Thinking about having your own bocce court is exciting but before you do anything, you should first be familiar with bocce ball court diagrams, dimensions, and court markings.
Bocce court sizes can vary, especially if you’re not constructing yours based on official court sizes. But no matter the size, there are important court markings you should not neglect: centerline, foul line, foot line, and sideboard foul line. These aren’t just simple markings but they serve a purpose for the game.
Based on your court’s final dimensions, these lines and their distance could vary. And you won’t have to worry about it too much as you’re only going for a casual bocce ball court.
Bocce Ball: With a Court or Without a Court?
Bocce ball is a widely popular game not only in official tournaments and games but also as a fun and casual backyard game with friends and family in social gatherings.
It’s a great way to get competitive every once in a while but still be able to hold a drink in your hand while socializing and catching up with friends.
One of the best things about bocce ball as a game is its flexibility and adaptability. Though there are official courts that players need to play on for official games and tournaments, you have more freedom when you’re only playing for casual fun.
As a leisure game, you can even choose to not play on any court surface at all. You can easily get away with playing on a flat surface with some markings to designate the playing area.
But many bocce ball fans and enthusiasts prefer playing on a court to get their competitive spirits up. Many even construct their own courts right in their own backyard so they can play whenever their hand is itching for a game.
If you’re wondering how to make your own court, a bocce ball court diagram should help.
Official Bocce Ball Court Dimensions
Based on the bocce ball rules set forth by United States Bocce Federation (USBF), official bocce ball courts are 86.92 feet long by 13.12 feet wide. During official competitions, tournaments, and games, courts must adhere to these sizes.
Casual Bocce Ball Court Dimensions
Official bocce ball court dimensions make for the perfect competitive environment for players. However, casual games and players can get away with playing on smaller unofficial courts.
Bocce players and enthusiasts can use courts of varying sizes, though the size of your backyard would let you know what your limit would be.
In most cases though, casual and unofficial courts are often around 60 feet long by 12 feet wide. Of course, the final size and dimensions of your court would depend on how much space you have in your backyard.
You can always go bigger or smaller depending on the available space and your personal preference. You can see some examples of court sizes here.
Picture It: Bocce Ball Court Diagram (Open Rules)
Open rules are a bit simpler compared to international rules. Under open rules, only the foul line and centerline need to be marked on the court.
The open rules are much simpler as it typically doesn’t involve lots of different lines for different types of throws. It also doesn’t require special measurement of how far balls moved after impact, which is something that makes international rules a bit more complicated for beginners.
Here is a zoomed in version for easier readability:
Under open game rules, the main thing to remember is that the player needs to start inside the backboard line (A) and can’t step across the foul line (B) before releasing their throw.
When first throwing the Pallino, it’s also important that the pallino crosses the center line (E) in order to start a valid game.
Now let’s take a look at the court diagram for international rules, also called Punto Volo Raffa, which is a bit more complicated but is often used for regulation tournament play.
Picture It: Bocce Ball Court Diagram (International Rules)
As we’ve mentioned above, bocce ball court sizes can vary greatly but for the purpose of this article, we’ll talk about playing court dimensions and diagrams according to the standard regulationl court size of 26.5 meters (~87 feet) in length by around 13.1 feet wide.
For this first chart, we’ll focus on “International rules” also known as Punto, Raffa, Volo rules because it requires some additional lines.
If you haven’t seen a bocce ball court yet, it would be a bit difficult to explain it in words so here is a diagram to help you visualize it:
The solid rectangular line represents the dimensions of the entire court.
As you can see from the diagram above, a bocce ball court is divided into areas separated by five important lines which are reflected in the diagram.
Here is a zoomed in version on half of the court, for easier visibility:
Parts of a Bocce Ball Court
In the diagram above, you can see multiple lines and you might be confused as to what they all mean. Here are the basic parts of a bocce ball line and an explanation of what these lines mean:
Headboards (Line A)
The headboards are at the far end of each court, and a player must start their throw inside of these lines.
Foul line, foot line, or throwing line (Line B)
The foul line, also called the throwing line, is marked 4 meters (13.1 feet) from each end of the court.
