Boccia UK is gearing up for its opening tournament of the 2025 season. Seven British athletes head to the Pajulathi Challenger in Finland (9-17 May 2025).

It’s Stephen McGuire MBE’s first international event since winning gold at the Paris Paralympic Games, after some time off the court:

“I absolutely needed a break after Paris to clear my head and refocus and figure out what I wanted to do. The cycle is demanding and I’d had 20 years chasing that gold medal. I needed to work out what I wanted to achieve next and the European Championships in Zagreb is high on that list so Finland is a really good warm-up for that.

“I’ve always done well at Europeans and it’s one of the tournaments I really look forward to. The biggest motivation for me this year is to qualify as a Pair for the World Championships next year.”

David Smith OBE will also be back in action. He will be joined by Kayleigh Brown and Reshad Saraj in the Team event following the individual competition. For Saraj, it will be his first tournament as a member of Boccia UK’s World Class Programme.

Meanwhile, Brown recently announced in an Instagram post that she and her husband and competition assistant, Kevin, are expecting a baby in November.

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A post shared by Kayleigh Brown (@kayleigh_haggo)

“I’m really looking forward to competing in Finland and the Europeans before I take a break from the boccia court to focus on family,” explained Brown.

Finland will also see a return to court for BC3 player Sally Kidson. The Bristol University music student was Britain’s youngest boccia athlete at the Paralympics. Robyn McBride of Northern Ireland will also be vying to get through the knockout rounds of the BC3 class.

And after a period of injury last season, Fiona Muirhead will also be back in action in the BC4 class.

fiona muirhead back in action after injury

Performance Director Greg Baker says:

“We’ve had a number of athletes taking a rest and recovery period since the Paralympic Games, but we’re now back to training and looking forward to our first tournament of the season.

“It’s a good chance for us to see where everyone’s at and it’s also excellent preparation towards the European Championships in July which is our major event this season. The Europeans is significant in that is an important qualification opportunity for the World Championships next year.”

This will also be the first opportunity for Rikki Bingham, the newly appointed Head Coach, to see the athletes in competition.

BC1/BC2 Team

David Smith

Kayleigh Brown

Reshad Saraj

(all competing in Individuals)

BC3 F

Robyn McBride

Sally Kidson

BC4 F

Fiona Muirhead

BC4 M