Fastest growing paralympic sport faces funding issues

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A lesser-known paralympic sport, boccia, is one of few sports able to be played by people with severe disabilities. Australia excels on the international stage, but it still faces many issues with funding and access.

Transcript

00:00 Botcha is a sport you may not have heard of, but for Jessie Hooper it is her world.

00:07 I found botcha and my mental health improved significantly. I found friends, I found sports

00:14 to do, I found just something that I really loved to do and enjoy.

00:20 At the Botcha Nationals this year, the 23-year-old came second in the singles competition and

00:25 third in the teams, but it hasn't been an easy journey for the disability support pensioner.

00:31 It does take quite a bit of money out of my own personal funds that I might not spend

00:37 on food or medical procedures.

00:39 For many severely disabled people like Jessie, who lives with a neurological condition, botcha

00:45 is the only sport they can participate in. But it's expensive. Equipment like wheelchairs,

00:51 balls and ramps can cost thousands of dollars.

00:55 Ramping is always a big challenge. There isn't that broader community recognition of the

01:00 sport.

01:00 The aim of the sport is to throw leather balls as close to a whitejack as possible.

01:05 Competitors are classified into four categories. Some participants have a ramp operator to

01:11 support them.

01:12 Botcha is one of the most inclusive sports. It's available to a whole range of people

01:17 with a whole range of disabilities.

01:19 Botcha is the fastest growing Paralympic sport and Australia's Jemison Leeson and Dan Michelle

01:25 are currently ranked first in the world in pairs.

01:28 We want to have medal potential athletes playing in Brisbane in every one of our classifications.

01:35 I'd really love to see more females be able to play and have that sense of community that

01:41 I get to have with all my friends here.

01:44 High hopes for a unique sport.

01:46 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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