Boccia factbox

(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-09-08 07:48

Traditional recreational sport boccia dates all the way back to ancient times. But it was not until the 19th century when Italy refined the sport that the 16th century Greek ball-tossing game became popular.

Also known as bocce, the name boccia is derived from the Latin word for ball, bottia. It became a Paralympic sport for athletes with cerebral palsy at the 1984 Paralympic Games in New York.

An individual boccia match consists of four ends while a game of pairs includes six ends in the team division. Each end continues until both teams have played all of their balls.

To start the match, the white target ball is thrown as close as possible to the jack. Athletes then use their hands, feet or an assistive device when required, to propel the balls. The opposing team throws until they get a ball closer to the jack, or until they have thrown all of their balls. The play then returns to the first team, and the end continues in this manner until both teams have thrown all their balls. Both male and female competitors are included in seven varying divisions of play.

(China Daily 09/08/2008 page8)