Boccia is descendent from ancient Greek ball tossing games. In 1984 Boccia was officially recognised as a Paralympics sport and was first played in Australia in 1987.
Boccia provides opportunities for people with severe physical disabilities to attain elite performances. It requires tactics, skill & control and concentration to make a perfect game.
The balls are of a solid but pliable nature with a kinetic and rolling quality, this often means those with a more severe functional disability are able to grip the ball more easily, it also has the possibility of reducing the advantage of physical strength so that skill becomes a more important factor.
A player can also kick the ball into court and others may use specifically designed assistive devices such as ramps.
Classifications
There are four classifications depending on the level of mobility. CPISRA are the national governing body for boccia and have overall control of all international boccia competitions. While boccia is a sport that may be played by anyone, to compete at the very highest level players must qualify within the CPISRA classification criteria. Visit www.cpisra.org to find out more.
For more information visit http://www.paralympic.org.au/Sport/SportProfiles/Boccia.aspx
Boccia Documents
Rules & Regulations: Visit www.cpisra.org to download The CPISRA Sports Manual 10th Edition