Packer Park Public Bocce Court (Carnegie)

There is a sand filled court for playing Bocce next to an astro-turf bowling green at the western end of Packer Park.

Next to the court is a shelter with tables and a water tap.

Instructions at the court for bocce are:

Bocce is played with an even number of players on each team as follows:
Singles (4 bowls per player)
Doubles (2 or 3 bowls per player)
Triples (2 bowls per player)
Quadruples (2 bowls per player)
Multiplayer (I or 2 bowls per player)
A game begins with one team throwing the Jack from behind a foot line. The team who throws the jack is decided by tossing a coin. The Jack should be aimed beyond the centreline of the court.
The team who throws the jack delivers the first bowl with the aim of positioning them closest to the Jack or knocking out well placed opponent bowls. The team with the furthest bowl to the Jack delivers the subsequent bowl.
When a team has finished their bowls, the opposition delivers the remainder of their bowls, if any, to complete an end. The team with the closest bowl to the Jack at the completion of the end scores one point, and a further point for any of their other bowls that are closer to the Jack than any of the opponents bowls.
The game is played in ends and an accumulative score is tallied at the completion of each end. The first team to reach 7, 11, 13, or 15 points wins the game.

Information about Bocce

The origins of bocce are thought to date back to 9000 BC, originally in Turkey in the form of stone bowls. As early as 5000 BC the Egyptians played a form of bocce with polished rocks; an image depicting two boys playing bocce has been discovered in an Egyptian tomb dating back to this time.
From Egypt the game made its way to Greece around 800 BC. The Romans learned the game from the Greeks, introducing it throughout their empire, spreading to Britain, France, Germany, and Spain and as far east as Persia. A variety of balls were conceived for use including stone, coconuts, and later carved hard olive wood. The Roman influence in bocce is preserved in the game's name; 'bocce', derived from Vulgar Latin, bottia, meaning boss.

Beginning with Emperor Augustus, bocce became synonymous with the social elite, the game of Emperors and Senators. The Greek physician Ipocrates and many who have followed have admired the game's athleticism and spirit of competition and camaraderie.

The Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages the game experienced rapid growth throughout Europe with noblemen and peasants alike. Despite its newfound popularity, bocce faced many obstacles. The Vatican condemned bocce on the basis that it led to rampant gambling. In 1319, Charles IV, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, outlawed bocce, claiming that it 'threatened' the security of the state as too much time was taken away from archery practice, horsemanship and other important military pursuits. In 1511 Henry the VIII banned anyone apart from nobility from playing the sport, declaring that 'Bowyers, Fletchers, Stringers and Arrowhead makers' were spending too much time at recreational events and not performing their jobs. It was not until 1845 that Queen Victoria finally lifted the ban.

Bocce has been a chosen game of some of history's most notable figures, including: Galileo, George Washington, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Henry VIII, Hippocrates, Leonardo Da Vinci, Queen Elizabeth, Roman Emperor Augustus, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.

According to legend, on July 19, 1588, Sir Francis Drake refused to set out to defend England against the Spanish Armada until he finished a game, proclaiming: 'First we finish the game, then we deal with the Armada'. Renowned on a more dubious level is the legend of 'Fanny', gaining notoriety between 1860-1870 in Lyon, France. Fanny was known as a common spectator who would expose her backside to the loser of the match. The losers eventually became obliged to kiss it in defeat! Today it is common in bocce clubs to have a picture or sculpture of Fanny on hand, providing something to kiss for anyone who loses without scoring a single point.

The Modern Game - Today, different countries around the world have their own version of bocce. While these games are played with varying rules and on different surfaces, the basic concept of the game remains the same. As interest in competition between countries has grown so has the need for a standardisation of rules. In 1946 the French, Italian, Swiss and Monegasque Federations formed the Federation International de Boules (F.I.B.) and international competition was born. In 1985, the Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules (C.M.S.B.) was formed to include all forms of the game. The C.M.S.B. consists of four international federations, F.I.P.J.P. (Petanque), C.B.I. (Raffia), World Bowls (Lawn Bowls) and F.I.B. (Bocce) with F.I.B. being the oldest of the four. The C.M.S.B. was recognised by the International Olympic committee in 1986, and was classified an official Olympic sport.

Location

118 Leila Road, Carnegie 3163 Map