Boccia England

Thank you to our boccia coaches Marvin and Gill who have been supporting the Derbyshire Institute Of Sport event this week delivering some fun boccia activities for children aged 8-15.

We love introducing children to boccia! Enjoy the rest of the week! ⚪️🔴🔵

The Other Side Of Blackpool Podcast
(A New Voice for Disabled People)

What a great podcast about 'a Voice for the Disabled People' and what Blackpool Council and Blackpool Boccia Club have done to offer more opportunities for people to play boccia! We are excited to announce that Blackpool Leisure Centre now have permanent boccia lines across 10 courts in their newly refurbished sports hall.

We cannot wait to see more boccia taking place at the centre!

Take a listen to the podcast to find out more: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1951991/15472096-a-new-voice-for-disabled-people

This afternoon we are giving a shout out to Abingdon Boccia Club who are one of Boccia England's new BE member clubs!

we recently caught up with the lead there, Rachel Hornibrook, to find out why she set up the club, how she did it, and what advice she would give to anyone looking to do the same.

Want to find out more visit the link below:

https://www.bocciaengland.org.uk/news/abingdon-boccia-club-youve-just-got-to-roll-with-it

Thank you to Jan Mulligan one of our International Referees who supported the Vice Chancellor’s Cup at the University of Kent for Kent Sport during July.

They had 12 teams participating and the event was a huge hit all around for everyone involved.

Read up more on the event here: https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/kentsport-news/vice-chancellors-cup-highlights-boccia/

Upcoming Boccia Leaders courses planned to be delivered September 2024-February 2025 in various locations across the country.

The course is a 3 hour Face-to-Face course, covering both coaching and officiating, which provides participants with the fundamental skills and knowledge required to deliver boccia within the community.

Costing only £45 per person, the Boccia Leaders Award would be perfect for any players, parents or assistants looking to take their first step into coaching at your club.

Book your place today, via the following link: https://www.sportstructures.com/education-training/our-courses/sport-coaching-courses/sport-specific-coaching-courses/boccia-leaders-award/

Sport Structures

Thank you to Graham, Jacky & Amy who delivered boccia at a recent engagement day.

We often get requests for boccia to be a part of staff engagement days, and luckily we can rely on our dedicated volunteer workforce to support these events.

Thank you to for allowing us to be a part of the event and showcase boccia and all its great benefits!

Important guidance from Sport England to support development of inclusive facilities here.

Clearly, our only addition would be mandatory marking of boccia courts in all sports halls😁.

2024 - 2025 COMPETITION DATES

To assist competitors to plan for next season, we are pleased to announce the 2024-25 competition schedule.

Entries for all competitions will open on 1 October 2024.

Please note that event entries will now close approximately TWO WEEKS before the competition date. However, if capacity is reached before the deadline, we reserve the right to close the event (or individual classification) earlier.

Please see the competition rules and regulations for more information regarding entries.

From the coming season, the BE Cup will be changing to the "BE National Championships" and the qualification rounds will be known as "BE National Championship Qualifiers".

There will also be amendments to this competition for 2024-25, which will include a revised qualification points process. Details of these will be released shortly.

76 years ago today, the Stoke Mandeville Games first took place.

The vision of Sir Ludwig Guttman gave the world what is now the Paralympic Games.

In just 30 days, the Paris Games will get underway. Thank you Sir Ludwig and happy birthday to the Games.

Today the Paralympic Movement turns 76! 🎉

On this day, 29 July 1948, the first ever Stoke Mandeville Games took place.

To our founder, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, thank you for being a pioneer and visionary.

We do love the chance to celebrate our incredible volunteers, and what better chance than when they are working at the biggest shows on Earth - the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games.

Not content with graduating from Liverpool Hope University with a 1st class degree, Kirsty Bean is now busy in Paris working on the Olympic Games, including the Modern Pentathlon.

She will then move on to be the Call Room Manager for the Paralympic boccia competition.

We could not be more proud of Kirsty and neither could her University - https://www.hope.ac.uk/news/allnews/first-class-graduate-set-for-paralympics-role.html?fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAaYP6k-eRAbQwETwasl9ghw6aXHZL0FEKODQhrKI5KvEJYjEfQgKLMMHRjY_aem_ddAj8oLtzgrEsi4XlOBK7Q

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games opening ceremony takes place tonight and we wish everyone involved, especially those representing Team GB, the very best of luck for the next two weeks.

At the same time as we look towards Paris for the Olympic Games tonight, it only serves to build the excitement for the Paralympic Games that follow in just 33 days.

