Meanwhile, London 2012 champions Germany will be expecting to get off to a winning start as they face China, while hosts Canada take on Japan.

The Netherlands will also be a threat in Toronto and will be keen to get their campaign off to a winning start against Peru as they go in search of a first World Championship medal despite finishing on the podium at four Paralympic Games.

Twelve teams in all are due to take to the court at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto across eight days of competition and a total of 44 matches which will all be streamed live on the event website.

From June 20 to 24 the preliminary pool stages will be completed in a round-robin format.

Pool A contains the United States, Australia, the Netherlands, France, Mexico and Peru while Pool B is made up of hosts Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Brazil and Asian rivals China and Japan.

On Thursday June 26 the bottom two teams in each pool will play off to determine places eight to 12 while the other eight teams will do battle to see who reaches the semi-finals on Friday June 27, which will also see the losing quarter-finalists take part in consolation matches.

Competition on Saturday June 28 will get underway with two matches to decide places five to eight followed by the bronze medal match and then the gold medal showdown.

Reigning world champions the United States take on London 2012 silver medallists Australia in a tasty opening encounter ©Getty Images



The 2014 tournament will be the first time the Championships have been held separate from the men's since 1994,when the tournament took place at Stoke Mandeville.

Back then Canada won the first of four consecutive world titles sandwiched between wins for the United States at the inaugural women's World Championships in 1990 and the 2010 Championships in Birmingham.

Organisers, Wheelchair Basketball Canada and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) have announced that tickets for the event will go on sale later this month.

For a complete competition schedule of the 2014 Women's Wheelchair Basketball World Championships click here.

The release of the competition schedule coincides with the global celebration of International Women's Day tomorrow which recognises the economic, political and social achievements of women, as well as this year's theme of "Inspiring Change".

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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