Club Directory

Club Name:

Young Vipers Boccia Club

Activities:

Boccia

Membership:

Behavioural Difficulties, Cerebral Palsy, Deaf/Hard of Hearing, Electric Wheelchair User, Learning Disability, Manual Wheelchair User, Pan Disability, Physical Disability (ambulant), PMLD, Visually Impaired

Club Address:
Haverfordwest Leisure Centre
Havefordwest
SA61 2QX

01437 776240


Young Vipers Boccia club have now merged with Crymych Panthers and meet at the new leisure centre in Haverfordwest every Wednesday from 5-7pm cost £2, the club is open to all abilities and disabilities.

Both teams were given a challenge recently by members of Pembrokeshire County Council.

As sporting contests go, it was one-sided.

Not even having a Church Minister plus an ex-Llanelli, Wales and British Lion rugby player in their ranks counted for much when a team representing the County Council challenged some of Pembrokeshire’s top boccia players to a match.

Based on boules, boccia was originally developed for cerebral palsy sufferers but is now played by people of all abilities and disabilities.

For this show-down with the local authority in the sports hall of the spanking new leisure centre in Haverfordwest, the county’s two boccia clubs - the Crymych Panthers and the Young Vipers - joined forces.

And their combined might proved decisive.

The Council team including the Chairman, Councillor Anne Hughes, and led by Councillor Reverend Huw George and including three fellow Cabinet Members – one of them being the Honourable Member for The Havens, alias ex-rugby international Councillor Peter Morgan– slumped to a disappointing 27 – 13 loss.

It was even played out in front of a television crew, reporting on the growing popularity of boccia in Pembrokeshire. Boccia ia a Paralympic sport and is included in the Paralympics in London in 2012.

Not that defeat was unexpected.

The Panthers and the Vipers boasted some heavy hitters with plenty experience in a game which continues to grow in popularity in Pembrokeshire.

None more so than 14-year-old Jacob Thomas of Bethesda who is currently a member of the Great Britain development squad. A student at Ysgol y Preseli in Crymych, he has represented Wales on several occasions and last year was runner-up to the Welsh champion.

Despite the yawning gap in skill between the teams, Councillor George remained defiantly upbeat when he presented trophies to each of the winning team members.

For others in his side, the truth was harder to avoid.

"Worse than the Lions in South Africa" somebody observed afterwards. "And that was on the telly as well."