Blog: 'Boccia is a sport that includes, excites and inspires'
The English Federation of Disability Sport (EFDS) website features a blog post every Friday through the year.
In 2016 we’ll be taking a look at an A-Z of accessible sporting and fitness opportunities available to disabled people. This week it's B for Boccia, featuring enthusiastic player Louis, 14 years old.
Louis’ blog:
Boccia is more than just throwing balls – it’s a sport that includes, excites and inspires.
I'm from West Sussex, and I’ve been playing boccia for about the last two years. Ever since I started I’ve been gripped by the tactical nature, the freedom and confidence it’s given me.
I wasn’t strong enough for wheelchair basketball, not fast enough for wheelchair racing and not agile enough for wheelchair tennis. I love sport, I want to be the best and sadly I didn’t really have that chance, or the opportunity, because of the nature of my disability.
But that was before boccia. Now I’ve been given a chance and I’ve made the most of it. I now an England athlete and I train four or five times a week. And I love it.
I play at school, I play at home and I play against anyone. I like boccia because there is so much to it. When to attack? When to defend? What shot to play next? Lay-up? Lob? Knock-on? You also need the technical ability to pull off your desired shot.
Boccia is a target sport – you have to propel your six coloured leather balls closer to the jack than your opponent.
It is mostly played by people with profound impairments. In boccia there are different classifications, BC1s-4s. BC1s and 2s are players with cerebral palsy, BC3s use a ramp to propel the ball and BC4s are like BC2’s but have a different disability to cerebral palsy. I am a BC4 player. But boccia can be played by everyone and anyone.
If you’re interested in boccia then get some balls, find a court and play. Then go on the Boccia England website, find the Club Finder, enter your postcode then all the clubs near you will be shown.
Also, once you have gained a bit of experience, you can enter a brand new competition, the Heathcoat Cup. This tournament enables new players to get their first experience of playing boccia in a competition environment.
The Heathcoat Cup is also brilliant as it allows classifications BC1s-BC8s to play – that means that it’s not just people with profound impairments who can get involved.
My final advice is to play with confidence. Have fun and give boccia a chance, because as you can see from my story it’s not just throwing balls!
Find out more about Boccia England by visiting the website or calling 0115 967 8455.
