Posted: 18/04/11
Students stage boccia festival for schools
Mansfield schoolchildren with special educational needs enjoyed a day of sport, thanks to students at West Nottinghamshire College.
Students on the NVQ Level 2 Activity Leadership course staged a boccia festival for almost 50 school pupils last Thursday (14 April) at the Manor Sports Complex in Mansfield Woodhouse.
The event was organised by Callum Lawson, the Inspire to Achieve co-ordinator from Mansfield School Sport Partnership. West Notts students umpired the boccia games, kept score and judged the contest between the children from local primary and secondary schools.
The pupils, aged between ten and 14, were awarded with certificates of achievement.
Sport and coaching tutor Rachael Evans said: “The boccia festival was great fun for both the students and schoolchildren. Our students put their organisational and leadership skills into practice and ensured the games were adapted for the children’s needs.
“We would like to offer more sporting events to schools in the future as it’s proved to be a real success.”
Boccia was originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy but now includes athletes with other severe disabilities affecting motor skills. The game, which became a Paralympic sport in 1984, can be played by individuals, pairs, or teams of three and all events are mixed gender.
