BOCCIA:
Boccia is a sport for all but is just one of there Paralympic sports which does not have an Olympic equivalent; and is played at this level by athletes in wheelchairs with severe disabilities.
Boccia is a strategic target sport requiring skill, accuracy, mental toughness and an ability to think clearly and execute tough shots when under pressure.
It is similar in principal to bowls or boules with the main aim to get the balls closer to 'the jack' than the opponent, using a high level of technical skill to apply match winning tactics.
Boccia is a mixed event with male and female athletes playing alongside and against each other in pairs, teams and individual matches.
It is played indoors on a court roughly the same size as a badminton court.
More than 100 nations have National Boccia programmes with Great Britain being one of the worlds leaders (with two medals at the London Paralympics) along with Brazil, Korea, Thailand, China and Portugal amongst many others.
The different classification are defined as follows:
BC1 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands or feet to consistently propel a ball into play, BC1 athletes may have an aide on court to pass them their ball before each shot.
BC2 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands to consistently propel a ball into play and have greater functionality than a BC1 athlete.
BC3 - Players with Cerebral Palsy or other disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs who are unable to throw or kick a ball into play and as such are permitted to use an assistive device such as a ramp to propel the ball into play and are supported by an assistant ('ramper')
BC4 - Players who do not have Cerebral Palsy but have another disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs and have similar functional ability to BC2 athletes. Disabilities such as Muscular Dystrophy and Tetraplegia will fall under this classification.
BOCCIA CLUBS/ CENTRES:
Boccia is a strategic target sport requiring skill, accuracy, mental toughness and an ability to think clearly and execute tough shots when under pressure.
It is similar in principal to bowls or boules with the main aim to get the balls closer to 'the jack' than the opponent, using a high level of technical skill to apply match winning tactics.
Boccia is a mixed event with male and female athletes playing alongside and against each other in pairs, teams and individual matches.
It is played indoors on a court roughly the same size as a badminton court.
More than 100 nations have National Boccia programmes with Great Britain being one of the worlds leaders (with two medals at the London Paralympics) along with Brazil, Korea, Thailand, China and Portugal amongst many others.
The different classification are defined as follows:
BC1 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands or feet to consistently propel a ball into play, BC1 athletes may have an aide on court to pass them their ball before each shot.
BC2 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands to consistently propel a ball into play and have greater functionality than a BC1 athlete.
BC3 - Players with Cerebral Palsy or other disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs who are unable to throw or kick a ball into play and as such are permitted to use an assistive device such as a ramp to propel the ball into play and are supported by an assistant ('ramper')
BC4 - Players who do not have Cerebral Palsy but have another disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs and have similar functional ability to BC2 athletes. Disabilities such as Muscular Dystrophy and Tetraplegia will fall under this classification.
BOCCIA CLUBS/ CENTRES: