Boccia Canada Announces Take the Shot Grant Recipients
Ottawa, ON (May 16, 2016) – Five provinces will host over seventy events to introduce Canadians to boccia this year, thanks to equipment kits and micro grants through the Take the Shot program from Boccia Canada. The Take the Shot program was designed to enhance participation of boccia clubs and provincial partners in the ParticipACTION 150 Play List initiative.
“We were so excited that boccia was included in the 150 Play List, but as a relatively small sport, we knew that many of our clubs and provincial partners lacked the resources or equipment to fully participate,” explains Jennifer Larson, Program Manager. “We want as many people as possible to check boccia off their Play List, and these grants and equipment kits will help achieve that.”
Boccia is a Paralympic sport of precision and focus similar to bocce and curling. Competitive boccia is played by athletes with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and related disabilities, but it’s also a recreational sport that is fun for the whole family.
The aim of boccia is to roll a ball towards a white target ball, called the jack. What makes the game unique is that all players are seated and they can choose to kick, throw or use a ramp, so the game is open to people with very limited mobility. Each player has six balls of the same colour (blue or red). After all balls are played, the athlete closest to the target scores one point for each ball that’s closer to the target than their opponent’s best ball. Boccia can be played both individually and as a team. A game consists of four ends (six in a team game) and the player or team that finishes with the most points is the winner.
Take the Shot events are free and open to anyone. Equipment is provided and trained boccia coaches and athletes will be on hand to teach the basics. With five provinces hosting events throughout Canada’s sesquicentennial, Canadians will have multiple opportunities to take the shot at this unique sport.
Eileen Bartlett, Newfoundland Take the Shot recipient comments, “We saw this a great opportunity to increased awareness and participation in boccia, especially in currently underserviced areas. What a great way to celebrate Canada’s 150th, bringing people together through boccia.”
In addition to Take the Shot events throughout the year, Boccia Canada is partnering with ParticipACTION for a special day to celebrate boccia on September 16th, 2017.
Find out all you need to know about boccia, including the history, rules, classification and equipment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5CmEab8tqU
A full list of events is available below and online at https://bocciacanada.local/news-events/events/.
| Organization | Dates/ times | Location | Contact |
| Manitoba | |||
| Manitoba Cerebral Palsy Sports Association (MCPSA) | May 18 June 8 6:30pm-8 pm More to come |
St. James Civic Centre 2055 Ness Ave Winnipeg, MB R3J 0Z2 |
Greg Sliva
|
| Ontario | |||
| Toronto Parasport Association | Sept 14-21 12:30pm-2pm |
Anne Johnston Health Station 2398 Yonge St Toronto, ON M4P 2H4 |
Matthew Kennedy Email: [email protected] |
| Hamilton Accessible Sports Council | Sept 24 | Ron Joyce Children’s Health Center 325 Wellington St N Hamilton, ON L8L 0A4 |
Denise McArthur |
| Variety Village | TBA | Variety Village 3701 Danforth Ave Scarborough, ON M1N 2G2 |
Chris Murdoch Email: [email protected] |
| The Participation House Project | Sept 28 | The Participation House 55 Gordon St Whitby, ON L1N 0J2 |
Joe Millage Email: [email protected] |
| Ontario Cerebral Palsy Sports Association & ParticipACTION | Sept 16 12pm-5 pm |
City Park Kingston, ON |
Amanda Fader |
| Ontario Accessible Rec & Sport | TBA | Toronto Pan Am Sports Centre 875 Morningside Ave Toronto, ON M1C 0C7 |
Rick Watters |
| Quebec | |||
| Association Québécoise de Sports pour Paralytiques Cérébraux (AQSPC) | May 20 12pm-4pm May 21 10pm-2pm |
École Secondaire Jean-Jacques-Rousseau 2700 Rue Jean Charles Bonenfant Boisbriand, QC J7H 1P1 |
Elizabeth Deziel |
| AQSPC | Sept 16-17
|
Centre sportif Jean-Rougeau
8000 Rue de Normanville Montreal, QC H2R 2V6 |
Elizabeth Deziel
Email: [email protected] |
| AQSPC | Nov 18 | School Secondary Versatile De L’ancienne-Lorette 1801 Rue Notre Dame L’Ancienne-Lorette, QC G2E 3C6 |
Elizabeth Deziel Email: [email protected] |
| Centre d’Intégration à la vie active (CIVA) | Sept 23 9am-12pm |
École Joseph-Charbonneau 8200 Rue Rousselot Montreal, QC H2E 1Z6 |
Vanessa Handfield Bigué |
| Nova Scotia | |||
| Boccia Association of Nova Scotia | TBA | Easter Seals NS Camp Halifax Oval |
Jim Gagne Email: [email protected] |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | |||
| Easter Seals NL | May 28 | Corner Brook Regional High 12 University Dr Corner Brook, NL A2H 5G4 |
Eileen Bartlett Email: [email protected] |
| Easter Seals NL | Oct 7 | Easter Seals House 206 Mt Scio Rd St. John’s, NL A1B 4E7 |
Eileen Bartlett |
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.
Media contact:
Kaymin Roorda
Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Boccia Canada
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: (613)806-5669