Jul
25
Written by:
News Editor
Sunday, July 25, 2010 5:41 PM
by Roxanne Hooper
Gold medalist Alison Kabush has no time to relax and bask in her victory.
Instead, the 29-year-old Whalley resident is now in the throes of packing boxes and getting ready to move.
She and personal care attendant Shannon Sydorak have been so busy this past month getting ready – as organizers and participants – for the BC Summer Games, that they haven’t had time to pack.
And the duo is moving a little more than month from now.
For the past few weeks, the pair has literally been immersed in the world of boccia – a sport for people with disabilities severe enough to confine them to a wheelchair. The sport, much like bocce, follows the principle of throwing a jack, then tossing team-specific coloured balls as close as possible.
Kabush and Sydorak, who have been working together for more than seven years now, on and off the court, are such strong advocates for the sport that they recently stepped up and offered to help coordinate boccia’s introduction to the BC Summer Games.
The competition was held at the Walnut Grove Community Centre in Langley Friday and Saturday, and Sydorak described it as a positive integration. Her only hope now, is that the BC Games might consider extending the age perimeters further.
For the first time out, boccia was introduced in what is typically a youth-specific sporting event. Boccia, however, was allowed to extend its age limitations to include 13 to 35 years.
This year’s event drew in 10 players, and without expanding the age criteria, Sydorak said it’s not too likely they’ll be able to grow participation for future Games.
It is, after all, a limited participant pool they can draw on for boccia, Sydorak added. And with the current age restrictions, she believes it cut out more than half of the potential participants.
That said, she was delighted by the first try.
“I think it fits into what we want to do in the way of recreational and developmental combined competition,” Sydorak said.
“We are trying to get boccia more in B.C., and this is a start,” Alison said.
Now, it’s up to Sport Ability, an organizational body that helped facilitate the merger of boccia into the Summer Games, and the BC Games committee to review the outcome and feedback and see where it goes from there.
Despite countless hours of volunteer time spent organizing the tournament in advance – even taping out of the courts on the gym floor the day before – when Game day arrived Kabush and Sydorak rolled in with two giant trunks of equipment focused and ready to play.
While Kabush was Sydorak’s assistant in all the volunteer efforts leading up to the Games, Sydorak put the assistant hat on when the Games began, helping Kabush set up the ramping for each shot.
Kabush is confined to a motorized wheelchair, meaning she qualifies for the BC3 level of play that requires customized ramps or chutes used to propel the balls across the court.
The two trunks, Kabush said, are loaded with ramps of every conceivable size and angle, as well as a head-pointer that helps her propel the ball when using the extremely tall ramping.
Kabush has been playing boccia for 20 years and started competing when she was 12.
“It’s like a chess game,” said the avid curling fan. She’s drawn to the intense strategy required in playing all three of these games.
She currently practices boccia at the YMCA in Surrey at least three times a week, two or three hours each time, which has earned her wins at the provincial, national, and internation levels.
Turning 30 next week, Kabush hopes she has time soon to celebrate her milestone birthday and her recent victory.
For now, all her concentration is focused on the pending move. By the way, she’s purchased her first outdoor bocce set, and said that will be her very fitting way of christening her new home.
***
While Kabush earned gold, which wasn’t a big surprise since she was the favourite heading into the competition, she was accompanied on the medal podium by friend and fellow pair competitor Corrine Badry who took silver, and Alicia Calder who earned bronze. Both women are from Fort St. John.
In addition to the BC3 or chute competition, the new boccia tournament also allowed for a mixed competition among wheelchair-bound individuals who have the ability to throw the balls.
In that level of competition, Surrey’s Caroline Vietnicks earned gold, Victoria’s Chris Halpen took silver, and Victoria’s Gabe Wadham cinched bronze.