(Ottawa, March 13, 2007) The Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sport Association (CCPSA) is pleased to announce the selection of the national boccia team for the 2007-2008 season. The team of ten athletes in three divisions will be competing in the CP-ISRA 2007 Boccia World Cup, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia May 10 - 19.
The Canadian team will be lead by double Paralympic medalists, Paul Gauthier, from Vancouver, BC, and Alison Kabush, of Surrey, BC in the BC3 division. In this division, players use ramps to throw their balls. They will be joined by Monica Martino, of Vancouver, BC. Tammy McLeod, and Adam Dukovich, of London, ON; and, Hanif Mawji of Burnaby, BC; will be the leaders for the BC1-BC2 team. New recruit Brock Richardson of Brampton, ON, and former team member Francine Desrochers of Montreal, QC returns to round out the National Team. Josh Vander Vies, of Sarnia, ON, and Jonathan Poulin of Montreal, QC will be the Canadian representatives in the BC4 category.
National program head coach Mario Delisle is pleased with this year’s team: « We have a great mix of experienced veterans, and young talented athletes who could represent Canada for many years to come. » says Delisle. « We are confident that we have a well-blended team and great team chemistry that will really push the team to demonstrate their talent on the court. »
The team hopes to profit from a home crowd in Vancouver to secure the maximum number of berths at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing. “It is clear that the group of athletes who are playing at the Boccia World Cup have the ability to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games and I am confidant that we will succeed in completing this mission”, says Delisle. Monique Camirand is his assistant -coach.
CCPSA also named its Espoir Team. Eric Lefebvre, of Montreal, David Van Hoek of London, ON, Chris Halpen of Victoria, BC, Martin Pichette of Longueuil, QC and Francois Bourbonniere of Montreal will form the BC1-BC2 team. Bruno Garneau of Montreal, Martin Dubois and Mathieu Marcil of Gatineau, QC will be the BC3 Espoir Team. Dale Stevenson of Winnipeg will be the sole competitor in the BC4 Category. They will be coached by Cherie Cunningham of London, ON.
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.
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For more information
Dominique Tremblay
CCPSA
(613) 748-1430
(819) 360-6333
Dominique@ccpsa.ca
