{"id":637830,"date":"2026-04-30T04:31:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/637830\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T04:31:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T04:31:09","slug":"montreal-hosts-43rd-edition-of-canadas-largest-annual-parasports-event-defi-sportif-altergo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/637830\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreal hosts 43rd edition of Canada\u2019s largest annual parasports event: D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Montreal is once again stepping into the spotlight as the global hub of parasport, hosting this year\u2019s 43rd annual D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo.<\/p>\n

The event brings together more than six thousand athletes from dozens of countries across the world \u2013 and Wednesday afternoon, the action brought visitors to the Maurice-Richard arena, where all eyes were fixed on the the athletes, for the boccia event, an adapted version of curling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis event actually is one of those events that\u2019s related to my career and my story and I encourage all the people to come and see of course what we do here each year,\u201d said Iulian Ciobanu, a boccia player.<\/p>\n

\"\"Iulian Ciobanu (left) with his performance partner, Sorin Susan at the Maurice Richard Arena, during the first round of the World Boccia Cup on Wednesday Apr. 29, 2026. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n

Monique Lefebvre, the founder of D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo, said, \u201cFor me, what\u2019s important is putting on a high-caliber competition. A truly major event.\u00a0Because often, the image of people with disabilities is sad\u2014they\u2019re pitied, and the events are poorly organized. So, I really wanted something on a grand scale. So we started small, and today, I\u2019ll admit, it\u2019s huge.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00c9milie Bouchard Labont\u00e9, the deputy executive director of D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo, added, \u201cWe have more than 6,000 athletes from around the world and around Montreal and Canada to compete this week for about 11 days. Here, right now, we are hosting the World Boccia Cup, it\u2019s an event that we host more than 20 countries that are here in Montreal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Conceived under the slogan \u201cAnything is possible\u201d, D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo\u2019s mission is twofold: helping young people with functional limitations maintain an active lifestyle and promote adapted sport.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really motivated by the idea of changing the way people with disabilities are perceived. Because, to me, my parents were just like any other parents. And I saw their potential, not their limitations. So I thought to myself that, to create a better society, people need to see potential instead of obstacles,\u201d explained Lefebvre, whose parents she said both lived with functional limitations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was 30, I never thought I could do a sport because of my disability or my impairment, and this sport just came into my life like this by chance and some of my friends, my family, they encouraged me,\u201d described Ciobanu about the moment he overcame his own limitations.<\/p>\n

\"\"Signs for D\u00e9fi AlterGo and the Boccia Canada, at the entrance of the Maurice Richard Arena. (Corinne Boyer, CityNews)<\/p>\n

More than a decade later, Ciobanu is a high\u2011level athlete who has competed in three Paralympic Games, won multiple medals, and made the national boccia team\u2014achievements he says began with his first visit to the Maurice\u2011Richard Arena for D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cInspiring young people to get out of their isolation. If they are thinking that they can do or become a high-level athlete, I can prove to them that it\u2019s possible,\u201d Ciobanu explained.<\/p>\n

Lefebvre added, \u201cMy message to the community is to take the chance to come see for yourselves. This goes especially for families who have young people with disabilities among them\u2014to show them that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the final day of competition scheduled for Sunday, organizers say there are plenty of upcoming events for visitors to see.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got five days, five days more of competition. This weekend, we will have Powerchair Soccer and Wheelchair basketball,\u201d said Labont\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tSpectators from Japan’s boccia team, watching on as their athlete competes in the first round of the World Boccia Cup during the D\u00e9fi Sportif AlterGo on Wednesday Apr. 29, 2026. (Corinne Bouer, CityNews) <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Montreal is once again stepping into the spotlight as the global hub of parasport, hosting this year\u2019s 43rd…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637831,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,2338],"class_list":["post-637830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-montreal","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-montreal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}