National Boccia Celebrations rolled out across UK
/Paralympic champion David Smith MBE is feeling upbeat about the future of boccia as the celebrations for National Boccia Day have, for the first time, been rolled out right across the UK.
National Boccia Day is an annual event on the 27 September to celebrate and to raise awareness of the sport for those already involved and to raise awareness across the country. Led by Boccia England, Disability Sport Wales, Scottish Disability Sport and Disability Sport Northern Ireland, with support from Irwin Mitchell, there are activities right across the UK.
Having become Britain’s best boccia player of all time, Smith says that success at an elite level is being mirrored by the growth of the sport at the grassroots:
“Boccia is a sport with so much potential in the UK because it can be played by anybody. We’re in a brilliant position now, thanks to the live coverage from Tokyo, to get more people involved.
“Playing a sport like boccia helps more parts of society - that are often forgotten - to have an active role and to have an opportunity to achieve something. And as the sport grows at a club level, it means that the Great Britain squad has more strength and depth and we’d have more domestic competitions that would be spectator-friendly.”
National boccia day is being celebrated across the uk
The theme of this year’s National Boccia Day is Boccia Is Back which will celebrate the transition from playing the sport virtually to the return of face-to-face boccia.
72 National Boccia Day activity sessions have taken place at clubs, schools and other organisations across all four countries of the UK and the celebrations are continuing for the rest of the week.
All four corners of the UK have been celebrating with boccia activity taking place on the Orkney Isles, in Plymouth, County Antrim, Pembrokeshire and Norwich.
Boccia England CEO, Chris Ratcliffe, said: “After the success of the Paralympics GB Boccia Team in Tokyo, this year’s National Boccia Day has provided a fantastic opportunity to celebrate those involved in all aspects of the sport. It has been wonderful to grow the event by working with Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport Northern Ireland, and Disability Sport Wales and celebrate together that Boccia is Back. Thank you to everyone who has delivered a National Boccia Day session, we hope that you have enjoyed this year’s event as much as we have.”
Meanwhile, Fiona Reid, CEO of Disability Sport Wales, is feeling positive about the growth of boccia in Wales:
“Boccia in Wales is gathering momentum, and we are really excited to share, promote and be involved with the development of this exciting, dynamic and incredibly tactical sport. The provision of equipment into homes to enable people to play boccia brings with it brilliant boccia activity resources which includes cards as well as virtual challenges with some of the best players in Wales. National Boccia Day in Wales is spearheaded by the players, providing inspiration and information for those who could get involved. We are really lucky to have David Smith living in Swansea, who brings his passion, success and personality to Wales and the opportunities which are becoming more established for the Boccia pathway.”
Gavin MacLeod is the CEO of Scottish Disability Sport and he is also looking forward to building on momentum:
“Scottish Disability Sport is delighted to be involved in National Boccia Day 2021. Engagement in the day in Scotland has been exceptional and has really helped to introduce boccia to new partners and future participants. We now look to build on the momentum of the day and the recent Tokyo Summer Paralympic Games to open up opportunities to participate and compete in this great sport right across Scotland. Our sincere thanks to all those who have made National Boccia Day such a huge success.”
National Boccia Day is sponsored by Irwin Mitchell which provides a wide range of legal and financial services to thousands of individuals and businesses. Its staff have also made boccia more accessible to more people by setting up and supporting the running of boccia clubs across the country.
For more information, visit National Boccia Day National Boccia Day 2021 | Boccia England Limited
