Good luck to alumnus Stephen McGuire who will be competing in August’s World Boccia Championships in Liverpool.

Stephen, who studied Retail Management at the Hamilton Campus in 2004 is the defending champion and the BC4 world number one.

Stephen commented: “It has been my most successful 18 months or so on the court and it will be nice to be welcomed into the event as current world champion and No.1. The competition in Liverpool is the key event with regards to Tokyo 2020 qualification.”

In 2012 Stephen managed to achieve his life dream of becoming a Paralympic athlete in the sport of Boccia. Since then he has gone on to have a healthy sports career, captaining his country to two Paralympic games and became European and World Champion.

Stephen credits academics and sports centre staff at Hamilton Campus with his sporting achievements. “The Sports Centre staff provided me with court time when it was empty to hone my skills and believe I could achieve. This Journey was not easy and took a lengthy time.

“By the time of Tokyo, that will be 16 years devoted to training and easily over a million balls thrown along the way.

“I now operate in an elite high pressured environment. I am responsible for making the decisions which means either I win or lose matches for my country. It’s a high performance environment which would not have been possible without the aid of UWS.”

The BISFed World Championships will take place at Liverpool’s Exhibition Centre from August 12 to 18.

Read the full article on the Daily Record website here: www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/local-sport/boost-hamilton-boccia-ace-steph-12589198