Last summer, Boccia England, in conjunction with British Blind Sport were pleased to launch a new educational resource dedicated to visually impaired (VI) boccia. This was alongside a funded VI Boccia Development Package, open to any partners, organisations, schools, clubs or groups looking to develop and deliver VI boccia.

The outcomes of this project were to raise awareness of VI boccia and engage more blind and partially sighted players within the sport. We planned to do this by supporting organisations and groups with the equipment they need and by developing the skills and knowledge of our coaches, leaders and volunteers.

The eight successful Package applicants were awarded:

• Access for one, to complete UK Coaching’s ‘Coaching People with a Visual Impairment’ eLearning module (RRP £15.99).
• Access for one, at Boccia England’s 'Introduction to Visually Impaired Boccia' webinar (RRP £10).
• 1 x VI Boccia Grid (RRP £108).
• Access to the new educational VI Boccia resource launched in June 2021 in conjunction with British Blind Sport.

We have worked with the following partners who have been delivering boccia in their settings for the past 6 months:

• Blackpool Boccia Club
• Defiant Sports
• Horsham Sport Services
• My Sight Notts
• Scarboccia Boccia Club
• St Vincent’s School for Sensory Impairment and Other Needs
• Sport for Confidence
• Stockport Sensory Support Service

 

We are pleased to report on the success of this project and below we hear from some of the organisations, coaches and players involved.

Partners Defiant Sports have been working with a group of 15 visually impaired players who have previously been inactive. Boccia has now become their favourite sport, and has acted as a gateway into other sports. This has improved their overall wellbeing and mental health as well, both through the physical activity itself and the opportunity to learn new skills and meet new people.

Mikey - “I find it very relaxing, joyful, and an easy sport to do if you haven’t got much capability. I really enjoy it!”

Emily - “Boccia is something I’ve never done before, it’s nice to socialise with other people, and it’s a very interesting game which I’m going to do more of I think.”

 

My Sight Notts have engaged around 60 people around Nottinghamshire to date, and it was great to hear about one partially sighted participant who really made use of the VI grid;

 “Once Dawn started, we couldn’t get her away! She loved it, she totally ‘got’ the board and said it helped her to visualise where the balls were and where to roll other balls to be near the jack. Out of the five games we played, Dawn won three of them and told us it was the most fun she’d had for ages.”

As a result of delivering these boccia sessions, My Sights Notts have seen people becoming more confident in trying new things and increasing their levels of enjoyment too. They have seen more people working together, both sighted and those with sight loss to ensure that everyone can participate and have fun. They have even had people come along to sessions that they hadn’t seen at My Sight for a while as they had heard about the boccia sessions and wanted to have a go, proving this as a tool to reduce isolation and loneliness.

  

   

Long standing boccia club Scarboccia have engaged 16 blind and partially sighted people across their weekly hubs and all have enjoyed playing boccia. They have found VI boccia to improve their wellbeing as it’s a game that can be adapted to each individual therefore giving them independence to feel valued and part of the game.

         

 

And finally, volunteer Carla from Blackpool Boccia Club, felt that she benefited from the training provided and said;

“I personally enjoyed the course which opened up a whole new understanding area of boccia for those with Visual Impairments. The content was at the right level and such content will be a huge asset to Blackpool Boccia Club as we enable those with Visual Impairments to access the sport of boccia.  It is hoped that 2022 will enable us to do just that, thus enabling these players to also access the competitive field.”