Jasmine Haydon, a 23-year-old bachelor of occupational therapy student at the Campbelltown campus of Western Sydney University is representing Australia in the sport of boccia at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.
“I was officially selected for the Australian Paralympic Boccia team on June 13 – we were selected because as a team we are ranked number one in the world in pairs,’’ she says.
“The Paralympics Australia committee came to training in Sydney Olympic Park and announced our acceptance in the team.”
Reflecting on her journey from discovering the sport of boccia, to becoming a Paralympian boccia ramp operator, Jasmine says it was her mum who initially showed her what was possible.
“My boccia partner Jamieson Leeson used to have her mum Amanda as ramp operator for her, but Amanda decided to retire. So, Amanda put an ad up on Facebook searching for someone to replace her as ramp operator for Jamieson.
“My mum saw the post and tagged me in it saying, ‘It’s a shame there’s not enough hours in the day’.”
Jasmine wasn’t going to let that stop her, meeting with Jamieson and her mum then led to her quitting her job the next day to commit to the sport.
As a boccia ramp operator, Jasmine says her role is to empower her Paralympian teammate.
“Boccia is a target ball sport similar to bocce, there is a white ball called the jack, which is rolled down the ramp first, then the players have to throw or roll their balls to get as many balls as possible of their colour closest to the jack, with each ball that is closer than your opponent’s equalling one point,’’ she says.
“Jamieson’s job is to tell me what to do. For example, move the ramp left or right, and I am not allowed to speak, or turn around to look at the balls or the court, and I’m not allowed to make any movements without her telling me. I must keep every piece of equipment in the box which is one metre wide.”
Jasmine and Jamieson will be competing in their first heat on today (August 29).
