Greenhill grenadiers reach boccia finals
The Greenhill Grenadiers Boccia team, all of which are residents at the Leonard Cheshire home in Timsbury, Somerset, have reached The National League and Super League Finals in Nottingham on 13 July.
I’ve started from scratch and have become slightly obsessed with the sport and hopefully more adept at coaching it.
John Roberts, boccia coach
The team won all six of their qualification matches in fine style to top the West League A and arrive at the competition at David Ross Sports Village brimming with confidence.
Coach John Roberts, a former semi-professional footballer who also works in activities at Greenhill House, is relishing his newfound focus as a boccia coach:
‘When I took over running the team, I told them that I wanted to play to win!
‘I used to play football to a fair standard, so the idea of just taking part is a bit alien to me.
‘I’ve started from scratch and have become slightly obsessed with the sport and hopefully more adept at coaching it.
‘We’re certainly more competitive now! The guys seem to be loving it, learning different ways of playing the game and we can’t wait until Saturday.’
One member of the team who is no stranger to competitive sport is Kevin Westaway, who played for Bristol Rovers in the early 1980s.
The full team for Saturday is Andy Allen, Kevin Westaway and Ashley Hayman.
Greenhill House has long embraced boccia and The Grenadiers are one of two teams associated with the home. They train at the nearby University of Bath, which boasts a state-of-the-art court as part of the Team Bath sports village.
Volunteer Coordinator Ann Birtwistle has been pivotal in developing the sport at Greenhill:
‘It started when Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Get Active team partnered with Greenhill House to run an Access Sport Ability Day at Bath Sports Centre in 2009.
‘Since then, we’ve developed relationships with GB Paralympic Athletes who mentored taster sessions in Boccia, Wheelchair Basketball, Tennis, Rugby, Football, and more, all open to adults of all abilities.
‘In terms of boccia, the club has been involved in lots of exciting things over the years, but this opportunity - our very first qualification to participate in the Boccia England Nationals — really is a landmark event for us.
‘I would like to thank our sponsor partner Craghoppers on behalf of the team, for providing our high-quality sports kit to wear whenever we compete.’
Notes to editors
For additional information or interest in sponsorship, please contact Ann Birtwistle on ann.birtwistle@leonardcheshire.org or call 01761 479902/ 01761 479900.