Boccia at the Summer Paralympics facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Boccia at the Summer Paralympics
Governing body	CP-ISRA
Events	3 (mixed)
Games
1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Medalists

Boccia is a super cool sport played at the Summer Paralympics! It's been part of the Games since the 1984 Games, which were held in New York City and Stoke Mandeville.

Think of Boccia like a mix of bowling, curling, or the French game Pétanque. Players try to throw or roll leather balls as close as possible to a white target ball, called a "jack." The game is played on a special court that's about 12.5 meters long and 6 meters wide. Each team gets 6 colored balls.

This sport is all about smart thinking and being super accurate. It's played by athletes who have conditions like cerebral palsy, which affects their movement. To make sure the competition is fair, athletes are put into different groups, or "classes," based on how much their disability affects them.

When Boccia first started at the Paralympics, there were five events. Two were for men, two for women, and one was a "mixed" event where men and women played together. From 1988 until 2020, all Boccia events at the Paralympics were mixed. But in 2024, they brought back separate events for men and women in individual play. Team and pairs competitions will still be mixed. This change means the 2024 Paralympic Games will have the most Boccia events ever – eleven!

Understanding Boccia Classes

To keep the game fair, athletes are grouped into different classes. This helps make sure everyone competes against others with similar abilities.

• Early Classes: When Boccia first joined the Paralympics, there were two main classes:
  • C1: For athletes with more significant movement challenges.
  • C2: For athletes with less severe movement challenges.
• Adding an Aid Device Class: In 1996, a new class was added for C1 athletes who needed to use a special device to help them play.
• Modern BC Classes: In 2000, the system changed to four main classes, called BC1 through BC4:
  • BC1: Athletes with severe movement challenges who may use their hands or feet to propel the ball. They might have an assistant to help them with things like adjusting their wheelchair or handing them a ball.
  • BC2: Athletes who can throw the ball with their hands but have limited arm and hand movement. They don't have an assistant on the court.
  • BC3: Athletes with very severe movement challenges who use a special ramp or other device to propel the ball. They have an assistant, but the assistant must face away from the court and not look at the game.
  • BC4: Athletes with severe movement challenges that are not related to cerebral palsy, such as muscular dystrophy. They can throw the ball with their hands but have limited arm and hand movement. They don't have an assistant.

Boccia at the Paralympics: A Quick Look

Boccia has grown a lot since it first appeared at the Paralympics. Here's a summary of how many events have been held and which country has performed best over the years.

Games	Year	Events	Best Nation
7	1984	5	United States
8	1988	3	South Korea
9	1992	3	Spain
10	1996	5	Spain
11	2000	5	Ireland
12	2004	7	Portugal
13	2008	7	Brazil /  South Korea
14	2012	7	Brazil
15	2016	7	Thailand
16	2020	7	Slovakia
17	2024	11	tbc

Types of Boccia Events

At the Paralympics, Boccia events are held in different formats: individual (one player), pairs (two players), and team (three players). The table below shows how the events and classes have changed over the years. Remember, most events were mixed (men and women playing together) unless it says otherwise.

Medal Winners in Boccia

This table shows which countries have won the most medals in Boccia at the Summer Paralympics, up to the 2020 Summer Paralympics.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Korea (KOR)	10	6	7	23
2	Portugal (POR)	8	10	9	27
3	Thailand (THA)	6	2	4	12
4	Brazil (BRA)	6	1	4	11
5	Spain (ESP)	5	7	7	19
6	Great Britain (GBR)	5	5	3	13
7	Hong Kong (HKG)	4	2	1	7
8	Ireland (IRL)	3	1	2	6
9	Slovakia (SVK)	3	1	0	4
10	United States (USA)	2	2	3	7
11	Greece (GRE)	1	3	3	7
12	Denmark (DEN)	1	3	2	6
13	Japan (JPN)	1	3	1	5
14	Canada (CAN)	1	2	5	8
15	Czech Republic (CZE)	1	1	1	3
16	China (CHN)	0	4	1	5
17	Norway (NOR)	0	1	1	2
18	Malaysia (MAS)	0	1	0	1
	Netherlands (NED)	0	1	0	1
	New Zealand (NZL)	0	1	0	1
21	Australia (AUS)	0	0	2	2
	Belgium (BEL)	0	0	2	2
23	Hungary (HUN)	0	0	1	1
	RPC (RPC)	0	0	1	1
Totals (24 entries)		57	57	60	174

Top Boccia Medalists

Here are some of the most successful Boccia players who have won many medals at the Paralympics. Players whose names are in bold are still competing!

No.	Athlete	Country	Years	Games	Gender	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Dirceu Pinto	Brazil (BRA)	2008-2016	3	M	4	1	0	5
2	Antonio Cid	Spain (ESP)	1992-2004	4	M	3	2	1	6
2	Jeong Ho-won	South Korea (KOR)	2008-2020	4	M	3	2	1	6
4	David Smith	Great Britain (GBR)	2008-2020	4	M	3	1	1	5
5	João Paulo Fernandes	Portugal (POR)	2004-2008	2	M	3	1	0	4
6	Pattaya Tadtong	Thailand (THA)	2004-2016	3	M	3	0	1	4
7	Antonio Marques	Portugal (POR)	1988, 1996-2008, 2016	6	M	2	3	2	7
8	Eliseu dos Santos	Brazil (BRA)	2008-2016	3	M	2	1	2	5
9	Grigorios Polychronidis	Greece (GRE)	2012-2024	4	M	1	3	3	7
10	Nigel Murray	Great Britain (GBR)	2000-2012	4	M	2	1	1	4
11	Henrik Jorgensen	Denmark (DEN)	1984-1996, 2004	5	M	1	3	2	6

See also

In Spanish: Bochas en los Juegos Paralímpicos para niños