Kurt Hamilton

 Bocce, an ancient sport little known in the United States, has finally begun to take root in the American sports culture. Bocce was first documented in a 5200 B.C. painting of two boys playing in an Egyptian tomb. Bocce spread throughout Palestine and into Asia Minor. In 600 B.C., Bocce was picked up by the Greeks and passed to the Romans. In 1519, Bocce became a public game. It was played in Flanders, Holland and Belgium. Greek colonists brought Bocce with them to what is now modern Italy. It became so popular that it was once again threatened with prohibition, as people who were playing Bocce in the streets were hitting the knees of passing noblemen with the Bocce balls. Bocce frequently lost and gained popularity throughout the ages. In 1896, during a resurgence of popularity, the first Bocce Olympiad was held in Athens, Greece. Bocce has been a part of international sports ever since

 Bocce is traditionally played on natural soil or asphalt courts approximately 20 to 27 metres in length and 2.5 to 4 metres wide, sometimes with wooden boards of approximately 15 centimetres in height surrounding the court.

. Bocce balls can be made of metal or various kinds of plastic.

Step 1. Find a flat, level playing surface (packed dirt, gravel or grass are ideal). A regulation bocce court is 76 feet long and 10 feet wide. Step 2. Divide players into two teams of one, two or four players each. Each team gets four balls, divided equally among the players.

Step 3. Have a player from the starting team stand behind the foul line (which is 10 feet from the throwing end of the court) and throw the small ball, or "pallina," toward the opposite end of the playing surface. Step 4. Let the player then throw one of the larger balls, or "boccia," trying to get it as close to the pallina as possible without touching it.

Step 5. Have players from the opposing team take turns throwing their balls until one of the balls stops closer to the pallina than the starting player's ball. If they fail to do so, the starting team tries to outdo its first attempt. Step 6. Let the starting players take their second turn if the opposing team gets closer to the pallina than the starting team without using all of their balls.

Step 7. Continue in this fashion until all eight balls have been thrown. The team with the closest ball gets one point for each of its balls that are closer to the pallina than the other team's closest ball. Step 8. Keep in mind that if the two teams' closest balls are an equal distance from the pallina, no points are awarded.

Step 9. End the frame after all eight balls have been thrown and appropriate points have been awarded. The scoring team begins the next frame. If no team previously scored, the team that threw the pallina last begins the next frame.  Step 10  Play as many frames as needed until one team has a total scored of 16 points.