First sport to cover is Boccia which involves mostly athletes with Cerebral Palsy. It is classified into those that can propel the ball themselves B1, B2 (mostly throwing, but a few us their feet), and those who need to use a ramp to propel the ball B3 (the athlete must be the one to release the ball and there are several different ways to do this, mostly involving poking the ball with an implement either strapped to their heads or in their mouths). There is also a B4 category involving Quads but I have not seen it. The ramp players need an assistant to set the ramp height, aim the ramp, place the ball and then steady the ramp. The assitant must keep their back to the playing surface and are not allowed to look at the playing surface at all or talk or communicate with the athlete. The focus and concentration of the athletes is among the most impressive I have ever seen, and the shots they are capable of are hard to imagine. Very facinating event to watch with most matches decided on the last ball.
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Hi, Bruce--as I write, it is Sunday, and the remnants of Hurricane Ike are upon us in Indiana--lots of rain and winds to come this evening..our friends in Houston, the Alexanders, have had a scary time of it but are OK--they live on the northwest side of Houston proper--Andrea siad the wind and the sounds of debris were unbelievable--the kids think it is no big deal! The photos of the Boccia athletes are amazing--I am imagining you riding like a dervish through the venues---the Bird's Nest must be something, and I did get to watch some of the swimming competition from The Cube on ParaSport TV! You must feel very priviledged to be a part of these games, and it is no small accomplishment that you were asked to go...keep up the good work--my mother should be online this next week--we are setting her up with a laptop (she finally said yes) and the first site she visits will be The Cheakamus Chronicles! Susan
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