B O C C I A PARALYMPIC HIGH PERFORMANCE PLAN Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 0 of 16

Transcription

1 B O C C I A PARALYMPIC HIGH PERFORMANCE PLAN Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 0 of 16

2 INTRODUCTION The quadrennium represents a period of potential growth for Boccia within the United States as BlazeSports America, the USA member of Boccia International Sports Federation (BISFed) prepares for a new series of international competitions, the inclusion of Boccia as a medal sport in the National Veteran Wheelchair Games, and the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio. The following BlazeSports America Boccia High Performance and Sport Development Plan is designed to continue sporting excellence in Boccia at the national and international levels. Boccia at the Paralympic level presents medals in seven divisions for a total of 21 medal opportunities. BlazeSports America has developed a multi-faceted approach to the governance and management of the sport of boccia, identification and recruitment of players, development of coaches, and National Team training and development. BlazeSports has identified five key areas for program development during this quadrennium: Athletes: Identification, Recruitment and Retention Coaching Development Training Competitions Organizational Leadership 2013 Accomplishments: BlazeSports accomplished a number of goals during We held a successful national event in May at Michigan State University. We assisted the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in hosting Boccia as a medal sport for the first time and had 60 veterans compete in four division and three classes. Thirteen athletes were selected to our National Team for the 2013 Americas Cup. Four training camps were held and the National Team competed in the Americas Cup in Gardner Kansas, August 2-9. On the international front, BlazeSports applied for and was granted membership to the new Boccia International Sports Federation BISFed. BlazeSports also provided administrative and accounting support to the local organizing committee of the Americas Cup. International Competitive Analysis: Team USA has struggled to be competitive internationally over the past decade. Our Teams and Pairs are ranked in the top twenty in both divisions. Our primary competition in our region is Brazil, Argentina, and Canada. Outside the Americas, Boccia is dominated by Thailand, Korea, Great Britain, China and Japan. It is not difficult to determine how other countries have become more competitive than the United States. The key to the United States becoming more competitive is additional resources. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 1 of 16

3 Our national program is simply out spent by every other country on the international scene. Great Britain has allocated more than $1million to prepare their Boccia team for Rio. Canada allocates close to $100,000 per year to their national team. Resources provide the opportunity for training on the national level. Our top players are close to being very competitive, but they need more access to training with other national team members and with national team coaches. Although our national team players all train on a regular basis, training at the local level is not the same and is not adequately preparing our players for international competition. BlazeSports hopes to develop a significant partnership with LakePoint Sports to become the designated training center for our National Boccia Team. If this partnership becomes a reality the training center will not be ready until BlazeSports will look to combine USOC resources with existing resources to provide as much national team training as possible. PILLAR 1: Athletes: Identification, Recruitment and Retention Pillar 1: Athletes includes several key components: - Identification and Development - Historical Competitive Results - Recent Competitive Results - Retention of Medal Capable Athletes In 2013, our primary focus in the area of Athlete Identification and Development was the planning and implementation of Boccia as a first time medal sport at the National Veteran Wheelchair Games. The event was a great success with 60 athletes competing in Novice, Open, Senior, and Masters divisions within the quadriplegic classes of 1A, 1B and 1C. BlazeSports used this opportunity to fill a vacant spot on the BC4 roster for the 2013 Americas Cup by selecting the winner of the 1A Open division. Our second focus in the area of Athlete Identification and Development during 2013 was the recruitment of more female players to the National Team. We experienced mixed results in this area. Two of the 13 players on the National Team are female. Three additional female players were identified as part of our athlete development program and invited to be on our National Team. All three declined due to the financial commitment required from each player. Our Teams division and BC4 pairs will have female representation. We need to continue to further develop female athletes for our BC3 Pairs. Recent Competitive Results in 2013 include the results of the 2013 Americas Cup, the first major qualifying competition for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Team USA included 13 athletes: 3 BC1, 3 BC2, 4 BC3 and 3 BC4 players. We entered 13 players in individual play, a BC3 and BC4 Pairs team and a BC1/BC2 Team in the team division. Going into the Americas Cup our Team was ranked 19 th out of 27 countries, while our BC3 Pairs was ranked 15 th out of 24 countries and our BC4 Team was unranked. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 2 of 16

