The paralympic dreams of Boccia athlete William Graham have been “wiped out” with confirmation that Disability Sport Northern Ireland (DSNI) is to cut its entire Northern Ireland Boccia programme, including its support for both the Boccia league and clubs.

“That’s not fair. That means there’ll be no Tokyo,” was William’s reaction when he heard the devastating news this week.

William (18) and team-mates Lochlainn Drumm and Raurai McDermott had dreams of competing in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and were under no illusions of the hard work and commitment that would have been required to get them there.

“It’s a four year cycle. It doesn’t just happen over night,” commented William’s father, Joe Graham, who is the volunteer coach of the Fermanagh Lakers Boccia team.

The first step on their path to Tokyo would have been the GB Championships this September.

However, with no more DSNI funding, Joe and the other parents will have to consider paying around £500 for flights, accommodation and care for each of the athletes. “That puts a lot of pressure on the families to come up with the goods,” he stated.

Joe, from Irvinestown, who was winner of the Community Inspiration Sports Coach of the Year award at the UN International Day of Peace last year and was named Disability Coach of the Year by Sport NI last year, is immensely proud of his son’s sporting achievements.

He said: “From William’s point of view, if the funding is not in place, it’s going to deny him an opportunity, along with the Boccia team, of participating in an Ulster league. They train each Monday, plus take part in team games once a month and Ulster trails. If that disappears, you are denying him the possibility of becoming a paralympian.

“He is finding it very hard to come to terms with that.

“We were led to believe that the boccia performance squad would stay in place and would be developing on in Ulster, but that’s been taken away.” Last year, William attended trials for Team GB and scored 48 (the cut off line was 60). Joe comments: “He knew he is only two shots away from being given the opportunity to compete for Team GB, that’s how close it is.

“If Boccia is dropped, that’s it all wiped out.” In last year’s British Championship, William came tenth out of 24. Joe said: “It’s through the help and support of DSNI that he made it this far, but that’s all going to be lost.” The father of three states: “For the Boccia team to be able to participate in sport at such a high level, that’s all going to be wiped out. That’s why we feel absolutely gutted.” Yesterday (Wednesday) DSNI confirmed that it will remove its Boccia programme and the Fermanagh Inclusive Leisure Project overseen by Roisin Henry, which worked with over 2,000 people with disabilities last year and included wheelchair basketball, sports hall athletics and games, a weekly swimming club, new age kurling sessions and a schools calendar of events. Last month, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (FODC) refused Disability NI’s request for £15,000 match-funding in order to retain Roisin Henry’s role on a part-time basis.

FODC told The Impartial Reporter that it intends to deliver the Fermanagh Inclusive Leisure Project’s current programme of activities until March 31 through the continued use of casual staff and Active Communities coaches. It then intends to allocate the £15,000 directly to the provision of inclusive leisure programmes in the future.

Asked for his reaction to this plan, Joe says: “There still has to be a co-ordinator or a link person to tie the whole thing together. They need a person like Roisin who had an understanding of the area, the disability. You need a co-ordinator who will look at social inclusion, getting everyone involved.” He adds: “The loss Roisin Henry has left a huge void in terms of the athletes’ confidence, self-esteem, their integration and their social skills.” It was Roisin who spotted William’s potential as a Boccia player. “When William was born, he was only one pound 13 ounces and was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy,” Joe recalled. “In his early teens he said: ‘All I want to do is play football.’ I thought: ‘How does a child in a wheelchair play football?’ but Roisin saw the potential in him and thought he would be well-suited to Boccia.” According to Joe, by withdrawing funding for Roisin’s post, “they are taking a the key person out of the area. They are withdrawing the ability of people with disabilities to participate in sport. She was the one who knew all the people with disabilities within the area. You need someone from DSNI with their hand on the ground who will be able to co-ordinate relevant activities that will suit different disabilities.” The DSNI cuts have resulted in an added blow. Joe’s long-term goal of setting up a Fermanagh wheelchair football team based in Fermanagh now looks increasingly unlikely.

Chief Executive of DSNI Kevin O’Neill has blamed Sport NI for the cuts. He appealed to Sport NI for an extra £39,000 which he says would reinstate the Boccia.