51 players from 9 countries for 2nd Fazza International Boccia Competition

The second edition of the Fazza International Boccia Competition will be held at the Dubai Club for the Disabled in Al Qusais from April 16-22 with the participation of 51 players from nine countries.
 
Held under the patronage of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, it is organised and supervised by the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center and Dubai Club for the Disabled with the support of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Dubai Sports Council and the UAE Paralympic Committee.

"Our thanks and gratitude to the vision and generosity of HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, for continuously supporting this group of people which represents the core values of Fazza Championships. Our thanks also go to the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center for all their support to the Fazza Championships for the Disabled," said Thani Juma Berregad, Chairman of the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Head of the Organising Committee for the Fazza Championships for the Disabled, said at a Press conference held at the Dubai Club for the Disabled on Tuesday.

He added: "The Fazza International Boccia Competition helps our players prepare for the new season and gives an opportunity to unearth hidden talents and pit their abilities to become champions at both regional and world level by improving their skills."

Boccia is a highly specialised competitive sport for people with cerebral palsy or related neurological conditions and is practiced in more than 50 countries today.

The 1st Fazza International Boccia Competition hosted 41 players from across eight countries in May last year – including the UAE, Iraq, Thailand, Malaysia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Tunisia and Portugal.

Qatar is the newest entry to this year's Fazza International Boccia Competition.

Majid Abdullah Al Usaimi, Championship Director, also expressed his gratitude to HH Sheikh Hamdan for his continuous support of sports for the Disabled.

"The 2nd Fazza International Boccia Competition has become a regular event in the calendar for world class players. This competition has served as a platform for this group of players to compete and learn from one another. It also helps the UAE Boccia team to gain experience by competing at international level,” said Al Usaimi.

Extending her thanks to the Organising Committee of the Fazza Championships for the Disabled, Fatima Al Bannai, Media Office Manager at the Hamdan Bin Mohammed Heritage Center, said: "We are proud to host the Fazza International Boccia Competition for the second year with more professional players from nine different countries, despite the fact that the Boccia is still new to the region. This all comes as part of the continuous support and keenness of HH Sheikh Hamdan to provide diversity in the sports for the Disabled and attract the maximum number of participants, in addition to developing and raising the level of all championships to match international standards. We welcome all participating teams and hope the UAE national team can strike gold on their home-ground.” 

Hamad bin Jaflah, Head of Public Relations at the Dubai Club for the Disabled, said: "We have assigned special groups of people to receive the participating teams from abroad from the minute they land in Dubai to look after their needs from training to transport requirements. Despite all this, there are lots of challenges, we will do everything in our capacity to make them feel comfortable.”

Najib Mushkan, Technical Committee member and Head of Sports Activities at the Dubai Club for the Disabled, said there are four categories of events in this competition. Players who have impaired functional ability in all four limbs will be categorised as follows:

BC1 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands or feet to consistently propel a ball into play. BC1 athletes may have an aide outside the competition court to pass them their ball upon request or to amend the wheelchair and ensure its firmness.

BC2 - Players with Cerebral Palsy who are able to use their hands to consistently propel a ball into play and have greater functional ability than a BC1 athlete and are not allowed to have any aide.

BC3 - Players with Cerebral Palsy or other disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs who are unable to throw or kick a ball into play and as such are permitted to use an assistive device such as a ramp to propel the ball into play and are supported by an assistant. The assistant has to look away with their backs to the court.

BC4 - Players who do not have Cerebral Palsy but have another disability with locomotor dysfunction in all four limbs and have similar functional ability to BC2 athletes. Disabilities such as Muscular Dystrophy and Tetraplegia will fall under this classification as long as they prove able to throw the ball efficiently and are not allowed to have any aide or assistance.

The foreign teams will start arriving on Thursday April 16 and classification of players according to their type of disability.

The technical committee meeting will be held on Friday 17 April while the competition proper will be held from Saturday 18 April to Tuesday April 21.

 

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