4 The 2013 National Team included the following athletes: BC 1 World Rank, Past Events Cornelius Oatis Columbus, OH #67, 2011 World Cup Elizabeth Flora-Swick Gardner, KS #59, 2011 Para Pan Am Games Chris Viau Evanston, IL unranked, first international event BC2 Abdallah Anwar North Hollywood, CA unranked, 2009 Americas Cup Rafael DeJesus Valley Stream, NY unranked, first international event Mark Harrison Columbus, OH #58, 2011 World Cup BC3 Austin Hanson Topeka, KS #23, 6 events, 3 Paralympic Games Fawad Zakai Stone Mountain, GA unranked, first international event Howard Cohen East Meadow, NY unranked, first international event Charles Fleisch North Massapequa, NY #84, 5 international events BC4 Charles Brown* Loxahatchee, FL #60, 2011 Para Pan Am Games Denise DeMello Delray Beach, FL unranked, first international event Robert Thomas* Masedonia, OH unranked, first international event *Military Veteran Seven of the thirteen members of the 2013 National Team had at least one previous international competition. BlazeSports was successful in retention of Medal Capable Athletes in The one 2012 Boccia Paralympian and four of the six players that competed in the 2011 Para Pan Games were part of the 2013 National Team that competed in the Americas Cup Americas Cup Results BC 1: Cornelius Oatis won three of four games in pool play to advance to the quarter finals, where he lost an overtime game to Mauricio Javier Ibarbure of Argentina and finished 5 th of 17. Lizzie Flora-Swick was winless in four games in pool play and finished 17th. Chris Viau was winless in three games and finished 16th. BC2: Abdallah Anwar won 3 of 4 games in pool but did not advance due to point differential and finished 10th out of 21. Rafael DeJesus won one of four games in pool play and finished 18 th. Mark Harrison won 2 of 3 games in pool but did not advance due to point differential and finished 11th. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 3 of 16

5 BC1/BC2 Team: Team USA was ranked 19th in the world and played extremely well in pool play, winning 4 of the 6 games. Team USA beat Argentina (10th), Columbia (20th), and unranked Mexico and South Africa and had losses against Brazil (9th) and Canada (12th). Team USA, Argentina, and Canada ended pool play with identical 4-2 records with Brazil winning the Gold medal with a 5-1 record. Team USA finished fourth out of the medals due to point differential. Argentina (which Team USA beat) won Silver, Canada won Bronze. BC3: Austin Hanson won all 3 games in pool play and advanced to the medal round, where he won both the quarter finals and semi-finals to earn a spot in the championship game against 20 th ranked Paul Gauthier of Canada. Austin lost a close match 4-2 to win the Silver. Fawad Zakai won one of three games in pool play and finished 12th out of 17. Howard Cohen was winless in four games in pool play and finished 17 th. Charles Fleisch only played BC3 pairs BC3 Pairs: Team USA s BC3 Pairs included Austin Hanson, Fawad Zakai, and Charles Fleisch, Team USA lost 3 of 4 games to finish 5 th. BC4: Charles Brown* was winless in four games in pool play, but played very well. He played the eventual Gold medal winner to overtime. Charles finished 17 th. BC4 Pairs: consisted on Charles Brown and Denise DeMello, who won one of four games, while losing a close 3-2 game to the #1 ranked team in the world, Brazil. Denise DeMello was out-classed and all their games were eliminated from pool play. BC5: Denise DeMello, who was classed out of competition due to functional level won all three games in an unofficial BC5 pool. Robert Thomas* was also classed out of competition due to functional level. Robert lost both games in the unofficial BC5 pool. *Military Veteran BISFed is considering a new BC5 class for players they determine have too much functional ability for the BC4 division. BlazeSports is also considering adding this new class Annual Goals: Pillar 1 - Athletes Identification and Development To assist in hosting Boccia at the 2014 NVWG s To implement a Player Identification Program with the VA/US Paralympic Adapted Sports Program Recent Competitive Results To increase our international ranking in Individual, Pairs, and Team play at the 2014 World Championships Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 4 of 16

