Boccia

Sports Summary

Making its debut as a Paralympic sport in 1984, Boccia tests each competitor’s degree of muscle control and accuracy. Competing in wheelchairs, athletes with severe impairments throw, kick or use a ramp device to propel leather balls as close as possible to a white ball which serves as the jack (target). Players compete in team and individual events on an equal level.

Events & Disciplines

Singles
Teams
Pairs

Classification

Who is eligible for boccia? Athletes with a physical impairment that affect their entire body (cerebral palsy, acquired brain injury or other severe physical impairments such as muscular dystrophy).

What are the classes? Athletes are classified into one of four classes depending on their functional ability. The Paralympic classes in boccia are BC1-BC4.

Paralympics Australia Classification Information Sheet – Boccia

Rules & Equipment

Balls: Boccia balls are made of natural or synthetic leather and are slightly bigger than a tennis ball. Any ball will be accepted for play from any manufacturer providing they weigh 275g (+/- 12g) and measure 270mm in circumference (+/- 8mm). All balls will be checked at each competition. There are six red and six blue balls to indicate which team is playing and one white ball called the “jack”.

The Court: The boccia court measures 12.5m x 6m with 2m of free space around it. The surface of the court is flat and smooth. The throwing area is divided into six rectangular throwing boxes. On the court is a V-shaped line over which balls must cross for the 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 case of a tie break.

Dead Ball Container: Placed at the end of the court. A ball is ‘dead’ if it is thrown after the time limit, if it is thrown out of the competition court or if, during a throw, an athlete makes a rule violation.

Measuring Device: Used to accurately measure the distance of each ball from the jack.

Medal History

Year	Gold	Silver	Bronze	total
1996	0	0	1	1