Canadian Paralympian wants to serve as 'beacon of light' for unique sport of boccia

Among Paralympic sports, boccia is one of a kind.

Some have compared it to curling. Others have likened it to lawn bowling. But there is no true able-bodied equivalent to boccia, says two-time Canadian Paralympian Brock Richardson.

"Boccia really does stand on its own and you can compete against people that are like-minded to you and [have similar] ability as well," Richardson said.

The 32-year-old hasn't competed in the sport for about a decade, but he'll still be watching closely as the Canadian national championships run Tuesday through Sunday in Richmond, B.C. Live coverage will be available on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.

Richardson, who has cerebral palsy, came to boccia around 10 years old. While he saw peers competing in wheelchair basketball and Para ice hockey, his limitations meant that boccia was his best option.

A resident of Brampton, Ont., near Toronto, he and his sport assistant would travel 60 kilometres to Hamilton for weekly training sessions. Two years later, Richardson was competing in organized events — and losing badly.

"I remember the national team coach Mario Delisle came up to me at this point and he said, 'You're going to do well, you're going to do big things in the sport.' And I kind of thought 'Yeah, OK, I just got beat 24-0. I don't know about that,'" Richardson recalled.

"[But] I stuck with the program and I went to my first national championships in 2005 and ever since I just kind of loved the sport."

WATCH | Canadian Paralympian Brock Richardson on the inclusivity of boccia:

After his playing career ended, Richardson moved into a media role, hosting a Paralympic-focused podcast called "The Neutral Zone" and doing work with the Canadian company Accessible Media Inc. He