Report written by Rita Leader

Sunday 24th July 2022

Nationals Boccia League Finals 2022 at the David Ross Sport Village, Nottingham.

Boccia Stars Team Squad: Harry Herbert, Andre Hagley-King, Ian Leader, Ellie Morey, Rob Smith plus parents and cheerleaders.

Here we were again after a short break due to Covid, having won all our East Anglia Division matches, beating Peterborough 9-1, Norwich Pioneers 1 11-1, Peterborough A 16-0, Norwich Pioneers B 9-3 and St George’s Knights 13-0. A very impressive 5 match win, scoring 53 points and only conceding 5.

Match 1 in Pool B versus Herne Bay proved a promising start to the day with a 6-4 win, despite a slow start to the game.

Match 2 against Leicestershire Giraffes and the squad were off the blocks much quicker. They continued the momentum with a particularly strong 5th end. Final score 9-0.

In the last match of the pool, the team faced Blackpool Braves. They started strongly with a first end score of 3-0. Then Blackpool got into their stride and finished winners 8-3.

With all the pool matches completed, there was an anxious wait for the pool placings. The squad finished in first place with the same number of match wins but with more points scored. So we were through to the semi-final and the opposition was Pool A 2nd place finisher, Kirkbees Flyers.

We started with a slight lead after the first end, 1-0, followed by a loss in the next end, 0-3. The game continued to see-saw one way then the other, 1-0, 0-1, 2-0. By the end of the 5th end, the teams were drawn 4-4. A tense last end was hard fought but Boccia Stars overcame the pressure and finished 8-4 winners.

We were through to the finals. Team Solent were a class above the previous opposition. By the end of the 5th end, they were winning 8-0. Boccia Stars never gave up and rallied

to score 2-0 to finish with a score of 2-8. This was a very brave effort against a team who consisted of three England players!

Rita Leader, Head Coach said “Words cannot describe how proud I am of a team who played well and with a sense of great fun and spirit. Here are the Silver medal winners 2022.”