By William Moncrieff, Communications Coordinator
For Avril Starmore, moving to Shetland was a decision based on being closer to family. Then, she found boccia. She had no idea the impact boccia would have on her life.
Avril moved to Shetland from Dunfermline. This move wasn’t always plain sailing though, the lack of public transport and the rural nature of the island presented difficulties when trying to get out and into the community.
Avril was a Motability Scheme user, which proved to be an essential part when finding her love for boccia and the wider Shetland community.
“The car helps me get to boccia clubs, there is a ramp built in that I go up with my wheelchair then I can transfer onto the driver’s seat. If I didn’t have that I wouldn’t be able to get out.” Avril explained.
She went on to say, “If I didn’t have a Motability car there is no way I would get out into the community and clubs.”
Avril found out about boccia through Ability Shetland: “I came to Shetland three and a half years ago, I started going to a few of Ability Shetland’s clubs and I started volunteering with them just over a year ago.”
Now that Avril has been involved with boccia and dedicating her time to the sport she has decided to progress forward with her coaching.
“I’ve recently done the boccia leaders course and now I am learning to become a boccia coach”, she said.
This has led to Avril being a key member of the Ability Shetland delivery and volunteer team. “I’ve been going out to show boccia at various schools, day centres and clubs.”
Avril still uses many of Ability Shetland’s clubs. “I still go every Friday night to play, and then I go out through the week to deliver.”
Avril really enjoys being part of a team, but more so she loves getting to introduce people to the sport of boccia. “The way their faces light up when they manage to do something”, is her favorite thing about volunteering.
Making sessions fun and entertaining is something that Avril tries to always put at the forefront of her deliveries. “They keep thinking that I’m glueing the balls to the cones throughout the sessions, to challenge them to knock them off, they keep saying, ‘you’ve glued them on’, but I haven’t.” She joked.
Now Avril wants as many people to gain the benefits of boccia. “It’s about getting the word out about boccia. Up here a lot of people hadn’t heard about it until a short while ago, I know that I hadn’t heard of it until I moved here”, she said. This is a task she views as being possible.
“Last year we went to Dundee to play, there were loads of players and clubs down there it was great.”
This love and commitment that Avril has shown towards the sport of boccia throughout Shetland has led to her being nominated for an Eric Liddell Award. She went on to win the award for her dedication to the sport which has seen her deliver to over 100 school pupils in the last year alone. The enthusiasm she has for the sport is known to be contagious, and sure to be a contributing factor in many more people taking up the sport.
If you would be interested in finding out more about boccia you can contact SDS’s Boccia Development Manager at:
jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
If you would like to try volunteering, please contact your Regional Development Manager.