TAGGART Claire

Date of Birth: 11 Feb 1995

Age: 26

Gender: Female

Sport Class: BC2

Place of residence : LARNE

Residence Country:

Great Britain

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Boccia	Individual - BC2	20
	Team - BC1/BC2 GBR Great Britain	8

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 6	Individual - BC2 Pool C #24 GBR TAGGART CTAGGART Claire Sport Class: BC2 2 ARG CRISTALDO LCRISTALDO Luis Sport Class: BC2 5	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 2	Individual - BC2 Pool C #92 GBR TAGGART CTAGGART Claire Sport Class: BC2 2 KOR LEE YLEE Yongjin Sport Class: BC2 3	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 3	Individual - BC2 Pool C #117 BRA SANTOS MSANTOS Maciel Sport Class: BC2 8 GBR TAGGART CTAGGART Claire Sport Class: BC2 1	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 3	Team - BC1/BC2 Pool A #180 CHN China 11 GBR Great Britain 7	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 3	Team - BC1/BC2 Pool A #191 THA Thailand 9 GBR Great Britain 2	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 2	Team - BC1/BC2 Pool A #214 GBR Great Britain 6 ARG Argentina 4	Finished
	Ariake Gymnastics Centre - Court 6	Team - BC1/BC2 Pool A #230 RPC RPC 10 GBR Great Britain 3	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location
Paralympic Games
8	Team - BC1/BC2	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA
World Championships
9	Team - BC1/BC2	2018	Liverpool, GBR
26	Individual - BC2	2018	Liverpool, GBR
European Championships
2	Individual - BC2	2019	Seville, ESP
3	Team - BC1/BC2	2019	Seville, ESP
7	Individual - BC2	2017	Povoa de Varzim, POR
7	Team - BC1/BC2	2017	Povoa de Varzim, POR

Illustration, playing computer games, looking after her dog Rio. (Nifty Notebooks 11 Facebook page, 24 Sep 2020; paralympics.org.uk, 04 Mar 2021)

Occupation:

Athlete, Business Owner, Designer, Student

Northern Regional College, Great Britain

Languages spoken:

Claire Morrison [national], GBR

Sporting relatives:

Her mother Maggie has served as her sports assistant at competitions. (boccia2017santcugat.com, 01 Jan 2017)

Other sports:

She has played wheelchair rugby for the Ulster Barbarians in Northern Ireland. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 21 Jan 2016)

She began playing boccia in 2013 at Ballygally Hall in Larne, Northern Ireland. (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 07 Sep 2016; dsni.co.uk, 01 Jan 2014)

She was introduced to the sport by her friend Talia McDowell, after previously playing wheelchair rugby. "I was not very sporty as a child but when I developed my impairment at around the age of 16 I thought I better get involved in something to get me out of the house. A local [boccia] club was set up and I just went along. I was still playing wheelchair rugby at the time and loved the fast adrenaline of the rugby but as my disability progressed I knew that my future wasn't going to be in rugby. So I invested more of my time in boccia." (dsni.co.uk, 01 Jan 2014; SportNI YouTube channel, 28 Jan 2019)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (paralympics.org.uk, 04 Mar 2021)

Philosophy:

"Appreciate the small things." (belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 24 Apr 2020)

She was named 2019 Sportsperson of the Year and 2019 Sportsperson with an Impairment at the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council Sports Awards in Northern Ireland. (ballymenadaily.com, 05 Mar 2020)

General Interest

Classification
BC2 (worldboccia.com, 02 Aug 2021)

Impairment Details
At age 16 she was diagnosed with dystonia. The condition causes involuntary muscle contractions. (dmorthotics.com, 01 Jan 2016)

General
OCCUPATION
She designs and sells notebooks, badges and postcards through her own online business, Nifty Notebooks. "Everyone knows a self-confessed stationery addict, and I'd be the first to admit that I'm one myself. It's something different from boccia and I can work on it while I'm away from home at camps or competing too. For me, it's important to have something to occupy my mind and my time away from the boccia court. All I need is my iPad and my iPad pencil to make my designs, then I do all the production, packing and posting when I return. The business has taken over my house. There are printers and machines everywhere and I have orders worldwide, but I wouldn't have it any other way." She has also worked as a disability access officer for Northern Ireland Football League [NIFL] Premiership club Larne. "It's an opportunity to champion access for all, from wheelchair spaces in the stands, to ear defenders for people with sensory impairments, and that's something I'm very passionate about. I want to make Larne the most accessible football club in Northern Ireland; for everyone to feel welcome, part of the crowd, and a valued member of the community. I may not have been a football fan before, but I'd like to think I am now." (Instagram profile, 15 Aug 2020; Nifty Notebooks 11 Facebook page, 24 Sep 2020; Facebook profile, 20 Aug 2020; etsy.com, 31 Dec 2019; belfasttelegraph.co.uk, 24 Apr 2020; paralympics.org.uk, 04 Mar 2021)

ONLINE BOCCIA
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 she and her British national teammates regularly played the online simulation game 'Boccia Battle'. "We've set up a tournament - two rounds a week [speaking in May 2020]. It's the only competitive thing we are doing against each other but it means we are talking together as well." (bbc.com, 27 May 2020)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In January 2021 she was appointed to the British Paralympic Association [BPA] Athletes' Commission, an advisory group to the BPA on issues such as classification and campaigns. (britishathletics.org.uk, 11 Dec 2020)

FURTHER EDUCATION
She has studied forensic psychology with The Open University in the United Kingdom. (bbc.com, 27 May 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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