Dear Friends,

It is our pleasure to report to our Members on your International Federation’s activities for the period 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.

Strategic Plan 2023 – 2028

Throughout 2025, World Boccia continued to deliver against the vision and objectives of its Strategic Plan 2023–2028. Progress was made across all four strategic pillars: Growth, Sustainability, Excellence, and Good Governance.

Strategic Pillars

Growth - We continued to expand membership and take boccia into new geographical areas, while also supporting grassroots development in schools and community settings. During 2025, we saw further progress in Africa and the Caribbean, alongside development activity in South America and Central Asia.

Sustainability - We continued to strengthen the people, structures, and resources required to support a growing competition calendar. This included ongoing work with our sustainability partner, KPMG Australia, and continued development of our Sustainability Strategy ahead of its planned release in 2026.

Excellence - We remained focused on excellence in competition delivery, event presentation, and high-performance opportunities for athletes. In 2025, World Boccia delivered 19 competitions and continued to work closely with Host Organising Committees to maintain high standards across an expanded programme. We also managed the bids process for the 2027 competition programme and for the 2030 World Championships, with a decision expected in early 2027.

Good Governance - During 2025, we continued our review of governance arrangements, strengthened safeguarding procedures, begun the process for the recruitment of a new Chief Medical Officer, and maintained regular consultation with members through regional meetings. This work culminated in important decisions at the July 2025 Extraordinary General Assembly, including the realignment of future General Assemblies with the World Championships and Paralympic Games cycles. We also began comprehensive reviews of the Articles of Association and By-Laws, both scheduled for completion in 2026.

Quarterly Regional Members’ meetings continued to play an important role in reporting progress, highlighting strategic priorities, and ensuring the plan remains relevant to the needs of the sport and its membership. In 2025, these meetings were held in March, July, October, and December.

International Relationships

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - The President and Chief Executive Officer represented World Boccia at the 2025 IPC General Assembly in September. Our relationship with the IPC remains strong, and we continue to value the collaboration and support of its leadership and staff. World Boccia was also represented at the IPC Open Days.

Work also continued with the IPC and the Brisbane 2032 Host Organising Committee as preparations advanced for the Paralympic Games.

Association of Paralympic Sports Organisations (APSO) - The President and Chief Executive Officer also represented World Boccia at the 2025 APSO General Assembly in Seoul, held immediately before the IPC General Assembly. During the year, World Boccia played a prominent role in supporting APSO’s first strategic plan.

Competition Programme

World Boccia delivered its busiest ever competition programme in 2025, with sanctioned events staged across all four regions. The calendar combined established competitions with new opportunities that strengthened development pathways and youth participation.

A total of 19 sanctioned events were delivered during the year, representing the largest programme ever staged by World Boccia. The schedule included events hosted by experienced and emerging Host Organising Committees, including our first event in Central Asia in Kazakhstan. The Regional Youth Para Games were particularly encouraging, with strong participation and the emergence of athletes from countries not previously represented at World Boccia events.

We were also pleased to see continued progress in Africa, with two competitions held in Cairo, Egypt, and a welcome return to international competition in Australia through a World Boccia Challenger event in Canberra—the country’s first international boccia competition in 13 years.

We extend our sincere thanks to Dominique Tremblay, Gustavo Alvarim, Dr Ilona Berry, our Host Organising Committees, Technical Delegates, referees, classifiers, volunteers, and corporate partner Gerflor for making this outstanding programme possible. We also congratulate all member nations whose athletes represented their countries with distinction both on and off the field of play.

Major Events Preparation

World Boccia Championships Seoul 2026 - Preparation continued throughout 2025 for the World Boccia Championships 2026, the pinnacle event of the current quadrennial. We thank the Korean Boccia Federation for its diligence and commitment under the leadership of its President, Mr Kang.

Competition Broadcast Plan - We continued to work with trusted partners Reddentes Sports and QTV to develop our broadcast strategy. Progress was also made with the 2026 World Championships Host Organising Committee to integrate broadcast planning into event delivery.

Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games - We continued to work with LA28 to support the best possible experience for teams and workforce at the Games. A first site visit to the host city resulted in an agreed schedule confirming that boccia will begin on Day -1, before the Opening Ceremony, creating significant opportunities for visibility, marketing, and engagement.

The continued growth of our competition programme reflects the commitment of our member nations and the strength of our partnerships with Host Organising Committees, officials, and volunteers. Their contribution remains central to the quality and reach of our events.

Technology

Throughout the current cycle, World Boccia continued to develop and deploy the Boccia Competition Management System (BCMS), which supports seeding, draws, timing, results, and real-time competition information across sanctioned events.

