PARA SPORTS

Boccia

BOCCIA IS A STRATEGY AND ACCURACY DISCIPLINE. IT WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED FOR ATHLETES WITH CEREBRAL PALSY, BUT TODAY IS PLAYED BY ATHLETES WITH ANY TYPE OF SEVERE PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENT THAT COMPRISES THE FOUR LIMBS.


It is a mixed sport, where men and women compete individually, in pairs, or in teams. Besides, it is one of the two sports in the Paralympic program that does not have an Olympic equivalent.

Sports classification

It consists of the medical-functional evaluation for athletes, in order to group them according to the degree of impairment or physical functional limitation on their sports performance and thus ensure a fair competition.

After this, athletes are classified in the following categories:

BC1:They have severe activity limitations affecting the legs, arms and trunk, and are usually powered wheelchair users.

BC2: Players who can propel boccia with their hands. Para athletes in this sport class are not eligible to have an assistant.

BC3: Players with severe motor dysfunction in all four limbs. This implies that they cannot take the boccia with their hands or feet to generate propulsion and can use a technical aid such as the ramp to propel it. They compete with an assistant, who maintains communication with the player without looking towards the court at any time.

BC4: Players who have severe motor dysfunction in all four limbs as well as poor trunk control. However, they demonstrate enough skill to propel boccia over the field of play. Athletes in this sport class are not eligible to have an assistant.

History

This sport is probably one of the oldest practiced by humans: carvings of Egyptian figures throwing stones have been recorded since 5200 BC.

Boccia made its Paralympic debut at New York 1984, where 19 athletes represented five countries. Currently, it is practiced in more than 75 countries and 116 athletes competed in this discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Games.

It was admitted to the Parapan American Games at Buenos Aires 2003. Then, at Rio de Janeiro 2007, boccia was not part of the program, but returned at Guadalajara 2011 until the current versions of the Parapan American Games.

The Parapan American medal table is led by Brazil with 19 medals in total, 10 of them golds.

How do you compete?

It is a sport of precision and strategy. Two teams face each other, each represented with a red or blue boccia, depending on the result of the draw prior to the competition. They must propel their boccia towards the target boccia (white), or also known as jack, and leave it as close as possible to it.

The winner is the one who leaves the boccia closest to the jack, obtaining a point. Besides, an additional point will be given for each extra boccia that is closer to the jack compared to your opponent.

The matches are played in four quarters and, depending on the category, the minutes of duration are assigned.

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Quiz

What color are the boccias used in the competition?

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Information for the community

Federation of Paralympic Boccia of Chile: https://febopach.cl/

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