Local schools eye off boccia title at state championships
Nine Hunter schools will be among 48 from across the state taking part in the NSW Primary and Secondary Boccia Championships at Sydney's Olympic Park on Tuesday and Wednesday 13-14 August 2024.
The local primary schools taking part on Tuesday are Arcadia Vale Public School,
Irrawang Public School, Lake Munmorah Public School, Mannering Park Public School,
Pelican Flat Public School and Thornton Public School.
Francis Greenway High School, Kotara High School and Warners Bay High School are taking part in the Wednesday tournament.
The teams were whittled down from 470 schools in NSW where an estimated 3400 competitors took part – making the tournament the biggest of its type anywhere in the world.
Now in its 11th year, after starting as a humble competition for 40 NSW public schools, boccia is the sport of choice for participants with a range of physical disabilities.
It has elements of bocce, bowls and pétanque with the goal of getting the balls closer to the jack than the opposition, and caters for students with physical, hearing, vision and intellectual disability as well as transplant recipients.
The NSW public schools' competition has been a springboard for students to move into the international boccia scene, with Paris-bound Paralympians Jamieson Leeson (Dunedoo Central School), Dan Michel (Heathcote High School) and Spencer Cotie (Killarney Heights High School) all beginning their boccia careers in the School Sport Unit event.
Jamieson and Dan have gone on to win gold in three World Cup Pairs Championships and will be amongst the favourites in Paris.
Jamieson will be in attendance for the secondary schools event on Wednesday between 10:00am and 2:00pm.
School Sport Unit Disability Inclusion Officer Peter Cardy said the competition would reach an exciting conclusion at Sydney Olympic Park.
"Schools are coming from around the state to be involved in the final stage of competition, it really is amazing just how popular this sport is," he said.
"To have an ex-public school student and Paralympian in Jamieson coming along really is the icing on the cake.
"It shows that boccia is not only a fantastic, inclusive sport but also one that can be competed in at the highest level internationally".
