65 (plus s/c).

This is the second consecutive summer the team will train in “The Garden City” after hosting the Rim2Rim exhibition series last summer against Japan in Victoria, which set a record for the largest home-game attendance with over 4,600 fans.

“After playing professionally around the world, having the opportunity to represent Canada at home in front of friends and family is always such a meaningful and unforgettable experience for our Senior Women’s National Team athletes,” said Denise Dignard, General Manager / Executive Vice-President Women's High Performance. “On behalf of Canada Basketball and our Senior Women’s National Team, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Rifflandia Entertainment Co. Inc., the entire local organizing committee and our supporters in Victoria for arranging this training camp and exhibition series, as well as delivering a first-class experience for our team.”

While in Victoria, Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team athletes and staff will also participate in several community visits and engagement events to connect with local basketball fans and youth from the surrounding area.

Before this phase, Canada Basketball’s Women’s High Performance program opened its Paris 2024 Olympic Games preparations with a training camp in Edmonton, home of the Senior Women’s National Team since 2013.

Following Victoria, the team will depart for Europe in early July as they continue their preparation with training camps and exhibition games scheduled in Belgium and Spain. 

Laeticia Amihere, Bridget Carleton, Aaliyah Edwards, and Kia Nurse will not participate in this preparation phase as the WNBA is in season.

Canada was drawn into Group B for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and will face hosts France (July 29, 11:15 a.m. ET / 9:15 a.m. MT), Australia (August 1, 7:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. MT) and Nigeria (August 4, 7:30 a.m. ET / 5:30 a.m. MT).

The 12 teams were divided into three groups (A, B, and C), each playing all other teams in its group (a total of three games for each team). The teams placed first and second in each group, and the two best third-placed teams in the Group Phase will qualify for the Final Phase. The top four teams in each group will advance to the quarter-finals, and the winners will advance to the semifinals and medal round.

In February, Canada went 1-2 at the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2024 in Sopron, Hungary, to successfully qualify for their eighth appearance in the tournament since women’s basketball debuted at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.  

Paris 2024 will be the women's team's fourth consecutive Olympic Games appearance and the first time in 24 years that Canada’s women’s and men's basketball teams will compete together in an Olympic Games. It will also be the first time three basketball teams will represent Canada, as the 3x3 women’s national team will make its Olympic debut after the sport was added to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.  

Canada’s Senior Women’s National Team is ranked fifth in the FIBA World Ranking Women, presented by Nike. The rankings were updated following the conclusion of the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.