Olympic Qualification Spot on the Line as TO2015 Releases Water Polo Schedule

Great tickets still available to see Team Canada compete

TORONTO, June 17, 2015 /CNW/ - Today, the TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) released its full schedule for both men's and women's water polo, giving fans the chance to snap up tickets for intense matchups between top teams from the Americas, including Canada, the United States and Brazil.

The men's competition will be intense as teams can qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games by winning a gold medal.

"We know our main adversaries in the Americas quite well for having played them on several occasions in the recent past. Obviously the rivalry with the USA is historically strong," said Alex Beslin, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Canadian men's water polo head coach. "We are often competing for a sole spot through continental qualification events and our games together are always heated. The stakes are high for this tournament and we are leaving no stone unturned as we wrap up the final weeks of preparation to be ready to compete for the Olympic berth at these Pan Am Games."

Canada has won medals in every water polo event since the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg. The water polo events at the Guadalajara 2011 Pan Am Games netted the same podium results for the men and women: the U.S. won both events, Canada took home two silver medals and Brazil captured two bronze. Competition between the three rival countries will be fierce.

The Canadian women will be out for vengeance against the U.S. after narrowly missing a qualification spot at into the London 2012 Olympic Games after a 27–26 loss in a gold-medal-game shootout at the 2011 Pan Am Games.

"The Pan Ams are definitely a key milestone in our preparation and also a pretty unique opportunity to showcase our sport right here in Canada," said Johanne Bégin, TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games Canadian women's water polo head coach and two-time Pan Am Games medallist. "Our team is honoured and excited to play at home. We have a lot of friends and family travelling over to support us and we are prepared to fight hard through all the games on this schedule as we compete for the gold medal."

This summer's water polo competition will kick off on July 7 (before the Pan Am Games officially begin) in the 50-metre Olympic-sized swimming pool in the newly built Atos Markham Pan Am/Parapan Am Centre.

Tickets for the preliminary rounds of the water polo tournament will give fans a great 3-for-1 deal. A single ticket to any preliminary match means they can see three games within the same session. Tickets start at $20 and can be purchased at TORONTO2015.org/tickets. Buying a ticket for the final session means the chance to see both the bronze- and gold-medal games.

"The water polo competition will be a great preview of the intensity and excitement to come to the region," said Saäd Rafi, chief executive officer, TO2015. "Let's fill the stands and chant our national anthem loudly and proudly. Get your tickets for water polo and all of the other great sports."

Women's water polo teams will be divided into the following pools:

Group A	Group B
Mexico	Canada
United States	Venezuela
Cuba	Puerto Rico
Argentina	Brazil

The men's teams will be divided into the following pools:

Group A	Group B
Ecuador	Brazil
United States	Venezuela
Cuba	Mexico
Argentina	Canada

Canada's women's water polo schedule:

Tuesday, July 7 vs. Brazil at 12 p.m. (WP001)
Wednesday, July 8 vs. Venezuela at 12 p.m. (WP003)
Thursday, July 9 vs. Puerto Rico at 12 p.m. (WP005)

Canada's men's water polo schedule:

Tuesday, July 7 vs. Brazil at 6 p.m. (WP002)
Thursday, July 9 vs. Venezuela at 6 p.m. (WP006)
Saturday, July 11 vs. Mexico at 6 p.m. (WP008)

The women's and men's water polo semifinal matches will be held on Sunday, July 12 (WP010) and Monday, July 13 (WP012). The bronze- and gold-medal matches will be played on Tuesday, July 14 (WP014) and Wednesday, July 15 (WP016).

Alex Beslin, head coach of the Canadian men's water polo team andJohanne Bégin,head coach of the Canadian women's team, will be available to media during a teleconference call at 11 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, June 17. The call-in details are: local: +1.647.723.3981; toll-free: 800.747.5150. Please use access code 9572012.

To view the full men's and women's TORONTO 2015 Pan Am water polo tournament schedule, visit TORONTO2015.org/0/water-polo-schedule.

To purchase tickets, visit TORONTO2015.org/tickets.

The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am Games ticket program is designed to be affordable and accessible for everyone by offering:

Integrated tickets: Every event ticket will allow the holder to access transit on the day of the event.

Affordable pricing: Tickets start at just $20, with 75 per cent of tickets priced $45 and under.

Half-price tickets for persons under 16 years of age, or 65 and over: Tickets will be offered at a 50 per cent discount— some will start at $10. The number of discounted tickets is limited, so buy early.

Tickets for Parapan Am sporting events will range from $20 to $35 for adults, with a youth (under 16) and senior (65+) discount from $10 to $12.50 available, depending on the event. The number of discounted discount tickets is limited, so don't delay.

Easy options for buying: Tickets can be purchased online at TORONTO2015.org/tickets or at 1.855.726.2015 and internationally at 1.949.333.4824.

About TO2015

The TORONTO 2015 Pan American Games will take place July 10–26 and the Parapan American Games August 7–15. The TORONTO 2015 Games are funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, as well as Lead Partner CIBC and other partners and sponsors

The TORONTO 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games Organizing Committee (TO2015) is tasked with managing and delivering the Games. It is working to bring some of the world's best athletes and artists to Toronto and the Greater Golden Horseshoe region, giving Ontarians a unique chance to be part of the action, and making the region a hub for sport.

For more information about the Games, please visit TORONTO2015.org or follow @TO2015, @TO2015_fr (French) or @TO2015_es (Spanish).

SOURCE Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games

For further information: Teddy Katz, Director, media relations and chief spokesperson, TO2015, 416.957.2117, [email protected]