Boccia is a ball sport played by disabled people including people with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or spinal cord injury. Players use leather balls. It was first played at the Paralympic Games in 1992. The sport is for both men and women, who play against each other in competition. It was originally developed to be a sport that could be played by wheelchair users with severe cerebral palsy, was then extended to include other players with severe impairment affecting their movement, and later to the wider community including people with learning disability, milder movement disabilities, or visual impairment.
In the Paralympics there are four categories of players based on their level of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3 and BC4. Players take part in competition one at a time, in twos or in teams of three.
- BC1 - Players in this group throw the ball with the hand or foot. They may play with support from a helper who stands outside of the competitor's playing box. The helper may stabilize or adjust the player's wheelchair and give the ball to the player when requested.
- BC2 - players in this group throw the ball with the hand. They are not allowed any help.
- BC3 - players in this group have very serious movement disability in both hands and feet. They can not grasp or let go of the ball very well. They may be able to move their arms, but they do not have enough range of movement to be able to throw forward a Boccia ball onto the court. They may use something to help them, such as a ramp for the ball to roll off. They may compete with a helper; helpers must keep their back to the court and can not look at the play.
- BC4 - players in this group have serious movement disability in both hands and feet as well as poor control of the torso. They can show enough motor skill to throw the ball onto the court. Players are not allowed any help.
References[change | change source]
- Joseph P. Winnick (2010). Adapted Physical Education and Sport. Human Kinetics 10%. p. 550. ISBN 978-0-7360-8918-0. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- Linda Mastandrea; Donna Czubernat (2006). Sports And the Physically Challenged: An Encyclopedia of People, Events, And Organizations. Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-313-32453-6. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
- Michael Hutson; Cathy Speed (17 March 2011). Sports Injuries. Oxford University Press. pp. 439–440. ISBN 978-0-19-953390-9. Retrieved 25 May 2013.