On Thursday 26th March, 48 pupils from schools across the country attended the Scottish Disability Sport (SDS) National Schools Boccia Championships, which was supported by Shepherd Chartered Surveyors.
The annual event attracted young people between P5 and S6 with a learning disability or physical disability, all vying for a spot on the podium, with participants travelling as far as Shetland.
SDS’s Boccia Development Officer, Jonathan Kennedy remarked on the day: “It is fantastic to see so many participants coming to compete to be Schools Championships. With 48 participants here, it has made for a very busy and competitive event. There are players from all round Scotland, including Shetland, Borders, Ayrshire and Highlands which means players can meet others from all around the country and put their skills to the test against other regional champions.”
The morning session was filled with pool games which decided who would advance to the knock-out games and medal matches after the lunch break. The morning session provided a lot of action, with just two ends deciding the winner of each game.
Intensity rose in the afternoon session, with finals decided for the three medal categories: learning disability, physical disability and players with an assistive device (ramp).
Kennedy Masamuna (Glasgow) faced off with Bilal Shakoor (Perth and Kinross) in the gold medal game for players with a learning disability. The pair were equally matched after the two ends and so a tiebreaker was needed to decide the medals, with Kennedy taking the win to top the podium.
A tiebreaker also decided the results of the bronze medal game, with Julian Smolinski (Highland) taking the win over Glasgow’s Lucja Kostrzewska.
In the physical disability category, Perth and Kinross’ Emma McManamon just missed out on gold, losing 2-1 to James O’Brien (South Lanarkshire), with Cole Harvey securing the bronze for Highland, with a 3-0 win over Hannah Crookes (Highland).
Gold belonged to Zac Cameron (Forth Valley) in the assistive device (ramps) category, after sealing a 2-0 win over Joe Driffield (Ayrshire). Ibrahim Ismail (Glasgow) and Hareth Al Jaffa (Glasgow) faced off in the bronze medal game. It was a convincing win for Ibrahim, who booked bronze with a lead of 4-0.
Jonathan Kennedy said: “The National Schools event is in its fourth year of being run and is set up to introduce young people to a national competition whilst also allowing for a learning opportunity. A lot of players in this hall today may play a little in school and had a regional qualifier before coming here. Whereas a few participants are regulars and already compete across Scotland in the regional events. So, having an event like this where newer players can come and develop their skills whilst also meeting others who are already competing, is a great opportunity to develop new players to the regional events across Scotland to start developing our players of the future.”
The SDS National Schools Boccia Championships is one of many SDS boccia events supported by Shepherd Chartered Surveyors. Their support plays a significant role in supporting the development of boccia across Scotland.
Ian Fergusson, Senior Partner at Shepherd Chartered Surveyor, said: “Events like the SDS National Schools Boccia Championships are vital in giving young people the chance to compete, connect and show what they can achieve in an inclusive and supportive environment.”
Shepherd Chartered Surveyor will also be supporting the second instalment of the Family Boccia Day in Moray (May), following the great success of the inagural event held earlier this year (Central).
Full results from the National Schools Boccia Championships are available here: National School results 2026.xlsx and the full photo gallery is available below.
If you would like to find out about opportunities to take part in boccia, please contact SDS’s boccia Development Officer by email (jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com) or phone (0131 317 1130).
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