Boccia Test Trains Rio for Paralympics

(ATR) Gustavo Nascimento, Rio 2016 venue management director, tells Around the Rings the operations for the first Paralympic test event mimic what the organizing committee must prepare for next September.

Rio 2016 is hosting a test event for the Paralympic sport boccia at the Riocentro convention center. It is the first dedicated Paralympic test event, as previous para-sports had been integrated into other Olympic test events. A total of six dedicated Paralympic test events in powerlifting, wheelchair rugby, goalball, paralympic swimming and athletics will be held before the Games.

Nascimento said that the key take away from the first event is learning, "sports specific requirements and overall how to compute results and to have a little more intimacy with the specific requirements for the Paralympics."

For Nascimento’s team the main challenges of the test event involved transporting para-athletes from the airport and training the staff to be prepared for their arrival.

"The big test we are doing here is to make sure the training is done properly to make sure that the entities who manage and run the airports are on board," Nascimento said to ATR.

"It's about the training in the professional sides as well as the requirements to welcome these athletes such as how to deal with their luggage and deal with chairs and how to transfer them from the plane to the lobby."

So far, the progress the test event has brought remains "a work in progress," with 20 members of the organizing committee continuing to work with staff at Rio de Janeiro’s international airport. Teams from Great Britain, Portugal, Russia, and others were present on the first day of competition.

During the Paralympics boccia will be held at Carioca Arena 2 in the Olympic Park, a detail that presents "no challenges at all" to the organizing committee. Despite holding the test event in a different venue, they believe the feedback they get from Nov. 12-14 will give more than enough insight to host the event in the final venue.

"This is a controlled environment, an indoor arena that is air-conditioned," Nascimento said.

"We are here to test this dynamic, get feedback from athletes, and react according to the specific needs."

Nascimento said that preparing the Riocentro convention center for hosting the event was the simplest part of preparations. He said the organizing committee easily created an accessible environment that allowed athletes to travel from the venue to the hotel with no issues. The challenge of the event was always practicing receiving the athletes and transporting them to Barra de Tijuca where the Olympic and Paralympic villages are.

Augusto Fernandes, Accessibility Coordinator for Rio 2016, agreed with Nascimento’s assessment of using Riocentro for the Boccia test event, saying the event will help the organizing committee prepare for Paralympic table tennis, and general preparedness for the Games.

"The test event, for accessibility area, is an exchange of knowledge and a great opportunity people could talk and test procedures," Fernandes said.

The event will help the organizing committee reach the goal of operating at a level of accessibility in light with Brazilian and international standards, as well as working to "enhance them even more."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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