One Month to go Until Boccia World Cup

The University of Ulster is gearing up for the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA) Boccia World Cup, a Paralympic qualifying event, which takes place at the University’s Jordanstown campus from 18-27 August 2011.

The University already has a very strong link with the Paralympics as Michael Mckillop, a Beijing gold medallist in the T37 800m, is a member of staff at the Sports Centre. Jordanstown is also home to the Sports Institute Northern Ireland where other Irish Paralympians and elite athletes with an impairment are supported to enable them to develop their skills and deliver consistent winning performances.

With almost 200 athletes expected to compete in the World Cup and qualifying places for London 2012 up for grabs this will be a fantastic event for Northern Ireland and will really start the countdown to next year’s Paralympic Games.

Portugal will be looking to retain the World Cup trophy they won in Vancouver in 2007 when the event takes place in Belfast this August. Their triumph was based on gold medals in the Pairs BC3 and Individual BC2 where Fernando Ferreira will be looking to defend his title. Portugal narrowly beat Spain and Great Britain to the Cup but in the past four years the European dominance has been challenged by the emergence of talent in Asia.

At the 2010 World Championships, Korea won three gold medals and Ho Won Jeong, who won Individual BC3 gold, will be the player to beat. Brazil have dominated the BC4 classification in recent years and Paralympic and World Champion in Individual BC4 Dirceu Pinto will attempt to add the World Cup medal to his collection.

Hosts of the 2011 World Cup, Great Britain, won team BC1-2 gold at the 2007 World Cup while David Smith picked up the Individual BC1 title. Smith, still only 22 years old, will be keen to produce a strong display for the home fans. GB will be bolstered by three athletes competing in their first major event. Jacob Thomas and Jess Hunter in BC3 and Jamie McCowan in BC4 will be doing their best to pick up all important ranking points to qualify for the London 2012 Paralympic Games.