Silver medal finish earns Canadian BC4 pair spot at 2026 World Championships
Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu on the BC4 pairs podium
CALI, CO (October 14, 2025) – After two individual medals at the Cali 2025 Regional Championships, five Canadians were in action during the team and pairs competition.
Alison Levine and Iulian Ciobanu (both from Montreal, QC) joined forces for the BC4 pairs competition, playing in their group with Chile and Mexico. Each pair won and lost one match, resulting with Canada on top of the pool due to point differential. The Canadians then won a tight match against Brazil in the semi-final, with a score of 5-4, to move onto the final. Colombia, the host country, proved to be a difficult opponent in the final, keeping the Canadians to a score of 2-5 and giving them the silver medal. In addition to the positive medal news, Levine and Ciobanu earned Canada a BC4 pair spot at the 2026 World Championships in Seoul next year.
Levine is satisfied with her results at this event. “Two opportunities for a medal and I came home with two medals. Iulian and I brought it when it was most important, which was yesterday to win that semi-final. Yes, we weren’t at our best [during the final], but that’s okay, objective complete.”
Ciobanu recognized the challenges they faced. “The pairs competition was not easy given Alison’s state of health and then I also had a few [health-related] problems myself, so we had to manage our health well to be able to perform well on the pitch. In the last match, we could feel that we might run out of energy on the pitch and therefore lack precision in general. The strategy was good, we were there, we knew what to do, how to play Colombia. We already had a great third end, but unfortunately, they scored a point in the third, so it went up 5-0. Scoring 5 points to come back was almost impossible when you’re playing against a team like Colombia, who are among the best in the world, if not number 1.”
Lance Cryderman (Val Caron, ON), Kristyn Collins (St. John’s, NL), and Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, QC) teamed up to compete in the BC1/2 team category. They unfortunately saw three losses out of the four matches; their win came from defeating the eventual gold medal team of El Salvador 5-3. Unfortunately, their results meant that they did not finish in the top three of the pool, missing out on the podium.
Head Coach César Nicolaï is proud of the team’s performance and resilience throughout the event. “The BC1/2 team had a very successful second day of competition. We beat the future champions from El Salvador, but unfortunately, we were unable to maintain this level of play in the other three matches. With one victory, we finished in 5th place.”
“The BC4 team faced a physically challenging competition. They showed great resilience and their extensive experience at the highest level was an asset in winning the silver medal, which qualifies them for the 2026 World Championships. I am very proud of their performance.”
The next event for the Canadian national team is the Chile 2025 Youth Parapan Am Games, followed by the Coimbra 2025 World Boccia Cup.
The complete results are available here.
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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.
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