Johnston Senior Center’s 1st annual Bocce Tournament TODAY at Citizens campus

Photo: Citizens Bank

Communities have added bocce courts into parks and recreation areas, but we don’t often get to see the play, learn about it, its History, rules, etc. That changes today in Johnston.

The Johnston Senior Center will hold its First Annual Bocce Tournament, hosted by Citizens on their Johnston, Rhode Island campus on Friday, September 6 from noon to 5pm.

The Johnston Senior Center, a nationally accredited residential senior center for older adults and those with complex disabilities, regularly holds programs for their residents to promote their emotional, social, and physical well-being. There will be over 100 participants in Friday’s program with teams from the Johnston Senior Center, the Johnston Fire Department, the Johnston Rec Department, Morgan Health, The Bridge at Cherry Hill, and two teams from Citizens expected to comPete. 

This is one of just many programs the Citizens’ Johnston Campus will hold this year – ensuring community members and organizations have a place to participate in field sports, gather, and celebrate. 

Bocce Teams are from:

• Five teams from The Johnston Senior Center
• Johnston Fire Fighters 
• Johnston Rec Department
• Senior citizens from Morgan Health
• Senior Citizens from The Bridge at Cherry Hill
• Two teams from Citizens 

What is Bocce?

Bocce is a ball sport belonging to the boules family. Developed into its present form in Italy, it is closely related to English bowls and French petanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Bocce is the plural for bocci, meaning bowls. It spread around Europe and also in regions to which Italians have migrated. It has been said that bocce is the third most played sport among Special Olympics athletes and is a sport in the Paralympics.

How is it played?

Bocce is traditionally played on a natural soil or asphalt court up to 90 ft in length and 8 to 13 ft. wide. While the court walls are traditionally made of wood or stone, many social league programs now use inflatable ‘Packabocce’ PVC courts due to their portability and ease of storage. Bocce balls can be made of wood traditional metal, or baked clay, or various plastics. Balls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias.

A Game can be conducted between two players, or two teams of two, three, or four. A match is started by a randomly chosen side being given the opportunity to throw a smaller ball, the jack (called a boccino (‘little bocce’) in Italian, from one end of the court into a zone 16 ft. in length, ending 8.2 ft from the far end of the court. If the first team misses twice, the other team is awarded the opportunity to place the jack anywhere they choose within the prescribed zone.

Casual play is common in reasonably flat areas of parks and yards lacking a Bocce court, but players should agree to the minimum and maximum distance the jack may be thrown before play begins. So buy a bocce set and give it a try in the beautiful fall weather!

The side that first attempted to place 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 balls.

The object of the game is for a team to get as many of its balls as possible closer to the target ball than the opposing team. The team with the closest 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 from 7 to 13 points.

Players are permitted to throw the ball in the air using an underarm action only. This is generally used to knock either the jack or another ball away to attain a more favorable position. Tactics can get quite complex when players have sufficient control over the ball to throw or roll it accurately.

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The Johnston Senior Center’s First Annual Bocce Tournament hosted by Citizens on their Johnston, Rhode Island campus will give 100 participants the opportunity to enjoy an afternoon of bocce, good food, and community.     

The Citizens campus is at One Citizens Bank Way in Johnston, RI.