Our first and most important rule is to have fun! Like all recreational sports, everyone comes out for a good time, so please exercise sportsmanship!

 

Equipment and Courts

Each game is played with one smaller white target ball (pallino) and eight larger balls (bocce). Each team will be assigned four of the same color and that will be the four they throw each round.

Courts vary! Bocce is a game that can be played on various surfaces and with different boundary markers. While the game is the same, there may be slight variations between locations and your referees will have been trained on them. ATLBocce hosts leagues at locations with “wall courts” and “cone courts.”

 

Starting a Match

Determine who goes first by playing rock, paper, scissors between the two captains. The winner determines the end from which play will start, has the first toss of the pallino, and chooses the color of their team’s bocce balls. In the playoffs, the higher seeded team has those privileges.

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Playing the Game

The pallino must be tossed underhand, must pass the mid-court line, and land at least 1 foot from the side boards and 2 feet from the back wall (or within the cones if playing on a cone court.) If the toss does not meet these requirements, the player has one more attempt. After the second attempt with a failed setting, the opposing team throws the pallino.

The player who tossed the pallino rolls the first bocce ball. If the initial bocce ball hits the back wall on the opposite side of a wall court, the team must roll again. Otherwise, the player steps aside and the opposing team rolls their first ball. After these initial throws by each team, the rotation of which team rolls is based on which team’s ball is “inside” versus “outside.”

The team who has a bocce ball closest to the pallino is called "inside" and the opposing team "outside." Whenever a team gets inside, it steps aside and lets the outside team roll. The team outside throws until it gets closer to the pallino (not ties) the opposing ball. This continues until both teams have used all their bocce balls (a total of 8, 4 from each team).

If a player accidentally throws one of their opponent’s bocce balls, it will be replaced with their own team color once the ball comes to rest.

The pallino may be knocked anywhere on the court by the bocce balls but cannot be knocked out of the wall court or outside of the cone court boundary. If the pallino is knocked out, the frame is restarted. The team that threw the pallino, throws the pallino again.

The team that scores the previous frame throws the pallino to begin the next frame.

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A player can throw no more than two bocce balls per round. ​

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Dead Balls​

• If a player's bocce ball makes contact with the backboard of a wall court without first touching the pallino, the bocce ball is considered a dead ball on impact and is removed from play until the end of the frame.

• If a dead ball strikes a stationary bocce ball after hitting the backboard of a wall court, that stationary bocce shall be replaced in its original position. The thrown ball is removed from play.

• If the bocce thrown ball comes to rest touching the pallino or another ball that is touching the back wall on a wall court, that thrown ball remains in play. The ball touching the back wall is removed from play. If the pallino is touching the back wall it remains in play.

• On a cone court, all bocce balls remain in play unless they are interfering with another court. If a bocce ball enters into another court, it is a dead ball and is removed from play.

• If a pallino goes outside of the cone court boundaries, it is dead and the round ends. Teams restart the frame.
   

foul line violations

With various courts and styles, it is important to make sure you have identified the foul line at the location at which you are playing. If you are unsure or it is not clearly marked, please ask your referee and/or opponents. Foul lines are located at both ends of the court and all tosses must be completed behind them. Players may step on, but not over the foul line before releasing the pallino or bocce ball. Both feet must be on the ground during each throw. If a player steps over the foul line, the pallino will need to be rethrown or the bocce ball will need to be removed from play.

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State Foul Line

At State, the referee will set the foul lines and this will be announced at the start of the event. If you are unsure, please check with the referee.

 

Disputes and measurements
The teams playing will referee their own game. Any dispute which cannot be resolved by the team captains will be decided by a League Referee. Upon the referee’s decision, the game shall continue. All measurements should be made with the same measuring tool and from the same place on the bocce ball and pallino to ensure accurate measurements (base to base). *The league’s referee should be consistent in their measuring approach and use the same tool for each measurement.
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If both teams agree on which team has the point and it is later determined that a mistake has been made, all balls played are valid. If both teams have balls remaining, the team that does not have the closest ball to the pallino rolls again. If all balls have been played, points are awarded based on the balls that are actually closest to the pallino in accord with the "Scoring" rule.

When a team throws their bocce ball out of order, the thrown ball is a dead ball and is removed from the frame. The opposing team has the option to leave all impacted balls in place or to move all impacted balls back to their original location prior to the throw.

