Boccia

What is boccia?

Basics

• Boccia (pronounced 'Bot-cha') is a Paralympic sport introduced in 1984

• It has no Olympic counterpart

• Athletes throw, kick or use a ramp to propel a ball onto the court with the aim of getting closest to a 'jack' ball

• It is designed specifically for athletes with a disability affecting locomotor function

• It is played indoors on a court similar in size to a badminton court

Rules

• The aim of the game is to get closer to the jack than your opponent

• The jack ball is white and is thrown first

• One side has six red balls and the other has six blue balls

• The balls are leather containing plastic granules so they don't bounce but will still roll

• The side whose ball is not closest to the jack throws until they get a ball closest or until they run out of balls

• Once all the balls have been thrown one side receives points for every ball they have closer to the jack than their opponents closest ball