By William Moncrieff, Communications Officer.
One of Scottish Disability Sport’s member branches, Perth And Kinross Disability Sport, have been working hard to ensure that they are providing opportunities for individuals to participate in sport throughout rural Scotland. One opportunity that they have provided is Crieff Boccia Club, this club caters for individuals throughout the region, providing inclusive opportunities, whilst creating a community spirit.
One of the coaches that has been an integral member of the club, has been Sam Medley. Having been with the club since it started, Sam has found her involvement to be very rewarding, commenting:
“It’s a great sport and it’s nice being able to see so many different people play it. This brings a lot of the enjoyment, and when you can see some of the players getting some of the things you are doing, that is just fantastic.”
With the boccia club being located in a rural area of Scotland, one aspect of the club that Sam has noticed to be particularly impactful, has been the social element.
“A lot of the players know each other. It’s not just about playing boccia, it’s about getting people together.” Sam explained. The community spirit of the club is something that Sam has really enjoyed seeing develop.
She said: “It’s that community because they all come together, and they all do something together. It is good that they get that opportunity, and that they can get to do something different.”
The club is held weekly, on Monday nights from 5pm to 6pm, at Crieff Community Campus who is always looking for new members.
The club has a real range of participants, from 14 years old to 75 years old. With a range of participant ages, ability and disabilities comes a range of motivations for attending.
One of the many motivations is the physical benefits that boccia can provide.
“We had one player with a physical disability and it’s been great seeing her, when she first initially came she couldn’t get the ball next to the V line*, and now she is getting stronger and she is learning techniques and improving hand-eye coordination. We are really seeing her improve and that is great,” Sam said.
“She gets a lot out of that (participating), you can see that she knows that she is able to do something that she hadn’t been able to do and she is absolutely delighted,” said Sam.
Sam’s son, Alex Medley, is a member of the Scottish Boccia Squad for the 2025 season. With Alex having the opportunity to come through the boccia pathway and perform at a national level within the BC2 classification, Sam has had an opportunity to watch how boccia can impact participants of all levels, from grassroots to high performance. This has motivated Sam to stay involved in Crieff Boccia Club as well as trying to help provide more opportunities in rural Perthshire.
Sam commented: “I can see the benefits of doing sport, for people who have disabilities, that is the bit that really motivates me at times because I think that sport should be for all.”
The community spirit that has been surrounding Crieff Boccia club, is not just one that is being noticed by participants. Sam reflected on how it has been impacting coaches, saying, “We had a young person coaching with us, and they were doing it for their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award by volunteering.
“She got so much out of it. To begin with she was resistant and didn’t quite know how to interact with other people and how to do things. It didn’t take her long to find her confidence and seeing the relationships that she built with other people was really rewarding as well.”
This social nature of the club can further be seen by the willingness of parents to get involved.
“The parents are actually coming on board to help because we can’t always be there every week,” Sam said, before expanding: “It’s not just about playing boccia, it’s about getting people involved and seeing the positive aspects of participating.”
* The V line is the minimum distance the Jack ball has to be thrown onto the boccia court, measuring 1.5 metres from the start of the court.
If you would like to get involved with Crieff Boccia Club, you can email Graeme.Doig@scottishdisabilitysport.com to find out more information and to register your interest.
If you would be interested in finding out more about boccia opportunities in your local area, you can do so by reaching out to your Regional Development Manager. This manager will be able to provide you with information on how to get involved as a volunteer, coach, official or player.
Alternatively, you can contact SDS’s Boccia Development Officer, Jonathan Kennedy, by email: jonathan.kennedy@scottishdisabilitysport.com.
To keep up-to-date with all things disability sport across Scotland, follow Scottish Disability Sport on Facebook, Instagram and X.