Boccia in Paralympic Games: The evolution from 1984 to 2016 and future perspectives

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the participation in Boccia from 1984 to 2016 in Paralympic Games (PG) and envision future perspectives in the parasport. Data was obtained from official International Paralympic Committee webpage, from the first edition (1984) until 2016 and associated to athlete's classification, competitive format and number of played games, the number, nationality and gender of participants, and also the results. The number of athletes participating in PG has steadily increased between 1984 (19) and 2016 (106), the same was observed with relation to represented countries (1984 = 5 vs 2016 = 21) and medal countries (1984 = 5 vs 2012 and 2016 = 11). With respect to athletes' gender, an evident increase was observed, although not continuous throughout the PG editions (male 1984 = 11 vs 2016 = 73 / female 1984 = 8 vs 2016 = 33). Despite the total number of played games increased between 1984 (19) and 2016 (180), this has not been uniform, having even decreased between 2004 (252) and 2012 (161). This evidence is related to factors such as forms of qualification and competition format, that have changed over time, as well as classification system (BC4 was implement in 2004), and pairs and teams' format. It should also be highlighted that, in 1984 edition, PG were performed separating genders. Boccia is a developing parasport with several challenges, namely: i) the continuous increase in participants; ii) gender equally; iii) improvement of classification system; and iv) the competitions format to accommodate an increasing number of participants. © 2022 Servicio de Publicaciones de la Universidad de Murcia Murcia (España). All Rights Reserved.