The documentary "Can't Stop/Won't Stop" follows Canadian wheelchair rugby athletes including co-captain Ian Chan as they train for the 2008 Beijing Paralympics. Wheelchair rugby was created in Winnipeg over 30 years ago to provide quadriplegics an alternative to wheelchair basketball. The documentary will air on OMNI stations on September 20th to celebrate Canada's role in developing the sport and its participation in the upcoming 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships in Vancouver. It was independently produced and funded by OMNI Television's independent production initiative.

1. For immediate release:
MEDIA RELEASE
OMNItv.ca
Canadian Documentary on OMNI Television
Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop
English language version airs Sunday, September 20th
Countdown to 2010 World Wheelchair Rugby Championships
August 31, 2009, Toronto, ON – With one year to go until Vancouver hosts the 2010 World
Wheelchair Rugby Championships, OMNI Television is proud to celebrate Canada’s
participation in the game – and Canada’s role in its development – with the airing of the
independently produced documentary, Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop to audiences in BC, Alberta
and Ontario.
The English language version of Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop will air on OMNI stations, Sunday,
September 20th
as follows:
OMNI time
• Vancouver, Victoria – OMNI in BC (CHNM-TV) 8:00PM PT
• Calgary – OMNI in Calgary (CJCO-TV)
10:00PM MT
• Edmonton – OMNI in Edmonton (CJEO-TV)
• Ontario – OMNI.1 (CFMT-TV) 9:00PM ET
From Toronto-based JR6 Productions, Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop follows Ian Chan and other
elite Canadian Wheelchair Rugby athletes as they work for the chance to compete at the 2008
Beijing Paralympic Games.
Chan, co-captain of the Canadian Wheelchair Rugby team, was introduced to the sport as part
of his rehabilitation, following a motorcycle accident that left him a quadriplegic at age 15. The
documentary’s title, Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop refers to a mantra Ian Chan repeats to himself
while training and is the motto for his life.
“I’d worked with Paralympic sports and Paralympic athletes previously and yet it was
“Murderball,” an American film on Wheelchair Rugby that sparked my curiosity to know more
about what is actually a Canadian invention,” says Joe Recupero, Producer/Director/Writer of
Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop. “The need for this story to be told was obvious -- and fortunately,
OMNI Television came to the table with 100% funding from their Independent Producers’
Initiative. Without their assistance this project would not have been possible.”
Wheelchair Rugby was created and developed in Winnipeg over 30 years ago. A group of five
quadriplegics led by Ian Chan’s recreational therapist and mentor, Duncan Campbell, began
“chucking a volleyball around at each other” (hence the name “Murderball”) as part of their
physical rehabilitation. They used volleyball and some of the rules from rugby, basketball and

2. hockey to come up with an alternative to Wheelchair Basketball -- which requires a level of
hand function that many quadriplegics do not have.
“Can’t Stop/Won’t Stop tells a story of triumph over adversity in a real-life Canadian context
that reflects diversity in its many facets,” says Madeline Ziniak, National Vice President of
OMNI Television. “OMNI is pleased to support Joe Recupero’s project for its inspirational
portrayal of Canada’s spirit, athleticism and ingenuity, especially as we count down to the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.”
The next big challenge for Ian Chan and his teammates will be September, 2010, when the
world's top Wheelchair Rugby players from 12 countries come to Vancouver to battle for the
World Wheelchair Rugby Championships at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop was exclusively funded through OMNI's Independent Producers
Initiative, a $32.5 million independent production fund that to date has supported over 200 new
documentary programmes. Interested producers can access funding criteria at OMNI
Television’s web site www.OMNItv.ca .
About OMNI Television
OMNI is a free, over-the-air multilingual/multicultural television system committed to positive
portrayal and broadcast reflection of Canada’s diversity through the airing of inclusive and
accessible programming. With five stations -- in BC; Alberta (Calgary and Edmonton) and
Ontario (OMNI.1 and OMNI.2) – OMNI is available to more than 16.5 million people in major
market areas. As well as specializing in Canadian multilingual/multicultural programming,
OMNI carries well-known International series and films – including East Asian Super Cinema
and South Asian Bollywood Freetime Movies. OMNI Television is a part of Rogers Media Inc.,
a division of Rogers Communications Inc. (TSX: RCI and NYSE: RCI) which is a diversified
Canadian communications and media company.
About the Producer/ Director/Writer
Joe Recupero has been actively involved in the television industry for more than 20 years.
He’s worked at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on network news and current affairs
shows such as Midday, The Journal. From news he went to CBC TV Network Sports, where
he produced and covered a number of Olympics and other international competitions. He was
also a documentary Producer for CBC TV Network Sports and News and Current Affairs,
developing such projects as The Life and Times of Sandra Schmirler and The Circus is in
Town: Fifty Years of Hockey Night in Canada. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is his first project as an
independent producer.
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To secure a screening copy of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, photos for print or to interview anyone
associated with its production please contact:
OMNI Media Contact:
Sandy Zwyer – Programme Information Coordinator, 416-260-3590
sandy.zwyer@rci.rogers.com