One of the most-anticipated outdoor events in London for this year was recently held. This was the first round of the 2009 Panathlon Challenge that was organised near the Olympic Park in East London. The Panathlon is basically an inter-borough competition that is increasingly gaining prominence among outdoor London events, particularly among the disabled teenagers. Among the more popular sports events that are hosted as a part of the Panathlon are the Boccia games. Boccia is slowly evolving among the sports-oriented London events. As a result of the undying efforts of its patrons, it is now regarded as an official Cerebral Palsy Sport and even has a national league for itself.

Those thinking that Boccia can’t be counted among the more serious sports events are in for a big surprise — its national league currently has 95 participating teams and 16 divisions in the UK and London is the hub of this sport. Boccia is now a recognised Paralympic sport and will be a part of the 2012 London Olympic Games, as one of the main outdoor events. Presently, volunteers are trying to augment public knowledge about Boccia across central and east London areas. Boccia is regarded as a game of mental keenness with some level of physicality involved in it. Just because it is played by people who move around on wheelchairs, doesn’t mean that it should be regarded as an easy or casual sport.

Many small Boccia tournaments have been held in the past three to four years, particularly in the central London region. Boccia games are all-inclusive sports events that offer an amazing level of versatility for folks willing to try out something new. Boccia outdoor events include games that can be played in singles, doubles or team formats, depending on the availability of the number of participants. For the uninitiated, a game of Boccia involves opposite teams having either blue or red balls. The only way to score points and outscore your opposition is by getting your team ball closer to the white ball (called the jack or the scoring ball).

First-time spectators who see Boccia games are often left amazed by the level of skill and strategic thinking that goes into scoring points. What gives Boccia sports events a great chance of gaining prominence among the more popular outdoor London events is the fact that despite being mainly played by the disabled, there aren’t any restrictions on the kind of people who can participate. In fact, many Boccia tournaments involve players across a vast cross-section of society, irrespective of their physical ability/disability or level of physical strength.