Dear BISFed Members
I am writing to summarise the activities of your Federation for the year ending December 2023.
Governance and Leadership
The leadership of the Board changed in February 2023 with the Former President David Hadfield OBE standing down due to ill health. In accordance with the Articles of Association for the Federation Jon Morgan OBE was appointed as the Interim President. At the General Assembly for BISFed held on the 07th October 2023, Jon Morgan OBE was formerly elected as the President of BISFed for a term of four years.
David Hadfield OBE has been widely recognised for his vision, strategic leadership, and sheer determination to create a new International Sports Federation which has become globally respected and viewed as a highly effective, modern, and progressive organisation. Boccia thrived under David’s leadership, becoming the fastest growing paralympic sport, now enjoying membership across 73 countries. It is difficult to express the huge sense of respect and gratitude that is held for David and all that he has accomplished on behalf of our sport. He will be sorely missed by the boccia community; however, his legacy will continue to be expressed through the continued growth and professionalism of our sport, the commitment of BISFed to remain athlete focussed and the sheer joy and enthusiasm that can be found through the competition and camaraderie of our athletes. David was awarded with the Paralympic Order at the 2023 IPC GA. This is the highest award made by the IPC and David is an extremely worthy recipient.
General Assembly October 2023
The General Assembly was held in Portugal and delivered through a hybrid format, enabling BISFed members to attend either in person or virtually. The General Assembly was quorate and considered business in accordance with the requirements of the Federation’s Articles of Association. Richard Boele was elected as Treasurer to the Board of BISFed at the General Assembly.
BISFed would like to thank PCAND, our Portuguese member, for their excellent support in helping to host the General Assembly and ensuring its success. We also extend our thanks to our membership for its support of this important bi-annual meeting.
The Board
The BISFed Board met on five occasions, effectively discharging the duties of the Directors and the strategic requirements of the company. There was excellent attendance from all Board members, and I would like to extend my personal thanks for their unwavering support during the period of leadership transition and election.
BISFed Sub Committees
As ever, our voluntary committees worked tirelessly and have delivered against a very demanding schedule of activities and projects. Highlights of their work include:
Competitions Committee: Overseen the application of the Competition pathway document and Competition and Ranking Manual for the period 2021-24, as well as the implementation of the qualification requirements for competitions and Paris 2024.
Rules Committee - started the process of reviewing documentation and rules for the 2025-2028 quadrennial with the preparation of surveys and seminars to engage the membership on any proposed changes that should be considered.
Referees Committee – overseen the appointment of International Technical Officials, including importantly those selected to represent BISFed at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. The Committee continue to be responsible for the implementation and oversight of the Referees Procedures Manual and any changes to practise and training.
Classification Committee – has worked with the International Paralympic Committee on the consultation and development of the new International Code of Classification. The Committee has also appointed classifiers to BISFed competitions as well as considering any matters arising from those competitions in respect of athlete classifications or challenges.
Medical and Anti-Doping Committee – has continued to work alongside WADA to ensure that BISFed follows anti-doing regulations.
In-addition the Committee has re-written the role description for the Chief Medical Officer role and has reviewed practises and procedures such as appeals and data protection in line with the IPC guidelines. The Committee also completed its work on the Therapeutic Use Exemption application process.
Development Committee – has continued to develop, insight and research programmes and coach education tools, including an increase in online seminar training, and the continued the delivery of face-to-face education coaches across regions of BISFed including the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.
Athletes Committee - the priority for the Athletes Committee, formed in December 2022, remains the successful implementation of the online Forum, which will provide the means for communication and engagement for both the Athletes Committee and wider athlete community.
Bids Committee – has evaluated all bids for the 2023/2024 seasons as well as the evaluation of bids submitted to host the 2026 World Boccia Championships.
Business and Risk Committee – has considered and managed business risk, continuity, and opportunity, and where necessary, making recommendations to the Board for decision or action.
Finance
The finances of BISFed continue to be closely managed and monitored ensuring that expenditure is in line with budgetary expectations and agreed priorities for the year. The delivery of a General Assembly plus unforeseen costs related to the IPC Athletes Forum and Code of Classification meeting meant that the year was challenging, however, a combination of prudent financial management, strict control of our major expenditures and support from our members, partners and commercial sponsors has left the Federation in a strong financial position with approximately one years running costs in reserve.
Membership
Having started in 2013 with 32 members, we now enjoy a global membership of 74 countries and remain the fastest growing paralympic sport. Our ambition is to ensure that we retain our existing members whilst at the same time growing the number of countries in membership to at least 80.
The Executive remain in constant contact with our membership, whilst we formally engage with our four Regions, Asia and Oceania, Europe, Africa, and the Americas via online regional seminars. In-addition, Board members and Executive staff have access to member views and opinion through regular engagement at competitions and training opportunities.
