Boccia

Events & Disciplines

Players compete in singles, pairs and teams events.

Classification

Boccia is open to athletes with a significant physical impairment affecting all four limbs. Athletes are required to submit medical reports and meet the minimum impairment criteria in order to compete. Eligibility is determined by trained Classifiers.

For more information on Eligible Impairments and Classification please see the Boccia Information Sheet (PDF – 94KB) – updated June 2022.

Rules & Equipment

Balls:

A boccia ball is made of natural or synthetic leather and is slightly bigger than a tennis ball. Any ball will be accepted for play from any manufacturer providing it weighs 275g (+/- 12g) and measures 270mm in circumference (+/- 8mm). There are six red and six blue balls to indicate which team is playing, and one white ball called the ‘jack’.

Court:

A boccia court measures 12.5m long by 6m wide. The throwing area is split into six rectangles, and there are lines shaped like a ‘V’ which the ball must cross for a throw to be valid. A cross marks the position where the jack must be placed if it touches or crosses the boundary line, or in the event of a tiebreaker. The surface of the court is flat and smooth.

Dead ball container:

A dead ball container is placed at the end of the court. A ball is ‘dead’ if it is thrown after the time limit or out of the court, or if an athlete makes a rule violation during their throw.

Measuring device:

A measuring device is used to accurately measure the distance of each ball from the jack.

Medal History

Contacts

We encourage those wishing to explore boccia to contact their state federation in the first instance. The national federation link below provides information on the national high performance program leading to competing internationally and at the Paralympic Games.