Bocce Ball

Bocce, sometimes anglicized as bocci, is a ball sport belonging to the family balls, closely related to British bowls and French pétanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire.

The Italian word "boccia", which means "bowl" in the sport sense, is also used in Italian. , In North America, and South America (in Venezuela, bocha in Brazil), where it is known as bochas, or bolas criollas ('Criollo balls'). Bocce was initially played among the Italian migrants but has slowly become more popular with their descendants and the wider community.

The sport is also known in Serbo-Croatian as boćanje ('playing boće') or balote (colloquially also bućanje). In Slovenia the sport is known as balinanje or colloquially 'playing boče', or bale (from Italian bocce and Venetian bałe, meaning 'balls', respectively).

Bocce is 27.5 meters (90 ft) in length and 2.5 to 4 meters (8.2 to 13.1 ft) wide. Bocce balls can be made of metal or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias.

A game can be conducted between two players, or two teams of two, three, or four. A match is a small ball, the jack (called 'a bocce') or pallino ('bullet') in Italian, depending on local custom), from one end Of the court into a zone 5 meters (16 ft) in length, ending 2.5 meters (8.2 ft) from the far end of the court.

If the first team misses twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to place the jack anywhere within the prescribed area.
File: Bocce sport 2.ogvPlay media
Video of the sport of bocce

The side that first attempted to give the opportunity to bowl first. 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 balls.

The team with the closest ball to the jack is the only team that can score points in any frame. The scoring team receives one point for each of their balls. The length of a game varies by region is typically from 7 to 13 points.

A variation called bocce volo uses a metal ball, which is thrown overhand (palm down), after a run-up to the throwing line. In that respect respect, it is similar to the balls game game provençal also known as boule lyonnaise. A French variant of the game is called petanque, and (lacking the run-up) is more similar in some respects to traditional bocce.

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