In the News

Dispaltro off to a Blistering Start at the 2011 Canadian Boccia Championships

14 March 2011

It was a busy day of competition at the 2011 Canadian Boccia Championships today. Rookie Marco Dispaltro got off to a blistering start in the BC4 division, winning all four of his matches and giving up just three points to his opponents. It was a terrific way to begin for the athlete from St.Jerome, Quebec, who took up the sport less than a year ago.

“(National coach) Mario Delisle spoke to me about trying boccia in 2009 but I was busy with wheelchair rugby and other things. Finally last year I got classified, threw a few balls and it felt pretty good. A week later I started practicing and fell in love with the sport. Boccia requires a lot of focus and relaxation, which is different than rugby, but I also find the rugby attitude is good to have in boccia. Rugby is very aggressive, and I like to bring some of that to my boccia game.”

Local Paralympians Adam Dukovich and Tammy McLeod gave London boccia fans something to cheer about today at the Canadian Boccia Championships. Dukovich finished the day undefeated at 2-0, while McLeod’s record sits at 2-1. Her only loss was to fellow Londoner Dukovich.

“We seem to meet in the first round of every competition we go to, so we’re used to it. Some days I win, some days Adam wins. Today it was his turn, but I’m happy with how I played.”

Veterans Paul Gauthier (Vancouver, BC), Alison Kabush (Surrey, BC) and Bruno Garneau (Montreal, QC) also got off to a good start in the BC3 division. All three athletes went undefeated in pool play. Kabush allowed just two points to be scored against her so far. According to Kabush, the secret to her success today was remaining focused and relaxed.

“I stayed with my strengths, kept the games where I could control them and used my opponent’s balls to my advantage. My goal this year was to stay calm and enjoy myself and at the same time play hard and I feel like I did that today.”

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. Individual play finishes tomorrow at the North London Optimist 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) 890-1170  

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