World class pole vaulters will take flight at FIBA 3X3 Challenger

Under normal circumstances, basketball players soar to heights that the average human can only watch with awe.

But when these high-flying athletes come to the West Edmonton Mall Ice Palace this weekend, they may finally meet their match.

As part of the FIBA 3X3 Challenger event in Edmonton, Athletics Alberta will present a pole-vaulting showcase featuring Canada’s top competitors and hosted by three-time Olympian hurdler and Edmonton native Angela Whyte., on Sunday from 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.

Reigning Canadian champion Deryk Theodore, last season’s U Sports champ Meghan Lim, and 2019 Canada West gold medalists Spencer Allen and Rachel Hyink are among the participants. They are joined by Paige Cocks, Kathryn Van Ryswyk, and Robyn Webster in a lineup of international-calibre vaulters.

In what promises to be a unique and spectacular sight, vaulters could soar in excess of 5 metres at one end of the converted rink, opposite the court where the world’s top 3X3 competitors will be throwing down gravity-defying dunks all weekend long.

The 2019 FIBA 3X3 Challenger Edmonton runs Saturday and Sunday, with a field that includes seven of the top 15 teams in the current FIBA World Tour standings. The championship final will tip off at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday. For the Challenger schedule, teams, and all other info visit https://worldtour.fiba3x3.com/2019/challengers/edmonton.