The members of Cotswold Crusaders Boccia Club have been really getting into the spirit of the Rainbow Cup!

Club Leader, Anna Eaton, said: “The Rainbow Cup has been a great way for our players to keep in practice with their boccia skills and share the game with friends and family during lockdown.  The addition of the club challenge element to the competition was brilliant. It gave added purpose to playing boccia from home and it reignited some of the team spirit among club members that we had been looking forward to channelling during the National League Competition.  As Club Leader I am proud of the way my players have embraced the competition and the creative ways in which they have adapted and found equipment for all the challenges.”

Team Captain, Archie Eaton (a BC5 player and coach), said: “I first got involved with the Rainbow Cup as it was a way to stay active and motivated for boccia while competitions are not running, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We have also found as a club that the Rainbow Cup Club Challenge has helped us all to stay in touch. As part of becoming a coach I am also now collating the scores for the team – this has been a good way to learn how to keep in touch with players on a regular basis (and how to chase them up when I don’t get their scores!). I am now at university studying sports coaching with disability sport in order to help me become a great coach to hopefully get athletes on the pathway to Paralympic glory.”

Anna added that Archie would have been sitting his A Levels this summer and was planning to do work experience with boccia in local schools after the exams. Helping the Club coordinate its Rainbow Cup Club Challenge entry had been a valuable alternative.

Here are some of the club members participating in the Rainbow Cup games...