Paralympic Boccia – overview, rules and classification
Great Britain’s Boccia team put in an outstanding performance in Beijing, bringing home a gold in the BC1/BC2 Team event and a silver in the Individual BC2. Since Beijing, the British team has maintained its reputation as a leading nation in Boccia.
Find out how to get involved with Boccia
The following lists represents the kind of characteristics that would be displayed by a Boccia player and therefore show the critical success factors for in this sport.
Michael to be boccia Olympic star
A King’s Park lad is celebrating after being selected for the West of Scotland Boccia team for next year’s Special Olympics.
And Michael Gillooly (11) was so happy to find out he would be heading to York next September, he’s barely been able to sleep since. Michael is now the toast of Kirkriggs School, which he attends, and the Boccia club based there.
He found out during a recent trip to Glasgow City Chambers, but had to keep the news under wraps for two weeks.
Then, the school announced it to his friends and fellow pupils at an assembly last week.
Sally Russell runs the Boccia club at Kirkriggs, and says Michael has been on cloud nine since: “You have never seen a child so elected in all your life.
“I’m so proud of him and so are his parents, Stephen and Rosslyn. According to them he never went to bed until well after midnight the night he found out.
via Special Olympics: Michael to be boccia Olympic star – Rutherglen Reformer.
Interview with Boccia Athlete Ali Lalani
Interview with Boccia Athlete Ali Lalani
Sport: Boccia
Born: 05/06/84
Lives: London
Ali has been competing in boccia for around 6 years and in that time has won a team bronze at the 2006 world championships, team silver at the 2005 European Championships and team gold at the 2006 Belgium Open. Ali is a devout muslim and is currently studying for an HND in leisure management at Solent University in Southampton.
Turkey, Boccia and a Dream !
In the city of Izmir, Turkey located on the Western coast, a new paralympic sport is gathering the attention of everyone. That sport is BOCCİA !!!
We have been playing boccia in Izmir for a few years now (since we discovered the sport in 2008 in China) but after watching the Paralympic Games 2012 in London we now have a dream to go to the Paralympic Games in Rio, Brazil. “Man’s reach should exceed his grasp” perhaps.
It can never hurt to dream. And dream big we have … With the help of Demand Sport this dream is coming true for our most physically disabled athletes right here and now. Our friends at Demand managed to get us 4 of their boccia ramps to take back to Turkey. Players who had never been able to play competitive boccia, for lack of proper equipment, were able to put their accuracy to the test using this equipment.
For many, it is already a dream come true. The new professional approach of our program has drawn the attention of the local municipalities and sports clubs to find new players, coaches and referees. That’s all for now :). You’ll have to wait to see what will happen next.
Could it be international competitions in Turkey? Let’s dream on…………..
Boccia tester sessions in Scotland
Major local employer Aviva recently awarded Perth and Kinross Disability Sport £1000 from their Community Grants Fund to purchase new Kurling and Boccia equipment.
This much needed new equipment has been warmly welcomed by the group and will be used during Family Activity Sessions, starting on Saturday at the North Inch Community Campus from 10am to noon.
Perth and Kinross Disability Sport, a local charity has been running these sessions for young people (up to 21) with additional support needs and their families on a monthly basis over the last couple of years.
Triumph over disability in Fiji
Yesterday also marked the International Day of People with Disability and FPC senior sports development officer Saimoni Nainoca said this was the first time ever that people from all over the country could attend the event.The three sports played yesterday were Boccia pronounced botch-ya, a target game with similar rules to bocce or lawn bowls; goalball, a three-a-side indoor court game developed for players who have visual impairments and sitting volleyball, an alternative version to traditional standing volleyball using a smaller court and lower net.
Happy Sydney in Brisbane Australia
We provided a refurbished Jenx Bee to a client, Belinda C. in Brisbane Australia. The ‘Bee’ was for her young daughter, Sydney. What is a ‘Jenx Bee’? Well the manufacturer describes it “as a seating system designed to support young children from four months to five years as they learn to sit. The Bee offers conventional sitting, reclined sitting”. Further more they say that “…the Bee helps your child get busy – busy sitting well, joining in, playing and creating”. Belinda would certainly agree with all of that, not least the “joining in”. Here’s what she wrote to Ben at DEMAND after receiving the Bee:
“Hi Ben, it’s here and Sydney loves it!! Thank you guys so much, she is so happy in this chair. Now Sydney can eat dinner with us! Thank you! Belinda”
Belinda was kind enough to send us a photo of her daughter, Sydney – and her mum’s words perfectly summarise the moment captured by the photo (below):
“…Sydney has just finished her dinner for the first time at the big table with us, she is so chuffed!…”
As well as being pleased with the positive impact this refurbished chair has had on her daughter’s life, Belinda was also impressed with the quality of the work we had undertaken on the chair before shipping it to Australia.
“…And…the chair looks brand new!! It was really easy to adjust … I really appreciate the extra effort in providing the printed copy of the manual..”.
We are pleased to report that Belinda and her daughter are just two of the many thousands of people who have benefited from the work DEMAND does in recycling unwanted equipment making it fit for purpose again at a fraction of the cost of new.
Visit Dan Bentley’s web site – England Boccia team Player and Medal Winner
Quote from Dan’s web site here:
Best Experience
It has got to be Beijing 2008. It was amazing the whole expearience from the village all the way to picking up the gold medal. The best game was in the semi-final against the hosts China, the crowd was electric but the best thing was that after the 5th end we were 7 – 2 up and they all walked out – I did have a little smile to myself! The final was good we controlled it from the start and won it quite easily 8 – 4.
From this moment our lives changed, the referee said end of the game I didn’t know what to do, I kind of wondered around and then got ‘mugged’ by our suppot staff, I did jump into the crowd in a mad moment!
When interviewed by BBC I did the worst interview ever, when asked “Dan how does that medal feel around your neck” I answered “heavy but it’s a nice weight”
news from the world of Boccia 