It's OK to get fully immersed in the Olympic sports for a while, but who is really counting down the days until you can be a full time Boccia Watcher?

BOCCIA LEADERS AWARD | COURSE DATES

We now have six open Boccia Leaders courses running across the country from September 2024 to February 2025.

The Boccia Leaders Award provides learners with the fundamental skills and knowledge required to introduce and deliver boccia within the community. You will gain an understanding of both officiating and coaching boccia, including an overview of the rules of Boccia, adapting and designing boccia activities, leadership, plus disability awareness and classification.

The course is 3 hours practical learning and part of our minimum standards to deliver boccia in a club / independently.

Cost of the course: £45 per person

Details of courses:

Weston super Mare
Date: Saturday, 14th September 2024, 1:30-4:30pm
Venue: Parklands, Appreciate Way, Locking Parklands, Weston super Mare, BS24 7NN
Booking will close on 9 September 2024

Hinckley
Date: Saturday 12th October 2024, 1:30-4:30pm
Venue: Hinckley Leisure Centre, Argents Mead, Hinckley, LE10 1BZ
Booking will close on 7 October 2024

Stockport
Date: Sunday 27th October 2024, 1:30-4:30pm
Venue: Life Leisure Avondale, Heathbank Rd, Cheadle Heath, Stockport, SK3 0UP
Booking will close on 21 October 2024

Brighton
Date: Saturday 7th December 2024, 1:45-4:45pm
Venue: Moulsecoomb Community Leisure Centre, Moulsecoomb Way, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN2 4PB
Booking will close on 29 November 2024

Stockton-on-Tees
Date: Sunday 8th December 2024, 1:30-4:30pm
Venue: Queen's Campus Sport Centre, University Boulevard, Stockton on Tees, TS17 6BH
Booking will close on 1 December 2024

Sheffield
Date: Saturday 22nd February 2025, 1:30-4:30pm
Venue: Talbot SEN school, Lees Hall Rd, Norton Lees, Sheffield, S8 9JP
Booking will close on 17 February 2024

To book your place today, please click the link below - https://www.sportstructures.com/education-training/our-courses/sport-coaching-courses/sport-specific-coaching-courses/boccia-leaders-award/ #:~:text=The%20Boccia%20Leaders%20Award%20provides,deliver%20boccia%20within%20the%20community.

How much fun is boccia?!?

SUMMER HOLIDAY IDEAS

These exciting and inclusive PE resources on BBC Teach were developed for use in school but we think they are perfect for summer holiday fun at home too!

Find the fun at bbc.co.uk/supermovers

is a BBC Teach, Premier League and ParalympicsGB partnership

On 11 July, we held a Big Boccia Forum. The recording is now available to watch - https://vimeo.com/987065868?share=copy

The Forum was held to allow us to reflect on the 2023 - 2024 season and to look ahead to the 2024 - 2025 season.

Updates are provided on membership, club minimum standards, Paris 2024, National Boccia Day, and workforce developments.

Please contact us with any questions - [email protected] or 0115 9678455.

Big Boccia Forum - July 2024 A recording of the Big Boccia Forum, which took place on Thursday 11 July 2024. For more information or for any questions, please contact [email protected]…

Happy Friday all,

Why not treat yourself to booking onto one of our Boccia Leaders courses.

The course is face to face delivery across 3 hours, delivered by one of our qualified and experienced tutors.

The courses are open, meaning individuals can book on for a fee of £45, and booked through Sport Structures

Why not check out courses local to you via the following link:

https://www.sportstructures.com/education-training/our-courses/sport-coaching-courses/sport-specific-coaching-courses/boccia-leaders-award/

✨Meet David, who has quadriplegia cerebral palsy. It affects both arms, legs and often the torso and face. David needs a wheelchair and a tablet to communicate. ✨

David lives independently, competes in Boccia competitions nationally and internationally and works in security to spot shop lifters. 🏀🏆🎖🔊

🎉 During we celebrate David's independence to live, work and to compete in the sport he loves. Paul's Place supports David to life his life, reduce his isolation and feel part of a community. This enables David to experience new people, places and to live his life to the full. 🎉

💰While celebrating David would like to raise awareness about the extra cost and planning that disabled people face when travelling or staying away from home. For example, paying extra for his carers' accommodation or admission fees. 💰

🎈In July, we continue celebrating the disability community and their pride. Watch out for our video, coming next week! 🎈

42 - as any Douglas Adams fan knows, 42 is the answer to everything.

Whilst this remains correct, today and today alone, it is the number of days until the boccia competition at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games gets underway and the whole world joins us as 'boccia watchers'!

