David Smith first tried bocce at the age of six. It was a slow start as he admitted he hadn’t won an end for five years (a bocce game is four of them).
Britain’s most successful bocce player is looking to defend his title at the 2022 Boccia World Championships.
David Smith OBE has been selected to be part of the nine-man UK squad starting Saturday 3 December in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The 33-year-old has competed since the 2003 British Championships.
“My goal is to defend my title… I’m feeling pretty dominant this year so I’m trying to keep that momentum going,” he said.
Smith OBE, who lives in Swansea, began competing in bocce 19 years ago and has since gone on to become a Paralympic, World and European Champion.
Bocce is a target sport played indoors with soft leather balls and has no Olympic equivalent.
Following his GB selection, Smith said: “I’ve been doing this for so long that I expect to be selected but you have to earn your spot, I think I’ve done enough to be selected.
“The only way is down so for me it’s just trying to keep that number one.”
Smith competes in the BC1 boccia category, one of four classifications determined by the severity of the athlete’s disability.
BC1 athletes have severe activity limitations affecting their legs, arms and trunk and typically rely on a power chair.
While Smith has had an incredibly successful career so far, it’s also important to him to leave a legacy within the sport.
“I like to play, I enjoy winning, I enjoy competing, but the bottom line isn’t that important to me anymore, it’s more about when I finally decide to retire. Are there people who can replace me?
“Which would be a shame if I retired and the sport fell off a cliff.”
Funding for the sport depends on athletes winning medals at competitions, so Smith’s goal is to get more people into it.
“My goal now is community sport, to have bocce ball in every primary school in the UK and then build them up. Ideally, I would like bocce ball to be played by everyone, not just people with disabilities,” he told ` Sport Wales.
When asked what improvements he would like to see in the sport, Smith replied, “Development of new players, more tournaments and a league structure … that focuses on the whole sport moving up through the ranks.”
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