Hwaseong Special City Concludes '3rd National Boccia Tournament' Bringing Together People with and without Disabilities

Hwaseong Special City (Mayor Jung Myeong-geun) successfully held the '3rd Hwaseong Special City Mayor's Cup National Boccia Tournament' on the 20th at the gymnasium on the second floor of Hwaseong Bandabi Sports Center.

The tournament, hosted by the Hwaseong City Disabled Sports Association and organized by the Hwaseong City Disabled Boccia Federation, drew some 200 participants including athletes, officials, and guardians from across the nation, who competed in skill and strengthened unity.

Boccia is an official Paralympic sport in which athletes throw or roll balls to get them as close as possible to a target ball. Winners are determined by summing the points of balls closest to the target ball.

The tournament was held in two divisions: the team event 'Harmony Trio' (an integrated team combining athletes with and without disabilities) and BC3 individual competition. Particularly in the Harmony Trio competition, where one person without a disability can participate, athletes encouraged and coordinated with each other beyond disability, gender, and age, adding greater meaning to integrated sports.

Cho Seung-moon, Vice Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, who visited the tournament venue, said, "I hope this tournament becomes a venue of harmony where athletes coordinate with each other, encourage one another, and share the joy of sports beyond winning and losing." He added, "We will carefully develop a community sports environment to expand opportunities for people with and without disabilities to naturally come together and understand each other through sports."