Boccia NSW Right Time to Start Rolling Out in The Hills
Boccia NSW is the fastest-growing Paralympian sport in Australia and now Boccia NSW would love to start a club in the Hills and Hawkesbury areas.
According to the head coach and secretary of Boccia NSW, Ken Halliday, they will provide all the assistance needed to get the game going and support it. Halliday said they have clubs in Penrith, Hunter, Penrith, Cronulla/Sutherland and the Northern Beaches.
“We would love to have a club in the Hills/ Hawkesbury district where I’m sure there a large number of people with a disability who would benefit greatly from being involved in boccia, “ said Boccia Australia’s High Performance Head Coach.
“I’m sure there are many people with a disability sitting at home or in community centres because it is too difficult for their parents/carers to take them to sport …. I have seen so many lives changed after being introduced to boccia.”
The Department of Education is holding multi-sport days including boccia, at PCYC South Windsor on June 27 and at the Hills Basketball Stadium, Castle Hill, on September 15.
Schools Boccia NSW Knockout tournament
Over 400 teams are taking part in the department-organised Schools Boccia Knockout tournament this year.
The most successful Australian team is in the BC3 classification (players that use a ramp) consisting of all NSW athletes.
Australia just won their fourth consecutive gold medal through Daniel Michel and Jamieson Leeson at the 2023 Montreal World Cup in the BC3 Pairs competition. Australia won the 2022 World Championships in Brazil.
Boccia is played indoors on a basketball type floor by people with disabilities. The sport is similar to bowls, where you have a jack (target) ball and each person/team plays their balls to the jack. There are a lot of tactics and strategies involved. The player needs to be in a wheelchair or sitting when playing on the court. There are different classifications depending on the person’s disability.
In 1995, aged 43, Halliday had a significant career change. While a manager of a powder coating plant in Brookvale, he had the urge to do something worthwhile for the community.
“As a result, I left the company, and started work as a community support worker, caring for people with cerebral palsy in community homes at the Spastic Centre (now known as Cerebral Palsy Alliance),” Halliday said. “In 1999 I was asked to assist the residents in one of the homes to play boccia. From the first day, I was hooked.
“I left Cerebral Palsy Alliance in 2018 to concentrate more on my role as the Boccia Australia High Performance Head Coach, which I still do.”
The recent Boccia NSW State Titles in Penrith was one of the most successful with 39 participants.
For any enquiries, you can email: [email protected].
