Disability Sport NI |Disability Sport NI Host 2023 UK Boccia Challenger

Last weekend (20^th – 22^nd January), Disability Sport NI hosted the first UK Boccia Challenger of 2023. This is the fourth event of it’s type, and the first to be held in Northern Ireland. The UK Challengers were established by Boccia UK in 2021 to give home country pathway athletes more opportunities to compete against others at a similar level.

The Disability Sport NI Boccia Challenger 2023 took place in Antrim Forum, where the 2019 UK Championships were hosted, and saw 23 athletes from 5 countries competing. A team of 13 referees, made up of Scottish, English and Northern Irish referees, officiated 51 matches over the 2 days across three classification groups. Northern Ireland had five players competing in the competition: Scott Cromie (BC2), Daniel Elliott / Billy Elliott (BC3), Michaela Hollywood / Victoria McCoy (BC3), Hannah Uprichard / Gordon Uprichard (BC3) and Jayne Milligan (BC4).

Results:

After a lot of competitive close matches, tie-break ends and 714 ball checks, we arrived at the medal matches and able to declare the winners in each classification:

BC 1/2

1^st Padraic Moran (IRE)

2^nd Lewis McConnell (SCO)

3^rd Dylan Nelson (IRE)

BC 3

1^st Rafael Young / David Ellis (ENG)

2^nd Daniel Elliott / Billy Elliott (NIR)

3^rd Michaela Hollywood / Victoria McCoy (NIR)

BC4

1^st Sophie Newnham (ENG)

2^nd Fiona Muirhead (SCO)

3^rd Penny Froude (ENG)

As with other Challengers, a number of ‘merit’ awards were made to players who stood out and progressed over the course of the competition:

Home Nations Coach Award (presented by Terry Conroy, DSNI) – Caroline Robinson

Players’ Award (presented by Claire Taggart, Boccia UK) – Michaela Hollywood / Victoria McCoy

Officials’ Award (presented by Pam Johnston, Head Referee) – Rachael Ross & Harrison Smith

Terry Conroy (Boccia Performance Pathway Officer, Disability Sport NI) said, “It was fantastic to be able to welcome players back to Antrim for the first time since 2019. These competitions are key to getting players in our pathway more exposure to national-level competitions and a great opportunity to let our players compete on home soil at this level. We saw a great mix of new, young and experienced players taking to the court and some really exciting boccia being played over the weekend.”

Michaela Hollywood (BC3 player, Northern Ireland) said, “As someone relatively new to boccia, the Challenger was a fantastic introduction to this level of competition. It gave me the opportunity to challenge myself in everything, from training to actual match play. It also allowed me to network with other players as I continue to develop in the sport.”

We would like to thank all the players, coaches and officials who travelled and helped make a great competition, and to Boccia England, Scottish Disability Sport, Disability Sport Wales and Boccia Ireland for entering players in the competition. Also, thank you to Boccia UK, Sport NI and Antrim & Newtownabbey Borough Council for their support with hosting the event. We look forward to being able to welcome players back to Northern Ireland in the future.