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Boccia
What is Boccia?
Boccia (pronounced ‘Bot-cha’) is a Paralympic sport introduced in 1984. Athletes throw, kick or use a ramp to propel a ball onto the court with the aim of getting closest to a ‘jack’ ball. The sport is designed specifically for
athletes with a disability affecting locomotor function, and is played indoors on a court similar in size to a badminton court.
One player/team has six red balls and the other has six blue balls. There is a white jack ball, which is thrown first. The aim of the game is to get closer to the jack than your opponent. The balls are leather containing plastic granules so they don’t bounce but will still roll. The side whose ball is not the closest to the jack throws until they get a ball closest, or until they run out of balls. Once all the balls have been thrown, one side receives points for every ball they have closer to the jack than their opponent’s closest ball.
Disability Sport Wales and Boccia
DSW is the lead organisation for Boccia in Wales. The DSW Performance Pathway currently supports athletes with a profile that allows them to progress into the Paralympic pathway within the classifications BC1-BC4. At grassroots level the sport is open for all.
DSW's priorities for the sport are to encourage more coaches and players to take up this incredible sport, to work with schools to provide inclusive PE lesson and to provide greater opportunities to participate in the sport by
increasing club-based activities within local authorities.
