On the 9th of February 2018, Henbury and Gem boccia clubs came together to host a fun, friendly boccia social for new and existing members. Aiming to engage people of all ages, the evening provided a friendly, safe, enjoyable environment to meet and socialise with new people, as well as an opportunity to develop their boccia skills. James from Irwin Mitchell commented

It was a great evening and it is really rewarding to see so many people enjoying Boccia.  We really appreciate Access Sport’s support with the club and hopefully we can do something similar soon

The event was a huge success that saw 18 members participating, including 6 new players. The evening kicked off with two friendly games of boccia, bringing the groups together to communicate and socialise with each other. By playing with new and different team members, the participants were able to learn and develop new skills and tactics off each other.

After exciting games of boccia, the group enjoyed food kindly provided by Irwin Mitchell. The break was a key opportunity for participants, volunteers and coaches to get to know each other further.

I have made some new friends, and had lots of fun at the social

Another participant said

It was good fun mixing and meeting with new people. I don’t normally get to meet people in Bristol, so it was nice to socialise with new people while playing boccia

The evening ended with some fun, creative skills games including Boccia Jenga and Boccia Battleships. Both games put the players’ accuracy, throwing and teamwork to the test, and was great to see all players offering advice and encouraging each other.  

The social helped both clubs “share skills and experiences” and “helped to promote the sport and our clubs”. Both clubs gaining new members too. Henbury and Gem boccia clubs are now looking forward to joining forces to compete in the National Boccia League as well as continuing to host many more socials in the future together.

Thank you to Irwin Mitchel for providing 11 enthusiastic volunteers, goody bags, and food for all participants, and thank you to both George Moore and Tom Isaacs for providing creative boccia activities.