A long-term goal set out in our 2022-32 strategy is to achieve a nation-wide infrastructure for the boccia community to ensure that there are more local opportunities for everyone to play boccia.

To help us to achieve this, we have recently started conversations in a couple of locations to explore how we can work with existing clubs, volunteers, forums, and partners, as well as identifying new partners and individuals that can support our work.

Our own insight highlights the challenges, such as transport and care, that create inequalities and barriers to boccia provision and the importance of local, accessible provision and support. Members have highlighted the importance of more opportunities to play and increased competitive opportunities to support their own development and enjoyment of the sport. We want boccia to be easy for people to access and easy to progress for players, volunteers, and coaches. To do this, and to reach more people with a physical disability, it is essential we engage and connect more people and networks with our boccia provision.

The initial locations for our work are Nottinghamshire and the Northwest due to opportunities available from partners, existing boccia infrastructure, and previous work undertaken in the Northwest following the World Championships in 2018.

Our learning from our work will help us to develop this further across England in a gradual way, given our limited resource and we will be sharing our progress as this work develops.