6 Retention of Medal Capable Athletes To retain 80% of our most competitive players from the 2013 National Team Quadrennial Goals: Pillar 1 - Athletes Identification and Development To assist in hosting Boccia at the 2015, 2016, and 2017 NVWG s To increase the number of veterans competing at the NVWG by 10% each year through 2017 To increase the number of female players by 5% each year through 2017 Recent Competitive Results 2015: To increase our international ranking in Individual, Pairs, and Team play at the 2015 World Cup and 2015 Para Pan Games 2016: qualify one (1) athlete for the 2016 Paralympic Games 2017: To increase our international ranking in Individual, Pairs, and Team play at the 2017 Americas Cup Retention of Medal Capable Athletes To retain 80% of our most competitive players from the 2014 National Team To retain 80% of our most competitive players from the 2015 National Team Critical pathways in pursuit of these program goals will include: 1. Continued implementation of a National Team selection process based on the national ranking system developed by the Boccia Sport Technical Advisory Committee 2. Annual selection of a National Team 3. Governance of the Sport and the National Team program 4. National Team participation in the annual BISFed sanctioned competition 5. Continued management of the Boccia Sport Technical Advisory Committee 6. Hosting of a national sport development and promotional website on Boccia 7. Use of social media to promote the sport, the functions of the Boccia Sport Technical Advisory Committee, Team USA, BlazeSports sanctioned competitions and National Championships 8. Develop and implement a specific recruitment program targeted at Military/VA athletes. Oversee the inclusion of Boccia at the National Veteran Wheelchair Games 9. Increase athlete identification and recruitment in target classes and disability groups, specifically athletes in BC 3 and BC4 classes 10. Increase athlete identification and recruitment in collaboration with key partner Organizations 11. Development of a national classification data base using the group of newly certified national classifiers to expand classification services to various regional and national events Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 5 of 16

7 PILLAR 11: Coaching Pillar 11: Coaching includes the following key components: Identification and Recruitment Development Evaluation Retention and Replacement In, 2013 our efforts focused on identifying coaches associated with programs that offer boccia but were not in our current data base. US Paralympics reported some 30 programs offering Boccia. This is significantly more programs than have been represented in regional and national competitions. A list of programs was provided and BlazeSports staff followed up with each individual program to identify the staff responsible for the boccia program. The identified staff was added to a master list. Now all Boccia program staff receives related s and program announcements. Similarly, BlazeSports staff offered a Boccia interest form at the 2013 National Veteran Wheelchair Games and collected contact information of VA staff working with veteran boccia players. These staff will also be added to our list. BlazeSports selected three coaches for its 2013 National Team. All three coaches have been members of past National Teams. Kathy Brinker (IL) Head Coach BC1 and BC2 and Team James Thomson (NY) former Paralympian in Boccia, Head Coach BC4 and BC4 Pairs Gary Barraclough (KS) Head Coach BC3 s and BC3 Pairs A survey distributed to the 2013 National Team will be used as part of an evaluation process. Results will not be received prior to submission of this report. In an effort to improve continuity within our National Team program, BlazeSports will advertise and select coaches for the final three year periods of the 2016 quadrennium. In the future, coaching selections will be four-year appointments Annual Goals: Pillar 11 - Coaching BlazeSports has several coaching development projects scheduled for We anticipate offering a new Coaches Certification in Boccia. Level 1 will be for local coaches. Level 2 will be for national coaches, and Level 3 would be for International or National Team Coaches. We also plan to offer 4-5 regional clinics targeting both player and coaching development. We currently have several good teaching tools and plan to update them if our development grant is approved. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 6 of 16

8 2014 To implement National Certification Program 2014 To certify at least 20 Level 1 coaches and 5 Level 2 coaches 2014 To have 20 new coaches attend regional workshops 2014 To select Head Coaches for positions through To improve the coaching education material available on our website Quadrennial Goals: Pillar 11 - Coaching The focus during the remaining quadrennium will be to increase the number of education and training opportunities and fully implement the three level Certification program To certify at least 20 Level 1 coaches and 5 Level 2 Coaches and 3 Level 3 Coaches 2016 To certify at least 10 Level 1 coaches and 5 Level 2 Coaches 2017 To certify at least 10 Level 1 coaches and 5 Level 2 Coaches Critical pathways in pursuit of these program goals will include: 1. Production of promotional and educational PowerPoint presentations and educational videos utilizing BlazeSports TV with follow-up dissemination to partners for use building Boccia programs locally 2. Use of the Active for Life Activity Cards presenting different Boccia drills useful to coaches and to physical education teachers 3. BlazeSports staff and Boccia Sports Technical Committee to provide regularly scheduled Boccia training open to all constituent groups and promoted to Paralympic Sport Clubs 4. Provide ongoing real-time technical assistance to coaches and local programs 5. Identification of developmental coaches or coaches of specific elite players to work with and be mentored by a National Coaches 6. Provide developmental coaches the opportunity to travel with the National Team to observe and understand the international playing field 7. National Coach and National Team Manager follow-up with the identified development and local coaches on an on-going basis to facilitate learning how to train athlete(s) to become top international caliber players 8. Utilize the National Boccia Website and social media to promote opportunities PILLAR 111: Training BlazeSports held four training camps with our National Team players in preparation for the 2013 Americas Cup. The first coincided with our National Championships and last was held the day prior to the start of the Americas Cup. Separate BC1/BC2 and BC3 camps were made possible by our head coaches and a grant provided through our New York UCP program. In each case players were given training programs and National Team coaches monitored their workouts and required regular communication from each athlete. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 7 of 16

