(Ottawa, April 1, 2007) The Canadian boccia team composed of Paul Gauthier, Alison Kabush and Monica Martino of Vancouver, who play in the BC3 pairs category, won the gold medal at the 2007 Cheshire International Boccia Tournament.
Canada won the final match 7-0 against one of the three teams from England; the same team that gave the Canadians the most difficult time in the round robin yesterday. "We had to work hard, the final score doesn't indicate the way the game went", say National Team Coach, Mario Delisle. "It was always very close, we cannot say we had an easy game".
In the semi-final earlier today, the Canadians faced the team who will represent Great Britain at the World Cup in Vancouver next month. They scored 5 points in the first end and coasted to a 6-3 victory. "The team didn't play well in the second end", said Delisle. "We took a time out after that and came back strong. The players responded well and it is good to go through that now".
"We really came together as a team when one struggled the other stepped up", said Kabush. "It was great to see some new competition and strengthen our skills as a team". Martino added: "It was a good tournament to prepare us for the World Cup and we worked together well as a team"
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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