11th Annual Krewe of Italia Bocce Tournament ~ A Festa Tradition

11th Annual Krewe of Italia Bocce Tournament ~ A Festa Tradition

Registration starts at 5:30 pm and play begins at 6:30.  You must be there no later than 5:50 pm.

Limited to 24 teams ~ So register now before it's sold out (and it is every year)!

Bocce Rules

The Object:

Each team has four bocce balls to throw.  The object of the game is to end play with your team’s bocce balls closest to the pallino (a small white ball about the size of a golf ball).

Teams:

Teams are made up of four players.  Two players from each team will play from each end of the court.  A team that cannot field four players will forfeit the match.  Teams should be complete and ready to play when they check-in.

The Match:

Matches in the preliminary rounds will consist of four games.  The first game will begin with the flip of a coin between the captains of each team.  The winner of the coin flip will choose green or red balls for their team for the match and determine who will throw the first ball.  The team which went second in the first game will begin the second game, and will again alternate in additional games.

The goal of the two preliminary rounds is to amass as many points out of a possible 48 points.  Teams will be ranked by the total number of points and the top eight scoring teams be seeded one through eight for the playoff round.  Seed (1) will play Seed (8), (2) will play (7), etc.

Playoff rounds will consist of four games (two in each direction), with the throwing order determined similarly to the earlier rounds.  The winner will advance to the next playoff round.

Note: In the playoff rounds, a match will end after three games if one team is winning by more than 6 points. 

Play the Game:

The game begins with the throwing of the pallino.  The pallino must come to rest beyond the midpoint of the court and not touching any walls.  Teams will alternate the throwing of the pallino.

After the first ball is thrown, that team steps aside and does not roll again until the opposing team has either gotten one of its bocce balls closer to the pallino or has thrown all its balls.  The team whose bocce ball is 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 beats (not ties) the opposing ball.  This continues until both teams have used all their bocce balls (a total of 8, 4 from each team).

a)    If a player throws the wrong colored ball, simply replace it with the correct color when the ball comes to rest.

b)    If a player rolls out of turn the opposing team at its option may leave everything, including the thrown ball, exactly where it is or may return any moved balls to their approximate original positions and remove the thrown ball from play.

c)    If a ball is moved before all 8 balls are played, the opposing team replaces the ball to the approximate original position.

d)    Players need not alternate throws.  Consecutive or alternating throws by teammates shall be at their option.

Four games are played per match, two in each direction.

 Dead Balls:

If a player’s bocce ball (without hitting the pallino or another ball) makes contact with the backboard the bocce ball is considered a dead ball on impact and is removed from play until the end of the game.

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

 Pallino:

Once the pallino has been validly put into play, it remains in play even if it hits the backboard.  However, if a pallino is knocked out of the court the game will be restarted.

 Shooting:

Shooting is lofting the ball in the air beyond the center of the court.  Shooting is allowed if the thrown ball hits the ground before hitting the ball.  If the thrown ball does not hit the ground first, everything goes back to its approximate original position and the thrown ball is out of play.

Scoring:

A total of 6 points are available in each game:

3 points – ball closest to the pallino

2 points – ball second closest to the pallino

1 point – ball third closest to the pallino

If at the end of any game any of the balls are equidistant from the pallino, the points for those balls will be split.  The next game then begins from the opposite end of the court.  Captains of each team are responsible for reporting the score for that game to the scorekeeper.  Each team’s points for the game are recorded on the score sheet.  The total points won out of a possible 24 (4 games x 6 possible points per game) are your team’s total points for that round.

The goal of the two preliminary rounds is to amass as many points out of a possible

48 points.  Teams will be ranked by the total number of points and the top eight scoring teams be seeded one through eight for the playoff round.  Seed (1) will play Seed (8), (2) will play (7), etc.

In the event of a tie for a seed, the following tiebreakers will be used in order to determine the higher seed:

1.    Number of total games won in the preliminary rounds

2.    Number of points scored in the final preliminary round

3.    Number of games won in the final preliminary round

4.    A one-ball throw-off: closest valid ball to the pallino wins

Playoff rounds will consist of four games, with the throwing order determined similarly to the earlier rounds.  In the event of a tie after four games, additional games will be played until a winner is determined.  The winner will advance to the next playoff round.

 Note: In the playoff rounds, a match will end after three games if one team is winning by more than 6 points. 

                    ROUND A - 4 Games                                   ROUND B - 4 Games

                    Quarterfinals - 4 Games                               Semifinals - 4 Games

                                                                      Final - 4 Games

Forfeits:

If a team forfeits any game in a match, they forfeit all games.  The opposing team will win all 24 points in the match.

Disputes:

The teams playing shall referee their own game.  Any dispute which cannot be resolved by the team captains shall be decided by a Krewe of Italia official.  Upon the decision, the game shall continue.  All measurements should be made from the closest point on the bocce ball to the center of the pallino.