Rain and hail didn’t deter Special Olympics athletes — not when there was bocce to be played.

Eleven teams of athletes from Nelson, Trail, Castlegar, Cranbrook, Kimberley, Nakusp, Grand Forks and Elk Valley braved stormy conditions Saturday at Lakeside Park for the Kootenay Regional Bocce Qualifiers.

Trail 1’s Stuart Hawton, Paula Prough, Maria Veltri and Sherry Altrogge won division A, Castlegar’s Thomas Bell, Stephanie James, Shaleen Smith and Anne Allen took division B and Trail 2’s Jake Miller, Neil Emmery, Louie Mazzei and Kayleigh Postmus finished atop division C.

The qualifiers are a step toward the BC provincials in 2017.