9 Our plan to have bi-monthly training camps was not realized due to lack of funding. The US program is at a distinct disadvantage to most of the other countries which have significant support and training budgets. As an example, Team Canada arrived in Kansas a week early to take advantage of training in the Americas Cup competition venue. Team USA could only afford one extra day. It has become obvious that our National Team must determine a way to have training camps 3-4 times a year. Pairs and Team competition is drastically different than Individual play and requires time to develop competitive play strategies. In addition, our National Team coaches must develop a process to effectively incorporate local coaches in the ongoing training of National Team players at the local level. Practice sessions must include more complicated game scenarios that simulate international competitions Annual Goals: Pillar Training 2014 To implement National Player Development Program in conjunction with the VA/USP Adapted Sports program 2014 To offer 4 regional learn-to-play training clinics 2014 To offer 1 national training/selection camp 2014 To hold a series of training camps prior to the 2014 World Championships Quadrennial Goals: Pillar Training The focus during the remaining quadrennium will be to increase the resources to allow us to implement a year round National Team Training program and to offer at least one Emerging Athlete Training Camp To host 4-6 training opportunities for the National Teams attending the 2015 World Cup and Para Pan Games 2015 To offer an emerging player training camp 2016 To host 4-6 training opportunities for athletes attending the 2016 Paralympics 2016 To offer an emerging player training camp 2017 To host 4-6 training opportunities for the National Team attending the 2017 Americas Cup 2017 To offer an emerging player training camp PILLAR IV: Competitions Our primary focus with respect to competitions is participation in each of four major international qualifying competitions in the three years leading up to the Paralympic Games. Participation in the Americas Cup (2013), the World Championships (201 4), and the World Cup (2015) are required qualifying events for the Rio Paralympics. Athletes earn necessary international ranking points at each of these events. The Para Pan Games (2015) is a USOC sponsored regional event that also provides an opportunity for athletes to earn ranking points. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 8 of 16

10 BISFed is recommending a change in this traditional international schedule which may involve additional regional events that include at least three countries, world cup events that only include Pairs and Team play, and an additional World Championship in Team USA will need to adjust plans to compete in international events as BISFed implements their new competition schedule over the next three years. It will be important to get our national team members into as many international competitions as possible. This may include taking advantage of the annual Canadian event, given it already attracts athletes from more than three countries, and will be eligible for ranking points in the future. Our emphasis on competitions will also include hosting more international events. In 2012, a BlazeSports affiliated program applied for and was awarded the hosting responsibilities of the 2013 Americas Cup. BlazeSports staff and Boccia Sports Technical Committee assisted the HOC in a number of ways during the 10 months leading up to the event. Since the event was hosted in the United States we selected the largest National Team ever entered in an international competition with 14 athletes. BlazeSports has several initiatives under way that will increase our ability to host additional international boccia events in the future. Given that Boccia is still considered a developing sport in the United States, BlazeSports spends a considerable amount of time developing regional and national competitions to foster competitive experiences for future National Team members. In 2013 we added the Dixie Games, the Texas Regional Games, and the Valor Games SE as new events offering Boccia. We also assisted the National Veterans Wheelchair Games with hosting Boccia as a first time medal sport. The NVWG provides us with a second major national event, which had 60 competitors this year. The secondary focus of our Competition Management in the quadrennium is: The implementation of an annual National Championships bid process Support of the Boccia competition at the National Veteran Wheelchair Games The inclusion and sanctioning of Boccia in increasing numbers of regional competitions Annual Goals: Pillar IV Competitions 2014 select and prepare a National Team for the 2014 World Championships 2014 support the HOC of the National Championships and NVWG s 2014 sanction seven (7) regional Boccia qualifying competitions 2014 secure a bid to host the 2015 Boccia National Championships Quadrennial Goals: Pillar IV Competitions 2015 select and prepare a National Team for the 2015 Para Pan American Games 2015 secure a bid to host the 2016 Boccia National Championships 2015 sanction seven (7) regional Boccia qualifying competitions 2015 support the HOC of the National Championships and NVWG s 2016 select and prepare a National Team for the 2016 BISFed World Championships 2016 support athletes selected to the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games 2016 sanction eight (8) regional Boccia qualifying competitions 2016 secure a bid to host the 2017 Boccia National Championships Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 9 of 16

