Dimensions for Bocce and Petanque

Bocce is played on soil, oyster shell or asphalt courts approximately 20m−27m long and 2.5m−4m wide, sometimes with wooden boards of approximately 15cm in height surrounding the court.

Related topics: bocce

The information in this guide is general in nature and cannot be relied upon as professional advice concerning the design of, or marking out for, sporting facilities and playing areas. No assurance is given as to the accuracy of any information contained in this guide and readers should not rely on its accuracy. Readers should obtain their own independent and professional advice in relation to their proposed sporting activity.

Bocce balls or bowls can be made of bronze or various kinds of plastic. Unlike lawn bowls, bocce bowls are spherical and have no inbuilt bias. Traditional bocce field

Bocce can be played between two players or two teams. In the traditional form of the game, the player aims to place the bowl near the jack or to move the opponent’s bowls to prevent him/her doing so. The bowl can be bowled along the ground to the jack, or thrown from a run, through the air, to knock the opponent’s bowl out of the way.

The game begins with one team throwing the jack from behind the foot line, landing in the 5m rectangle playing area. If the bowl fails to land in the 5m rectangle, the opposition can place the jack anywhere within the 5m rectangle (at least 50cm from side lines). The team that throws the jack delivers the first bowl. The team that does not hold the advantage delivers the next bowl and so on. When a team has finished their bowls, the opposition delivers the remainder of their bowls, if any.

Petanque

Petanque is played between two players or teams. The object of the game is to place their boules (balls) nearest to the target jack or to displace their opponent’s boules in relation to the jack. In triples each player uses two boules. In doubles and in singles each player uses three boules.

The game of petanque is played on any ground. The playing area is called a piste and is usually hard packed dirt/gravel, often with a very thin covering of crushed rock on top. Competitions are generally held on ‘marked grounds’. When playing on marked grounds, the minimum dimensions are:

national championships and international competitions — 4m wide x 15m long

other competitions — minimum 3m wide x 12m long

The ground must be marked inside a frame of which the line will be the dead boule line. The distance between the outside perimeter line and those of the marked ground is 1m minimum to a maximum of 4m.

Chalk, paint or external markers are used to mark the line inside the frame (playing area). A mark is made on the edge of the terrain indicating the width of the piste. String, 3mm−5mm, is pegged down every 50cm to 1m for the dead boule line (outside perimeter) and the marked ground playing area (inside perimeter). There must be no walkway between the pistes.

String or other material such as tape or webbing is used for external boundaries and perimeter of playing area. String, tape or webbing is preferably not to be used for the internal piste divisions. Paint or chalk is used to mark the dividing lines between pistes as this method will not cause any hazard to the players resulting in tripping over, nor cause an obstruction to the boules or jacks in their travel from rolling over the lines.