Thirty-eight participants attended the inaugural Scottish Disability Sport Boccia Conference at the Inverclyde National Sports Centre in Largs.
Gavin Macleod, CEO, set the tone of the day by saying he hoped it would be informal and informative. He was followed by Patrick Wilson ( BC3 Boccia UK athlete) providing an honest and humorous account of his journey in boccia.
Delegates then attended two workshops, in which the key messages were as follows.
Session Planning
- Need for Planning
- Each coach needs to plan as an individual
- Plan – Do – Review
Club development
- Boccia should be fun when introducing new players
- Transitioning from boccia session to boccia clubs
- Recruit, retain and reward boccia workforce
Officiating and Rules
- Process needs to be followed
- Constant requirement to update and refresh on rules
- Support available
Creative coaching
- Lots of easy accessible equipment
- Simple skills
- Fun, fun and more fun
Over lunch, four poster sessions took place which allowed delegates to explore topics, from Girls in Boccia to refereeing and from pathways to equipment.
Claire Morrison, SDS Vice Chair and Boccia UK Performance Coach, closed the conference by thanking all delegates for attending, the workshop and poster facilitators and a special thanks was given to Andrinne Craig who was stepping down from chairing the Boccia Scotland Group since its inception. Finally, the staff at Inverclyde were acknowledged for their tremendous support on the day.
What a great group of individuals making boccia happen. Thank you.
Picture: Delegates in attendance at the SDS Boccia Conference