WHEN Boccia player Caroline Robinson received a surprise phone call she could hardly have believed the news she was about to receive.

Caroline featured in the Star in June after she had travelled to Belfast to compete in the British Championships where her opponents included world champion David Smith.

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And she was delighted when a surprise call from the Great Britain coaching team informed her she had been selected for a competition taking place in the Czech Republic.

Caroline, 44, will play in the Nymburk Open, which will involve teams from all over Europe. She will compete in the team and individual competitions, which are taking place from September 22 to 28.

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Caroline will travel to Prague for the event

Boccia is a precision ball sport, related to bowls, which is contested at local, national and international levels by athletes with physical disabilities.

"They rang me out of the blue, it was one of the Great Britain coaches saying would you like to compete at Prague, she said: 'I bet you weren't expecting me were you?'" said Caroline, who lives in Fingerpost.

"They said we want to offer you a place and said it was down to how you played in Belfast and that even though I didn't get a medal, I conducted myself well and showed some good potential and wanted to give me a chance to prove myself."

Caroline, who has cerebral palsy, says she can't wait to fly out with the Great Britain team this weekend for the competition.

"I was overwhelmed and I wasn't expecting it at all. It shows it's not all about medals but potential and how you conduct yourself.

"I'm just waiting to catch the plane now."

Caroline, who will also play in the Scottish Open this October, says she would love to come back from the Czech republic with a medal.

"I'd like a medal of any colour," she said.

"And other than that to perform as best as I can and maybe get a permanent place on the Great Britain team."