BARRHEAD-Going into the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, the Canadian Sitting Women's Volleyball Team had one goal. And that was to improve on their previous performance in Rio Janeiro, Brazil, where they placed seventh in a seven-team tournament.
Which they did in spades, in Toyko, Canada finished just outside the medals losing to China in the semi-finals.
And now that the team has touched success, 27-year-old Neerlandia native Heidi Peters said the team wants to continue to build on that success and become a perennial medal contender at events like the Paralympic and the World Championships in the years to come.
"After the Paralympics, my teammates and I are hungrier than ever. Coming out of Tokyo, we know we can contend and win medals," she said. "I honestly believe that, and I want to be part of that. I have no plans to retire."
Peters has been part of the Canadian Sitting Volleyball Team since 2013. She joined the team after undergoing treatment for osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. As part of her treatment, her left leg was amputated. She was 16.
It was during her treatment that Peters met Jolan Wong, a player on the Canadian Women’s National Sitting Volleyball program. Like Peters, Wong lost her leg to osteosarcoma. It was Wong, who is still part of the national team, who first suggested that Peters try out for the national sitting volleyball team.
Since joining the team, Peters has competed in international events such as the 2015 and 2019 Parapan Am Games, the 2016 Paralympic Games and 2016 Intercontinental Cup, 2017 ParaVolley Pan Am Zonal Championship and the 2020 World ParaVolley, in Halifax where she helped the team secure their Tokoyo appearance. Canada won the tournament. Peters was the tournament's top scorer.
Before leaving for Japan, Peters and the rest of the team met in Edmonton for one final training camp (Aug. 8 to 12) and to go through their COVID-19 testing protocols. Edmonton has become the unofficial home base for the Canadian Sitting Volleyball program.
From there, they flew to Japan and were transported to Shiwa, a small city of about 33,000, about eight hours drive north of Toyko and the Olympic village.
They stayed at a motel that had a volleyball court gym attached to it for about seven days to get acclimatized to the weather and get over, their extreme jetlag due to the 16 hour time difference (Tokyo is 16 hours ahead of Alberta).
"It was a great place to hold a staging camp," Peters said. "We all separate rooms and we were the only ones there. We practised every day and there was nothing to distract us from getting ready."
They then moved to the Olympic village, where they were for about five days before their first match.
Canada's first match was against Brazil, which Peters was probably their best game of the Paralympic tournament.
"I think it was the longest match of the tournament. We played a three-hour match, losing in five sets," she said, adding Brazil is probably Canada's biggest rival.
After taking the first set 25-21, Canada lost the next two 26-24 and 25-20, respectively. They then rebounded, winning the fourth set 29-27, before losing the deciding set 17-15.
Peters led the way offensively, scoring 21 points. Peters ended up being the tournament's top scorer.
"Losing sucks, but so having such a hectic hard-fought game was a good way to kick of the tournament," she said. "It gave us a lot of confidence, knowing we could compete against a world power."
Going into the games, Brazil was ranked third in the world behind China and the U.S.
In their next game, two days later, they defeated Italy in four sets, winning the first two sets, 25-16 and 25-14, before losing the third set 25-18. They then rebounded, taking the final set, 25-18.
"The win against Italy was huge. After Brazil, they might be our biggest rivals. As a team, to that point, it might have been our biggest win, and it was really important to us," Peters said.
Peters once again was the top scorer with 34 points.
In their final round-robin game against the host team, Japan, Canada won in three sets, 25-19, 25-15 and 25-20. Peters again led the offence with 20 points.
"It was closer than we would have liked. We did not execute as well as we would have liked. I think the pressure of knowing that we needed to win affected us," she said.
The win set Canada to play China in the semi-finals. Canada lost in three sets.
Defeating China, a perennial world powerhouse, would have been a major upset and one Peters said they knew they were unlikely to be able to pull off.
"We were starting to realize that we could play with the top teams in the world, but to make the next step, it requires that next level of execution and mental management that I don't think we were ready for on the bigger stage," she said. " They (teams like China and the U.S.) are used to being in those matches and games and are comfortable, while we are just breaking into the top tier."
In the bronze medal game, Canada once again faced Brazil.
Peters said while they were confident they could play with them, as demonstrated in their first game, they were not prepared mentally for the style Brazil played.
"We knew they were going to come out differently because they always do," she said. "They are very good at game planning and have an unorthodox structure, ... they don't have a set setter, and are very good at ball control because every player can do any skill. It took us too long to adjust and get a grip on what they were doing."
What it was like in the athletes' village
Due to COVID-19, the Paralympic experience was different from any previous games or competitions the Canadian team has ever experienced.
"In (Rio Janeiro), when we played against Brazil in our opener there were thousands of people in the crowd, so it was really different to play in front of no one," Peters said.
She said to make things worse is knowing that people in Canada could not watch any of their games.
"We were really disappointed about that, especially when there were no fans in the crowd," she said.
However, Peters added because of pressure from people on social media, CBC extended their streaming coverage to show Canada's round-robin games.
"That was huge for us, knowing that we would have a stream and that our family and friends would be watching us, gave us a big boost," she said.
Outside of practice and competition, Peters said athletes were limited to what they could do.
"We did no sightseeing. When we were in Shirwa, we were not allowed to leave the motel except for this little patch of grass in front of the building because we were in our own bubble," she said.
In Tokyo, Peters said it was a similar situation, adding they were not allowed to leave the village.
"The dining room was two levels with lots of room to spread people out. The seating area was all individual booths plexiglass off, with lots of gloves, plastic utensils, sinks and sanitiser stations to wash your hands, It was all well done. We felt very safe," she said.
Peters added although there was a common entertainment area for countries and depending on the sport and when an athlete's competition was, some athletes did take advantage of it. However, she said, the sitting volleyball team, being a team sport, opted for caution and did not mingle at all.
"It was just the 16 of us the whole time," Peters said, adding the only exception was their final day after their competition was complete.
She noted that Team Australia's building was next to theirs, so on their final evening before leaving for home, they were able to hang out with some of their athletes.
What's next
The Canadian Women's Sitting Volleyball Team will start their preparations for the World Championships, scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China in May.
Peters said for a sitting volleyball athlete, in some ways the World Championships are a "bigger deal" than the Paralympics as there is more competition, noting at the Worlds there are usually 16 to 20 teams compared to eight at the Paralympics. They are worth more points towards the world rankings.
The team have a series of mini-training camps scheduled in Edmonton in January, February and April. She also noted that in March, they plan to go to Boston for a series of exhibition matches against the U.S. and in May, before they leave for the world championships, there will be an extended 10-day camp in Edmonton or China.
"I'm just so excited to be able to continue to be part of this team and keep playing. We have such a bright future. It is only up from here," Peters said.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
