New Year’s Message
Dear Friends,
As the year draws to a close, we would like to pay tribute and heartfelt thanks to all those who have made 2024 such a memorable 12 months for boccia.
From our wonderful gold medal winners at the Paris Paralympic Games, through to all of our dedicated coaches, officials, volunteers and commercial partners, your efforts have been truly extraordinary.
If one single moment – and one image – from the year can define the success and progress of our sport, then it was surely that unforgettable summer’s night in Paris, when Aurelie Aubert – a home Paralympic champion – blew out the flame to end the Games.
The closing ceremonies are always symbolic, but nothing could better characterise the sporting excellence as well as the warmth and personality of our sport, than to see Aurelie take centre stage in front of the entire world before we look forward to LA 2028.
For many, the Paralympic Games provided the highlights of our year. We achieved a landmark record participation number of 125 athletes, the widest representation of countries to date at 36, and hosted separate men’s and women’s individual events for the first time.
We saw boccia athletes representing the region of Africa for the first time at a Paralympic Games and nations winning medals for the first time included Argentina, Colombia, France, Indonesia, Singapore and Ukraine.
Underpinning the achievements and standards of our athletes in France, were our technical officials and representatives from national federations whose professionalism and humanity made for such a welcoming and respectful atmosphere.
The Paralympic Games may be the pinnacle, but that success has been reflected around the globe throughout our competition programme.
In 2024, World Boccia delivered 13 sanctioned events across all four of our regions. Sticking to our four pillar objectives of growth, sustainability, excellence and good governance, we will raise that figure to a record 18 events in 2025.
That growth continues to be made possible by the use of new technological advancements within the management of those tournaments and we are grateful to our technology partners in that regard.
We remain committed to our high standards around anti-doping and safeguarding and are grateful to all our member federations for their continued support.
Of course, none of these achievements could be reached without the support and guidance provided by the World Boccia board and our various committees drawn from far and wide.
To them, as well as our diligent, hard-working, and extremely capable staff, we offer our sincere gratitude and admiration.
As our sport grows and we enter new territories, we are also hugely thankful to all our partners and hope that you continue to see high prestige social and commercial value in being associated with the values of such a unique sport.
Finally, and most importantly, may we underline again how we owe a deep debt of gratitude to our volunteers.
Your extraordinary dedication and unwavering support are the backbone of our ability to sustain and expand this amazing sport.
To our Committee Chairs and members, Technical Officials, Classifiers, Development Team, Athletes Committee, Medical Commission, and of course, to our members, their staff, and support teams—you are instrumental in driving the global growth and progress of boccia.
Thank you for making such a profound impact.
We wish you all a happy new year, with health and happiness, and look forward to being alongside you in 2025.
Jon Morgan OBE – President, World Boccia
Paul Trayner – Chief Executive Officer, World Boccia
