Canada's women's wheelchair rugby team set to debut at Women's Cup in Paris

A historic new chapter for Canadian wheelchair rugby is set to unfold in Paris this week, as Canada is sending a women's team to compete internationally for the first time ever.

The 10-woman roster will make its debut at the third edition of the Women's Cup, running March 9-11 at the Centre Sportif Émile Anthoine in central Paris.

The tournament, held every two years, is the lone international event for women on the wheelchair rugby calendar. It will also feature a squad from Great Britain, along with three teams compiled of players from across Europe, the United States, Australia and South Korea.

Wheelchair rugby is a mixed-gender sport at the Paralympic level, but there has been major growth in the number of female players in recent years. The 2022 world championships in Denmark featured a record 13 women, including three on the champion Australian team.

For Canadian women's head coach Kendra Todd, the 2023 Women's Cup marks a major opportunity to grow the women's game back home.

"I think it'll be monumental," Todd told CBC Sports. "I think there are a lot of women who could potentially play the sport of wheelchair rugby, but perhaps don't necessarily see themselves represented as often and perhaps view it as more of a male sport, and that there are less opportunities for participation."

Wheelchair rugby is a sport for athletes with a mobility-related disability in at least three limbs. It is played on a hardwood court, combining elements of handball, rugby and basketball.

Players are broken down into one of seven point classes (0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, or 3.5) depending on their functional ability. Higher classes are assigned to players with higher functional levels, while lower classifications are assigned to players with less functional ability.

To ensure teams have a balanced mix of athletes with different functional levels, The combined classification value of an on-court lineup (four players) cannot exceed eight points.

The Canadian women's roster features players from B.C., Ontario, Alberta and Quebec, with Mélanie Labelle and Erika Schmutz leading the way as players with national team experience.

Labelle is excited for the team's debut and the potential to introduce more women into the sport she loves.

"With my level of disability, sometimes it can look tough to start something or to imagine that you can play sports or that level of sports," Labelle told CBC Sports. "But when you get in the chair and you see that this sport is inclusive for your type of disability, it just clicks and you just want more."

WATCH | Mélaine Labelle aims to inspire young disabled athletes:

Schmutz is no stranger to making wheelchair rugby history, as she became the first woman to ever score a try at the Paralympics in 2008.