Boccia
Boccia is a ball sport, which has similarities to bocce, bowls, and pétanque. Athletes with physical disabilities contest Boccia. This sport can be played between individuals, between pairs, or between groups of three.
A disabled person playing BocciaThe aim of the game is to throw leather balls towards a white target ball, which is called jack. The first ball thrown is the jack, and then followed by two regular balls. After this, whoever is furthest away from the jack will have the opportunity to get closer to the jack, or they can knock the opponent's ball out of the way.
Boccia competitionThe athletes can propel the ball using their feet or their hands, or if they are severely disabled, they can use an assistive device like a ramp.
The referee will be the one to measure the balls closest to the jack at the end of each round. One point is given to the team for every ball that is closer to the jack than the opposing team's ball.
Similar Sports
- Pétanque — a type of boules in which the objective is to throw hollow metal balls towards a small wooden target ball
- Lawn Bowling — the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty".
- Bocce — is part of the boules sport family, similar to bowls and pétanque.
- Raffa Bocce — a variation of bocce played on carpet, plastic balls are rolled or thrown towards a target smaller ball.
- Varpa — an old outdoor game dating back to the Viking Age. It is similar to boules but played with a flat and heavy thrower known as "varpa" instead of balls, once made of shaped stones but nowadays aluminum is more popular.
Related Pages
- Boccia is a sport at the Paralympics
- List of Boules-type sports
- About the general sports of bowling
- Sports for the Disabled
- Major disabled sports events
- Complete list of sports
- The Encyclopedia of Sports — a list of every sport from around the world.
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