British boccia star Louis Saunders is gearing up for the European Para Championships which take place in Rotterdam from 8-20 August.

It is a brand-new multi-sport event which is set to attract1500 Para athletes from 45 European nations who will battle it out across 10 sports.

And the 21-year-old Paralympian – who studies at University of Sussex - says it’s a major move forward for disability sport:

“I’m really excited for the competition in Rotterdam next week. I think it’s such a big moment for the Paralympic movement to finally have a huge multi-sport event, outside of the Paralympic Games.

“We’ve been crying out for this for a long, long time. It’s so important that Paralympic sports get more attention and more media coverage so that disabled people know they have opportunities to enjoy sport. We can’t just wait for the Paralympics to roll around every four years to shout about what we do. So I’m really pleased It’s a really exciting opportunity for boccia and for disability sport as a whole. I’m proud to be part of that in the Netherlands.

“Hopefully, we’ll get a chance to check out the other sports that are happening and the public and other athletes can take a look at the boccia. That’s quite a unique opportunity, apart from Paralympic Games of course, because we’re normally taking part in tournaments that are purely boccia tournaments.”

Saunders has been playing boccia since he was at introduced to it at school. Similar to boules, players must throw, roll or kick coloured balls as close as possible to a white target ball, known as the jack.

Testing muscle control, strategy and accuracy, you can compete as an individual, pairs or as a team of three over a set number of ends. Each side has six balls (red or blue) each end to try and score points. Points are accumulated over the course of a match to find a winner.

He represented Great Britain at the delayed Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2021 and is now hoping to book his place at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The European Para Championships is a crucial milestone in the build up to Paris with opportunities to qualify individual as well as team and pair slots.

“We have an exciting summer of boccia coming up. Boccia UK is sending a team to four competitions over next couple of months – we have the Euros, then the World Cups in Brazil and Portugal and then we end the season in Greece. It’s an exciting time as we fight for qualification for Paris. That does make the Euros quite pressured – we do need to perform well to get our slots for the Paralympics next year but I’m hoping to draw on my experience of qualifying for Tokyo to help me deal with that.”

While next week’s tournament is brand new, organisers have also shaken up the traditional format of a boccia competition.

“The finals will be played on outdoor courts. I don’t think that’s been done before and it’s so cool for the sport of boccia. Playing boccia in a city centre? Who’d have thought or imagined that? Ten years ago, I don’t think people would have thought it possible.”

And Saunders is full of confidence for the Great Britain squad:

“We’ve got a squad of ten athletes and we have a mix of experience. You’ve got people who have been to Paralympic Games and defending European Champions in David Smith OBE and Stephen McGuire and then we have newer athletes. There’s a real mix and we have such strength in depth now across all classifications. It’s super exciting that we have two entries in the BC3 women’s and two entries in the BC3 men’s. It shows the quality of the squad right now.

“On a personal level, my parents are going to come out and watch. They haven’t seen me play in an international tournament since the World Championships in Liverpool in 2018. It’s going to be super nice for them and hopefully I can play well for them. I can’t wait to share the experience with my Mum and Dad.

“Hopefully we can all push for medals and get ourselves on the Eurostar to Paris next year.”

Boccia UK Performance Director Greg Baker says the event is an unrivalled opportunity for younger players:

“The European Para Championships is a fantastic addition to our calendar. 40% of our squad named for Rotterdam have never competed at a Paralympic Games before and so they don’t have that experience of a multi-sport event and everything that comes with that. It is a great opportunity, ahead of Paris next year, to soak up all that experience.

“We want to carry on the momentum and the positive results we have achieved this year and at the World Youth Championships last month,” added Baker. “This is a critical competition which we hope will help us with Paris 2024 qualification. It’s the major event of the season and we’re really looking forward to showcasing our performance levels.”

The squad:

BC1 Male – David Smith (IND & Pairs)

BC2 Female – Claire Taggart (IND & Pairs)

BC2 Male – Will Hipwell (IND & Pairs)

BC3 Female – Robyn McBride (IND)

BC3 Female – Sally Kidson (IND & Pairs)

BC3 Male – Will Arnott (IND & Pairs)

BC3 Male – Patrick Wilsom (IND)

BC4 Female – Fiona Muirhead (IND & Pairs)

BC4 Male – Stephen McGuire (IND & Pairs)

BC4 Male – Louis Saunders (IND)