Boccia Canada’s Team BC1/2, including Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC), Lance Cryderman (Val Caron, ON), and Kristyn Collins (St. John’s, NL) lost in the quarterfinals to Brazil, ending their event at the Sao Paulo World Boccia Cup.

Opening the pool play, Canada started by beating Croatia by a resounding 9-2 score, providing redemption from their loss against the Croatians in overtime in Coimbra, Portugal at the Paralympic Qualifier earlier in the year. In Sao Paulo, the win against Croatia was followed by a 7-0 loss to Indonesia. Still with a 1-1 record, Canada cemented their spot in the quarterfinals against Brazil.

It was quite literally a back-and-forth game against the Brazilians. In the first end Brazil scored a point, Canada countered with a point, Brazil scored another, Canada scored two in the fourth, Brazil scored two in the fifth and then in the all-important final end with Brazil holding a 4-3 lead, both teams scored a point. The score ended 5-4 after six ends for Brazil with the balls and measurements in the last end coming down to millimetres.

The defeat to Brazil matched the result from last November’s gold medal match at the Parapan American Games in Santiago, Chile, where with that win, Brazil grabbed a qualification spot to the Paris Paralympic Games this summer.

“I’m extremely proud of this team and how we played… Overall, we showed a lot of character and resilience. We kept ourselves in the game at every end. It’s hard to play three games in one day but we did it,” said Cryderman.

“Against Indonesia and Brazil, we lost ends by one or two points. The BC1/2 Team have made great technical progress in recent years, and we still need to improve a few things, but with this fifth place here and the fourth place in Montreal, we can say that today we can challenge the best Teams in the world. It’s really encouraging for what’s to come in the next cycle,” said Boccia Canada, Head Coach, César Nicolai.

Danik Allard and Marco Dispaltro (Montréal, QC) made it to the quarters in individual play earlier this week, with good performances. It’s now coming down to the wire for the athletes to grab a bipartite spot and qualify for the Paralympics.

This closes the opportunity for members of Canadian Boccia Team to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics beginning in August through participation and results at international events. That means that the International Paralympic Committee and World Boccia are making decisions very soon regarding the final list of athletes competing at the Paris Paralympics in boccia. Based on bipartite slots, there are four athletes that could claim these slots: Allard, Cryderman, Collins, and Dispaltro. Though, some more likely than others to qualify. They would join BC4 athletes Alison Levine (Montréal, QC) and Iulian Ciobanu (Montréal, QC) who have already qualified.

Find results and schedule from the competition here. Rewatch the webcast on the Ande YouTube page here.

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 leads, develops and grows boccia from grassroots to producing World Champions, and we collaborate with partners to increase participation of Canadians with physical disabilities in sport.

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.

Media Contact

Holly Janna
Email: hjanna@bocciacanada.ca
Phone Number: (514) 944-5193