Special Olympics Suffolk delivery partner, ActivLives,held the second Inclusive Boccia Tournament recently in Stowmarket, Suffolk. The event attracted 42 competitors, who played a total of 70 ends of boccia, over 26 matches, scoring 123 points. There were over 75 people attending the event, during the course of the day.

Boccia (pronounced ‘botcha’), is a target game, played with balls, where all of the participants are required to sit down whilst they play. “It is one of those sports that is relatively easy to play, but devilishly tricky to play well”, said Mike McCarthy, from ActivLives. The sport is particularly suitable for players with a disability, and will be part of the Paralympic programme being held in Paris next month.  

The tournament in Stowmarket consisted of three divisions, where players competed in teams of three, in a round-robin format. The day concluded with a ‘spider decider’ mass team event, with all 42 players involved.

“The atmosphere has been absolutely brilliant, with plenty of very close matches throughout the day. It has also been great to welcome visiting players from Special Olympics Peterborough and Kent”.     

Many thanks to all of the athletes, to our brilliant team of volunteers, to our supporting partners Special Olympics Suffolk, Special Olympics GB, the Suffolk Community Foundation and to our hosts for the day at Mid Suffolk Leisure Centre.

If you would like to find out more about how to get involved with boccia in the Stowmarket, Ipswich or Felixstowe areas, please call ActivLives on 01473 345350 or email mike@activlives.org.uk