Canada’s Boccia Team Prepared for First International Competition since Tokyo

Kristyn Collins will compete in the BC2 women’s only division as will Alison Levine, Joëlle Guérette, and Lois Martin in their respective classes in Sao Paulo

Ottawa, ON (October 27, 2021) – Canada will be represented by a total of ten boccia athletes at the 2021 Sao Paulo Americas Regional Championships, which marks the start of a new Paralympic cycle in the lead-up to Paris 2024. Boccia Canada announced today that NextGEN athletes Kristyn Collins (St. John’s, NL) and Lois Martin (St. John’s, NL) have been added to the team alongside eight current National Training Squad members. They will both compete in women’s individual divisions per class, which is new to the sport in this Paralympic cycle. The event is a qualifier for the 2022 World Boccia Championships.

The four boccia athletes who represented Canada at the Tokyo Paralympics this summer will be competing in Sao Paulo including Alison Levine (Montréal, QC), Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC), Iulian Ciobanu (Montréal, QC), and Marco Dispaltro (Montréal, QC). Levine will compete in the women’s BC4 individual division as one of the top seeds in class BC4. Allard has built momentum since his selection to the 2019 National Boccia Training Squad and subsequent qualification for the Paralympics. Ciobanu is coming off a successful run in Tokyo where he narrowly missed the playoffs.

Head Coach, Mario Delisle, decided to add Collins and Martin to the roster. Both are currently not on the 2021 National Boccia Training Squad but are Next Generation athletes to look out for in the coming years.

Collins knows what it takes to compete amongst the best athletes in the world and is confident about her selection for Sao Paulo: “Having learned from my experiences in 2019, I understand the importance of these [international] events and how skill, mental preparation, focus, and fitness all need to come together for success. Not all athletes are given these amazing opportunities and I want to have the best showing possible to continue to pursue my dreams at the international level. So yes, it’s very important and a great result is achievable!”

The BC3 class sees the return of Canada’s top BC3 athlete, Eric Bussière (Verchères, QC), who is looking for redemption after narrowly missing his chance to compete alongside his teammates in the Pairs competition of the 2020 Paralympics. He will be joined by Joëlle Guérette (Montréal, QC).

BC2 athlete Mike Mercer (St. John’s, NL) and BC1 athlete Lance Cryderman (Sudbury, ON) will show the world what they are capable of, having medalled at many national competitions in their respective classes over the years. They will put their skills to the test having been active at their local boccia courts throughout the pandemic. Mercer is coming off a gold medal at the 2021 London Boccia Blast in October.

Delisle is looking forward to development of the group in the new cycle: “We have good reason to believe that there will be podium performances from a few athletes, but the overall expectation is that everyone plays to their potential in Brazil. It will be interesting to see if the BC1/BC2 group is making progress and if we can take advantage of the new individual gender divisions and the no substitute rule in Team and Pairs. We have a good feeling about the women’s and men’s division now being split. Contrary to some other countries, we have always included female athletes on our team and some should now be able to achieve greater results.”

Find out more about the 2021 Sao Paulo Americas Regional Championships here.

Find out more about the women’s and men’s split division here.

Keep updated on latest results at competitions by visiting the Boccia Canada News section here.

2021 Sao Paulo Americas Regional Championships Team Selected
BC1
Lance Cryderman (Sudbury, ON)
Lois Martin (St. John’s, NL)

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

Holly Janna
Communications Lead and National Team Coordinator, Boccia Canada
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: 613-748-1430 x3 | Cell: 514-944-5193