Dunedin man is Head Ref for Asia & Oceania Boccia Teams

Dunedin man Paul Coffey appointed Head Referee for Asia & Oceania Boccia Teams /Pairs Champs

Roseneath man Paul Coffey has once again confirmed his position as one of the world’s top boccia officials after being appointed as Head Referee for the Asia & Oceania Boccia Teams / Pairs Championships in Hong Kong this June.

The Asia & Oceania Teams / Pairs Champs will featured a number of the worlds’ best qualified players from across the Asian and Oceanic regions with the top 24 athletes from approximately 8 counties competing for valuable ranking points.

“It should be an excellent tournament. The standards of play and officiating in Asia in particular are phenomenal and I cannot wait to see how the teams and pairs perform this year” said Mr Coffey.

The object of boccia is to place as many balls as close as possible to the white target ball, while preventing your opponent from doing the same.

A long-time volunteer in the sport since the mid 90’s, Mr Coffey has been an international referee since 2003 when the World Cup was hosted in Christchurch. Since then he has regularly been invited to officiate around the world to competitions in Greece, Canada, Hong Kong, China, England, Australia and Korea.

“Paul has an excellent reputation and is internationally regarded as one of the world’s top boccia referees. He has also recently been appointed to the international referees committee due to his vast officiating experience and history of successfully training new officials. We are extremely fortunate to have him in our ranks for local competitions as well” said Luke Morriss, the New Zealand Director of Boccia.

The Asia & Oceania Boccia Teams / Pairs Championships form part of the qualifying process towards the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games and will take place over the course of five days in June.

Contact Boccia New Zealand or visit www.boccia.org.nz for further information.

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