Striujck's selection push

Talented Wanganui boccia player Diederik Striujck will use the upcoming Lower North Island Championships in Wellington as a springboard to higher honours.

Hosted by Parafed Wellington, at the ASB Sports Stadium Kilbirnie, on April 20-21, the event is designed to allow Paralympians and promising players to hone their skills in what is the first sanctioned tournament of the year.

Striujck is currently honing his skills to gain valuable ranking points from this tournament as he looks to push for selection for the national team. Although having only played the game for just over a year, Striujck has shown he has the potential and skills to succeed after coming 11th at last year's New Zealand National Championships in Christchurch.

Luke Morriss, director of Boccia New Zealand, said the sport was a fascinating watch and combined the deadly accuracy needed in petanque with the complex tactics used in traditional outdoor and indoor bowls.

New Zealand has been on the world boccia scene since the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics and like other sports, these kiwi athletes consistently punch above their weight.

Other overseas tournaments beckon this year with the Australian Nationals just around the corner in late April, and the Asia Oceania Championships in mid-October serving as the first qualification tournament for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

Since 2000 Kiwi athletes have regularly featured in the top 10 and more often than not top five of their particular category on the international scene. The pinnacle achievements so far are a team silver medal at the 2004 Athens Paralympics, followed two years later by a team world title in Brazil.

Morriss said there were plenty of promising players to watch out for.

"Players such as Fleur Mann, Khi Chung Chen and David Phuah from Auckland, Oliver Hill-Parker from Nelson, Diederik Struijck from Wanganui, Hyran Daymond and David Harrison, and two-time Paralympian and former top six international player Greig Jackson, who all have the ability to upset and enhance their reputations as they push for selection for the national team," Morriss said.

"After a three-year hiatus from the international scene, this is an exciting time for the sport of boccia in New Zealand following the success and momentum gained from the grassroots development initiative. "