Competition dates: 8-11 August

Venue: Abilities Centre

Athletes:

Medal events: 7

Tickets: Adults CAD 20 / U16 & 64+ CAD 15

Buy boccia tickets at Ticketmaster.

Three athletes to look out for:

Marco Dispaltro (Canada)

The world No.1 in the BC4 class finished fourth at last year’s World Championships but is in great form this year.

Direcu Pinto (Brazil)

This will be his first Parapan American Games, and do not best against the four-time Paralympic champion beating Dispaltro in the BC4 class.

Maria Belen Ruiz (Argentina)

Ruiz won last year’s World Open in Montreal so has form on Canadian soil. A strong contender for gold in the BC3 class.

The sport

Boccia requires extreme accuracy, concentration and muscle control. Played on a flat, smooth surface, the objective is to propel (throw, kick or use an assistive device) six balls as close as possible to a white target ball. At the close of each end, the athlete, pair or team with the ball closer to the “jack” than the opponent’s receives one point, and receives an additional point for every ball that is closer to the jack than the opponent’s.

An individual or pairs boccia match consists of four ends, while team events are six ends. Each athlete, pair or team “throws” six balls per end.

The venue

The Abilities Centre, which opened its doors in June 2012, is a state-of-the-art community facility that sets new standards in Ontario and Canada for accessibility and inclusive and innovative programs that enable people of all abilities and ages to lead healthy, active lives.

It is one of the five venue clusters TO2015 will use to host the 2015 Parapan American Games.

It will host judo and boccia competition during the Games.

Gates open one hour before competition.

A spectator map can be found in this document.