Young Officials at CP Sport Midlands Regional

Two young people since completing the Boccia Young Officials award attended the CP Sport Midlands Regional as Officials. Sian from Mansfield and Philip from Birmingham were invited to attend the Boccia regionals held at Nottingham on the 8^th of November. Both had been selected as 'Superstars' from the Boccia Young Officials course they attended earlier in the year, having shown great enthusiasm, eagerness to learn and passion. Sian and Philip were an excellent addition to the officiating team at the competition and from their feedback in return had a fantastic day.

From an International Referee's perspective:

It was great to see some of the young officials at the Midlands Regionals. The regionals are important events for competitors as they form the gateway to National (and potentially International) Boccia, therefore the refereeing has to be of a high standard. Sian and Philip did very well, putting into practice all they had learned from the course. I look forward to seeing other young officials at future regionals. They are very important to the future of Boccia refereeing.

Pam Johnston, International Referee

From a Partnership Development Managers perspective:

I was asked to pilot a Boccia Young Officials course through my partnership and thought it would be a fantastic way of engaging young leaders to support school based lunchtime Boccia clubs and festivals, I wasn't quite expecting the enthusiasm and overwhelming dedication from the group that attended the course. Feedback from the young people that attended was positive and they were excited to start using the new skills they had learnt.

A core group from All Saints School, Mansfield have been particularly proactive, they now run a lunchtime Boccia club, help run my Boccia festivals and have just started volunteering at a newly established junior Boccia club, how great is that!

Since attending the course Sian has done really well. She was selected to attend the Midlands Regional event as a Young Official, following this experience she said; "the Boccia Young Officials award has opened up a world of opportunity for me and I love it!"

Mandy Wright, Partnership Development Manager (Mansfield School Sport Partnership)

For further information about the Boccia Young Officials award and how to book a course please see the Boccia-Courses page of the website.

Kat Southwell (Young Officials Development Officer)