You are apparently sporty kind of man, you play Power Soccer and Boccia simultaneously. Which of these two you have been engaged to for a longer time?
I play Power Soccer since 2013 and since November 2017 I have also played Boccia.

How did you actually get from Power Soccer to Boccia?
My friend, a Power Soccer player, also playing Boccia over 25 years told me about this Paralympic Sport. He is quite successful and won many prizes already, so I said I could try it too. It took years to find the time and to truly start practise Boccia though.

What are your biggest achievements in Boccia, are you also participating in international tournaments?
This was my first Boccia season and I am the first BC3 player in Austria to win the Cup. I participated in five tournaments in Austria and I took one of the first 3 positions every time. I won gold at the BC3 Cup 2018 in Austria. I hope I can get some experience at international competitions next year too.

In our country, the Austrian Boccia is not very well known, can you tell us something about the situation in Austria? How are you organized, do you have leagues or nationwide competitions?
Austria has been played Boccia for a long time and used to participate the Paralympics, World Cups, European Cups and many international tournaments. But for the last 10 years, we play at a national level only.

Boccia is very well organized by a national association and there are about 7 clubs practising Boccia on weekly basis. About 5 national mixed category Boccia tournaments take place every year.

What do you think is the key to success in the boccia, of course, after a regular hard workout, are they good balls or a good ramp?
A frequent practice with my boccia assistant to acquire how to handle the Ramp exactly the way I want. Also, you have to know each of your balls, how the roll depending on the Ramp setting. So, it makes up a circle where everything must work perfectly.

In the BC3 category is also a very important experienced assistant, with whom the player is well-coordinated, who is your boccia assistant?
I have a female assistant, we began and have learned to play Boccia together, her name is Johanna. There are also 4 spare assistants for the case of illness or unavailability to provide a practice with someone who knows boccia rules and my ramp every time.

During this year, you have ordered a premium ramp of the BASHTO X-clusive ramp, what attracted your attention about this ramp, was that its characteristics or its design?
I’m always trying to give my best within a sport, therefore I need a professional equipment. This ramp looks very professional and fulfils the players need to play really well. Also, I want an easy to use and massive Ramp I can play for a long time with.

Are you satisfied with this ramp regarding accuracy and stability?

Yes, because it’s “Alu”. My club owns a BASHTO X-300 Boccia Ramp, which I started to play with first until I decided to get my own ramp. And the support from BASHTO SPORTS is also great.

Do you also use a BASHTO Athletic Transport Box for transport? If so, are you happy with it?
Yes, because it’s my own and a very special Ramp, so I need to protect it and easily transport it to competitions and tournaments.

Would you recommend our company to other boccia players?
Yes, of course, and will be glad do it! Everyone is asking at tournaments where I got this professional Ramp.

Thank you for your time and we wish many other sports successes.
Bashto Sports team