BOCCIA UK AND PARALYMPIC QUALIFICATION

The Paris Paralympic Games will showcase around 4400 athletes across 549 medal events. And in boccia, there will be 11 medal events and 33 medals up for grabs – the highest number of any Games.

But where do Great Britain stand in terms of qualification? Performance Director Greg Baker is keeping a keen eye on the world rankings as we approach the end of the year.

Because one way to secure a Paralympic spot is to achieve a top four world ranking in the Team and Pairs events by 31 December. And with the Pan American and also the Asian Championships taking place recently, we knew there would almost certainly be some movement at the top of the table.

We sat down with Greg to get the latest update…

So who has qualified?

The BC1/2 Team look as if they have qualified. They are no2 in the world and have had a consistent year to keep their ranking at that position.

Winning silver at the europeans

Who hasn’t yet qualified?

The BC3 Pairs will need to compete at the qualification event in Portugal in March where they will need to be inside the top three to secure their spot for Paris.

The BC4 Pairs very nearly qualified through the ranking list but we needed to wait on results from both the Pan-American and the Asian Championships. With China winning the Asian Championships, the BC4s will also need to achieve a top three position at the qualification event in Portugal to book their seat to Paris next summer.

the BC4 PAIRS WON SILVER AT THE EUROPEANS

What are Great Britain’s targets for Paris?

We’re aiming to better our performance in Tokyo where David Smith achieved a gold medal – that is, for sure, one of our targets. And we’re in a good position to do that – the BC1/2 Team has made major strides this year, and we have had two World no1s in David and Claire Taggart who have both performed very consistently this year alongside other individuals who have achieved medal winning performances at the European Championships and World Cups this year.

But we’re also really excited for the Los Angeles cycle which is why we’ve introduced the Talent Transition programme and why we’re creating more opportunities for athletes coming through. When the last ball is played in Paris, we can immediately hit the ground running on the road to LA.

Has 2023 been a success for Boccia UK?

We’ve had a good year and we have been able to build on what we achieved at the World Championships in 2022 where we achieved a gold and two silvers. We’ve shown consistency at both Challenger events and World Cups and athletes have had some great wins against world class opposition.

The Talent Transition Squad has been really positive. Working with the Home Nations, athletes have been coming together on camps and integrating with the World Class Programme athletes. And we saw the benefits of that at the recent UK Championships where all four Talent athletes achieved podium positions, plus a silver medal winning performance by Matt Berry in the Poznan Challenger event.

matt berry excelled in poznan

What are your top 2023 highlights?

Most definitely, my highlight has been how the squad has achieved success across the different classifications. At World Cups, we have very real medal contenders right across the squad now and that is fantastic to see and something we have to keep building on to increase the breadth and depth of performance athletes across the World Class Programme.

We have been on a transition since Tokyo, especially because of the new male / female rulings in the Pairs events and also in the Team because of some of the new rulings. But we have really galvanised as a squad and that is paying off. There’s always work to do and we can never stay still, but its been a positive step towards where we want to be.

Another highlight for me was the World Youths in Povoa where Sophie Newnham, Tyler McLelland and Harrison Smith won a gold medal in the BC4 Pairs event. It’s really positive to see young athletes coming through.

tyler mclelland, sophie newnham and harrison smith winning gold at the world youth championships

Thanks to everyone for your support this year. Whether you’re officiating, volunteering, playing, assisting or being one of the sport’s cheerleaders, we thank you and we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.