From the 28th of September until the 4th of October, the Sport Technical Training Workshop for was held in Cali, Colombia. This workshop aimed to stimulate the development of boccia in South America and the Caribbean.
This was made possible by a grant from the International Paralympic Committee and the close working relationship between World Boccia and the Colombian (FECOLBOCCIA) and Jamaican (Jamaica Boccia Association) National Boccia federations.
World Boccia is grateful to FECOLBOCCIA and its workforce of volunteers for the local logistics and organisation of the workshop and to the Colombian Ministry for Sports (Ministerio del Deporte) for permitting this important regional parasport development initiative to happen in Colombia. The course could not have happened if it had not been for Diana Marcela Ortiz and Marcela Ramón Cuéllar who oversaw pivotal organizational tasks.
The workshop was packed with lots of learning, play opportunities, and group discussions around boccia and acted as a medium for structured collaborative working and experimenting. The course was delivered bilingually in Spanish and English and was facilitated by Camilo Ortega Arrelano (Head national coach COL) and Peter Hornig-Dixon (Head national coach JAM). The following nations were represented: El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Colombia, and Jamaica.
Athletes were encouraged to ask questions, experiment and try new techniques, network with other athletes from the region, and form meaningful friendships that are underpinned by a shared passion for Boccia. Coaches could also ask technical and organizational questions, share experiences of running the sport in their settings, and give insight and reflect on their coaching practice.
Topics that were covered in the workshop included:
- Play basics and applied technical process
- Line, pace, and trajectory in boccia
- Gameplay and analysis
- Mindfulness and focus from a coaching and athlete perspective
- Material technology; balls, ramps, pointers
- Functional analysis – classification basics for coaches and preparation for international classification
- Running a boccia club/group in good governance
A highlight of the workshop was sharing knowledge regarding the functional analysis of athletes, i.e. what Paralympic boccia athletes look like in physicality, and also showcased a series of tests coaches can do to assist in helping determine functional eligibility.
World Boccia is thrilled that this workshop has been such a success and looks forward to seeing many of the nations and participants who attended the workshop, compete at World Boccia sanctioned competitions in the future.