We thank our technology partner Rocca for its continued support in developing the platform. During 2025, BCMS supported a busy events calendar, reduced administrative workload for members, and continued to evolve through close day-to-day collaboration between the World Boccia team and Rocca.

World Boccia has continued to modernise and promote its social media platforms, including the creation of a TikTok account.

Safeguarding and Policy Development

Safeguarding - During 2025, World Boccia updated and extended its safeguarding policies and procedures and increased the focus placed on safeguarding across the membership. We are now ready to begin an open recruitment process for the first Safeguarding Committee in 2026.

Policy on transgender athletes - In 2025, the Board agreed to begin a formal process to determine policy on transgender athletes within the international boccia programme. Independent consultancy Carbmill Consulting was appointed to lead this process, which will continue in 2026.

Committees

Our committees continue to play a vital role in keeping the sport current, relevant, and focused on the needs of athletes. Key areas of work during 2025 included the following:

• Competition and Rules Committee: Athlete slots for all World Boccia competitions were allocated in line with the Competition System. Preparations for the 2026 review of the competition programme and boccia rules were completed following consultation with members.

• Referees Committee: International referees were selected and appointed for all 19 competitions. The Committee also continued to develop the referees’ evaluation programme, issue rule clarifications, support newly qualified referees, and deliver international referee courses.

• Classification Committee: Classifiers were appointed for all 2025 competitions, and the Committee prepared for implementation of the new IPC Classification Code, which was formally agreed with the IPC during the year. Elsa Matthee represented World Boccia at the IPC Classification Conference in Bonn and was honoured by the IPC in recognition of her years of service to international classification.

• Development Committee: The Committee continued to grow the sport through coaching courses and webinars on a range of topics, while also progressing work on the Level 2 Coaching Course.

• Bids Committee: The Committee evaluated bids, approved all 19 hosting contracts for sanctioned competitions, and continued to work closely with the Host Organising Committee for the 2026 World Championships. Multi-year hosting agreements were also secured with Canada, Poland, and Portugal.

• Anti-Doping Committee: World Boccia remained compliant with WADA requirements and fully committed to clean sport. During 2025, the recruitment process for a new Chief Medical Officer was begun and Dr Ben Rand was appointed in 2026.

• Athletes Committee: The Committee continued to provide input to the Board and to strengthen the representation and engagement of athletes.

• Business and Risk Committee: The Business and Risk Committee met on five occasions, with much of its focus on the preparation for the Extraordinary General Meeting in June 2025 and the Governance review.

Partners

We extend our sincere thanks to the partners who continue to support the mission of World Boccia, including Hogan Lovells International LLP, Giant Arc, Gerflor, Fairfax Financial Management Limited, UHY Hacker Young, Towergate, and Korea Autech Carrier.

We also thank our sports and leisurewear partner, Tarw Sports, which in 2025 delivered referee performance kit to 19 destinations worldwide with impressive efficiency.

Our People

World Boccia’s progress depends on the dedication, expertise, and goodwill of a wide network of people who support the sport throughout the year.

We recognise the work of our Executive Team, led by Chief Executive Officer Paul Trayner, together with Dr Ilona Berry, Dominique Tremblay, and Gustavo Alvarim, whose efforts have been central to delivering our strategic objectives and supporting our members throughout 2025.

We also thank our media consultant, Graham Thomas, whose work has continued to strengthen the profile of boccia and support the delivery of our communications strategy.

Our thanks also go to our Board members for their commitment to governance and strategic leadership, and for the time they give to competitions, committee work, and Board meetings.

We are equally grateful to our Honorary Vice Presidents, Mr David Hadfield OBE, and Professor Joaquim Viegas, and to our Advisory Board members, Mr Martin Lam and Mr Sunghee Kang, for the counsel and expertise they provide on important matters.

Finally, we pay tribute to our volunteers, committee chairs and members, technical officials, classifiers, development team, Athletes Committee, Medical Commission, and member organisations with their staff and support teams. Their contribution is essential to the growth of boccia worldwide and to the continued development of athlete, official, and infrastructure pathways.

Conclusion

In summary, 2025 was a year of significant progress for World Boccia. Across governance, competition, technology, safeguarding, and development, we strengthened the foundations of the sport while continuing to expand opportunities for athletes, officials, and members in every region.

These achievements were made possible by the commitment and collaboration of our members, athletes, volunteers, officials, committees, partners, and staff. Their professionalism and shared belief in the future of boccia continue to strengthen our global community.

As we move into 2026, World Boccia does so with confidence, ambition, and clear purpose. Building on the momentum of this year, we remain committed to delivering excellence, supporting our membership, and shaping an even stronger future for the sport worldwide.

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