WELSH BOCCIA TEAM AWAITS INTERNATIONAL OPEN
There is a sense of anticipation and pride in the air at the FDSW Boccia Academy in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The source of excitement and pride is Wales competing in the Cheshire International Open, this year in Wigan’s Robin Park Arena for the first time. Whilst it is true that the Welsh squad is young, it is also equally true that the Welsh have a very promising batch of young up-and-coming players who hope to demonstrate their talents in Cheshire on July 26th and 27th.
Wales will be taking a team of 10 competitors to Wigan with all 4 BC classes being represented. In the BC1 and BC2 class the team comprises of Steve Evans, Harri Jenkins, and Dylan Evans. Rhyl youngster, Dylan, only competed in his first major competition, the Welsh Boccia Championships, in January 2008 but has earned his place in the tournament thanks to a resilient style of play characterised by determination and a good natured approach to both the sport itself and to his competitors.
In the BC3 class, for competitors requiring the use of an assistive device, Wales takes two teams, to the Open. One team is made up of Gareth Stafford and Thomas Ciaburro, whilst the other consists of James Bailey and Karl Parrish. Ciaburro and Stafford came 3rd and 4th respectively in the Great Britain Nationals that took place in May of this year in Sophia Gardens, Cardiff.
After having been defeated in the semis by Liam Beresford and Cecilia Turk, Stafford and Ciaburro faced-off in the 3rd/4th place playoff; a tight match that Ciaburro narrowly won. Like Dylan Evans, Ciaburro also competed in his first major competition at the Welsh Boccia Championships. In the final, Liam Beresford would go on to defeat Turk in the final, amazingly coming back from a heavy deficit in the very last end to turn almost certain defeat into a fantastic victory.
In the Welsh Championships, Parrish claimed 3rd place whilst Bailey didn’t make it out of a tough group but showed his talent. Bailey was also impressive in the Great Britain Nationals, putting in some good performances but unfortunately narrowly missed out on making it out of his group.
The BC3 teams certainly have the credentials to do extremely well in the Open but Ciaburro is not getting ahead of himself. “It’s just an honour to compete for my country at such a tournament”.
Three of the most notable teams competing are the Great Britain team which will be taking part in the Paralympics in September (in BC1/2 class), Canada and Spain.
“It’ll certainly be a very difficult game for me and Gareth if we come up against the Canadians”, commented BC4 Ciaburro, “but it’ll be an honour to play such a prolific team”.
The BC4 team consists of Jacob Thomas, Jamie Gordon and Tomas Martin, and is another strong team for the Welsh. Jacob Thomas came 2nd in the Welsh Boccia Championships, narrowly being defeated in the final 4-2 by Therese Hunt. Tomas Martin came 4th in the competition, and Jamie Gordon has also impressed.
