By Graham Thomas
Welsh athlete Rachel Bailey will represent Great Britain for the first time at an international tournament when she competes at the Olbia World Boccia Challenger in Italy next week.
Bailey has been selected in the BC1 tournament for the event in Sardinia, with her participation supported by Disability Sport Wales as she takes the next step in her international career.
She will be part of a six-strong British delegation at the PalaGeovillage, alongside five athletes from Boccia UK’s World Class and Talent Transition programmes.
She follows two other athletes from Wales who have represented Great Britain – Jacob Thomas in 2015 and Tomas Martin in 2024.
The 2026 Olbia Challenger (2025 closing ceremony pictured above) runs from 12-20 October, with competition beginning on 14 October and features 77 athletes from 22 nations.
The programme includes the BC1, BC2, BC3 and BC4 individual events, BC3 and BC4 pairs and the BC1/BC2 team competition.
For Bailey, the tournament represents another significant milestone, including her success as 2024 Welsh BC1 champion.
Her selection comes as Britain arrives in Olbia looking to back up recent success.
Penny Froude heads into the tournament after winning silver at the Poznan Challenger, while Tyler McLelland claimed his first international individual gold in Pilsen last month.
Alex Medley also won his first international title in Poznan, with Nicola Taylor winning gold on her Boccia UK debut.
World Class Programme athlete Fiona Muirhead completes the British group after taking silver in Pilsen.
The tournament will provide a truly international test, with Argentina, Australia, Austria, Canada, Colombia, South Korea, Finland, Great Britain, Greece, India, Israel, the Faroe Islands, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Singapore, Spain, Slovakia, the United States, Ukraine and Hungary all represented.
Host nation Italy will be chasing medals on home soil, with Gabriele Zendron and Giuseppe Rollo among the leading names in their squad.
Spain will also be represented, with Vasile Agache among the athletes confirmed for the event.
Olbia is the second Challenger tournament to follow this year’s World Championships in Seoul and comes as the sport moves into the next phase of the international cycle towards the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
The tournament provides athletes with another opportunity to compete internationally and build ranking positions during the new cycle.
World Boccia’s event calendar places Olbia alongside a busy programme of international competition following the Seoul championships.
Two days before the Olbia tournament closes, another Challenger event will begin in Nagoya, Japan as part of the Asian Para Games.
Both Challenger events will reflect a mixture of established international names, developing players and athletes taking their first steps on the global stage.
