Bocce
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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 is known as bochas), initially amongst the migrants themselves but slowly becoming more popular with their descendants and the wider community. The game is also well-known in former Yugoslavia (boćanje).
Rules and play
Bocce is played on soil, oyster shell or asphalt courts approximately 20 to 27 metres in length and 2.5 to 4 metres wide, sometimes with wooden boards of approximately 15 centimetres in height surrounding the court. Bocce balls can be made of bronze or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias.
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 or boccino in some areas), from one end of the court into a zone about 5 metres in length, ending 2 metres from the far end of the court. If they miss twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to roll the pallino anywhere they choose within the prescribed zone. If neither team is able to roll the pallino into play as prescribed in the rules, then the pallino is placed on a spot that is marked on the court. At this time the team that attempted to put the jack into play first gets to roll the first ball.
The side that places the jack is given 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 bocce balls. The team with the closest bocce 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 that is closer to the jack than the closest ball of the other team. The length of a game varies by region, but is typically played to 11, 12, or 15 points.
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 ball to land or roll it accurately.
Players
The greatest bocce player of all time is widely considered to be Umberto Granaglia 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, based in France, is the international organization for the sport of bocce.