Exciting...? Just a bit!!

Competition schedules are available on the Paris 2024 website, so you can plan how you will 'watch'yer boccia' - https://olympics.com/en/paris-2024/information/competition-schedule-for-the-paralympic-games

We would like to shout out to Terry & Jackie Fearn who have donated a grand total of £316 back to Boccia England from their volunteer expenses through supporting us at competitions during the 2023/2024 season.

We thank you to all volunteers who have donated your expenses to us in the past, as a charity we thank you for your kind support, and the donations will help support in other areas, to drive and develop boccia.

One of our newly qualified level 1 referees wanted to share her experience of how she found the level 1 officials course at the weekend and how the boccia community has made her feel!

Thank you Tracey for your kind words!

If anyone wants to volunteer with Boccia England please do contact us on [email protected]

The Super League and National League Finals Day concluded our 2023 - 2024 season.

Read our report and reflections of the day here 👇

A super day of finals concludes our 2023-2024 season. Sunday 14th July saw the top 13 National League teams join the Super League teams at the University of Nottingham’s David Ross Sports Village for the final competition of 2023-24.

Chris Ratcliffe to leave Boccia England.

Chris Ratcliffe, CEO of Boccia England, has announced that he will be leaving his current role in September 2024.
After 8 years in the role, Chris has agreed to take up the opportunity to be CEO at UK Deaf Sport.

Chair of Boccia England, Mark Gannon stated:

‘Whilst we are sad to see Chris leave Boccia England, we wish him well in his new role where he is pursuing an opportunity that is close to his heart. Chris leaves the organisation in a strong position and a clear strategy for the future to ensure that we continue to work towards achieving our strategic goals. I know that Chris will also continue to be a champion of boccia, and I wish to thank him for his tireless work over the last 8 years.’

Chris commented that:

‘Naturally, I am going to miss being part of a wonderful sport and organisation and I am proud of what we have all achieved collectively over the last 8 years. We have come through some challenging times and yet we continue to see so many people benefit from their involvement in our sport. I am extremely grateful to my colleagues, the Board, our volunteers and the wider boccia community for all their support during the time I have been in this role.

I believe that there are a lot of exciting opportunities ahead of us and I have no doubt that the Team here will continue to grow and create positive, engaging and accessible opportunities for more people to play boccia.’

Chris’s last day at Boccia England will be 20th September 2024 and his replacement will be announced in due course.

At the Weekend we ran two level 1 boccia officiating courses side by side.

15 people started their journey to becoming officials.

It was great to see these new officials attend the competition the following day to put their new skills into practice!

Well done all, and welcome to the Boccia Community!

We have 3 more level 1 officials courses scheduled for this financial year:

28/09/2024 West Health Primary School, Birmingham
10/11/2024 Greenbank Sports Academy, Merseyside
14/03/2024 K2 Crawley

If you want to book onto one of our FREE courses, please contact us on [email protected]

As our competitive season comes to a close today, we say the biggest thank you to our wonderful team of volunteers, without whom we simply couldn't provide the opportunities we do.

We are privileged to have such fabulous people in our sport, not just at our competitions but also at every club and groups across the country.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you.

Congratulations to our winners

SUPER LEAGUE
🥇 Southern All Stars
🥈 Boccia Sheffield
🥉 Solent Boccia

NATIONAL LEAGUE
🥇Bury Boccia
🥈Herne Bay Herons
🥉Bexley Superstars

It's Finals time!!

The Super League final sees SAS v Boccia Sheffield

The National League Final pits Herne Bay Herons against Bury Boccia.

Meanwhile, Bexley Dodgers are playing against Nottingham Boccia's Team Spirit for the National League bronze.

Congratulations to Pauls Place Vikings, our first winners of today.

They take home the Super League Plate

As well as a full day of competition today, it is important to pause and wish Happy Birthday to some of our volunteers.

A big question though, are these Boccia Buns, Boccia Bakes or something else entirely?

SUPER LEAGUE FINALS DAY

Quarter final results

Southern All Star w/o v Pace A
Boccia Sheffield 10 - 1 Paul’s Place Vikings
Paul’s Place Barbarians 5 (1) - 5 (0) East Herts Shooting Stars
Solent Boccia w/o v The Gems

This all means the next set of games will be

Plate Final
East Herts v Paul’s Place Vikings

Semi Finals
Boccia Sheffield v Paul’s Place Barbarians
Southern All Stars v Solent Boccia

National League Finals Day

Round 2 of fixtures is now complete. Scores for each pool are below 👇