Athlete feature:
Hard Work Pays Off for Nathan Bragg at BC Boccia Provincial Championships
Eleven athletes competed for the 2024 Boccia BC Provincial Championships on July 13 and 14, 2024. The tournament, hosted by SportAbility, was held at the Richmond Olympic Oval in Richmond, BC.
Originally designed for players with cerebral palsy, the game of boccia resembles curling or lawn bowling, where two players alternate to propel six balls—whether throw, kick, or roll—towards the target white ball, better known as the jack. After throwing six balls of either red or blue, a player earns points for that end by having the most balls closest to the jack than the opponent. The game ends when a player scores more accumulated points after four ends.
Day one of the BC Boccia Provincials saw exciting round robin action, after tournament officials assessed the players’ functionality and ability to propel the balls, they classified the players into one of six categories, ranging from BC1 to BC5, as well as an Open category. Athletes were divided into two round robin groups: six in BC 1/2, and five in Open. Among the BC 1/2 group was Nathan Bragg, a BC2 athlete with Cerebral Palsy. After growing up as a sports enthusiast and playing a few other para sports,he began playing Boccia in 2020.
“Boccia is a really good fit for me with the impairment I have,” the Vancouver-born Bragg explained, “because I have the form of Cerebral Palsy that affects all four of my limbs, and it affects my coordination quite significantly.”
Spectators quietly watched on as Bragg topped his group after round-robin play and advanced to the playoffs. While he is now one of the top BC2 athletes in Canada, ranked 6th in the country, Bragg’s boccia journey had some bumps in the road.
“I didn’t think I was going to be very good at it, to be honest. I tried it briefly about eight years ago and I was terrible,” he recalled when he first played boccia. After having some success in his first tournament, Bragg got ill at the Nationals and couldn’t compete at his best. “But then I had a really good National Championships in London, Ontario the next year in 2022 where I won silver in individual play, and that made me realize, oh, I actually could be good at this if I work at it. This encouraged me to put the pieces together and get better.”
Making his own decisions during play and learning to slow down with patience were tough learning curves for Bragg, who had always been a team player in fast-paced sports. Boccia requires athletes to be strategic and to have precision and control. Bragg’s biggest challenges were finding the right release point and angles to propel the ball, but he was determined to improve on these skills.
“I like a sport that’s challenging. I’m always trying to add and learn new skills,” Bragg remarked and shared how he trained in most evenings to get better. “But my consistency is still a real problem in my game and I have a long way to go before I’m a more consistent player.”
His training paid off as he continued his success on day two of the Provincials. After defeating Lisa Ferenc 10-4 in the semi-finals, Bragg beat Hanif Mawji 5-1 in the final to take gold, while Chris Halpen captured bronze.
In the Open category, Daniel Hutchison beat Kylie Waters 6-1 to win gold, while Zosia Ettenberg took the bronze with a 5-0 victory over Wendy Wilkins.
For Bragg, tournaments like the Provincials aren’t just competitions, but also an effective way to connect with players and coaches in the program. His best boccia memory is winning a medal in team play in last year’s National tournament. “I really like the team events in boccia, and I know all of us in the program have been working really hard to improve our communication, teamwork, and executing the strategies that the coaches get us to memorize and execute.”
Bragg has his sights set on the Nationals later this year. “I look forward to buckling down hard from now until November to try and get in the best throwing shape possible and be more consistent for the Nationals,” he explained. “I want to be that guy who can consistently get a result, not someone who just gets one good result and one bad result a year. I want to stay more grounded in my performance.”
Although Bragg is happy that the Open division continues to thrive, he wants to see more players in each of the BC1-5 classifications. “Many may struggle to join para sports and may think that ‘Oh, I can’t be an athlete because my arms or legs are too impaired.’ That’s not the case with boccia!” He encouraged anyone to join and play boccia regardless of their physical limitations. “It’s a great and competitive sport once you get into it, and it’s also a great community to be part of. So the best I can say is just try it.”
He also emphasized to not be intimidated by the strong players in the sport. “Don’t think that you have to come in and be incredible right away,” he continued. “You can just start playing and have fun. Everybody starts somewhere, so don’t be afraid to try it or to and ask for help on how to get better.”
Congratulations to Nathan Bragg and all the medalists at the 2024 BC Boccia Provincials! If you’re interested in learning more about the sport, visit our programs page to learn more.
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