A young Pembrokeshire player is a new British boccia champion!
Jacob Thomas from Bethesda won the BC3 category in the British Boccia Championships at Stirling in Scotland this weekend.
The 15 year-old ramp player beat fellow Welsh player Karl Parish in the final on Sunday.
“It’s a wonderful result and very well deserved” said County Councillor Huw George, Cabinet member for Children and Young People.
“Jacob is an outstanding sportsman with many sporting achievements under his belt.”
Jacob, who attends Ysgol y Preseli, has only been playing boccia for five years but has already played for Wales on several occasions.
He is one of two Welsh players to make GB Boccia’s World Class Transition Squad and will learn next month whether he will achieve his ambition of representing Britain at the Paralympics in 2012.
Angela Miles, Disability Sport Development Officer for Sport Pembrokeshire – Pembrokeshire County Council’s sports development arm – praised Jacob’s achievements.
“It’s his dream to attend the Paralympics and hopefully with this win under his belt he will now achieve that ambition,” she said.
Based on boules, boccia was originally developed for people with cerebral palsy but is now played by people of all abilities and disabilities.
So popular has it become in Pembrokeshire that there are now two clubs – the Young Voices and Crymych Panthers – plus several 5×60 school clubs and an estimated 30-plus players.
Crymych Panthers and the Young Vipers meet together every Wednesday at the new Haverfordwest leisure centre from 5-7pm, if you are interested in playing Boccia please come along.
