Cumbria School Games includes boccia
The Barrow contingent included George Hastwell School, on Walney, whose pupils represented Furness in three different sports; five-a-side football, boccia and table tennis.
The school’s PE co-ordinator, Dan Martin, said: “The football team is exclusively George Hastwell and in the boccia and table tennis, our youngsters form part of a team with other schools.
via North West Evening Mail | Home | Lifestyle | Cumbria School Games.
Merseyside School Games to include boccia
Most of the teams have qualified courtesy of finishing runners-up in district tournaments in athletics, basketball, boccia, netball, rounders, rugby, swimming, tennis and golf.
One of the special guests at the event will be GB Olympian, Chris McDermott, who at London 2012 was a member of the first-ever GB handball squad.
via Wavertree to host Merseyside School Games – Southport Visiter.
Samantha Cameron joins in game of boccia with Paralympic athletes
After they finished playing, Smith, who won silver and bronze medals at London 2012 and a gold at the Beijing Games, said: “She was good.
“I thought she got into the game quickly and seemed to enjoy it.”
The 24-year-old added: “It’s great to come here and have a game with the people here. It gives them a chance to have a go in a relaxed environment.
“It’s a really great sport as it’s competitive and also really sociable.”
Vitalise is a national charity providing short breaks and holidays for people with disabilities and their carers.
via Samantha Cameron joins in game of boccia with Paralympic athletes – Telegraph.
Disability no bar to winning feeling for athletes
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.”
Adrian Mears win gold in boccia – Bognor Regis
COMPETITORS from a Bognor Regis-based club of disabled sportsmen and women have struck gold.
Six of the 13 members of the Arun Sports Association for the Disabled took first places in a regional contest.
Their successes enabled the association to win the Team Cup in the Rotary District 1250 Disabled Games ahead of rivals in an area which spans Surrey and East and West Sussex.
The club’s individual successes saw Adrian Mears win gold in boccia and stick ball at Crawley, Nichola Smith in boccia and short mat bowls, Sophie Geraets in bean bag, Jeremy Christopher in table tennis, Richard Best in boccia and Timothy Record in quoits.
via Gold winners take Bognor Regis club to first place – Latest – Bognor Regis Observer.
Newton man to compete in 2013 World Dwarf Games
On the pavement outside where he works at Sand Creek Station golf course, Carson Hayes takes a break from washing carts and practices his boccia.
The game, almost identical to bocce ball, is taking him to Michigan later this summer to compete in an international competition.
Hayes, 25, is 4 feet 3 inches tall. For the first time, he will represent Team USA at the 2013 World Dwarf Games, playing boccia and table tennis.
via Newton man to compete in 2013 World Dwarf Games | Wichita Eagle.
Spirited displays in Clee Sports Family Boccia Tournament
The tournament was split into three events, a doubles competition where each pair consisted of a player with a disability with a family member or friend, followed by two singles competitions – Class A for players with a disability and Class B for able-bodied players.
The competition was played in a friendly but competitive spirit and there was a great atmosphere throughout the day.
via Spirited displays in Clee Sports Family Boccia Tournament | This is Grimsby.
‘It’s hard to find a man so devoted to his family’
Behind every Superkid there’s a super dad, as proved by Martin Holmes.
When I asked Star readers on Twitter if they knew of any inspiring dads to feature to celebrate Father’s Day this Sunday,
Karen Codling, who is chair of the Sheffield Smashers Boccia club, and club secretary Mark Dolan both thought that Martin was pretty amazing. PE teacher Mark wrote a tribute to Martin which you can read here.
Martin and wife Ruth are parents to Jessica, aged 23, who is married, Emmie (10) and Thomas, aged 15, who has cerebral palsy. They live in Heeley, Sheffield.
Thomas, who uses a wheelchair, was recently named as a Star Superkid for his sporting achievements. They include playing Paralympic sport boccia with Sheffield Smashers, who meet every Thursday at Pond’s Forge, Sheffield. Boccia is a precision ball game similar to bowls or petanque.
Martin said: “Boccia is a big thing in Thomas’s life so I became team manager. Because Thomas is so good at the game we needed somebody to keep him motivated and other people motivated as well. It’s nothing I’ve really done before.”
via ‘It’s hard to find a man so devoted to his family’ – Education – The Star.
Penninghame triumph in Boccia
A regional festival of Boccia came to Castle Douglas High School last week, inspired by the 2012 London Paralympic games.
With the increased media coverage of the sport, the event had over 65 entries competing for the various categories.
via Penninghame triumph in Boccia – Local Sport – The Galloway Gazette.
Boccia: Dijkstra to compete in Asia-Pacific champs
Dunedin’s Henk Dijkstra will return to the international stage at the Asia-Oceania championships in Sydney in October.
He will be competing in the BC3 ramp in his first major international event since competing at the Beijing Paralympics in 2008.
Dijkstra (52) first competed internationally at the world championships in Sydney in 1995 and his highlight was to finish fourth in the pairs with Greig Jackson at the Athens Paralympics in 2004.
His first Paralympics was in Atlanta in 1996. A top performance in Sydney would help his selection chances for the Rio de Janeiro Paralympics in 2016.
Dijkstra was born with cerebral palsy and has severe physical disabilities. Simple things that most people take for granted create difficulties for him. Travelling outside his home is a big ordeal for him.
This makes the fact he has done the hours of training to be able to amass 90 caps for New Zealand even more remarkable.
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