Its crunch time in Portugal

 It’s back to business on Sunday as four Great Britain athletes will begin their campaigns in Portugal to qualify for the Paris Paralympic Games.

And double European medallist Stephen McGuire says it’s more difficult than ever before to secure those all-important slots. The BC3 Pairs and BC4 Pairs both need to win medals in Portugal before they can book their Eurostar tickets to Paris.

McGuire explains:

“I’m really excited for the qualifier – it’s the first time that World Boccia has staged a qualifying event in the twenty years I’ve been competing. But it is more difficult to qualify than ever before as, up to this event, it has relied on winning specific events such as the Europeans which we just missed out on. But it’s also testament to the fact that, globally, boccia is growing rapidly.”

Stephen and fiona claimed silver at the europeans last summer

Stephen McGuire will line up with fellow Lanarkshire player Fiona Muirhead and will aim to build on the progress made last season in the BC4 Pairs. The duo started working together just under two years ago and began to see their hard work pay off last year.

Coached by Claire Morrison, they won their first gold together at the Heraklion Challenger last October. And before that, they claimed a silver medal at the Europeans in Rotterdam:

“We do have some tough opposition in Coimbra,” says McGuire. “Our big rivals going into this as Brazil and Portugal. Plus, Malaysia – a duo who have only played BC4 Pairs for two years – are a bit of an unknown but they’re doing well and are ones to watch.

“Fiona and I are a new partnership but, in just under two years, we have learnt so much – about each other’s styles of play but also the style we create together and how we can get the best from each other. It was great to see that hard work paying off last year and hopefully we can go one step further and secure that spot for Paris. Fiona’s put so much effort in and it would be her first Paralympic Games so fingers crossed we can get over the line.”

Meanwhile, Arborfield’s Will Arnott and Salisbury’s Sally Kidson – coached by Glynn Tromans - are readying themselves for the BC3 Pairs. Like Muirhead, it would also be their first ever Paralympic Games. In fact, Kidson is just 19 years old and is the youngest member of Boccia UK’s World Class Performance Programme.

will arnott will team up with sally kidson in bc3 pairs

Greg Baker is Boccia UK’s Performance Director and he says:

“We expect this tournament to be very competitive with each nation fighting it out to get to the Games. It’s one we feel ready for and have had good preparation leading into it with international sparrers and nations coming to train in the UK while we have also travelled to other countries to train. 

“It will be a fascinating few days in Portugal and rest assured we will give it everything we’ve got to ensure we deliver our very best performances.

“We have three athletes who have never competed at a Paralympic Games before so it’s really exciting to see that talent coming through. They’ve put in a huge amount of hard work and hopefully we’ll see it pay off.”

If Great Britain manages to secure places in the Pairs events, they also earn individual spots in Paris. Meanwhile, the BC1/2 Team has already qualified.