Boccia: Glenrothes' Anna wins silver medal at UK championship

Anna Tizzard narrowly missed out on the gold, ultimately losing out to Northern Ireland’s Alan Weir in the Class 2 level but her improving performances with fellow female competitors has earned her rave reviews from Indoor Games’ fans.

Born out of the original Stoke Mandeville Games and held every year in Leicester, the National Indoor Games enables people who have had Polio and now live with Post Polio Syndrome (PPS) to compete in a range of sports and games, no matter what their disability.

Qualifiers from regional heats, join over 200 competitors from across the UK to compete for individual and team success. Scotland scored some notable successes, with Stuart Thompson’s gold in the darts (sitting), but girl power is on the rise.

“Boccia is one of the most fiercely contested sports at the games, so Anna’s silver reflects a superb performance,” said national chairman of the British Polio Fellowship, David Mitchell.

“The other point is that Anna’s performances have improved each year and she is not alone.

“The success of the girls is the story of the 2018 games.

“The female competitors are an emerging force in every region and their performance in 2019 could be key in deciding the winning region in the charity’s 80th anniversary year.”

With a bronze in 2017, Anna has gone one better this year, as have many other ladies across the other sports.

Originally designed to be played by people with cerebral palsy, Boccia is a precision ball sport, requiring both skill and tactical judgement.

Introduced to the Paralympics at the 1984 games in New York; Boccia is a mixed gender game, and Anna’s dramatic performances have set the scene for what is expected to be the most dramatic games yet in 2019.

“Female competitors like Anna have emerged as a force to be reckoned with in 2018,” added David.

“Their performances decided the outcome of the games and it looks like this will be the same in 2019.”

Meanwhile, closer to home Rachel Page, also from Glenrothes, became the first winner of the new John de Courcy Trophy and was crowned Fife boccia champion for 2018 in the annual Fife sports festival.

Rachel remained unbeaten in the round robin section for players who use manual or power wheelchairs.

Andy Curry from West Fife Community Support Services was her nearest challenger and he finished runner up with four wins from five.

Craig Kinnell, Yvonne Peggie, Tyler McLelland and Matthew Robinson shared third spot with seven points each.