Josh to Compete at 2011 Parapan American Games

Guadalaraja Boccia

The Canadian boccia team for the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico was announced today, and I am very proud to be a part of it.  This will be a great chance for us to test ourselves against the top international players in the Americas region, as we chase gold in London 2012. The [...]

Vander Vies Finishes 25th at 2011 Boccia World Cup

BC4 2011 World Cup

I am home after an exhausting 12+ hour journey from Northern Ireland.  Thanks to everyone for your support while I was competing in Belfast at the 2011 Boccia World Cup.  I finished my pool play with a loss to Hyeon Seok Seo of Korea which meant I did not advance out of my pool.  The [...]

Follow 2011 Boccia World Cup Results

Boccia World Cup Results

To follow me, and the rest of the Canadian team on our quest for the Boccia World Cup, visit the following website, where results will be posted by the host organising committee: http://www.sportsulster.com/boccia2011fixtures.php The website also features a live feed for during select matches, a list of all of the players from all of the [...]

Josh Vander Vies Featured in Short Documentary

Josh and Karolis Cooking

Last summer, Karolis, Dalia and I spent a day with amazing Vancouver filmmaker Angelina Cantada.  She filmed an ordinary day in my family’s life, and has put it together into a beautiful short documentary. Everywhere I go, people usually ask me: “How do you write without arms and legs?”  “How do you get dressed without [...]

Canada BC4 Pair Wins Second Place at 2011 Cheshire Building Society International Boccia Championships

Canada Boccia BC4

The Canadian Boccia Pair of Marco Dispaltro, Josh Vander Vies and Caroline Vietnicks won second place at the 2011 Cheshire Building Society International Boccia Championships in Wigan this past weekend in the BC4 division.  The result is a strong one as the Canadian Pair prepares for the 2011 CPISRA Boccia World Cup, to be held [...]

What are the Paralympic Games?

Paralympic Fan Bird's Nest

The Paralympic Games are elite sporting events for people with disabilities which run parallel to the Olympic Games, two weeks after the summer and winter events, in the same city and venues. This article provides excellent resources to learn more about the Paralympic movement. The best place to start is a film produced by the [...]

Should soft drinks be taxed?

Soda Cans

Anecdotally, we all know that obesity is on the rise in the world. World Health Organisation projections indicate that globally in 2008: approximately 1.5 billion adults (age 20+) were overweight; of these, more than 200 million men and nearly 300 million women were obese. NDP Leadership hopeful Dana Larsen recently proposed a tax on soft [...]

Why Public Opinion Polls Matter to BC Liberals

Christy Clark Photo

At the end of January, Ipsos Reid released the results of an online poll – asking British Columbians about their feelings towards the BC Liberals leadership candidates. Christy Clark came out the clear and overwhelming leader.  But, it is not citizens of British Columbia who will vote in the upcoming leadership election. Members of the [...]

Goodbye Movember

Movember Moustache

Movember came to a crashing close yesterday, and as a result, faces of men everywhere, including my own, are beginning to regain innocence so violently lost.  During my morning commute I noticed several strangers on the bus, who seemed very familiar, yet unrecognizable.  Shadows of their former selves, their bare upper lips were shining in [...]

Dalia Mykolaitiene Wins Bronze at Leon Auriol Fencing Open

Dalia Mykolaitiene

SEATTLE – Dalia Mykolaitiene’s opponents knew she was a threat all weekend long, at the Leon Auriol Open held in Seattle October 2nd and 3rd, 2010. “You’re right up there [with the best fencers here]“, said one opponent. Her other foes felt the fast sting of her epee first-hand, in hard fought bouts. Unseeded, going [...]