Pembroke – A local sitting volleyball star has finally made it to the podium on the international stage after her third consecutive Paralympic appearance with the Canadian team.

Jolan Wong is a pioneer of sitting volleyball, and her journey to finally medalling with the national team in Paris has been nothing short of spectacular.

She was born in the small town of Vermillion in Alberta and was an active athlete even after her diagnosis of bone cancer at age 13. She started playing sitting volleyball in 2008 when the sport was just starting out and relatively underground.

Having played for the traditional able-bodied team in high school with one other amputee, her coach at the time reached out to Volleyball Canada to see if there was an adaptation for athletes with a disability. To her surprise, she was thrilled to learn there was a chance for her to compete in high performance sport even after her leg was amputated, and the rest is history.

“We knew nothing about ParaSport,” Mrs. Wong said. “We didn’t even know the Paralympics existed. I went to the first ever sitting volleyball camp in Canada 16 years ago and I’ve been with the program ever since.”

Her first major tournament with the national team was the 2010 World Championships in Oklahoma, and they have been pushing the boundaries and climbing the ranks ever since. The sport has allowed her to tour the world and given her the opportunity to compete in Brazil, Japan, Peru, Great Britain, Germany and most recently Paris.

The team of 12 has made three Paralympic appearances so far and improved with each, placing 7th in their debut at the 2016 Games in Rio and 4th in the 2020 Games in Tokyo. They qualified for the most recent Games as runner-up for the 2023 World Cup in Cairo and would return to the 2024 Games in Paris with something to prove.

They won their first match of the preliminary rounds against Team Slovenia by a landslide, completing a clean sweep in under an hour on the court. They suffered a hard-fought defeat in their second match, falling 3-1 to team Brazil, but bounced back to win their third and final preliminary round match against Team Rwanda.

Advancing to the semifinals, they faced off against the undefeated Team China but suffered the same fate as their adversaries. They entered the finals ready to set the record straight, going on to win against Brazil and taking what would have been their third straight bronze medal.

Mrs. Wong’s presence on the court is often impossible to overlook since as the team’s Libero she is the only player to wear a different-coloured jersey and follows a specific set of rules. But her presence off the court is just as important. In addition to being a decorated Paralympian, Mrs. Wong is also a mother of three kids, ages 14, 11 and one.

She said the best part of this year’s Games was easily the fact it was the first time she was able to bring her whole family along. She said her biggest fan is her daughter, who tags along to not only all of her local training sessions but also the monthly trips to Edmonton.

Head Coach Nicole Ban is the only other team member who’s been around for nearly as long as Mrs. Wong. Having joined back in 2015, she was all on her own, but fast forward to 2024, and the squad has an additional two assistant coaches, a team manager and a physiotherapist.

On top of her bronze medal and already prestigious record with the Canadian team, Mrs. Wong has amassed a collection of accolades for being the top-ranked player in different positions. She’s been named Best Receiver at the Parapan American Games and Best Libero on three occasions, including the latest Paralympics.

“It’s been a grind, to say the least,” she said. “To see where we started 16 years ago, and now we’re on the podium; it’s been a pretty incredible journey.”

Sitting volleyball is similar to the regular game with a few exceptions. The court is a bit smaller, the net is lowered, and players must keep their lower body in contact with the floor when hitting the ball.

But don’t get the wrong idea. It is every bit just as challenging if not more than the regular variation. It demands excellent physical fitness and immense core strength, and its pace is explosive, especially at high levels of play.

Mrs. Wong said her sweet success isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and that there’s a good amount of behind-the-scenes work in order to keep the cogs turning.

While she’s called Pembroke home for over a decade, she still commutes to Edmonton for monthly training camps. The team isn’t centralized either, and while most members are local to Alberta, they’re spread out as far as Montreal and Victoria.

“Hosting athletes, sleeping in basements of friends and family members wherever we’re having our training camp,” she elaborated, “Hosting our own fundraisers constantly in order to get where we are.”

She said the program’s overall growth in the past decade has been something of a Catch-22 since the team needs funding to perform on the world stage but needs to do well in order to get that funding.

“About half of us grew up playing volleyball, no worries. But for half of us we said, ‘you’re athletic, you’re missing a leg, let’s teach you a new sport’!

“It’s not an easy task being on a Paralympic team,” she remarked. “We’re taking a lot away from our jobs and families to be able to fly out to Edmonton once a month to train and be together and keep living this dream.”

Once in Paris, the team held two customary three-hour practices daily, abiding by a system Mrs. Wong described as “Eat. Sleep. Train. Repeat.”

Off the court, she coaches volleyball and makes speeches at schools as an ambassador for ParaSport Ontario. Those looking to book Mrs. Wong as an athlete ambassador to teach sitting volleyball can contact the Chair of ParaSport Ontario, Joe Millage at emtjoe@rogers.com.

City Will Honour Athlete

The City of Pembroke will honour Mrs. Wong with a Key to the City to recognize her tremendous accomplishments in sport.

Mayor Ron Gervais will present the key to her during the Pembroke Lumber Kings game at the Pembroke Memorial Centre (PMC) this Sunday.

“Jolan Wong is an inspiration to everyone Mayor Gervais said “She works hard not only to be strong on the court, but also be strong in the community, and serve as an incredible role model to everyone around her. I am honoured to recognize and celebrate Jolan.”

The presentation of a key to an individual by a municipality is the highest honour that can be bestowed. It is a beloved symbol of civic recognition and gratitude reserved for individuals with the highest level of achievement.

The community is invited to celebrate this event. After her presentation, she will drop the puck to kick off the 2 p.m. game. She will also be available at intermission in the PMC Activity Room for photos and a meet and greet.