For Release; May 24,2010

Kamloops, BC---Greg Stewart has had a memorable 2010 and the year is not even half over. The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack basketball player was first named the Canada West Defensive Player of the Year.

Now, he has been selected for a third tour of duty with the Canadian
Men’s Sitting Volleyball Team. The 7’2” Stewart is in Calgary to
prepare for the first ever World Championships in Oklahoma which take place the second week of July.

“We have two more camps in June before the Championships, I’m very excited.” He says.

Stewart is one of ten players on the National team, who are directed by Ian Halliday. He has played with the club at the last two Pan Paralympics Games. Canada placed third.

“This is volleyball unlike any other,” he says. “ The nets a lot shorter, the court is a lot smaller. You are sitting on the floor. By far, this is the hardest volleyball I have ever played.”

And that is saying something. Stewart played high school volleyball at South Kamloops in the late 1990’s and on the National Standing volleyball squad . He has also played CIS volleyball for a time two years ago with the WolfPack before switching over to basketball.

Stewart is optimistic of Canada’s chances at the World Championships. “ I think they look promising. I’m not saying we will finish number one but we have a very talented team. A lot of the guys have volleyball backgrounds. We have a lot of depth. It’s all about experience. We are a young team. We just have to go out and explore how we play together.”

Training for this event has taken him off his routine in preparing for the 2010-11 Canada West basketball season. “ There are some similarities,” he explains. “You have to be quick in both sports but basketball involves more cardio work. You still have to be in shape. This volleyball involves a lot of upper body work—moving yourself around. You definitely get tired at the end.”

Stewart hopes that the experience this summer with the National Team will help him become more of a leader when he steps onto the basketball court with TRU in the fall.
“I’m sure they will be looking for me to kick them in the butt, when its needed,” he said. “Although whether it be basketball or volleyball, everyone needs to rely on each other to be successful.”

For more info


Larry Read
Sports Information Officer
Thompson Rivers University
900 McGill Road, P.O. Box 3010
Kamloops, BC, Canada V2C 5N3
(250) 377-6117 (office)
(250) 371-5672 (fax)
lread@tru.ca
(250) 819-5255 (blackberry)