GB Paralympic gold medallist presents awards to students

Hereward College’s students have secured themselves a commendable 2^nd place in the Boccia tournament held at St. Nicholas Park Leisure Centre. Narrowly missing out on 1^st place, the team competed against 16 teams from 9 other further education schools and colleges from around the West Midlands.

Ever increasing in popularity, Boccia is a Paralympic sport first introduced in 1984 for athletes with disabilities impacting their motor skills. The athletes throw, kick or use a ramp to drive their ball towards a target ‘jack’ ball, similar to pétanque and bowls.

The Hereward participants were presented with their silver medals by the GB Paralympian and two-time Boccia gold medallist from both the Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008 Paralympic games, Nigel Murray MBE.

The students were pleased with their achievement; student Reece, said: “Although, we didn’t come 1^st, it’s been a great experience to just compete and we’ve all really enjoyed the tournament.”

Following the increased exposure of the sport, Hereward now runs twice weekly sessions at the College.