What is Boccia?
Q: What is Boccia?
A: Boccia is a ball sport played by disabled people including those with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or spinal cord injury. Players use leather or soft plastic covered balls. It was first played at the Paralympic Games in 1984.
Q: Who can play Boccia?
A: The sport is for both men and women, who play against each other in competition. It was originally developed to be a sport that could be played by wheelchair users with severe cerebral palsy, but has since been extended to include other players with severe impairment affecting their movement, and later to the wider community including people with learning disability, milder movement disabilities, or visual impairment.
Q: How are players divided into categories?
A: In the Paralympics there are four categories of players based on their level of disability: BC1, BC2, BC3 and BC4.
Q: How do competitors take part in competition?
A: Competitors take part one at a time, in twos or in teams of three.
Q: What type of help is allowed for BC1 players?
A: For BC1 players they may have support from a helper who stands outside of the competitor's playing box. The helper may stabilize or adjust the player's wheelchair and give the ball to the player when requested.
A: Q: Who controls international boccia?
A: The organisation which controls international boccia is called BISFed - the Boccia International Sports Federation. BISFed write the rules of the international game, control the selection of players for the Paralympic Games, and run competitions for boccia players.
