Bocce is a sport that requires concentration and skill from players. People recognize this sport as a game for seniors, believing it originated between 3,000 and 4,000 BC and has been played all over the world for centuries.
The rectangular space called a court, where the games are held measures 24 m by 4 m. Players can play bocce individually or in teams of up to 4 people.
The game begins with the throwing of the palino, a small ball. Each team has 4 bocce balls, which are the largest balls and must throw them as close to the pallino as possible or move the bocce ball away from their opponent. The team with the bocce ball closest to the pallino scores. Matches end with 11 to 15 points, depending on the championship rule.
Bocce balls are between 112 mm and 115 mm in diameter and weigh between 1.05 kg and 1.15 kg. The pallino is 45 mm long and weighs from 45 g to 65 g.
The first World Bocce Championship took place in 1983 and, at that time, representatives from 13 countries, including Brazil, decided to create the CBI (International Bocce Confederation).
Adapted sport
In the adapted modality, which has been part of the Paralympic Games since 1984, athletes are in wheelchairs and in a limited space. Depending on the practitioner’s classification, he or she has the help of an assistant to make the launches. You can use your feet, hands, or the ramp to throw the blue and red balls as close as possible to the white ball, the target ball, also called jack or pallino.
There are 3 types of events: individual, duo, or team, in the men’s and women’s categories. Participating athletes are classified as BC1, BC2, BC3 and BC4.
In adapted bocce, the court is 12.5 m by 6 m. Athletes stay in a launching area divided into 6 spaces.
The balls, made of vinyl, weigh 275 g and have a circumference of 270 mm. Polyurethane, leather, synthetic leather, suede, or another similar material.