This line represents the maximum distance from which the team throws the bocce ball. Players from your team and the opposing team are not allowed to step past this line when throwing their bocce balls for a punto throw. They must release their balls before crossing this line or their turn ends in a foul. Hitting the foul line with your foot is OK but you can’t step over it prior to releasing your throw.
Volo line (Line C)
Line C indicates the furthest a player can step before releasing a volo throw. As a reminder, volo throws must be declared in advance.
Raffa line (Line D)
Line D indicates the furthest a player can step before releasing a raffa throw. As a reminder, raffa throws must be declared in advance.
Centerline or half court marker line (Line E)
The center line, midfield line, or halfway line divides the entire bocce court into two equal parts right down the middle. In a 26.5 meter (~87 foot) long official court, this would mean that each half would measure 13.25 meters (~ 43.5 feet) from each end of the court.
The centerline also indicates the minimum distance at which the pallino must be thrown when starting a game or frame. The line also indicates the farthest position a player is allowed to travel after releasing their raffa or volo throw.
The pallino is also usually placed on the centerline prior to the coin toss to determine which team will start the first game and throw the first bocce ball.
Curbing, Backboards, Headboards, Sideboards, and Backstop
Curbing, backboards, and sideboards are usually installed around the perimeter of the bocce ball court. These enclose the court to contain the surface and prevent the thrown bocce ball from rolling past the designated court perimeter.
The most common materials used for this include plastic, metal, concrete, or treated and weather-resistant wood.
The curbs should be level with the surface of the court and should be anchored firmly to the ground so they stay in place even when the balls strike them in play. Bocce ball courts are usually four to six inches tall to contain the balls during games.
The backboards, also known as end boards or headboards, are borders placed at each end of the court. These act as backstops and prevent the balls from rolling too far past the area of the court. It can also help players visualize and accurately calculate their throws. The sideboards help with these purposes as well.
The role they play
- Curbing on bocce courts can improve the appearance of your court and you can easily personalize yours with how you construct your court’s curbing.
- Preventing the balls from reaching too far from the bounds of the court and stopping balls thrown with too much force reduces the risks of players getting hit or tripping.
- Bocce ball court curbing does not only help players visualize and calculate their throws but it also helps them make bank shots for strategic turns.
Bocce Ball Court Surfaces
Bocce ball court surfaces vary greatly. Common court surfaces include sand, grass, gravel, clay, concrete, asphalt, packed dirt, and oyster shells.
Some recent variations include synthetic carpets and poured-in liquid for a smooth and fast surface to play on.
Bocce Ball Court Maintenance
Having a bocce ball court right in your own backyard isn’t all fun and games. Having your own court also entails the responsibility of maintaining it to keep it in tip-top shape and ready for games.
While it is true that bocce courts require minimal maintenance, you shouldn’t skip it. Here’s how you can maintain your bocce court’s condition:
- Regularly clean your court by removing dirt and debris like loose leaves, branches, stones, and any and all foreign objects that can disrupt games.
- Weed can occasionally break through the surface of your court. This can disrupt the movement of the balls and ruin the game. When you start noticing weeds on the surface, remove them immediately.
- You will need to rake and groom the court’s surface when uneven spots develop over time. You need a level and even surface to play bocce, otherwise, the way the balls roll is disrupted.
- Over time, you may need to add new surface material to keep the court’s surface layer smooth and consistent for fair gameplay.
- Lastly, you will need to regularly inspect that your court’s drainage system is working properly. This will prevent water accumulation that can damage the court if left alone.
Conclusion
Though generally enjoyed as a fun and casual backyard game, bocce can bring the fun and competitive spirits up when played on bocce ball courts and surfaces. When designing your own bocce court, it’s important that you’re familiar with its dimensions.
Official bocce courts are 86.92 feet long by 13.12 feet wide although casual games can be played on smaller courts. A common size for casual courts is 60 feet long by 12 feet wide. Regardless of the size, a bocce court has markings and lines that play a huge role in the game: the centerline or halfway line, foul or throwing line, volo line, and raffa line.
The sizes of these markings would depend on the actual size of your court. And of course, you can have more freedom to mark these lines for casual and unofficial courts.
