Boccia Canada – POVOA DE VARZIM- An exciting day in Povoa de Varzim, Portugal as the BC4 pair consisting of Marco Dispaltro (Montreal, QC), Alison Levine (Montreal, QC) and Caroline Vietnieks (Vancouver, BC) took home a silver medal after a well-played game against rival team Brazil. After winning the semi-final against an upstart pair from Germany 5-4 in overtime, Canada faced Brazil yet again in the final. It was déjà-vu for both teams from the finals at the 2015 Parapan American Games. Humbled by yesterday’s 6-0 loss at the hands of Dispaltro and Levine, Brazil came ready to play. As expected, it was a close match. The Canadians showed their consistency, staying within a point of their rivals through the first three ends, but
Brazil put in a strong final push to take the gold with a 6-2 win. 

 “We played well but Brazil made a few more shots, including a masterpiece throw from two time Paralympian Dirceau Pinto in the third end putting Brazil up by one in the fourth end” said captain Marco Dispaltro. “Overall though, it was a fantastic performance to capture silver, but the best is yet to come!”

BC4 Coach César Nicolaï, pleased with the team’s performance, commented “We played a very tight game against Germany. Germany was very motivated and was tough to beat, but Alison and Marco showed consistency to take the win. Against Brazil in the final we played three excellent ends, but in the fourth we didn’t play our best which made the difference in the game. Overall I’m happy with the level of play and the focus from all three athletes. We’ve sent a strong message about what to expect from Team Canada in Rio.”

As the team and pairs competition wound down, individual play began this afternoon with the BC3 players in action. Eric Bussiere (Verchères, QC) began with a strong win 6-2 win over Poland’s Damian Iskrzycki. It was a tougher start for Paul Gauthier (Vancouver, BC), Philippe Lord (St-Jérome, QC) as they each dropped their first round matches.

Individual play continues on Friday June 17th 

Schedule for individual play can be found at www.bocciaworldopen.com

Today’s Results
BC4
Semi-Final           Canada 5 Germany 4
Final                       Canada 2 Brazil 6
BC3
Paul Gauthier (CAN) 3   Samir Van Der Beken (FRA) 7
Philippe Lord (CAN) 2   Kamil Vasicek (CZE) 4
Eric Bussiere (CAN) 6   Damian Iskrzycki (POL) 2
Media Contact:
Jennifer Larson, Program Manager
Cell: 613-890-5101
Email: jlarson@bocciacanada.ca

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 and its provincial partners cooperate as a proactive force to facilitate the development of equitable and fair sporting opportunities for athletes with cerebral palsy and related disabilities.

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 four sport classes based on their level and type of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3 and BC4. For more information on boccia, visit www.bocciacanada.ca.