Boccia team in action this week, Para equestrian riders named for worlds

Summer action heating up for Canadian Para athletes
Sheffield

OTTAWA – World number-two Alison Levine and Paralympic medallist Marco Dispaltro headline a Canadian team which started competing Sunday at the 2022 Povoa World Cup boccia tournament in Portugal which runs until next Monday.

Head coach César Nicolai has eight athletes in Povoa. Along with Montreal’s Levine and Dispaltro from St-Jerome, Que. are Danik Allard (Bois-des-Filion, Que.), Éric Bussière (Verchères, Que.), Iulian Ciobanu (Montreal), Kristyn Collins (St. John’s, NL), Lance Cryderman (Sudbury, Ont.), and Lois Martin (St. John’s, NL).

At the last two international competitions, Levine medalled in individual play and is hoping for another podium in Povoa.

“I hope to continue my streak of medaling in individuals at every competition since we split divisions, and I’m confident I can achieve that,’’ said Levine, a two-time Paralympian. ‘’Last time there was a tournament in Portugal I only played in pairs, where Iulian and I won gold and secured our spot for the Tokyo Paralympics, so we’ll be looking to repeat that performance.”

Nicolai considers the competition a crucial step towards the world championships later this year.

“We have been working on key elements in training that we learned at competitions so far this season,” he said. “In Povoa, the main goal is to continue to build our game and our progression towards the Rio 2022 World Championships.

‘’Many of the best athletes in the world will be present so it will be an excellent opportunity to implement what we’ve worked on in training over the last few months.”

Veteran rider Roberta Sheffield leads Canada at worlds in Para dressage

Three Paralympians are riding for Canada next month at the ECCO Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI) World Championships in Para equestrian.

The competition is set for August 6-14 in Herning, Denmark.

Great Britain-based Roberta Sheffield, a two-time Paralympian, is currently ranked fourth in the Grade Three FEI Rankings. She also competed for Canada at the worlds in 2014 in Normandy and 2018 in Tryon, North Carolina.

Joining Sheffield, who is riding aboard Fairuza, are Winona Hartvikson (Onyx) and Jody Schloss (Lieutenant Lobin), both competing at their second worlds.

In Tokyo, Hartvikson and Schloss were ninth and 11th in Grade One individual and Sheffield was 12th in Grade Three individual. Hartvikson and Sheffield were also part of the Canadian trio that was 10th in the team event.

The 2022 FEI World Championships will also be the first qualifier of the triennial for the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

Para dressage was first introduced into the FEI World Championships in 2010 in Lexington, Kentucky. The highest rank by a Canadian in the individual class is a silver medal by Lauren Barwick in 2014 while the highest finish by Canada in the team class was eighth place, achieved on numerous occasions.

Returning to the role he played in 2018 (Tryon) and 2020 (Tokyo) is Clive Milkins as chef d’equipe.

‘’All have worked really hard to gain their places and overcome the challenges of Covid and travel to raise their game, achieving six personal best scores between them, in order to achieve their place representing Canada at the highest level,’’ said Milkins.

With files from Boccia Canada and Equestrian Canada