Canadian teams announced for two international events next week – Canadian Paralympic Committee

OTTAWA – Fourteen players from Canada’s world champion squad, including Tyler McGregor and Dominic Cozzolino, were selected to compete at the International Para Hockey Cup set for October 7-13 in Ostrava, Czechia.

“We are excited to begin our 2024-25 season overseas,” said Canada’s head coach Russ Herrington. “We want to carry the momentum from our Para Worlds success and continue to develop and grow as a group. We had a competitive evaluation camp and are excited to face three strong teams in Czechia.”

The Canadian team completed a 32-player week-long evaluation camp in Elmira, Ont., just over three months after its spectacular gold medal performance at the 2024 world championships in Calgary.

The roster for Ostrava features 14 players from that  champion squad: Rob Armstrong, Thomas Boily, Shawn Burnett, Adam Dixon, James Dunn, Auren Halbert, Tyrone Henry, Anton Jacobs-Webb, Adam Kingsmill, Micah Kovacevich, Mathieu Lelièvre, Corbin Watson along with McGregor, Cozzolino.

There’s also some youth on the team with 16-year-old Jonathan Daigle of Boucherville, Que., 17-year-old Matteo Pellizzari of Vancouver and 19-year-old Mathieu Lelièvre of Lévis, Que.

Canada opens its schedule at the IPH Cup against Italy at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT on Oct. 7. It will also face the United States (Oct. 8) in a rematch of the Para Worlds gold medal game, and the host Czechs (Oct. 10) in preliminary-round play. The semifinals are set for Oct. 12, with the medal games on Oct. 13.

Five Canadians head to World Boccia Challenge in Cali

Kyle Scott of Hamilton, Ont., is about to hit the international courts as a member of Canada’s boccia team at the World Boccia Challenge set for October 6-12 in Cali, Colombia.

Scott, who competes in the BC1 category, is one of five Canadians headed south. He is joined by national team members Alex Lemaire (Kingsley Falls, QC), Kristyn Collins (St. John’s, NL), Marylou Martineau (Quebec City), and Olivier Roy (Quebec City).

 “It’s an honour to be selected as a rising star and to be on Team Canada in Cali,” stated Scott. “The opportunity to compete against top athletes from around the world and team up with Kristyn and Olivier (in the BC1-2 pairs) is extremely exciting to me.

‘’As I embark on my first international tournament in Cali, I’m looking forward to a memorable experience as I don the maple leaf, show my boccia skills, and happily represent my country.” 

Canada’s head Coach, César Nicolai, and assistant and Espoir coach, Simon Larouche are excited to see this group in action.

‘’The aim of this competition is to give a competitive opportunity to a young boccia group so that they can develop their talents and learn to manage the challenges that come with this type of competition.

‘’In the case of Kyle, it will be the first time we will work closely with him at a world event and we look forward to seeing what can be accomplished.’’
  
Collins, Scott, and Roy will join forces as a Team BC1/BC2, with Scott being the sole BC1 athlete; Collins and Roy play in BC2 division; Lemaire and Martineau compete in BC 3 individual and pairs.

The BC1 and BC2s compete October 6 to 9 while the BC3 and BC4 pairs are October 9 to 12.

Follow all the action on the Boccia Canada Facebook page here, Twitter page here, Instagram here, and Tik Tok here. The schedule and results will be shared on Facebook the day before competition (October 5), once classification is complete.