Three boccia stars from Reading have played a key role in securing places at the Paralympic Games in Paris this summer.
European silver medallist Will Arnott, from Arborfield, along with ramp assistants Connor Wellfare and Hannah Stewart won gold this week in the BC3 Pairs event , earning qualification for the sport’s most prestigious event.
Arnott is a full-time boccia athlete who teams up with Salisbury’s Sally Kidson in the Pairs event.
Boccia is a Paralympic sport designed for athletes with high support needs. The aim is to propel balls to get closer to the jack than your opponent.
Will is a BC3 player which means he makes use of a ramp and ramp assistant. He has been supported by Wellfare,31, for more than six years while Stewart, 25, has more recently started working with Kidson.
The foursome travelled to Portugal to compete at the qualifying event.
On day one of the tournament, GB lost to both Greece and Peru. But day two saw victories over Portugal and Singapore, booking their place in the semi-final.
They had to win a medal in order to secure a Paralympic spot so were delighted when they overcame Poland 4-1 in the semi-final. But Britain didn’t stop there and qualified in style by winning gold after a fantastic final with Japan, triumphing 4-2.
The ramp assistant role is to support athletes, adjusting the ramp according to the player’s instructions but facing away from the court at all times and not communicating with the player.
Stewart said: “The start of the week was difficult but we are so incredibly proud of how the group stayed together to produce some amazing results. We’re excited to now see where this Pair can go moving forward and we wait with anticipation for the Paris selections.”
Wellfare added:“The relationship between the ramp assistant and the player is really crucial. Will and I have known each other for so long which means we both know how the other ticks. It’s a two-way thing. A player also needs to understand it’s a partnership too and Will’s always been very good
at that. He really listens to any ideas that I might have to help improve our performance. Of course, a lot of it is down to Will as he makes the shots but the success is definitely shared. It’s a team effort.”
Arnott explained, “Going into this event, we had lost our last ten games so, to put that behind us, shows the huge improvements we’ve made. We’ve been working so hard, together with our ramp assistants, on the training courts so have it all payoff is amazing.”
Coach Glynn Tromans said: “This result has been two years in the making. We’ve had to go through some difficult times and hard losses but we’ve achieved something special here.”
While the result means that Great Britain now qualifies for Paris this summer, the athletes will need to wait a bit longer to find out if they have been selected by ParalympicsGB.
