Athlete Clodoaldo Massard, a member of the Bocce ball Paralympic team of APARU, an organization established and led by people with physical disabilities, participated in the 2011 Parapan American Games and won a bronze medal. Clodoaldo, with his coach Glenio Fernandes, was invited to join the Brazilian Bocce ball team and conquered the medal. The games took place in Guadalajara, Mexico, from November 12-20.
Founded in 1979, APARU is an organization established and led by people with physical disabilities for the defense of human rights and quality of life improvements for the disabled. APARU, a BrazilFoundation grantee first supported in 2003, has had a strong role in adapting the city of Uberlandia for people with disabilities, and some of its projects are national points of reference.
The sport of Bocce Ball consists of each player trying to place a ball closest to the jack, which is thrown at the start of the round. Paralympic Bocce is an adaptation of the sport, officially established in 1996 in Brazil, for people with severe cerebral palsy, who count on the support of assistants to carry out the activity.
