National boccia championships injected with newcomers
(Photo: Andrew Woodrow completes throw at 2024 nationals)
Iulian Ciobanu crowned Canadian champion in BC4 category
OTTAWA – Bryce Desrochers of Ottawa is making his Canadian Boccia Championships debut this week and achieved a major goal on Friday at the RA Centre.
Desrochers, 22, captured his first career nationals win with a 5-1 victory over Theresa MacLeod of Moncton, N.B. in the BC3 class. MacLeod is also at her first nationals.
‘’I wish that win would have happened earlier in the tournament, but it still feels good,” said Desrochers. ‘’It’s good to have the win under my belt. I stayed calm and made my shots.”
Boccia is a precision sport played in a wheelchair, similar to lawn bowls, that demands intense focus as strategies change on the fly. The primary objective is to have your balls the closest to the jack after each six-throw round.
According to Canadian national team coach Cesar Nicolai, these nationals include the most newcomers in several years, which he says is perfect timing with a new quadrennial underway.
MacLeod acquired her disability 10 years ago. When she saw an announcement last December to try boccia on the Parasport New Brunswick website she capitalized on the opportunity.
‘’When I rolled into the gymnasium that first day in my power wheelchair my first words were ‘I want to go to the Canadian championships,’’’ said the former mathematics high school teacher.
‘’I’ve always been an active person and I’ve always been a believer in the power of sport and its positive effects on people’s lives.”
According to the International Paralympic Committee, boccia is one of the fastest growing sports under its belt.
Even former Paralympians from other sports want in on the action – Joe Radmore of Kemptville, Ont. and Martha Gustafson of Toronto, both Paralympic Games medallists in Para athletics, have caught the boccia bug and are competing this week at nationals.
‘’This is my first competition so it’s a big learning experience,’’ MacLeod said. ‘’The other competitors and organizers have been so gracious in helping us navigate through this learning process. A big plus for this sport is that it is such a social game.’’
Seventeen-year-old Andrew Woodrow of St. John’s, N.L. is getting quite a baptism at his nationals debut. He competes in the BC4 division that includes three Paralympians: Marco Dispaltro, Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu.
“It’s been challenging at this level,’’ said Woodrow, introduced to the sport by Easter Seals Newfoundland and Labrador, for whom he is a spokesperson. ‘’It’s really motivated me to become a better athlete. I know each match here is going to be tough to win but eventually I want to get to that level.”
Ciobanu was impressed with Woodrow’s play.
‘’He’ll be a strong opponent one day,’’ said Ciobanu. ‘’I was pleased to give him some feedback during and after our match. We talked about improving his lob shot and other technical aspects.
‘’He’s very motivated to get better.’’
Iulian Ciobanu wins BC4 national crown
Three-time Paralympian Iulian Ciobanu of Montreal completed a perfect run in the BC4 category with three more victories in the straight round robin tournament to win the gold medal.
In his final match, he defeated 2012 Paralympic medallist Marco Dispaltro 10-2. Dispaltro takes the silver while Alison Levine, also a three-time Paralympian, made it a medal sweep for Quebec with the bronze.
‘’Marco, Allison and I train together so it’s always back and forth when we play against each other,’’ said Ciobanu who went 5-0 in the tournament. ‘’I could play Marco tomorrow and it could be a different result.’’
The other three individual finals will be held on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. (ET).
In BC1 it’s Lance Cryderman of Sudbury, Ont., vs Hanif Mawji of Burnaby, B.C.; in BC2 Danik Allard of Bois-des-Filion, Que., vs Olivier Roy of Quebec City , and in BC 3 Marylou Martineau of Quebec City vs Joshua Gautier of Niagara Falls, Ont
The bronze matches in those categories are also at the same time. Those match-ups are: Liza Puri of London, Ont., vs Chris Halpen of Victoria in BC1; Kristyn Collins of St. John’s vs Jim Davis of Thorold, Ont., and Carter Plumb of Brampton, Ont., vs Alexandre Lemaire of Kingsey Falls, Que., in BC3.
The start of the pairs and team competitions will then follow.
For full results visit HERE
For tournament information visit HERE