Photo: (L) Rohan Eastley with his pairs bronze medal from the 2025 Boccia Australia National Championships and (R) Rohan mid-game at Nationals.
Innovative assistance from the Tasmanian Institute of Sport has helped turbocharge the aspirations of boccia player Rohan Eastley.
A left-field creation helped the 22-year-old from Deloraine significantly improve his performance and land a bronze medal at the sport’s national championships.
“It’s been a total game-changer and I’m so grateful,” said Rohan who harbours hopes of competing at the 2032 Paralympic Games in Brisbane.
Playing in the competitive BC3 category for athletes with a ramp operator, Rohan was hampered by an inability to close one eye at a time - a symptom of his cerebral palsy - in order to accurately line-up shots.
He is supported by the newly launched TIS Para Unit and when the problem was highlighted in an individual performance plan, a cunning solution emerged.
Unit lead Kirstie Turner discussed the matter with the institute’s Information Communication Technology technical adviser Mark Dixon who promptly designed, and 3D printed a unique set of glasses which blocked out light to one eye.
“I could not line the ball up with the ramp while both eyes were open and I could not close one eye at a time,” Rohan explained.
“With an eye patch I was not able to sight properly because the material was touching my eye, but the glasses changed everything.”
“My scores got better straight away. My accuracy went from one out of five to four out of five. I’m so grateful to Mark - I think he’s crazy!”
Using the specialist glasses at his third national championships, Rohan won a bronze medal in the pairs division, playing with teammates Mark Elisha and Liam Titterton, both from NSW.
Rohan’s dad and coach, Rob, was also full of praise for the creation. He said: “The design was brilliant because part of it could be moved away when Rohan needed both eyes. Considering Mark had no idea what we wanted, the first prototype was spot on.”
Turner said the story highlighted what the TIS is seeking to achieve.
“This is the essence of what the Para Unit is all about because no two athletes are exactly the same,” she said.
“For para-athletes to compete there are often more hurdles to overcome so it helps to have the flexibility to think outside the box. Just because something is not publicly available on a website does not mean it can’t be done; it’s about having the right people trying to help.”
“Mark knows how to use CAD and the 3D printer and when he produced this I thought ‘this is crazy, this is it!’ We gave it to Rohan, and he said he loved it and used it at nationals.”
Photo: 3D printer in action for the first prototype.
Rohan said the TIS had given him priceless support.
“They have really helped with networking and connecting us with other people like the Australian high performance BC3 coach Ken Halliday,” he said.
“Being able to access elite level support in my home state without having to go to the mainland has made a huge difference.”
Thanking his ramp operator Saxon McDermott, who is 19 and also from Deloraine, Rohan said he is progressing towards categorisation by Boccia Australia to be eligible to compete in sanctioned international events including the Paralympics.
Written by Rob Shaw