Boccia is a sport for people with disabilities. David Smith is one of the best.
He is the current European, world and Paralympic BC1 individual champion.
On 3 December, the International Day of People with Disabilities, and on 5 December, the World Championships, Smith talks about the importance of boccia and why social contact is important for everyone.
I don't want to be known as the guy who threw balls for a living. There is more that I don't know.
When I was six years old, I started playing the sport, but I didn't like it. I was considered too physically disabled for sport to be an option at that time.
Cerebral palsy spasstic quadriplegia affects me. Cerebral palsy is common but the form I have is more severe and affects my entire body. I have been using an electric wheelchair since I was three years old.
I can get on with my life once I'm in my chair because I have a live-in carer who does my day-to-day care.
It was going to secondary school in Hampshire, which was a cross between Hogwarts and St Trinians for disabled children, which opened a lot of avenues for me.
Boccia is about getting your balls close to the white target ball, the jack, than your opponent can.
It was just one of the sports I played at school and being surrounded by people who were better than me encouraged me to work harder and get better.
I won the British Championships when I was in year nine and beat most of the British team who were preparing for the Athens Paralympics that year. When I won the World Championships in 2007, I realized that I was a good player.
I won a gold medal in the Beijing Paralympics. From there, it has continued.
With the level of our impairments, it would be almost impossible for us to find another sport that would allow us to compete at a Paralympics, which is why Boccia gives me and my team-mates an opportunity to compete in sport at a high level.
Although I might be able to compete as a swimmer, I won't because I swim like a brick.
Everyone is faced with a variety of challenges in Britain today.
Costs are going up for everyone and that makes it harder for people to spend money on hobbies. There are more challenges for disabled people around things like travel and medical equipment.
In terms of how disabled people are supported in society, the UK is one of the best in the world, but there is still a long way to go in how they are able to fulfill their potential.
With everything going on in the world, I don't think people are being encouraged to go out and try new things.
Everyone should be encouraged to get out and meet new people, explore what they are good at and become active members of society.
It is time to think about what society can do for you as well as what government can do for it.
I started a boccia club for people to come in, throw some balls, have a chat, and have a good time.
It can be damaging if you don't feel like you're encouraged to do anything.
If someone tells me I can't do something, I'll do it. Being underestimated means I can slip under the radar and surprise people.
I don't think we are always willing to have a hard conversation with ourselves, to look in the mirror and say "Do I know what I want to achieve and am I doing everything I can to achieve it?"
Social issues are a factor for the next generation of boccia players coming through, but there is never a better time to start in the sport. We need more people to play.
It wouldn't have happened 20 years ago if UK Sport and live television coverage hadn't happened.
When I went to my first European Championships in Porto in 2005, I was a self-funded athlete and had to raise £2,500 in order to compete.
The platform to move away from home, the chance to travel the world as an electric wheelchair user, and the opportunity to build my own career as a nutrition coach are just some of the things that sport has given me.
Whatever people think of boccia, the future will be. I know I have done something right if I retire in a better place.
It is inspiring the next generation.
I don't know where the next challenger is coming from and there isn't another domestic competitor for me in my BC1 category. Leaving the sport in a better place would make other Britons want to challenge me.
I think I have done okay in my life, but there is more to be done. I'm going to defend my world title in Rio and then I'm going to Paris. In 2032, I want to compete in Los Angeles.
I will not be satisfied until it is done. I need to keep pushing forward because it's not done yet.
Smith was talking to Elizabeth Hudson.
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