The Canadian national men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams are at Brock University this week training for the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games starting Aug. 8.

Brock is the last stop in the journey to the Parapan Am Games for the Canadian men’s and women’s national wheelchair basketball teams.

The two teams are at the University this week making final preparations for the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games. The women’s team, which won the 2014 World Championship, is playing a series of exhibition games this week against Germany’s national team.

The first of four-consecutive games was held Tuesday night at Bob Davis Gymnasium, and although Canada lost 58-51, head coach Bill Johnson said the team accomplished what it needed to.

“The first couple of games we’re really focused on getting some people some specific situational experience, for instance, players who traditionally don’t play those spots,” Johnson said after Tuesday’s game. “We have one player who’s injured, but the other 11 players all played at least 10 minutes. We always play to win, but we’re really focused on individual preparation (Tuesday and Wednesday) and then the rest of the week we’ll focus on team preparation.”

Hamilton native Melanie Hawtin, who was on the team that won gold at the World Championships last year, said the training camp allows the women who don’t normally get to train altogether to do so.

“We’re just putting together the fine details and continuing to work on communication with each other and getting lots of court time with each other,” she said.

The 26-year-old, who trains at Wheelchair Basketball Canada’s national academy in Toronto, said the team isn’t feeling pressure going into the Parapans as reigning world champions.

“I honestly think its something you expect as a high-performance athlete. It’s what you train for every single day, so I don’t think there’s extra pressure. We’re ready,” she said.

While the women are playing exhibition games this week, the men are sticking with daily workouts both on and off the court for their training camp.

The Parapan Am Games, scheduled for Aug. 7 – 15, are crucial for both national teams as it’s their only shot at qualifying for the 2016 Paralymic Games in Rio. The Canadian men are the defending London 2012 Paralympic champions and must finish with gold or silver in Toronto to qualify for Rio. On the women’s side, Team Canada sits atop the world rankings as the reigning world champion, and must finish with a medal in Toronto in order to punch their ticket to Rio de Janeiro.

Additional women’s exhibition games against Germany will start at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night and are free for spectators.

The Canadian national men's and women's wheelchair basketball teams are at Brock University this week training for the Toronto 2015 Parapan Am Games starting Aug. 8.