Andrea Nickerson shows off the gold medal she won in wheelchair basketball at the Canada Winter Games Feb. 21 in Red Deer. Joining her is her family (L-R) Judy Burns, Chad Nickerson and Melissa Nickerson.
Local wheelchair basketball phenom Andrea Nickerson is back from the 2019 Canada Winter Games with more golden hardware to add to her collection.
Nickerson, 16, was a part of Team Alberta at the winter games, held Feb. 15 to March 3 in Red Deer, which went undefeated on its way to the gold medal match Feb. 21 against Team Ontario.
“It was great. Our team really bonded and our coaches were so encouraging. It was just so amazing,” said Nickerson upon her return from Red Deer.
The Alberta team put down Newfoundland with ease, 65-17, then took care of British Columbia 64-26. They went on to play against Team Ontario, winning by five, 59-54. Team Nova Scotia was their last test of the round robin and they took care of them as well, 66-30.
Nickerson and her team took the perfect record into the semi-finals against New Brunswick and came out with the 56-37 win to earn their place in the gold medal round against Ontario, who they beat once already in front of a reportedly raucous home crowd.
“It was really emotional,” said Nickerson. “It was unreal, there were so many other teams supporting us, it was awesome.”
Nickerson started the majority of the games, including the final, which Team Alberta went on to win by a long basket, 51-48.
“It was really intense because they’re a very strong team. A lot of them are from the Toronto Academy. It was so intense and it was so close the whole game through,” she said. “It feels awesome.”
Nickerson is already well-acquainted with gold medals, having earned one at the Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s 2018 Junior National Championship in Quebec last March. She went through two selection camps before she was chosen for the provincial team two months ago, at which point she could start training with her new team.
“It was pretty stressful, I didn’t know I would get picked. I just trained really hard.”
Nickerson thanked her family for their support and for staying for the entirety of the tournament.
Up next, the R.F. Staples student is going to be training for her chance at appearing in an upcoming Paralympic Games. She’ll be attending training camps in Toronto in the coming months, provided she is invited, which she thinks she will be.
