UK Boccia Championships 2019 to get underway in Antrim, Northern Ireland

The UK Boccia Championships will get underway in Antrim, Northern Ireland on Saturday with competitors from the four home nations taking part.

 Across two days of competition, the best 32 players from across the UK will compete for the top spot across the four classifications BC1-BC4. Eight Paralympians will be in action, including Rio Gold medallist and reigning world champion David Smith, and local favourite Claire Taggart.

 The championships are being hosted by Disability Sport Northern Ireland (DSNI) for the first time and are being sponsored by Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and TBC Conversions.

 Speaking ahead of the Championships, Boccia UK Performance Director Helen Nicholls said:

“It’s great to take the championships to a different country and venue so a big thank you to DSNI for hosting and giving Northern Ireland the opportunity to experience elite Boccia. The UK Championships see world-ranked players compete against up-and-coming players from across the UK so the games can be unpredictable which adds to the excitement. I’d like to wish all the competitors the best of luck and to remind some of the newcomers that everyone starts on an even playing field, so my advice is to be fearless and remember, every ball matters.”

The full list of competitors is below with Paralympians in bold

David Smith England BC1

Daniel Wain England BC1

Tia Ruel England BC1

Caroline Robinson England BC1

Dan Bentley England BC1

Will Hipwell England BC2

James Clowes England BC2

Reshad Saraj England BC2

Will Arnott England BC3

Beth Moulam England BC3

Jess Hunter England BC3

Matt Berry England BC3

Lee Maddison England BC3

Louis Saunders England BC4

Evie Edwards England BC4

Will Graham NI BC1

Claire Taggart NI BC2

Scott Cromie NI BC2

Robyn McBride NI BC3

Jayne Milligan NI BC4

Reegan Stevenson Scotland BC1

Lewis McConnel Scotland BC2

Jamie McCowan Scotland BC3

Scott McCowan Scotland BC3

Stephen McGuire Scotland BC4

Kieran Steer Scotland BC4

Ross Munro Scotland BC4

Ricky Stevenson Wales BC1

Sian Jones Wales BC2

Gareth Stafford Wales BC3

Spectators are welcome to go along to Antrim Forum on 15th and 16th June between 10am - 4pm to see Boccia at its best. Anyone unable to attend in person can watch a livestream. Details of how to do this will be on the Disability Sport NI Facebook page from 9am on 15 June