…………… but NOT as we know it!!
Last Thursday, a small group from the Club were invited by, Tomas Martin who works for Disability Sport Wales as Boccia Coordinator, to a Welsh Paralympic Performance Session for Boccia – a game very similar to petanque in many ways but with some notable differences, amongst them:
- the jack is as big as the boccia balls
- the balls are like mini stuffed footballs that range from squidgy to very hard and each player can have a selection of balls of differing hardness – unlike petanque where, in a set, each boule is identical
- the players sit in a line alternating each team so that each player from a team has a different view of the game which often determines who plays the next ball
- players who are unable to throw a ball use a ramp similar to the one we used to roll pennies down at the funfair – but much larger. (these players are known as “rampers”). Normally “rampers” would not play against “throwers”
- the winner is determined after a fixed number of ends not by reaching a certain score
- as in petanque there is a plethora of minor rules which were explained to us but would take too long to repeat here
The evening started with introductions and a chat about boccia. Tomas, who has competed for Wales in various international events, is the grandson of our own club member, Tony Martin who took most of the photos in this article.
Then it was down to the Sports Hall where we split up into 2 teams to play a couple of sessions each against the “throwers” and the “rampers”. By the end we were beginning to get the hang of it, getting balls relatively near to the jack and even shooting.
Tomas Martin with the Monkstone Team
I am not sure if anyone knew the final result but it didn’t matter – everyone had a great time and an evening to remember and Inclusivity in Sport was the winner!
A big thank-you from Monkstone Petanque Club to Tomas and all the other players and volunteers who made the evening such a success and good luck to Wales Paralympic Boccia team in the future.