Competitions
In 2023, 14 competitions were successfully delivered including the first World Boccia Youth Championships, hosted in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal. It is intended to build on the success of this competition with regional youth championships and a second edition of the World Youth Championships in 2025.
In another ‘first,’ the European Regional Championships saw the staging of finals on outdoor courts in the heart of Rotterdam, attracting a large numbers of spectators.
Zagreb 2023 World Boccia Challenger (Croatia)
Montreal 2023 World Boccia Cup (Canada)
Youth Parapan American Games Bogotá 2023 (Colombia)
Santiago 2023 World Boccia Challenger (Chile)
Cairo 2023 World Boccia Africa Regional Championships (Egypt)
Póvoa de Varzim 2023 World Boccia Youth Championships (Portugal)
Rotterdam 2023 World Boccia Europe Regional Championships (Netherlands)
Poznan 2023 World Boccia Challenger (Poland)
Fortaleza 2023 World Boccia Cup (Brazil)
Póvoa de Varzim 2023 World Boccia Cup
Heraklion 2023 World Boccia Challenger
Hanghzhou 2022 Asian Para Games (rescheduled from 2022)
Hong Kong 2023 World Boccia Asia-Oceania Regional Championships
Santiago 2023 Parapan American Games
We remain indebted to those member nations who continue to support and host the BISFed competition programme.
With the announcement of boccia being included in the Los Angeles Paralympic Games 2028 sports schedule, preparatory work has commenced on the delivery of the competition.
Projects
BISFed delivered on key projects in 2023 including:
Information Technology - Rocca were contracted as the new IT partner for BISFed and were instructed to develop a new competition management system to be operational for the competition season 2024.
Boccia Ball Licensing – a review was undertaken to establish the learnings from the Boccia Ball Licensing system that had been previously introduced with the aim of making the sport fairer by the requirement to use licensed boccia balls that had passed rigorous testing protocols and that could be freely purchased from any of the 8 licensed manufacturers. Based on the learnings, a bids process will be opened in 2024 for manufacturers to obtain licenses for the 2025-2028 cycle.
Covid Protocol Measures - these measures, which had been previously lifted to combat COVID 19, were lifted prior to the commencement of the 2023 season.
Regional Development - supported by grants from the International Paralympic Committee, development work was undertaken in the Caribbean resulting in the formation of the Caribbean Boccia Union. Peter Hornig, the President of Boccia Jamaica, is leading the project under the name “Cariboccia. This organisation was created as a response to the interest boccia was receiving from various Caribbean NPCs. Coach, Classification and Referee training is planned to take place in Jamaica and Trinbago.
Development work was also undertaken in Africa with the delivery of the second edition of the World Boccia Africa Regional Championships (Cairo) with accompanying education courses. It is the intention of World Boccia to build on this foundation by delivering a further Challenger competition in 2024 supported by coach development programmes.
BISFed would like to thank the International Paralympic Committee for its continued support in helping to accelerate the development of boccia.
Classification Research and Development – BISFed works with Aspace in Catalunya to work with in areas including classification research and the development of a Boccia Research & Innovation Hub.
Environmental Sustainability Plan – BISFed commenced working with KPMG (Australia) to support the development of a sustainability plan for our sport (for completion in 2024).
I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have assisted BISFed over the past year to ensure that we remain a healthy and ambitious organisation that continues to grow and thrive.
Our Board and Executive Team who work relentlessly to deliver our operational plan:
Our partners, Hogan Lovells (legal support), Giant Arc (marketing), Fairfax Financial Services (strategic financial advice) and Towergate (insurance brokers)
Our commercial partners, Gerflor and Carrier Corporation.
The International Paralympic Committee and those international sports agencies who have supported us in 2023.
And finally to you our membership who work tirelessly to grow the sport of boccia in your own countries and the development of your athletes who grace our sport with such skill and dedication. Thank you.
Boccia International Sports Federation Limited is a Company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. The registered office is 101 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6XH.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
Income and expenses are included in the financial statements as they become receivable or due.
Expenses include VAT where applicable as the company cannot reclaim it.
At each reporting date, an assessment is made for impairment. Any excess of the carrying amount of stocks over its estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell is recognised as an impairment loss in profit or loss. Reversals of impairment losses are also recognised in profit or loss.
The company is exempt from corporation tax, it being a company not carrying on a business for the purposes of making a profit.
The average monthly number of persons (including directors) employed by the company during the year was:
The company is limited by guarantee, not having a share capital and consequently the liability of members is limited, subject to an undertaking by each member to contribute to the net assets or liabilities of the company on winding up such amounts as may be required not exceeding £1.