Patrick Wilson is a 30-year-old BC3 boccia player from Edinburgh who has been competing in the unique disability sport for 15 years. He has won multiple major international medals across World and European Championships and has competed in two Paralympic Games while also earning additional World Cup medals.
In this exclusive interview with our editor, Emma Purcell, Patrick discusses his career achievements to date, the importance of communication with his ramp operator, how individual and pair matches differ and his remarkable comeback following a 15-month break from the sport due to illness.
Patrick Wilson on his boccia career journey
Patrick Wilson first got into boccia through a regional come-and-try multi-sport event. He joined a club in Edinburgh, where he started to get to grips with the intricacies of the game and gained a greater tactical understanding of the sport.
Patrick reflected on what first drew him to boccia, describing how the opportunity to compete became a turning point and continues to shape his approach to the sport today:
“I think the fact that I could be competitive. When you’re absolutely unable, as I was, it’s really hard to have anything to be competitive with because I thought I couldn’t do any sport… I think it was just the fact that I could compete in it, and that’s what drove me to it.
“Today, one of my motivational thoughts that I use quite a lot is that ‘I do boccia because it’s hard’. There aren’t many things I can do that are more difficult, and I can do it on a level playing field.”
Patrick has competed in multiple events across World, European and Paralympic competitions. He represented ParalympicsGB at Rio 2016, helping the BC3 Pair finish sixth. He won silver at the 2014 Boccia World Championships (BC3 Pairs) and silver (2017) and bronze (2019) at the European Championships (BC3 Pairs).
He has also represented Britain at the 2018 World Championships in Liverpool and the 2022 World Championships in Rio de Janiero, and latterly reached the last 16 where British teammate Will Arnott beat him. He was also part of the GB squad that competed at the European Para Championships in Rotterdam in 2023.
He enjoyed a successful 2024, earning a bipartite spot at the Paris Paralympic Games. He performed strongly but was beaten at the quarter-final stages of the competition.
Despite not reaching the medal podium, Patrick said: “Paralympics are my favourite. I enjoyed Paris so much, it was great. I did pretty well. I came seventh, and on another day, I would’ve wanted more, and if I’d won a couple more games, I could’ve got a Paralympic medal.”
Patrick also praised the Boccia UK team for their success at the BISFed 2019 Boccia Regional Open in Nymburk, Czech Republic, in which the squad won every gold medal. This included Patrick winning in the BC3 Pairs, alongside partners Scott McCowan and Bethany Moulam.
He said: “That was a ridiculous amount. I don’t think that will ever happen again. To be a part of that was very special to me.”
Patrick Wilson on the tactics of boccia
Patrick lives with cerebral palsy, uses an electric wheelchair, and has very limited arm mobility, competing as a BC3 boccia athlete. BC3 is the classification for players with the highest level of impairment, added to the Paralympic Games in 1996.
BC3 players cannot throw or kick the ball consistently, so they use a ramp, and some athletes, including Patrick, use a head pointer to release the ball. An on-court assistant, or ramp operator, positions the ramp under the athlete’s instructions.
Patrick explained a bit more about his relationships with his ramp operators:
“It gives me a lot of practice, a lot of prep work and working out what is best for you. I’ve had three people throughout my career, and those relationships have always been a bit different. You just have to practice it and think about it. I’m lucky that I can talk, but it can be more challenging for those who cannot talk, as many boccia athletes are non-verbal.
“It’s mainly about practice and communication, and managing your time wisely on the court. I like to talk through everything, but other people like to do things slightly differently, such as prearranging.”
In boccia, athletes play in different types of matches – individuals, pairs and teams. Patrick explained a bit more about how each event differs and which one he prefers to compete in:
“We have team events, which are BC1/2, that have three players. In BC3, we have singles and pairs. We start with singles, which is three and a half games, and then pairs will start, which will be two and a half games.
“Pairs and singles are quite different because you’ve got four players on court and you’ve got more angles and more people to communicate with. Again, you need to figure out how you’re going to communicate with one another quickly and effectively.
“Also, what will your tactics be? In that way, pairs is probably harder, but I like it. Pairs has historically been more precision but I have no idea why.”
“I probably prefer singles. I think most people would say that. But I value pairs more. It’s more difficult.”
Patrick Wilson on his boccia hiatus and remarkable comeback
Patrick opened up about what led him to have a 15-month hiatus from the sport and the mental health challenges he faced:
“I had my 15-months out. It turns out that if you keep ignoring your brain injury, eventually it catches up with you. You can’t do anything now, and that is what happened to me. I think I pushed myself too hard. Then my thoughts took over. I had multiple years where I would be overthinking… I’m trying to get to the bottom of that and fix that. That’s been very difficult. But I’m going on the right track now.
