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Bocce is played with eight
large balls and one smaller target or object ball called a pallina.
There are four balls per team and they are made of a different
color or pattern to distinguish the balls of one team from those
of the other team.
The game is played with two teams, with each team having one,
two, or four players. For four player teams, each player throws
one ball. For two player teams, each player throws two balls.
For one player teams, each player throws four balls. When there
are multiple players on a team, a playing rotation is determined
at the start of a game and is maintained throughout the entire
game.
A game begins with the toss of a coin. The team that wins the
coin toss can choose to either have first toss of the pallina
or the color of the balls they will use. To start a game, the
pallina is rolled or tossed by a member of the team having won
the coin toss. A player can toss the pallina any distance as
long as it passes the center line of the court and does not
hit the backboard. If the player fails to toss the ball properly
into play, a member of the opposing team will toss the ball
into play. If the opposing team fails to properly toss the pallina
into play, the toss reverts to a member of the original team.
The player tossing the pallina must deliver the first ball.
If the ball hits the backboard, that team must roll again until
the first ball is put into play. Otherwise, that player steps
aside and the opposing team will then deliver their balls until
one of its Bocce balls is closer to the pallina or has thrown
all its balls. The "nearest ball" rule governs the sequence
of thrown balls. The side whose ball is closest to the pallina
is called the "in" ball and the opposing side the "out" ball.
Whenever a team gets "in", it steps aside and allows the "out"
team to deliver. The other team throws until it gets its ball
closer (not ties) to the pallina. This continues until both
teams have thrown all their Bocce balls. After both teams have
exhausted all their balls, a frame is over and points are awarded.
The game resumes by teams throwing from the opposite end of
the court. The team that was awarded points in the previous
frame begins the next frame by tossing the pallina into play.
All balls must be thrown underhanded. A team has the option
of rolling, tossing, bouncing, banking, etc. its ball down the
court provided it does not go out of bounds or the player does
not violate the foul line. The foul line is used to deliver
all balls down the court with the intent of getting a ball closer
to the pallina, knocking the opponent's ball away from the pallina,
or hitting the pallina so that it ends up closer to your team's
ball.
A player should not step on or over the foul line before releasing
any ball. If a player steps over the foul line, the player will
receive one warning. For a player that commits a second foul
line infraction, the team fouled against will be awarded points
as they were immediately proceeding the foul and the frame will
end. The team committing the foul will be awarded no points
for the frame. Or, the fouled against team may have the option
of declining the penalty and completing the frame.
Any ball that makes contact with the backboard is considered
a dead ball on impact and is removed immediately from play until
the end of a frame. If a ball after hitting the backboard strikes
a stationary ball, that stationary ball is replaced to its original
position.
At the end of each frame, points will be awarded. Only one team
scores in a frame. One point is awarded for each ball that is
closer to the pallina than the closest ball of the opposing
team. In the event that the closest ball of each team is the
same distance from the pallina, no points will be awarded and
the pallina returns to the team that delivered it. Only balls
which are distinguishably closer to the pallina than any of
the opponent's balls are awarded points. All measurements should
be made from the center of the pallina to the edge of a Bocce
ball. Games are played to 16 points with the first team reaching
16 points being the winner of a game. |
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© 2002. Backyard Bocce, Inc.
All rights reserved.
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