11 2016 support the HOC of the National Championships and NVWG s 2017 sanction nine (9) regional Boccia qualifying competitions 2017 secure a bid to host the 2018 Boccia National Championships 2017 support the HOC of the National Championships and NVWG s 2017 select and prepare a National Team for the 2017 BISFed Americas Cup Critical pathways in pursuit of these program goals will include: 1. Annual selection of the National Team and support for international competitions 2. Promotion of regional international Boccia events to National Team members 3. Annual review of the Boccia National Bid Application packet 4. Annual posting of BlazeSports National Bid Process in August 5. Selection and awarding of successful national bids by the conclusion of the current National Championships 6. Ongoing coordination with the NVWG throughout the planning process 7. Ongoing coordination with LOC throughout the planning process, hosting, and post event evaluation of Boccia National Championships 8. Development and implementation of a regional games sanctioning protocol and process 9. Active review of competition management issues by Boccia Sport Technical Advisory Committee 10. Solidifying partnership with a national equipment supplier 11. BlazeSports Official National Boccia Website for sport promotion, communication, news, and technical assistance 12. Effective use of social media to promote the sport as well as national and regional competitions PILLAR V: Organizational Leadership Pillar V: Organization Leadership includes several key components: - Leadership and Management - Financial Management - Revenue Generation - Stability - Recruitment Capabilities - Effective Goverence The leadership and management of Boccia have been through a slight transition since BlazeSports continued its role as the HPMO for the sport of Boccia without the ability to hire a High Performance Manager as was the case in 2010 and HPMO responsibilities have been delegated the Jeff Jones, Director of Sports and Community Programs. Without a High Performance Manager, the National Boccia program is at a distinct disadvantage. Other countries, like Great Britain have a full-time Boccia Manager to coordinate their Boccia program. Funding this position is essential to the future development of the sport in the US. BlazeSports continues to recommend funding for this part-time position in order to supplement the efforts of BlazeSports staff assigned to Boccia. The High Performance Manager Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 10 of 16

12 would assume the day-to-day responsibilities of the National Team and would be the designated Team Leader for all international competitions. The position would be assigned on a quadrennial basis. BlazeSports does benefit from having a hard working and dedicated Boccia Sports Technical Committee that assist staff in the management of the sport. BlazeSports held more than a dozen conference calls with the Boccia Sports Technical Committee in Staff has empowered the Boccia Committee to assist in developing and implementing policy related to national championships, National Team selection, national ranking system, and over all development of the sport of Boccia. This committee includes current and past National Team coaches, nationally and internationally certified officials, meet directors of past national championships, and former Paralympians. BlazeSports does an exceptional job with the financial management of Boccia. We assist National Team players with establishing Athlete Accounts so donations can be sent to BlazeSports on their behalf. Monies are specifically earmarked for the designated athlete with regular updates sent to athletes. In addition, BlazeSports provided oversight for all the banking and accounting services for the 2013 Americas Cup, including managing wire transfers from the eight participating countries, issuing checks to pay for all bills and reimbursement expenses for more than 20 games staff. The one area that requires significant attention in the near future is revenue generation. BlazeSports has juggled the challenges of a tough economy with the fiscal needs of a national Organization, and has been unable to generate significant resources other than staff time. The staff time represents.25 FTE of a Director level position. We do generate some funding from our National Championships and several regional events, but we need to spend a significant amount of effort on future revenue generation. BlazeSports recently filled the Executive Director position with the hiring of Jon McCullough. Jon is a 2-time Paralympian in the sport of soccer and is a US Coast Guard veteran. We expect we will be able to generate additional efforts in the area of fund development in the future. The overall stability of the program has been enhanced over the past four years by providing a designated staff and a designated HPMO office to administer the program. Regular communication with local programs, coaches, and a growing athlete pool has provided the Boccia community with updated information on Boccia. A large part of this success is due to our recruitment capabilities and having a strong Boccia leadership team that has significant national and international experience. As our ability to increase the number of regional competitions improves and the implementation of our development grant will greatly improve our overall recruitment ability Annual Goals: Pillar V 2014 With funding assistance from the USOC, hire a HP Manager Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 11 of 16

