Dunedin's Brilliant Boccia Boys

On 10 & 11 July Dunedin held the Boccia South Island Championships. The best Boccia players from Canterbury and Dunedin attended this event.

ParaFed Otago had three boys from our Junior Boccia group compete: Dylan Lloyd (13), Connor Fa'asega (13), and Hunter Edgecomb (12). This was the first official competition our boys have played in. We had a slightly rocky start trying to work out the correct Boccia balls and the set-up positions but we worked out the best solutions and the boys were ready play.

The boys all had three games on the Saturday and two on the Sunday. I was so impressed with the way they improved with each game. You could see them thinking and planning with each move. The fact that the boys were winning sets against players who had been playing for over twenty years is incredible! They were not just participating, they were holding their own ground and making the older players sweat.

One thing I admired from the boys was their smiles. They were so happy to be there and be a part of the competition. Their positive attitude was very infectious. When the boys played everyone from Dunedin and Canterbury was cheering for them.

I would particularly like to say thanks to the Dunedin and Canterbury Boccia teams for taking the time to teach our boys strategies and tactical play; it was so inspirational to watch. The support from the other players for our younger players was heart-warming.

I can sense some really great things in the future! I am looking forward to see what these boys are capable of. We will take what we have learnt over the weekend and implement it into our training. I will look at growing my squad to ensure the continuation of Boccia in Dunedin.