sport boccia at the 1992 summer paralympics
The 1992 Summer Paralympics ( ___MASK24___ : " Juegos Paralímpicos de Verano de 1992 "; Catalan : " Jocs Paralímpics d ' estiu de 1992 ") were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held . They were held in Barcelona , Catalonia , Spain . In addition , the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with mental handicap were held immediately after the regular Paralympics in the ___MASK24___ capital , Madrid . Boccia at the 1992 Summer Paralympics consisted of three events . The ___MASK87___ is also very popular on the eastern side of the Adriatic , especially in Croatia , Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina , where the ___MASK87___ is known in Serbo - Croatian as ' (' playing '') or ' ( colloquially also '). In Slovenia the ___MASK87___ is known as ' or colloquially ' playing '', or ' ( from Italian ' and Venetian "", meaning ' balls ', respectively ). Boccia is a precision ball ___MASK87___ , similar to bocce , and related to ___MASK9___ and pétanque . The name " boccia " is derived from the Latin word for " boss "  "". The ___MASK87___ is contested at local , national and international levels , by athletes with severe physical disabilities . It was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills . In 1984 , it became a Paralympic ___MASK87___ , and in 2008 was being practised in over fifty countries worldwide . Boccia is governed by the Boccia International Sports Federation ( BISFed ) and is one of only two Paralympic sports ( along with goalball ) that have no counterpart in the Olympic program . Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is to toss or roll hollow steel balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called a " cochonnet " ( literally " piglet ") or jack , while standing inside a circle with both feet on the ground . The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel . It can be played in public areas in parks , or in dedicated facilities called " boulodromes ". Similar games are bocce , ___MASK9___ and ( adapted to ice ) curling . ___MASK9___ or lawn ___MASK9___ is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a " jack " or " kitty ". It is played on a bowling green which may be flat ( for " flat - green ___MASK9___ ") or convex or uneven ( for " crown green ___MASK9___ "). It is normally played outdoors ( although there are many indoor venues ) and the outdoor surface is either natural grass , artificial turf , or cotula ( in New Zealand ). ___MASK6___ is a team sport designed specifically for blind athletes , originally devised in 1946 by the Austrian Hanz Lorenzen and German Sepp Reindle as a means of assisting the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans . Participants compete in teams of three , and try to throw a ball that has bells embedded in it into the opponents ' goal . Teams alternate throwing or rolling the ball from one end of the playing area to the other , and players remain in the area of their own goal in both defense and attack . Players must use the sound of the bell to judge the position and movement of the ball . Games consist of two 12 - minute halves ( formerly 10 - minute halves ). Eyeshades allow partially sighted players to compete on an equal footing with blind players . Eyepatches may be worn under eyeshades to ensure complete coverage of the eye , and prevent any vision should the eyeshades become dislodged . The Paralympic Games is a major international multi - ___MASK87___ event involving athletes with a range of disabilities , including impaired muscle power ( e . g . paraplegia and quadriplegia , muscular dystrophy , post - polio syndrome , spina bifida ), impaired passive range of movement , limb deficiency ( e . g . amputation or dysmelia ), leg length difference , short stature , hypertonia , ataxia , athetosis , vision impairment and intellectual impairment . There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games , which since the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul , South Korea , are held almost immediately following the respective Olympic Games . All Paralympic Games are governed by the International Paralympic Committee ( IPC ).