New to Boccia and a bit puzzled by the different terms? Here’s a glossary to help guide you!

THE BASICS

Boccia: (Botcha) A precision ball sport, related to Bowls/Petanque, played at The Paralympic Games.

Balls: Equipment used to play the game.

Jack: The main target ball (white) which the game is played to.

Ramp / assistive device: The equipment used by BC3 athletes to propel the ball onto court.

Court: The field of play.

Line: Play a shot to a particular direction.

Pace: Play a shot with a particular speed.

Shot Type: Different types of shots with different intentions and uses.

LUP: A placement shot. It is a shot played to deliver a ball in a specific area.

KON or knock on: A shot in which the player pushes own ball closer into a target area e.g. jack ball or scoring space.

KOFF or knock off: A shot in which the player pushes opposition ball away from the specific target.

INOFF or ricochet: A shot played to rebound off a ball into a scoring zone.

LOB: An aerial shot played to move a target ball by attacking over a ball.

Pace and Space: Playing a shot without a target ball.

Calibration: Like a yardage chart for golfers, the way a BC3 player determines the pace of the shot.

Ball Composition: The nature of the balls used by a player or side – made up by different manufacturers and to different degree of softness.

Rocks: Very hard balls, new developments have led to Damage Balls!

Sponges: Very soft balls.

Block: A tactic designed to limit an opponent’s ability to score.

Fearless Boccia: A style of play developed and utilised by British players.

SOM: Decision-making process used by some British players – with reference to the Situation, the Options and the Margin of Error.

Margin of Error: The degree of difficulty of the shot to be taken.

THE GAME

Competition Structure: Regional Opens, World Opens and Championships.

Player: The athlete taking part.

Sports Assistant: Person on court with a BC3 Player is regarded as playing staff and wins medals – like pilots in cycling, guides in running. BC1 players also have an assistant on court but they are not regarded as playing staff and do not receive a medal.

Classification: The process of allocating athletes to groups to create as fair a playing field as possible relative to disability. There are four classifications in Paralympic Boccia.

Roll Test: A piece of equipment where the shape, size and weight of the balls used are checked to ensure they are legal.

Call Room: Area before competition starts where athletes and equipment are checked.

Officials: Referees, Time-Keepers, Line Judges, Head Referees, Technical Delegates, Classifiers (all of these as part of the Officials or as independents.

Taraflex; The surface of the court used at the Paralympic Games and some other major events.

End: A section of a match involving a jack, twelve shots per side, plus penalties. Four ends are played in Individual and Pairs matches, six ends in Team matches.

V-line: The line on the court that the Jack ball must cross in order to be in play.

Cross: The centre of the court, where penalties are taken and tie breaks are started.

Box: The area of the court a player sits to take their shots.

Tie break: The extra end played if the game finishes in a draw.

Penalty box: 25cmx25cm square in the centre of the court, used as a target for penalty shots.

Violations: When rules are broken and can result in yellow cards, red cards, retracted balls and penalties.

UK BOCCIA PATHWAY

World Boccia: The international federation that governs the sport internationally. It was originally called BISFed but was renamed.

BPA: British Paralympic Association. The body which selects and takes a national team to the Paralympics.

Boccia UK: The national federation that governs the sport at elite level across the UK.

Performance Pathway: A seamless path between Home Nation and World Class Programme (WCP), which identifies talented players, encourages and supports progression through a network of Regional/National Performance Groups, and manages the effective transition of the most talented athletes onto the UK squad and World Class Performance Programme.

Boccia England, Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport Wales, Disability Sport Northern Ireland: The four home nation bodies which govern the sport at a national level below elite.

World Class Programme (WCP): Supported by Boccia UK via UK Sport Lottery Funding. The programme exists to provide athletes with medal winning capabilities and support to represent Great Britain at World, European and future Paralympic Games.

Transition Support: The programme the sits below the World Class Performance Programme and aims to bridge the gap between Home Nation and the WCP. The aim is to prepare players for the WCP with the knowledge, skill and awareness to become a world class athlete. At this stage, players are still required to engage with their Home Nation Performance Programme.

Performance Group: Whilst each Home Nation Performance Group operates a slightly diﬀerent programme, this stage is initially focused on technical/tactical/mindset/physical development and competition experience.

Clubs/ Regional Club: The main entry point in the Performance Pathway where players learn and develop their Boccia foundations. A player’s focus should be on enjoyment, learning new fundamental skills in a fun and varied environment.

DEVELOPMENT PRACTICES

Shot Process: The set-up, preparation, delivery and follow-through a player will consistently execute to release a ball.

Individual Action Plan (IAP): A document which looks at the future development of a player step by step. It enables the coach and players to look at:

· Where am I now?

· Where would I like to be?

· How will I get there?

· Regular touchpoints for coach/player communication

· Focusing on a smaller number of priority actions

· Developing, improving, growing, changing direction and setting new goals

Skills Test: The Nine Point Boccia Skills Test is used to objectively measure a player’s ability to be consistently accurate in reaching all key areas of the court. The test is standardised, with fixed target locations specified and each player completing the test from the same position. Each ball is measured using a ruler and then removed.

Notation: Methods used to gather data on a match for performance analysis purposes.

PLAYER PROFILE (CURRICULUM)

Technical: Ability to deliver a highly-consistent and accurate shot.

Tactical: Ability to consistently select the appropriate, match-winning shots.

Physical: Physical ability to deliver a highly-consistent shot.

Mindset: Ability to engage in a learning process and prepare correctly to execute a match-winning performance.