Veterans Francois Bourbonniere, of Montreal, QC, Tammy McLeod of London, On and Keven Smith-Worthylake, Ottawa, ON will represent Canada in the Team division at the Austrian Boccia Open in Vienna on September 4 and 5. They will be joined by National Head Coach, Mario Delisle.
It will be the first international competition since 2008 for three-time Paralympian McLeod, who took some time off following the Paralympic Games in Beijing. It was her first real break from the sport she loves since she played at her first Canadian championships eighteen years ago, and it was what she needed to regain her passion for the sport and re-engineer her game. “This competition will be very good for me”, said McLeod. “I made a lot of changes to the way I throw the ball in the past two years and this competition will be a good indication to where I’m at internationally”.
Keven Smith-Worthylake is excited to be representing his country for the first time. It’s a big step for the player who just started in the sport three years ago. Smith-Worthylake first came to national attention last year when he took bronze at his first Canadian championships in Moncton, NB. He is now anxious to see how he measures up to the competition outside of his home country. “I look forward to playing for Canada”, he said. “This will be a good tournament to get international experience”. Like most boccia players, Smith-Worthylake has cerebral palsy. Unlike most players, he chooses to kick the ball rather than throwing it, because his cerebral palsy affects his hands more than his feet. There aren’t currently any other ‘kickers’ in Canada, and not many in the rest of the world. Kickers play in the same division as throwers, and must be just as accurate in their play.
This competition will be a good opportunity for the athletes to measure themselves against other international teams a few months before the next National Team will be named. They will face teams from Austria, the Czech Republic, England, Poland and Slovenia. The gold medal will be decided on Sunday.