“I had to convince a lot of people that I was ready to come back, but I think I was. I think that’s something I had to learn… Particularly with CP, everything is connected to everything. I think my mental health really affects how my body is. So, going to therapy and getting help has had a bigger impact on my physical health.”
Following his time away from the court, Patrick certainly made a comeback at the Coimbra World Cup in Portugal in November 2025, winning gold in the individual and silver in the Pairs event.
In his two pool matches, Patrick – with ramp operator Meredith Greenwood – saw victory and defeat. Into the knockout rounds, he triumphed over Gabriele Zendron of Italy 4-2, Diogo Castro of Portugal cast 3-1 before going up against South Korea’s Jon Ho Kwon in the final and winning 5-3.
Patrick went on to win silver in the BC3 Pairs event with Sally Kidson. The duo saw off South Korea, Italy and Sweden but lost to Poland in the pool matches before dominating the semi-final over Greece 7-1. Patrick found himself once again in a final with South Korea, but losing 2-3 to win silver.
Patrick expressed how this comeback was motivated by the sad passing of a couple of his teammates:
“To go through that and come back and win a World Cup and get the silver in pairs was great, particularly when the past few years, we lost a few great boccia players, including Will Arnott and Jacob Thomas. who were both amazing. That gave me the motivation, I think, to keep going because they have been part of my journey. It brings you back down to earth a little bit, which is just how it is.
“Having that extra responsibility on me definitely gave me more motivation because, the way I look at it, everything I do from now on will be as much for them as it is for me. That is pretty strong motivation.”
After the World Cup highs, Patrick was in A&E with exhaustion just 24 hours after getting home. He shared a bit more about what happened:
“I was just tired, and there’s a certain point where I get to a point of no return, and then I can’t rein it in. At that point, if the drugs that I have don’t work, I need to go and get some more. That’s probably just all that was. Don’t get me wrong, it was horrible, it was really bad, but I think I’m on the way to stopping that from happening again.”
Patrick Wilson on the challenges of travelling with a disability
Elite boccia players have to travel around the world for competitions, which involves a lot of logistics, including transferring passengers with complex needs onto planes and the storage of expensive powered wheelchairs and other mobility equipment.
Patrick highlighted the challenges he faces when travelling to compete at International boccia tournaments:
“Boccia UK organises the logistics… Flying is pretty horrible for me, especially as an anxious person. Every flight is a gamble as to whether your wheelchair is going to be broken or not, and it happened more times than it should.
“I have been travelling for over 10 years, and Heathrow is one of the worst places to fly from when you’re in a wheelchair. The people in charge of getting you on the plane are subcontractors, and they’re a nightmare. I’ve had them not turn up, or turn up and not know anything about what they’re doing. I think this shows the state of UK airports… they’re undertrained and understaffed. Sometimes I think I’d be better off driving to France and flying from there.”
Patrick Wilson on upcoming tournaments, relaxation and inspiring future boccia players
Looking ahead to competitions in 2026, Patrick said:
“The big one next year (2026) is the World Championships in South Korea. I’m pretty sure I will be there.”
As for plans to qualify for the LA 2028 Paralympic Games, Patrick added:
“I like to have one really high goal and divide that into little bits. So, yes, the overall goal is LA and double gold, and why not? Everything is geared towards that. And at the World Championships, if you do well there, it’s a big step towards qualifying for LA.”
Patrick also described some of the things he gets up to away from boccia, highlighting the importance of rest and relaxation, but also using his free time wisely to maintain his physical and mental wellbeing, which helps him succeed as a professional athlete:
“Mainly, when I am at home, I try to find things that require no physical effort. Obviously, I do have physiotherapy, which is very important for me in general as well as boccia.
“As for hobbies, I like D&D (Dungeons and Dragons), I like going to the movies a lot – basically anything I can enjoy in my mind with no physical effort.
“Resting can be hard to do because my body doesn’t want to move, and yet I find it hard to turn my brain off. It’s a balance between the two, trying to keep both happy.
“Again, being able to be the boccia player I want to be requires me to not do a lot in my spare time because that’s the only way I can make it and reach my full potential.”
Lastly, Patrick gives some advice to other aspiring boccia players:
“There are clubs you can probably find near you. I’m in Edinburgh and in Scotland, each region has a boccia development officer, and they’ll be able to point you to a boccia club.
“The biggest thing when you start playing, it takes a little while to get good. There are so many things you have to do before you can really start playing, like getting a ramp, getting new balls, all of that takes a while, but it will be worth it if you keep going. That would be my biggest piece of advice.
“Boccia is difficult, but it’s difficult in a different way… if you’re in that category like I was, it’s going to open up the door to your personality.”
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