BOCCIA IN ACTION!

1. BOCCIA IN ACTION! A short presentation of Boccia, so you can learnhow this wonderful game is played!

2. Boccia Boccia is played on a flat and smooth surface, such as a tiled or wood gymnasium floor. • The dimensions of the game area are: 12,5min length 6min width They include: Six throwing boxes (places where players are positioned) The V line The “+” mark

3. Boccia is played with: A white ball, called “Jack”, which is the target ball Six red balls and Six blue balls There are always two sides in this game playing against each other. Each side may be comprised of : One player, meaningone VS one (in individuals) or Two players, meaningtwo VS two (in pairs) or Three players, meaning three VS three (in teams). In order for a side to win the game, they must have the highest score in the 4 ends that the game lasts (in a team game there are 6 ends).

4. Let’s take a look in the court. The six throwing boxes, in which the players are positioned are numbered from 1 to 6. The “V” line separates the court in two areas. The white ball (Jack) must cross over to be considered in play. When the white ball is knocked out of court during the match or the game goes to tie-break, the white ball is placed on the “+” mark. 1 2 3 4 5 6

5. The game For convenience purposes, we will demonstrate how a game between individuals is played. If you would like some more information on the differences between individual, pair and team game, as well as some more information about game regulations you can always refer to the official game rules. Before the game begins, the referee spins a coin and the winning side chooses whether to play with the red or the blue balls. The player playing with the red balls is positioned in the box number three and gets to throw the white ball in the 1st and 3rd end. The player playing with the blue balls is positioned in the box number four and gets to throw the white ball in the 2nd and 4th end.

6. SCORE 2:43 5:00 4:45 4:10 3:42 1:52 3:03 5:00 4:51 3:22 2:56 2:33 3:52 4:29 The game begins as soon as the referee indicates to the player with the red balls to play the white ball. In both cases, play is continued by the opponent. In the first case, when theother player has some more balls available, he continues to play so that he can get one of his own balls closer to the target. In the second case, when the other player has no balls available, he continues to play in order to gather more points. (In our example, the red ball “sticks” to the white ball so the blue player continues to play until the situation is reversed to his own advantage or he runs out of balls). When the blue ball stops rolling, the referee will check the distance that each of the two balls have from the target, and he will instruct the player whose balls are the same color as the ball which is further from the target to take another turn with his next ball. (In our example, the blue ball is closer to the target therefore the next move will be made by the player who has the red balls). When all balls have been thrown by both players, including penalty balls where appropriate, the player with the ball closer to the white ball, will score one point for each ball closer to the white ball than the opponent's closest ball to the white ball. This ball also missed the target and must be put into the box of the “dead” balls ,while the player must continue. The player with the blue balls has managed to reverse the situation by hitting the white and the red ball, and bringing his own blue ball closer to the target, so that the player with the red balls is now playing. First point Second point The player playing with theblue balls, although he broughta blue ball closer to the target than the red balls, will continue to play since all red balls have been played. He has two choices. He will either throw the rest of the balls elsewhere (and the score will remain as it is), or he will attempt to gather more points. If he attempts to gather more points there is always the risk that he might miss and end up bringing a red ball closer to the target. The player with the blue balls, with his fourth throw, did not manage to get closer to the target while his fifth throw earned him an extra point, his last throw (6th) was thrown just in front of him to avoid any further risks. As soon as the white ball stops, the referee will indicate to the same player to throw one of the red balls, and starts the time countdown (time available is 5 minutes for categories BC1, BC2, BC4, and 6 minutes for BC3 which is the only category that players do not have the strength to throw the ball, so they play with an assistive device and the help of an assistant). Time stops when the ball has stopped moving and becomes still. In our example, the player with the blue balls won this end by 2-0. May we remind you, that the winner is the player who has gathered the greater amount of points after all of the four ends have been completed. 2-0 is the final score of the end, since the third closest ball to the jack is of another color from the first two. The red player did not succeed in his attempt, and as a result his ball is out of the court and into the box of the “dead” balls (those balls which are cancelled). With his last throw the player manages to direct one of his balls closer to the target. Blue player continues. The same player will continue to throw balls, until one of his own balls is found closer to the white ball than the closest ball the opponent has thrown, or until he runs out of balls. As soon as the red ball stops rolling, the referee will indicate that the other player must throw a blue ball and at the same time he will begin the time countdown.

7. Thank you for watching this presentation. I hope that it has enhanced your understanding of Boccia, and make you appreciate and enjoy the game of Boccia more. Greg Polychronidis www.gregpoly.com