At first, Ashleigh Jamieson hated boccia. She thought the sport – a form of bowls – was the most boring in the world. But then she was told she was a ”natural”.

Now, just 14 months after she first picked up the leather ball at the behest of a Paralympics talent scout, Jamieson is a strong contender for the Rio Paralympics in 2016.

”I think being complimented on it and being told, actually, I was half-decent at a sport, kind of made me want to keep going with it to see what happened,” says the 15-year-old, who has muscular dystrophy. ”A lot has happened from it which has been really good.”

via Disability no bar to winning feeling for athletes.

Boccia (pron.: /ˈbɒtʃə/ boch-ə) is a precision ball sport, similar to bocce, and related to bowls and pétanque. The name Boccia is derived from the Latin word for boss – bottia.[1] The sport is contested at local, national and international levels, by athletes with more severe physical disabilities. It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. In 1984 it became a Paralympic sport, and in 2008 was being practised in over fifty countries worldwide.[2] Boccia is governed by the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) and is one of three Paralympic sports that have no counterpart in the Olympic program.

via Boccia – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Welcome to BISFed

 on 1 January 2013 following an historic resolution by the Boccia – playing nations that the sport needed an independent governing body. We hope you will find the website informative and useful. Please email us any comments or ideas you may have by clicking here

We are now accepting membership applications. Please download the form below, complete and sign it then scan and e-mail it to info@bisfed.com

via Home.

After years of eager anticipation, the Paralympics finally took centre stage in London. It may not have got the coverage that it deserved, but London 2012 certainly made a greater effort to raise the profile of the Paralympic Games than any host before.

Boccia, on the other hand, still remains over looked compared with the superstar events of Athletics, Swimming and Cycling; although a few thousand more people know what it is. The two Medals won by the GB Team will also help elevate Boccia more into the public domain.

The thousands of people, open-minded enough to give Boccia a try, watched the sport and were treated to an awesome spectacle of world-class action. The seven-day sporting marvel showcased some of Boccia’s most exciting talents from across the globe. The atmosphere within the Excel’s South Arena 1 was electrifying, beyond anything any of the Boccia Athletes had experienced before. Even in Beijing nearly all of the two-and-a-half thousand-spectators were rent-a-crowd, people actually made to watch Boccia. At London, it was completely different; every seat taken by someone who was excited and enthused to play witness to a Paralympic sporting event.

Author David Hill

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

London 2012 was an once-in-a-lifetime chance for British Olympians and Paralympians to compete in the World’s biggest sporting event on Home Soil, in front of a Home crowd. It was also a grand opportunity for aspiring British Athletes along with tens of thousands to get involved as Games Makers.

For aspiring Boccia Players from the England Squad, this prospect of being part of a Paralympic Games was hard to ignore. Some, including myself, leapt at possibility of becoming a Games Maker for this very reason: to be a part of something very special. After a lengthy interview process we were chosen as volunteers and assigned various roles, some very interesting and others repetitive or mundane.

Author: David Hill

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

There have been many requests from readers wanting practical advice about how to improve their Boccia skills and progress on to their National Teams. In the next issue of Boccia Inclusive we will explore this in more detail, getting coaches and players to share their wisdom on the matter. But for this issue I will present some basic tips to help raise the level of play for new and hobby players.

Concentration, Confidence and consistency are three important factors in improving within any sport. To compete at a high level you need consistency in accuracy and pace to put the ball exactly where you want it; whether rolling up to the jack, into a gap, or knocking a ball in/away. Then you also need to have complete confidence in your ability to make that shot and concentration while taking it. The more consistent you become, the more confidence you are; and vice versa. If you suffer a lack of confidence or concentration it will have a negative affect on your game play, even the best players can have bad shots if they start doubting their ability or not as focus as they need to be.

Author: David Hill

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

I have been playing Boccia for around seven years now. I attended a “Playground to Podium” event when I was 8 years old and was identified as a potential Boccia player. From the event I was invited to join the Notts Elite Boccia squad.

The Notts Elite Boccia squad is run by Pete Edwards and, in joining, I hoped to enjoy it. From the moment I first began to play Boccia I found it really fun to be part of. I felt that it was a sport that I could compete in against my peers and hopefully progress through to the highest level.

Over the past seven years I have made steady progress under the tutition of my coach and with the support of my teammates at Nottingham Boccia Club. However, the last twelve months have been amazing. I have always worked hard at the sport and always wanted to climb the ladder of success, but I never dreamed it would happen so quickly.

Author: Sam Oldknow

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

At Excel during the Paralympics, and since, I have heard many athletes express a wish to play for GB in Rio. The path to international success is as challenging in boccia as any other sport. Unfortunately dreams do not come true by wishing but they can become a reality through hard work and careful planning.

The recently established Boccia England Talent squad is a stepping-stone on the way to representing a Home Nation and then Great Britain. Players are selected through achieving at National competition or being identified by the selection team as having genuine potential. This might mean someone who has shown skill in Regionals or an Open competition but only been playing for a few months, or a young athlete who has played for several years and is now maturing and developing in their sport and able to compete at a senior level.

Author: Liz Moulam

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

We all have favourites; two identical pairs of socks – but we prefer to wear one colour over another; over time that pair wears thin, makes a hole and is no longer fit for purpose. Should Boccia balls be any different? It seems most players prefer one colour ball over the other: is it wise to prefer red or blue?

Author Liz Moulam

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***

At Excel during the Paralympics, and since, I have heard many athletes express a wish to play for GB in Rio. The path to international success is as challenging in boccia as any other sport. Unfortunately dreams do not come true by wishing but they can become a reality through hard work and careful planning.

The recently established Boccia England Talent squad is a stepping-stone on the way to representing a Home Nation and then Great Britain. Players are selected through achieving at National competition or being identified by the selection team as having genuine potential. This might mean someone who has shown skill in Regionals or an Open competition but only been playing for a few months, or a young athlete who has played for several years and is now maturing and developing in their sport and able to compete at a senior level.

Author: Liz Moulam

*** Read all of this story in the world’s 1st Boccia magazine – “Boccia Inclusive” here.  Sign up to subscribe regularly here. Find out more about Boccia Inclusive by visiting its Facebook page here. ***