BC1 and BC2 athletes Mike Mercer, Lois Martin, Kristyn Collins, Lance Cryderman, coach Ed Richardson, and Danik Allard (left to right) have been selected to the 2022 National Boccia Team after having competed at the So Paulo America Regional Championships in December
Ottawa, ON (February 7, 2022) Eleven athletes have been named to the National Boccia Team for 2022 including a mix of Paralympians and up-and-coming athletes on the hunt to qualify for the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Among the top Canadian athletes named is Alison Levine (Montral, QC), who made her last appearance in the newly established BC4 female-only division at the 2021 So Paulo America Regional Championships and retained her number one spot in world rankings for BC4 female.
2020 Tokyo Paralympians, Levine, Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC), Iulian Ciobanu (Montral, QC), and Marco Dispaltro (St.-Jrme, QC) make their return to the National Team. Other former Paralympians, ric Bussire (Verchres, QC), Lance Cryderman (Sudbury, ON), and Marylou Martineau (Qubec City, QC) are back on the team for 2022.
Paralympian, Ciobanu, explains that [being selected another time to the National Team] is a great achievement that I take with pride and responsibility. Being selected, several years in a row, shows that I continue to progress Reaching the highest level is a new beginning and we aim to stay there, at the top.
Many on the 2022 team began the Paralympic cycle at the So Paulo America Regional Championships in December 2021. Levine won gold in the BC4 individual female event and, alongside Ciobanu, captured gold in the BC4 Pairs. Bronze medals were awarded to Bussire (BC3 male), Dispaltro (BC4 male), and to the BC1/2 Team of Allard, Cryderman, and Kristyn Collins (St. Johns, NL)
Four fresh faces, although not new to the Canadian boccia scene that participated in So Paulo, have been named to the 2022 National Boccia Team including Collins in the BC2 category, Lois Martin (St. Johns, NL) in the BC1 category, BC2 athlete Mike Mercer (St. Johns, NL), and BC3 ramp athlete Jolle Gurette (Montral, QC). Collins and Martin both narrowly missed out on the podium at the America Regional Championships, making it to bronze medal games in their respective classes within the female category.
Martin was excited about being selected for 2022: When I started playing boccia ten years ago and went to my first national competition I was amazed by the skills of the National Team players Many balls later I am honoured to be part of Team Canada and have the opportunity to compete with skilled players from many different countries. This is an amazing opportunity and I am very excited.
Post-Tokyo, in effort to increase the number of female athletes, World Boccia, the International Federation for the sport of boccia, introduced new female divisions. These new female-only divisions apply to individual play only, while team and pairs will continue as mixed gender. The move effectively increases the total number of medal events at international competitions and Paris 2024, from seven to eleven.
Mario Delisle (Montral, QC), Head Coach, Boccia Canada explains, Even though there were two years without a change in the National Team given the context with the COVID pandemic, it was still our responsibility to proceed with an update for 2022. We have considered the new format of International events and have included more female athletes on the National Team. The group of athletes that was targeted by the Selection Committee for 2022 should allow Team Canada the possibility to attain good results at each event we go to.
Delisle is joined by coaches Csar Nicolai (Montral, QC), Simon Larouche (Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC) and Ed Richardson (Brampton, ON). Integrated Support Team (IST) members also play a key role with the National Team providing services such as sport psychology, physiotherapy, message therapy and other medical needs. Many of the IST practitioners are provided through a partnership agreement with the INS Qubec, a world-class training, science and sport medicine facility based in Montral.
The 2022 National Boccia Team are expected to compete at the Montral World Boccia Cup in April, the Pvoa de Varzim (Portugal) World Boccia Cup in July, and the Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) World Boccia Championships in December.
2022 National Boccia Team
BC1
Lance Cryderman (Sudbury, ON); Performance Partner: Danielle Cryderman*
Lois Martin (St. Johns, NL); Performance Partner: Jim Martin*
BC2
Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC); Performance Partner: Julie Renaud
Kristyn Collins (St. Johns, NL); Performance Partner: Blaise Collins
Michael Mercer (St. Johns, NL); Performance Partner: Cluney Mercer
BC3
ric Bussire (Verchres, QC); Performance Partner: Francine Hbert*
Jolle Gurette (Montral, QC); Performance Partner: Jonathan Manseau*
Marylou Martineau (Qubec City, QC); Performance Partner: Jose Duquette*
BC4
Alison Levine (Montral, QC); Performance Partner: Roberta Fried-Levine
Iulian Ciobanu (Montral, QC); Performance Partner: Sorin-Emilian Susan
Marco Dispaltro (St.-Jrme, QC); Performance Partner: Laura (Keiko) Leung
*Actively assists athlete during competition on the field of play in the BC1 and BC3 category only
About Boccia Canada
Boccia Canada is the boccia delivery arm of the Canadian Cerebral Palsy Sports Association (CCPSA), the National Sport Organization for the Paralympic sport of boccia. Boccia Canada is focused on providing athletes and individuals of all ages and skill with the chance to play a unique Paralympic sport. CCPSA collaborates with partners to increase the participation of Canadians with cerebral palsy and related disabilities in sport and physical activity, while leading, developing and growing boccia from grassroots, to producing World and Paralympic Champions.
About boccia
Boccia is a Paralympic sport of precision and strategy similar to lawn bowling or curling, played by athletes with Cerebral Palsy, Muscular Dystrophy and related disabilities. It is one of only two Paralympic sports that do not have an Olympic counterpart. Athletes compete in one of six sport classes based on their level and type of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3, BC4, BC5, and Open. For more information on boccia, visit www.bocciacanada.ca.