Hwaseong Special City Successfully Hosts 3rd National Boccia Tournament Uniting People with and without Disabilities

Hwaseong Special City (Mayor Jung Myung-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.

Hosted by the Hwaseong City Association for Athletes with Disabilities and organized by the Hwaseong City Boccia Association for Athletes with Disabilities, the tournament brought together approximately 200 participants including athletes, officials, and guardians from across the country to compete and strengthen 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 totaling the points of balls closest to the target ball.

The tournament was divided into a team event called Eoul-rim Trio (an integrated team consisting of people with and without disabilities) and the BC3 individual competition. In particular, in the Eoul-rim Trio matches where one person without disabilities could participate alongside disabled athletes, players encouraged each other and coordinated their efforts across disability status, gender, and age, adding deeper meaning to inclusive sports.

Cho Seung-moon, Vice Mayor of Hwaseong Special City, who visited the tournament venue that day, said, "I hope this tournament becomes a gathering for harmony where participants transcend competition and share the joy of sports through mutual coordination and encouragement." He added, "We will carefully build a living sports environment so that opportunities for people with and without disabilities to naturally unite and understand each other through sports continue to expand."