13 2014 To develop a fundraising program for National Team members 2014 To recruit 2 additional members to our Boccia Sport Tech Committee Quadrennial Goals: Pillar V The focus during the remaining quadrennium will be to increase resources and broaden leadership roles in an effort to build a strong foundation for our national Boccia program To expand the fundraising program options for National Team members 2015 To recruit a national sponsor for the National Boccia Team 2015 To recruit 2 additional members to our Boccia Sport Tech Committee 2016 To recruit additional national sponsors 2016 To recruit 1 additional member to our Boccia Sport Tech Committee 2017 To recruit additional national sponsors 2017 To recruit 1 additional member to our Boccia Sport Tech Committee 2014 Funding Request BlazeSports America respectfully requests $35,000 for the year to support the continued development of the national Paralympic Boccia program. The funds will be allocated in the following way: 1. Two National Team Training camps prior to the 2014 World Championships a. $500 travel/meal per diem per athlete, coach, and Sport Assistant b. 12 athletes, 12 $500 = 12,000 x 2 camps = $24,000 c. $500 per camp for transportation costs to and from venue and to and from airport 2. $10,000 to support the High Performance Manager s position. A job description is provided at the end of this report. Our analysis of the 2013 Americas Cup is that our chief competitors Canada, Brazil and Argentina have the opportunity to train together with National Team coaches much more often than we do. Our ideal situation would be to train together 4-6 times per year. Our realistic expectation is to request enough funding to begin the process and demonstrate that improved results can be achieved when high performance training camps are provided. As our program becomes more competitive our program will move to include additional training camps. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 12 of 16

14 PROGRAM ACTIVITIES Regional Boccia Clinics January - August, 2014 National Team Training Camps January - August, 2014 Emerging Athlete Invitational Training Camps Spring/Fall, VA National Wheelchair Games Summer, 2014 Philadelphia, PA Boccia Sports Technical Committee Meeting July, National Championships July/August, Boccia World Championship, 2014 National Team Training Camps January - August, 2015 Emerging Athlete Invitational Training Camps Spring/Fall, VA National Wheelchair Games Summer, 2015 Boccia Sports Technical Committee Meeting July, 2015 Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 13 of 16

15 2015 National Championships July/August, 2015 National Team Training Camps January - August, 2016 Emerging Athlete Invitational Training Camps Spring/Fall, Boccia World Cup, Para Pan Games, VA National Wheelchair Games Summer, 2016 Boccia Sports Technical Committee Meeting July, National Championships July/August, Rio Paralympic Games September 7-18, 2016 National Team Training Camps January - August, 2017 Emerging Athlete Invitational Training Camps Spring/Fall, VA National Wheelchair Games Summer, 2017 Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 14 of 16

16 Boccia Sports Technical Committee Meeting July, National Championships July/August, Americas Cup, 2017 Boccia High Performance Manager Job Description As part of his/her responsibilities, the Boccia High Performance Manager will provide the following services: 1. Coordinate monthly conference calls with BSA s Boccia Advisory Committee 2. Act as chief liaison with the US Paralympic High Performance Team with respect to the development and promotion of Boccia within the United States 3. Coordinate all communication with the following: Boccia National Team, National Athlete Pool and Emerging Athlete Pool and respective coaches, sports assistances, and PCA s requiring training camps, international trips, and other matters as deemed necessary by BSA 4. Coordinate all information to and respond to all inquiries from the US Anti-Doping Agency related to all current or former Nationals Team members 5. Coordinate with BSA staff updating, revisions, and submission of BSA s Annual Boccia High Performance Plan to US Paralympics 6. Act as Event Coordinator for any national Boccia training camp 7. Act as Team Leader (see attached job description) for any international competitions 8. Act as the liaison to the organizing committee of the National Boccia Championships USA Boccia National Team: Team Leader Job Description The Team Leader shall be responsible for the overall coordination of the team including but not limited to the following: Liaison to BlazeSports America Communication thru BlazeSports with the competition local organizing committee Represent Team USA at all meetings or assign other staff as appropriate to positions Assist BlazeSports America with the facilitation of all entry materials Communication with team members and staff Communication with Head Coaches regarding athlete training progress Monitoring the code of conduct of athletes and staff and resolving any issues Become knowledgeable of the current BISFed Boccia rules Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 15 of 16

17 Work together as a team to insure a successful and positive experience for all Responsibility for the team for the duration of the trip from travel through competition includes but is not limited to the following: Personal care assistance, feeding, toileting, showering/bathing, dressing, transferring, and mobility assistance. Team Leader reports to BlazeSports America Director of Sports and Community Programs. Boccia Paralympic High Performance Plan Page 16 of 16