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Bliss at Boccia Barbeque

By Joyce Kay

This was not your typical barbeque. It was held mid-afternoon, and most of its attendees were wheelchair-bound. Although there was a downpour earlier in the day, nothing could dampen the spirits of the national Boccia team’s first outing.

Everyone had chipped in to make the barbeque a success. Graciously hosted by Boccia coach Lanny Kwok and her husband Nicholas, the couple also provided abundant food and drink for the party. Many others, such as Nurul, who brought her delectable potato-salad, and Kevin’s mother, who had purchased delicious agar-agar, had ‘sponsored’ food as well. For those less culinary-inclined, they helped out via other means. Uncle Gordon, for instance, had chauffeured the Boccia team to and from the venue for free.
BBqing marshmallows
It was heartening to observe the close and comfortable relationships between the Boccia players, their parents and the volunteers. Parents and volunteers engaged in friendly banter with the players (who sat in a circle), making friendly jibes at each other. Laughter abounded throughout the afternoon. It was obvious from their interaction that regardless of age or race, all felt a degree of love and concern for everyone else.

This barbeque was an exceptionally rare event, not only in that it was difficult to get a common opening on everyone’s schedules, but also from a logistical perspective. Uncle Gordon had started ferrying the Boccia team from 9am in the morning, and never ceased until almost 2 in the afternoon. Only two or three athletes can make the trip each time, due to the space required to accomodate the athletes and their wheelchairs. This makes such events extremely time-consuming, and hence less common. That was also why the BBQ had to start in the afternoon, instead of at night.

No barbeque is complete without marshmallows, and the players gathered themselves around the glowing ambers of the barbeque to toast theirs. In the pavilion however, Ta Lang and Kang Li engaged in a heated battle, competing to win the title of “Eats the Most”. Ta Lang & Kang Li They chowed down rice, fish balls, salad… After an intense competition of unknown proportions, Kang Li won by half a sausage.

As the Boccia players still had to be ferried back, the barbeque ended relatively early. However, there was no doubt that they had enjoyed themselves immensely on this outing, despite the stomachache they were likely to get the following day from consuming so much food. After some parting words, they split ways, happy and contented.

Now that the Boccia players have had such fun at the barbeque, what next? Coach Lanny hopes to conduct an event on a larger scale, perhaps at a chalet near the beach. She says that then, the players can be even further engaged, and participate in various beach activities. Cheers to the next Boccia outing!