Bermuda Boccia Athletes To Compete In Americas Cup
WindReach Bermuda has announced that four of its Adaptive Sports participants will be travelling to Kansas on August 1, 2013, to represent Bermuda in the Americas Cup Boccia Tournament. The tournament will take place from August 4 to August 8.
The Bermuda team will compete against elite athletes from South, Central and North America and the competition is expected to be fierce. Bermuda will be represented by Yushae Simmons, Steve Wilson, Jamal Bean and Jaime Brangman. The Americas Cup is the first of several Paralympic Qualifying Events in the lead up to the Paralympics in Rio in 2016 which the athletes are hoping to qualify for.
via Boccia Athletes To Compete In Americas Cup | Bernews.com.
Billings man takes Boccia role in World Dwarf Games
As a partner in the Rimrock Subaru and Rimrock Kia auto dealerships, Ernie Lee is a busy man.
But the Billings resident is also is busy in another pursuit, as a board member and active participant in the Dwarf Athletic Association of America. For the past four years he has worked on organizing the 2013 World Dwarf Games.
That work will culminate Aug. 3-10 with a week of athletic competitions that will bring nearly 500 participants from 17 countries to Michigan State University in Lansing, Mich.
Lee, 44, will wear a couple of hats at the games.
He will compete in both air pistol and boccia, a sport similar to lawn bowling. More important, he will serve as the assistant Chef de Mission for the U.S. team of 250 competitors.
Gardner woman to compete on U.S. paralympic boccia team
Practicing for an international-level competition of any sport requires hard work and dedication, but that preparation takes even more persistence for 19-year-old Gardner resident Elizabeth “Lizzie” Flora-Swick.
Flora-Swick, who was born with cerebral palsy, will compete in the 2013 Boccia Americas Cup on Aug. 2-9 at the New Century Field House near Gardner. Cerebral palsy is a physical disability that limits one’s body movement.
“I practice about four times a week for an hour and a half at a time,” she said. “I get pretty tired.”
Although internationally recognized, boccia isn’t a well-known game in the United States.
via Gardner woman to compete on U.S. paralympic boccia team | CJOnline.com.
Boccia Silver medal for Heanor Gate Science College
A team from Heanor Gate Science College was among the medallists at the recent Derbyshire School Games Event, supported by Trent College, where around 1,000 young people competed in a day of close competition in glorious sunshine.
School teams represented their districts in either Mini Tennis, Tri-Golf, QuadKids athletics (primary) QuadKids athletics (secondary), cricket, tennis, rounders, touch rugby, Boccia Plus and Sportshall Athletics Plus.
The Heanor Gate team took silver in the Boccia, representing Amber Valley.
via Silver medal for Heanor Gate Science College – Local Sport – Ripley and Heanor News.
US Army veteran wins Boccia games medal
An Army Veteran arrived home to Simpson, PA with two gold and one bronze medal from the 33rd National Veterans Wheelchair Games held in Tampa, Fla. July 13-18. Albert Cortez participated in bowling, motorized slalom and boccia ball.
Nearly 600 athletes came from the United States, Great Britain and Puerto Rico to compete in the world’s largest annual multi-sport wheelchair event for military service Veterans who use wheelchairs for sports competition due to spinal cord injuries, amputations or neurological problems.
via PAHomepage.com.
Ben achieves boccia success at the highest level
A former Willoughby man who moved to Gloucester over three years ago to pursue his career of playing boccia has achieved success at the highest level.
Boccia is a Paralympic sport similar to boules.
And Ben Curry, 26, who has cerebral palsy and is confined to a wheelchair, has been part of the BC3 England Squad for the past two years.
He is also a Lloyds TSB Local Hero and attends training camps throughout the year around the country.
Earlier in the year he competed in regional competitions, gaining silver and bronze medals, which qualified him for a place in the National Boccia Championships at Ponds Forge in Sheffield in May for the seventh consecutive year.
He played exceptionally well but narrowly missing out on a medal by coming fourth.
At the end of May, Ben was one of four England players selected to travel to Oslo for the Norwegian Invitational at the National Olympic Training Centre; a fantastic venue where he enjoyed two days of training with the Norwegian elite squad followed by a tournament on the final day.
England had great results, taking the top four positions with Ben successfully bringing home the amazing trophy.
via Ben achieves boccia success at the highest level – Bowls – Skegness Standard.
New DEMAND Boccia ramp for the athletes in Mettingen, Germany
With the financial support of a Trust a high-tech ramp made by the UK based charity DEMAND could be purchased (More about DEMAND’s range of ramps here).
Ths means the Boccia athletes’ Sarah and Alexander are now able to practice their sport with the new ramp. Both athletes meet on a regular basis to practice at the Ernst-Klee-Schule, a special school for physical development in the North-West of Germany. Both players have been practicing together for about 5 years. Their biggest sporting achievements so far are a runner-up by Alexander and a 6th place by Sarah at the German championship.
Even though the sport was included in the German paralympic games, Boccia is not very well known yet. However within the sport there is fierce competition amongst the BC3 Boccia athletes. By now, the biggest barrier is the qualification for the German championship. As there are only few tournaments overall, all the more that there is great competition to be picked for inclusion in these events. Therefore, the Boccia ramp from DEMAND in England came just in time. Especially as Sarah is very excited and hopes to be able to participate at the national championship again next year with the aid of the new ramp and a lot of practice.
An additional athlete of the team in Mettingen has already accomplished success by securing a spot at the championship.
Alban participated in the BC1 category and won at this year’s qualification tournament, which was also attended by the national team coach. He outmatched the other Boccia players in all of his games. He is now hoping to be able to continue his great performance at the 10th German championships, which takes part near Munich this Autumn (2013).
Camboccia do a Super double
Camboccia will be represented by two teams in the inaugural National Boccia Super League next year following success at the Boccia England team finals in Nottingham.
Both the Cannons and the Scorpions finished in the top six at the tournament to seal their place in the national elite next season.
Scorpions finished just outside the medals after losing 6-5 to Boccia Durham in the third-place play-off having gone down 13-2 to Bristol outfit Paul’s Place in the semi-finals.
They had earlier beaten the Breakaways 6-5 and Stockport 7-3 to top their group.
via Camboccia do a Super double
Hope Valley College (Derbyshire) win Boccia bronze
Teams from Harpur Hill Primary School and Hope Valley College were among those to win medals at the Derbyshire School Games Event.
A team from Harpur Hill Primary School (top) won silver in the QuadKids Primary competition, while a team from Hope Valley College (below) won bronze in the Boccia. Both were representing High Peak.
The event was held at Trent College in Long Eaton last Tuesday. The opening ceremony included a performance by Derbyshire School Games Music Competition winners St Philip Howard School.
via Schools’ medal success at county games – Local Sport – Derbyshire Times.
Volunteer for the World Dwarf Games
The World Dwarf Games will be held at Michigan State University from Aug. 3-10, and organizers are seeking volunteers to help out with the games.
The World Dwarf Games are hosted by the Dwarf Athletic Association of America, a nonprofit that provides amateur athletic opportunities for people with dwarfism.
Volunteers will be asked to greet spectators and guide them to the various events, as well as assist athletes and event officials. Volunteers must be at least 16 years old, and can choose the days and times they are available.
Campaign support director Amy Welch said there are opportunities for volunteers with specific sport knowledge to help out with individual games.
“Specifically, we’re looking for people who know anything about boccia, to help out with that event,” Welch said. “We don’t have anyone yet for that.” Boccia is a precision throwing game, similar to the lawn game bocce ball. In boccia, players throw leather balls at a target, with points given to the person who throws closest.
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