World's fifth-best boccia player seeks new partner
BBCA European champion who hopes to compete in the next Paralympics says it is "absolutely critical" she finds the right person to partner her in her sport.
Sally Kidson, from Salisbury, plays boccia, a sport originally designed for people with cerebral palsy, but now played by people with a wide range of disabilities around the world.
Players direct coloured balls as close as possible to a white ball - for those unable to throw or kick a ball themselves, they use a ramp which they direct to the correct position.
However, for this to be moved, they need a ramp operator and Sally is on the hunt for the right person, who would also get opportunities to travel and come away with medals.
Kidson is European champion and fifth best in the world in her category, but she "literally can't compete" without a ramp operator.
"It's two people working together to produce one performance," she said.
Her coach Rikki Bingham explained that once the ramp is in position, the athlete uses something to propel the ball like a head, mouth or hand pointer once the ramp has been positioned.
"Now they both play very different roles - so it's the athlete who sits facing the court and they're the one who has to make all of the tactical judgments and do all of the calibration of how far each ball is likely to go depending on where it is on the court", she said.
The operator is not allowed to look at the court during competition, so they follow the instructions exactly and it has to be done within a time limit.
"They need to be agile and they need to be really in tune with the athlete which is why it's really important we get the right person for a pairing because that relationship is absolutely critical to the success of that pair," said Bingham.
She added that the operator is so integral that they are classified as athletes too and they also get medals.
The operator would train with Kidson multiple times a week, maintain the equipment and also analyse tactics from old matches.
It means they could end up travelling round the world - including to the 2028 LA Paralympics.
"She's on a real upward trajectory. She's got massive medal potential," said Bingham.
They are looking for expressions of interest by 12 October - Kidson said someone does not "necessarily need to have experience but they do need to have an eagerness to learn and to contribute ideas so that we can continually improve as a partnership".
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