Throwing balls toward a target is the oldest game known to mankind. As early as 5000 B.C. the Egyptians played a form of bocce with polished rocks. Graphic representations of figures tossing a ball or polished stone have been recorded as early as 5200 B.C.

Locally, there are several locations where people get together for bocce matches. Residents at Tryon Estates have been enjoying the game for a while now. The newest court in the area is at Giardini Gardens, where the court is lit for night play and flanked by organic gardens. In addition to open court time, one Thursday night a month you can sign up for Groovin in the Gardens where youll enjoy woodfired pizza, organized bocce matches and live music and karaoke singing.

While bocce today looks quite different from its early predecessors, the unbroken thread of bocces lineage is the consistently common objective of trying to come as close to a fixed target as possible.

Bocce (pronounced bow chee) is a precision sport belonging to the bowling sport family, closely related to boules and ptanque with a common ancestry from ancient games based on rolling balls. From Egypt, the game made its way to Greece around 800 B.C.

The Romans learned the game from the Greeks, and then introduced it throughout the empire. In early times they used coconuts brought back from Africa for the balls, and later used hard olive wood to carve out Bocce balls. Beginning with Emperor Augustus, bocce became the sport of statesman and rulers.

From the early Greek physician Hippocrates to the great Italian Renaissance man Galileo, the early participants of bocce have noted that the games athleticism and spirit of competition rejuvenates the body.

Although bocce is extremely easy for anyone to play, it can be a highly competitive sport, which requires the use of both physical and cerebral skills. The object of the game is for individual or team players to roll a larger ball (bocce) closer to a smaller target ball (pallino) than their opponents. The player/team whose bocces are closest to the pallino scores. Teams can range from one to four players.

In modern times, the first bocce clubs were organized in Italy. Notably the first Italian League was formed in 1947 by 15 teams in and around the town of Rivoli (Torino). 1947 also marks the beginning of the yearly Bocce World Championships. This championship event continues today with participants from over thirty nations including the United States.

Thanks to many Italian immigrants at the turn of the century, bocce has come to flourish in the United States. During its beginnings in the U.S., there were as many versions of the game as there were towns the immigrants had left. The popularity of bocce in America has been on the rise since then and there are more than 25,000,000 bocce enthusiasts throughout the United States today.

There are also organized matches being scheduled with bocce clubs from Hendersonville and Brevard, as well as the formation of corporate teams. If you are interested in forming a team or scheduling open play, call Joe Laudisio at 828-817-4939 for further information.

Next to soccer and golf, bocce has the third most participants of any sport in the world and is considered the oldest known sport in world history. It is a great sport that people of all ages and abilities are able to play together.