Astana to Host Boccia Championship This Week

ASTANA – Kazakhstan will host the boccia national championship on June 1-4 in the capital, Vice President of the Kazakhstan Boccia Federation Nazym Zhangazinova said at a May 30 briefing at the Central Communications Service.

Photo credit: Senate.parlam.kz

Boccia is a ball sport for people with severe musculoskeletal disorders. The game helps children with disabilities to improve their health, noted the Vice President.

Zhangazinova informed that around 50 champions from across the country will participate in the games. The best of them will be selected for the national team that will compete in international championships and Olympiads.

According to the official data from the Kazakh Ministry of Health, there are approximately 700,000 people with disabilities in Kazakhstan, of which 98,000 are children.

“We are responsible for the development of an inclusive society and the support of such competitions,” said Zhangazinova.

Nurgul Ulzhekova, secretary-general of the Kazakhstan Boccia Federation and director of the World of Equal Opportunities public fund, informed that the federation has ten branches throughout the country.

Twenty-one cities have clubs under the Salamatty Bolashak social project aimed at improving the social integration of children with special educational needs by organizing sports sections for adaptive physical culture and sports.

To date, 150 people aged 6 to 43 practice boccia.


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