(Ottawa, October, 6 2006) Canadian athletes won 7 of 12 matches on the first day of individual competition at the 2006 Boccia World Championships which are being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Paralympic gold medalist, Paul Gauthier of Vancouver, BC led the way with an easy 19-0 victory against Yibran Cortes Pacheco of Mexico. “It was a good first game”, said Gauthier. “I was able to place my balls at different spots on the court and I was very successful”. In other BC3 games Alison Kabush of Surrey, BC and Monica Martino of Vancouver, BC easily won their respective games.
In the BC2 category national team veteran Tammy McLeod of London, ON showed her potential with 8-1 victory against Angel Acosta Flores of Mexico. Fellow Canadian Adam Dukovich of London, ON was not as lucky losing a close game against Maciel Desouza Santos of Brazil. Rookie team member, Nathan Moss of Victoria, BC had a much more difficult day losing both his matches and will have difficulty advancing to the elimination round.
In the BC4 category both Canadian athletes had a strong start. Jonathan Poulin of Montreal, QC won his first game of the round robin 10-3 against Emmanouil Mourtos of Greece. Josh Vander Vies of Sarnia, ON, followed in the footsteps of his partner by winning 8-3 against Zamokwakhe Magwaza of South Africa. Finaly in the BC1 category Hanif Mawji of Burnaby, BC split both his games. Fellow Canadian David Van Hoek of London, ON lost his only game of the day against Erich Mecl of Austria..
“I’m really happy with this first day”, said National Team Head Coach, Mario Delisle. “The athletes responded well under pressure and it is a good way to start the competition” The finals of the individual competition will be held on Tuesday followed by the pairs and team competition on Thursday. This is one of the largest boccia competitions ever organized; present are more than 200 athletes from 30 countries
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 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
