SEOUL, KR (September 8, 2025) – The Canadian BC4 pair just wrapped up their competition at the Seoul 2025 World Boccia Cup, having competed against a challenging slate of individuals. They come back with some well-earned hardware, winning the bronze in the BC4 pairs event.
The pair of Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu (both from Montreal, QC) knew that the competition was going to be challenging. They were able to defeat the hometown pair from South Korea, but then unfortunately dropped their next two matches against Malaysia and Great Britain.
Their next match against Hong Kong was a need-to-win to end up on the podium. The Canadians played the best they had in the competition and defeated Hong Kong for the first time ever. In a competition where no pair finished undefeated, the podium position were decided by the final matches of the competition. After two difficult defeats, this match was the win they needed to secure the bronze medal.
Head Coach César Nicolaï knew that anything could happen in this event. “What a Pairs competition! We know even before the competition started that anyone could beat anyone here.”
“After getting off to a good start against Korea, we had more difficulty against Malaysia and Great Britain. Our game plan was good, but we had trouble executing at the end of our ends, and against excellent teams, that is no excuse.”
“To finish on the podium, we absolutely had to beat Hong Kong. Alison and Iulian had their best match of the competition! For the first time in our history, we beat Hong Kong, who had beaten us last year in the semi-finals of the [Paralympic] Games in Paris. It was sweet revenge here in Seoul, knocking them from 1st place to 4th, which shows how high the level of competition was here.”
“I am very proud of how our BC4 athletes bounced back after two difficult defeats. It is also the first World Cup on Asian soil from which we return with two medals. The season continues and we are ready for Cali next month!”
Complete results from both individual and team competition at the Seoul 2025 World Boccia Cup are available 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
Zoe Meil-Charbonneau
Interim Program Coordinator
zmeil@bocciacanada.ca