This article appeared in the September 2013 USBF Western Sector Newsletter.

I had trouble deciding on a title for this month’s column so I used all three.  A few weeks ago after a league game I was asked a rule question by a player at Campo di Bocce of Los Gatos.  He had just completed two games and was baffled by one of his opponent’s behavior.  The opponent consistently stood on the curb in front of players on the active end who were lagging or shooting.  When the offender was asked to stand behind the players in the back of the box he insisted that he could stand anywhere he wanted.  He was so blatant that he would even move closer to the foul line when his opponent was getting ready to shoot!  None of the players on either team wanted to make a big fuss about it so nothing was done.

This type of behavior might be allowed in jungle bocce, but certainly not in civilized bocce played under a set of rules.  First, it is a matter of common courtesy.  Also, there are two sets of open rules that address this situation.  The primary set of rules are the national USBF Open Rules posted on the USBF web site. The national rules, under the last paragraph titled Game Notes, second item, has a sentence that states: Any time a player is in action, opposing players should be off the court or far behind the player if courts don’t have adequate space.  The problem with the national rule is that it does not have a penalty that addresses punitive action after repeat violations.  It is up to the players to self-police or the league or tournament director can apply a penalty using the USBF code of Conduct.

The second set of rules that were available in this case are the specific league rules that the club developed based on the USBF rules.  The league has a courtesy rule that covers the situation and it states: Players must stand aside while the opposing team is playing.  Players on the throwing end must be behind the player rolling or shooting.  First violation gets a warning.  Second violation loses one ball for the next frame.  When an offender’s teammate on the other end loses a ball the problem generally goes away and the offender’s own teammate becomes the enforcer.  This rule is generally applied once in a game and the offender usually gets the message.

In the example cited above, no one on either team was aware of the league or national rules or had a copy of the national or league rules in their ball bag.  The league rules also were posted on the club’s bulletin board next to the league information!  These were all experienced players with extensive tournament experience at the local, sector, and national level!  The lesson here is to know the rules or suffer the consequences.

As a follow up a couple of weeks later, I spoke to the player who had originally asked about the rule.  He had just been to a tournament the past weekend and observed the same individual described above as the offender, exhibiting the same behavior described above.  I asked him if anything was done.  He replied:  “No.  But since our team was in a different bracket we opted not to say anything and let it go.”  He also said that the tournament director did nothing to rein in the offender’s behavior.  This type of conduct ruins the bocce experience for most players and sucks the joy out of the game.  Many players have lost interest in the tournament side of the game because of this and similar actions by other players.  There is no need for it as it is a form of cheating by distraction and intimidation.

The main message in this month’s article is that players should be courteous and know the rules, but most important, play by the rules!  Everyone will be better off and will enjoy the experience.