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Bocce is a precision sport closely related to bowls and pétanque with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is played around Europe and also in overseas countries that have received Italian migrants, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil and Argentina (where it's known as bochas), initially amongst the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community.
Rules and play
Unlike bowls, bocce is played on dirt courts of approximately 20 to 30 metres in length and approximately 2.5 to 4 metres wide, and has wooden boards of approximately 15 centimetres in height surrounding the court. Bocce balls can be made of brass, compressed wood, or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias (they will roll a straight course).
Like bowls, a game can be contested between two players, or two teams of two or four. A match is started by a randomly chosen side being given the opportunity to throw a smaller ball, the jack (called a pallino, pig or boccino in some areas), from one end of the court into a zone near the other end of the court of about 5 metres in length, ending 2 metres from the end of the court. If they miss twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to place the jack anywhere they choose within the zone.
The side that places the jack is given the opportunity to bowl the first bocce ball. Once the first bowl has taken place, the other side has the opportunity to bowl. From then on, the side which does not have the ball closest to the jack has a chance to bowl, up until one side or the other has used their four balls. At that point, the other side bowls its remaining bocce balls. Like lawn bowls, the team with the closest ball or balls to the jack is awarded one point for each ball that is closer to the jack than the other side's closest ball. The contest continues until one team scores 13 points (though this can vary regionally).
As well as the standard rolling bowl, in which the ball is rolled all the way along the court, players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using an underarm action. This is generally used to knock either the jack or another ball into a more favourable position. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the bocce bowl to land or roll it accurately.
As well as the traditional game, there are several variations that are essentially solo accuracy contests of bowling and throwing.
It is common practice that the word "Bocce!" is yelled by all players whenever the ball comes in contact with the Jack. No extra points are awarded for this.
Players
The greatest bocce player of all time is widely considered to be Umberto Granaglia of Italy who was awarded the honor of "Player of the Twentieth Century" by the Confederation Mondiale des Sport de Boules, the world's official governing body of bocce. Granaglia strictly excelled in Volo, the most technically skilled form of the game.
Organizations
The Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules, http://www.cmsboules.com/ , is the international organization for the sport of bocce, based in France.
At the elite level, there are world championships held regularly, and Bocce is part of the quadrennial World Games, a multi-sport event for lesser-known sports.
There exist several University-level Bocce organizations. The most notable of which is the Order of the Bocce, based out of the College of William and Mary, found online at http://www.wm.edu/so/bocce/ and http://orderoftheboccewm.blogspot.com/.
See also
boccia - a closely related sport designed to be played by people with disabilities.
Pa-bocce - A version of Bocce Ball using origami waterbombs.
External links
- BocceVolo.com - World Class Bocce
- United States Bocce Federation
- Palazzo di Bocce
- Boccemon
- Beach Bocce
- The Bocce Organization of Beer Swillers
"Bocce"