In the News

Ontario Starts the Canadian Boccia Championships with Two Gold Medals

11 March 2011

Team Ontario got off to a golden start at the 2011 Canadian Boccia Championships, winning gold in the BC1/2 Team division and the BC4 pairs division.

In the BC4 division, the Ontario pair of Josh Vander Vies (Sarnia, ON) and Dale Stevenson (Ottawa, ON) led 4-0 going into the last end. New partners Jonathan Poulin (Montreal, QC) and Marco Dispaltro (St.Jerome, QC), put on the pressure in the final frame but came up a little short, eventually losing 4-3 in regular time.

Vander Vies was extremely satisfied with today’s result. “I’m coming into these championships knowing that it’s the deepest field we’ve ever had in this division, and I’m happy to start it off on such a positive note.”

In the BC1/2 team division, the Quebec side of Francois Bourbonniere (Montreal, QC), Sylvain Dupuis (Montreal, QC), Eric Lefebvre (Montreal, QC), Josée Lamothe (Trois-Riverieres,QC), was ahead for most of the game but Adam Dukovich (London, ON), Tammy McLeod (London, ON), Keven Smith-Worthylake (Ottawa, ON), David Van Hoek (London, ON) and Brock Richardson (Brampton, ON) managed to squeak through enough points to tie the game at 4-4 at the end of regular play. Quebec could not hold them off in the extra end, and Ontario pulled off their second gold medal win of the day.

Ontario coach Ed Richardson was very happy to repeat as gold medalists this year. “All our games were hard fought battles, and ultimately we prevailed. I’m very happy with the performance of all five players today.”

The BC3 pairs division also included some close matches. The British Columbia pair of Paul Gauthier (Vancouver, BC), Alison Kabush (Surrey, BC) and substitute Corrine Badry (Fort. St. John, BC) fought off an early challenge from Ontario’s Anam Ahmed (Brampton, ON), Kevin Shaw (Ottawa, ON) and substitute Russell Cecchini (Ottawa, ON), holding on to a narrow 4-2 win in their opening game. They made no mistakes against Quebec challengers Martin Dubois (Gatineau, QC), Bruno Garneau (Montreal, QC) and substitute Francois Gonthier (Quebec City, QC), winning the gold medal with a score of 7-1.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport open to athletes with cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injury, stroke or similar conditions. All competitors compete in wheelchairs and some are permitted to use assistive devices (usually a ramp or chute to aid in delivering the ball). Only athletes with a severe disability are eligible to compete in boccia. Boccia is played in singles, team and pairs events. The 2011 Canadian Boccia Championships continues until Saturday, March 12th. Individual play begins tomorrow.

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) 890-1170
jennifer@ccpsa.ca  

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