The second stage of The BE Cup competition took place on 26 March 2017 at Hatfield. The prize up for grabs was qualification for the BE Cup Finals, in Sheffield.

PACE took 4 athletes to the competition

Alex Dukes – BC1

Reshad Saraj – BC2

Jamie Keat – BC3

Jagjit Chuk – BC3

The BC 1 competition is always competitive and this competition was no exception. Alex had a long day ahead of him starting with a tough match against Justin Allen. Alex put in a strong performance to beat Justin 7-0. He played some precision boccia to put pressure on his opponents, forcing them to attack. Unfortunately for Justin this led to opportunities for Alex to score big points.

Alex was pleased with his performance in the first match and was hoping to carry the momentum into the next match. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case. Alex’s second match was against Amy Lewington, who started scoring a fantastic 5 points in the first end. This put pressure on Alex, who made a great effort and scored 3 points in one end. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough, with Amy seeing out the victory winning 7-3.

Alex showed character bouncing back from defeat with a decisive victory against Susie Herbert winning 6-1. In this match Alex kept it simple and played his strengths while also recognizing the opponents’ weaknesses.

Alex’s last match was his toughest one of the competition, his opponent Tia Ruel is an England international. It was a great match which both players putting in strong performances, all the ends were very highly contested. Alex executed the crucial shots and came out on top in a tense finale, winning 3-2 and guaranteeing his place at the BE Cup Finals.

BC2 athlete, Reshad Saraj, continued his impressive season, putting in another strong display of Boccia. Going into the competition as the player to beat, Reshad came up against many familiar opponents, including Dan Bentley, Alex Elliot and Jasper MacCall. Everyone single match was highly contested and great to watch. Reshad used his experience and training to come second in the group. In the process. he beat Alex Elliot 8-3 and Jasper MacCall 6-3.

Reshad qualified for the semis, a match with Tim Hayes. Both players put in a great display of Boccia. In the third end Reshad scored big points using the knock-off shot to great effect. As a result Reshad came out victorious with a score of 6-1.

The BC2 final was between Reshad Saraj and Warren Dyer. Reshad has been in this situation before and was fully focused ahead of the game. This shone through in his play with Reshad playing precision boccia to build momentum on his ends. He was able to keep his defence tight and score points, coming away with a victory winning 7-2 and a gold medal in the process.

Jagjit Chuk has been competing for PACE for many years as a BC3 athlete. He made a return to the sport after a period out of away and was delighted to be back on court. Competing against one of the best BC3s in GB, Jess Hunter, is no easy task. Although he lost the game, Jagjit played some brilliant boccia, securing key areas of the court to score a point off Jess. He repeated the feat against Emma Harris and was unlucky to loose 11-0 against current England international, William Arnott.

BC3 athlete Jamie Keat was placed in a tough group, with experienced athletes such as Celia Turk, Liam Beresford and Matt Berry. Despite losing his games, Jamie was able to score points in close games off two of his opponents. As a young athlete in a fiercely competitive classification, Jamie has often been placed against more experienced ETP (English Talent Pathway) athletes. By securing points and winning ends, Jamie is showing clear signs of making progress and will soon be working his way up the tough BC3 ladder.

Well done to all the PACE athletes who competed at the BE Cup. We look forward to seeing Reshad and Alex compete at the BE Cup finals on the 19^th and 20^th of May in Sheffield!

For the full list of competitors and results, please click here.