(London, March 8, 2011) The best boccia athletes in Canada will be in London, Ontario this week for the 2011 Canadian Boccia Championships.
Local Paralympian Adam Dukovich is looking forward to competing in front of a home crowd and earning the opportunity to improve on the bronze medal he won at the 2010 World Championships. “My goal for 2011 is first to make Team Canada, then to qualify any way possible for the 2012 Paralympics, and then to win gold at the World Cup” says Dukovich.
This year also marks the return of 2004 Paralympic Champion Paul Gauthier in the BC3 division. Gauthier has been away from the sport for a year following the birth of his son in 2010. He is gearing up for a run to his fifth Paralympic Games in London 2012.
“It’s been nice to have a different lens on the sport for a year, and then come back ready to give it my all. I still want that double gold medal that I was gunning for in 2008. I still believe I have the ability to do it, but the field in my division in Canada is looking really great. It will be a challenge to crack the national team line-up this year. I’ll have to take it one game, one competition at a time.”
Boccia is a Paralympic sport open to athletes with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke or similar non-progressive conditions. All competitors compete in wheelchairs and some are permitted to use assistive devices (usually a ramp or chute to aid in throwing the ball). Only athletes with a severe disability are eligible to compete in boccia.
The 2011Canadian Boccia Championships is being hosted by the London Cannonballs Boccia Club in partnership with the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association and the Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Association at the North London Optimist Community Centre.
The Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association (CCPSA) is an athlete focused national organization administering and governing sport opportunities targeted to athletes with CP and related disabilities. CCPSA and its provincial partners cooperate as a proactive force to facilitate the development of equitable and fair sporting opportunities for our athletes.
For more information:
Jennifer Larson
CCPSA
(613) 748-1430 or
(613)890-1170
