THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The team was going through a challenging phase — the first set ended in a draw, and Alappuzha had to win the next to enter the girls’ Bocce semi-finals.
Then stepped in Vaishnavi K, an inclusive student of the team, onto the carpet. Her first throw was declared dead, but thanks to the sport’s modified rules, she allegedly got a second chance.
She threw her green ball again, which came to rest closest to the white target ball. As the crowd cheered, Vaishnavi’s wide smile sparkled more than the pink beads in her fancy necklace.
All it takes is an extra effort, a small tweak in rigidity, to include such smiles. Introduced last year as part of inclusive sports, the ball sport Bocce was a key attraction at the inclusive sports events held at the University Stadium here on Wednesday.
The new game gained fans at the Kerala State School Sports Meet, as the crowd around the game carpet continued to grow as the matches progressed.
A few changes — including giving a second chance to disabled participants — were incorporated into the game. The players have to throw a smaller ball first, called a pallino, after which two teams take turns bowling.
The player who bowls closest to the pallino is declared the winner of the set. As it is a bowling event, students using wheelchairs can also participate.
Excluding the substitutes, each team had five participants: one with hearing or visual impairment, one with locomotive disability or cerebral palsy, two with intellectual disabilities, and one from the general category, making it a completely inclusive sport.
Subitha P S, a special educator from Alappuzha, said the students showed improvement in their behaviour and responses. “Bocce might appear to be a simple game, but it needs concentration. What we felt was that the game even reduced the hyperactivity of some students,” she added.
Subitha also appreciated the efforts taken by general students who supported the Bocce team during their practice sessions.
Speaking about the experience of training the Alappuzha students for Bocce, physical education teacher Lathinjith C P said that the students were actively engaged in the practice sessions. “Though there were a few intervals, students practised for over three hours daily for Bocce,” he said.
“After all, the world knows about our students only through this sports meet. Our kids do not have any youth festival, do they!” a special educator said with a smile, putting forward a question to ponder upon.