 

scoring

The object in each frame of the game is to get as many of your team’s bocce balls closer to the pallino than the opposing team’s closest bocce ball. A frame is complete and scoring occurs once all eight bocce balls have been thrown. Only one team will score each round for a maximum of 4 points.

The scoring team is the team that has the bocce ball closest to the pallino. Once the scoring team (closest team) is identified and agreed upon by both teams, scoring begins. The scoring team will receive one point for each bocce ball that is closer to the pallino than the closest opposing team’s ball. Once the opposing team’s ball is closer, scoring stops and no more points are awarded.

If the closest ball of each team is equal in distance from the pallino, the team with the next closest ball gets a single point.

The team that scores in a frame starts the next frame by throwing out the pallino and playing their first ball.
 

**Have trouble keeping track of the score? Download the free Scoreholio app to ensure there are no scoring discrepancies.**

 

winning

Play continues until a team wins by reaching a score of 15 points or the game window has elapsed (45 minutes). Teams may go over 15 points to win the match, but the maximum amount of points awarded to a team when recording a match is 15.

 

schedules

The schedule for each week is posted on the schedule page at www.atlbocce.com. Play time is 45 minutes beginning at the start of the scheduled match time and includes warm-ups. Please check-in with your league referee each week when you arrive. 

**ATLBocce reserves the right to extend or shorten the season due to rain outs - ATLBocce Weather Policy and Hotline

 

rescheduling

Each season is a total of 7 weeks, 6 regular season games and 1 playoff week for qualifying teams. Upon registration, you commit to seven weeks of bocce played on the same day each week. We do not reschedule matches once the schedule has been posted before the season, but we reserve the right to make adjustments to the schedule due to unforeseen circumstances. Before registration closes, you may submit a scheduling request, and we will try our best to accommodate.

 

regulation games

A regulation game lasts 45 minutes from the designated start time or until one team reaches 15 points. If no team has reached 15 within the allotted time, Atl Bocce will record the scores as they stand at completion, not manipulated to where the winner has 15. The team with the higher score wins and the score will be recorded to reflect earned score. This helps to keep our schedules running on time. If the two teams are tied after regulation, one additional frame will be played to determine the winner.
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A game is official once one team reaches 7 points.
 

forfeits/"No-shows"

Each match is allotted 45 minutes. A team will forfeit their match if at least two players do not show up within 15 minutes of their scheduled playing time or do not provide 24 hours notice awarding the opposing team the win. If a team shows up within the allotted 15 minutes, the team will not receive extra time to play, and must complete the match in the remaining 45 minute allocated match time. A forfeited match results in a score of 15-0. If both teams fail to show up by the 15 minute forfeit window, the result will be a tie score of 0-0.

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Late Arrivals

If a team arrives after the 10 minute mark but before the 15 minute forfeit mark, the late team automatically begins the match down 5 points. No match can begin until at least two players are present.

 

player requirements and substitutions

A minimum of 2 players (21+ years old) per team must be present to play. We recommend teams of 4 to 6 players to ensure enough players each week. You may substitute players after a frame has concluded. No team may compete with less than 2 players present. If a player arrives late, they cannot substitute in the middle of a frame. 

*This is a co-ed league.  A mix of male and female players is encouraged but not required.*

 

illegal roster substitutions

If two or more registered players are available, no non-registered substitutions are permitted. This may result in a forfeit. All players must be 21 years of age or older.

*The last day to add a player to your roster is the Friday of week 3.*

 

league equipment

All matches must be played with the equipment provided by our host venue or ATLBocce. Personal bocce sets may not be used during league play.

 

league playoffs
The top 8 teams from the regular season will compete during a one-night, single elimination tournament (week 7) at their league location. A playoff schedule will be determined based on the regular season standings after the final week of regulation play (week 6) and posted on the website.

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qualifying for state tournament

Each first place team from the regular season will automatically qualify for the State Tournament. The finalists from the location playoff will receive an invite to the State Tournament. If the first place team from the regular season is a finalist in the playoffs, the third place team will receive the invite. Third place will be awarded to the team that competes and loses in the semi-final round at the location playoffs but holds the highest seeding in the regular season standings between the two semi-final round losing teams. 

 

player eligibility

All players must be 21 years of age or older.
All players must be properly registered through the Atlanta Bocce League website, www.atlbocce.com. All players must agree to a player release waiver.

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