Have you ever gone to the beach and played a fun game where you try to throw balls as close as you can to another tiny ball? While it may sound pointless at first, many people enjoy playing this game with family or friends on vacation or during free time. This game, called bocce ball, actually originated from ancient games played for leisure centuries ago in the Roman Empire.
Bocce ball is from the boules family of ball games, which also includes the British game Bowls and the French game Pétanque. Bocce requires very little equipment to play, which is why it’s so popular as a leisure activity. A typical bocce set includes the tiny ball, called a jack (or “cochonnet” in France’s Petanque) and three or four pairs of multicolored boules, which are the heavier balls thrown by players. In some variations, boules are metal, but this typically isn’t the case for casual leisure games.
Bocce was first introduced in America by Italian immigrants. The modern form was created in Italy, which explains why the word “bocce” itself is in Italian, meaning “bowls”. Bocce first spread through Europe, particularly the Eastern part in countries like Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro. Bocce has also spread to South American countries, primarily Argentina and southern parts of Brazil.
Another form of bocce ball, called “boccia,” has been indoctrinated into the Paralympic games, for athletes with physical disabilities. This sport was introduced to the games in 1984 and has been popular with disabled athletes ever since. The rules of boccia are identical to bocce, except boccia is typically played indoors on a harder surface and bocce is usually played outdoors on a surface like sand. Boccia is just one of the many sports modified from a traditional sport to fit disabled athletes. For instance, goalball is a sport similar to soccer that is played by blind athletes, in which the ball has bells inside of it so the athletes can hear where the ball is.
Whether it’s being played on the beach for vacation fun or on a boccia court to win a gold medal, the sport of bocce ball has been entertaining folks since the Roman Empire. The best thing about games and sports is when people come together to have fun in a wholesome, competitive way. It’s important to always remember that everything is more fun when you include everyone.
