Hamilton teenager to represent New Zealand in Boccia

Troy Robertson has been selected to represent New Zealand at the Australian Boccia National Championship. Photo / Supplied

Representing New Zealand in boccia is a dream come true for one Hamilton teen.

Troy Robertson, 19, who has cerebral palsy, was selected by the Boccia Association of New Zealand to represent the country at the 2018 Boccia National Championships in Sydney.

Boccia is a Paralympic sport played by athletes with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy and similar conditions, who have high support needs.

It was a surprise for Troy to be selected to represent New Zealand as he had only started playing in July 2016.

"A friend from school introduced me to boccia as there was a local club nearby that met after school," Troy said.

In 2017, Troy became recognised for his boccia talent as he attended the New Zealand nationals at the ASB Sports Centre in Wellington.

"Last October I attended the New Zealand boccia nationals where I competed in both the individual and pairs tournaments."

"I won medals for both and since this was my first ever competition I was very fortunate the Boccia Association of New Zealand took notice of me and kindly donated new custom-made equipment for me."

"With this new gear and training, I was selected to compete in both pairs and individuals at Australia's Boccia Nationals."

The opportunity to represent his country is one Troy does not want to miss out on.

He has started a givealittle page to help raise the funds to get to Australia, including travel and accommodation.

"It would be an amazing opportunity to go, especially as this is my first time being invited to represent new Zealand.

"It would also be pretty awesome because this would be my first season competing in this sport."

"Due to the limited number of competitions and also BC3 — my category for this sport for players in New Zealand it would be really educational for me to go and see other seasoned players competing."

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Troy's trip can do on his givealittle page, givealittle.co.nz/cause/troys-australian-nationals-boccia-comp