On Saturday the 17th of January 2015, four PACE Boccia athletes,  Alex, Reshad, Ramandeep and Jagjit, attended the South East Regional Championships, held in Surrey.

This was the largest South East Regionals that PACE athletes have competed in, with a group stage format, followed by knockout stages.

Ramandeep had a tough group, with former paralympic gold medallist, Dan Bentley, the biggest name in her group. She played some accurate boccia, placing her balls on the Jack on numerous occasions. Unfortunately, her group was extremely tough and she was unable to finish top to qualify for the knockout stages. A great performance, she’ll be looking forward to the London regionals in February.

Reshad was comfortable with his group games and qualified from his group into the knockout stages of the tournament. The eagerly anticipated semi-final clash against Tim Hayes started off well, with Reshad going into the final end 3-0 up. Unfortunately, some fantastic play by Tim resulted in a tie-break, which saw Tim go through to the final. A good overall performance from Reshad and a bronze medal, he is delighted to qualify for the National Finals in Sheffield.

Jagjit arrived in Surrey calm, relaxed and ready to compete. He demonstrated his skill throughout the tournament, playing some clinical boccia, attacking and defending at the right times. Jagjit qualified from his group but was unable to win his semi-final match. Despite this, he won his playoff to claim a bronze medal and qualify for the National Finals. Considering he has been unable to train due to illness, this is a fantastic result and performance from one of our most experienced athletes.

Alex had already qualified for the National Finals based on his performance at last years GB Championships. Alex had to play through the pain as he was suffering from a stomach bug, however he qualified from his group and into the knockout stages of the tournament comfortably. Despite being off-form, Alex continued to compete and ended up winning the semi final, booking a place in the final and a chance to win gold. The PACE Boccia captain was relaxed, played his game and won, adding another gold medal to his collection.

Congratulations to all the athletes who took part and good luck at the London Regionals, which take place on February 1st at the University of East London.