Boccia – The Paralympic Sport

Every Tuesday, the team at The Chiltern Centre head to OXSRAD for the day to enjoy an exercise dance class followed by a game of Boccia. Boccia (pronounced ‘Bot-cha’) is a precision target sport played indoors with soft leather balls, and has similarities in rules to bowls. It is a sport of tactics and skill designed especially for athletes with high support needs. Participants must aim to get their ball as close as possible to the ‘jack’ ball.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport with several classifications:

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 functional ability 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.

With all of the practice that the Chiltern Centre gets, we’ll be on our way to representing Team GB in 2024!

Thanks to Boccia UK for the information. How well do you know your Paralympic sports?!