Bocce Australia’s OZ Bocce school program was recently rolled out and concluded in June 2022.
The school program, known as OZ Bocce, was rolled out in Brisbane by Bocce Australia’s National Sport Development Office Vinay Singh as part of as his role to expand the sport into schools.
OZ Bocce consists of 19 games with 12 warm-up drills that can be conducted from anywhere between four and 8 weeks. The beauty of the games and drills is that they can be played at almost anywhere provided there is a flat surface.
The complete program can be carried out by using simple things such as cones, hula hoops, tyres, buckets, and a few sets of bocce balls. The games are very straightforward and are teacher-friendly, meaning the teachers can deliver the program at the school with minimum assistance required by the bocce coaches.
The program focuses on physical literacy (HPE), teaches skills development and game concepts, and aligns with the Australian school curriculum standards. This program can be conducted either at school or at a local bocce club.
A pilot program of OZ Bocce was rolled out in Queensland at Redlands Bocce Centre with Wellington Point State High School as the participating school. A four-week program was delivered to Year 7 and Year 8 students.
The lessons were carefully styled so that the students got the opportunity to play both individual games and team games. The session was designed so that each session had two warm-up drills and a minimum of two games that last approximately 45-60 minutes.
There was an increase in participation of students with each successive session – it started with nine students and by the final session increased to 13 students. The average participation was more than 12 students in each session. There were four coaches present for each session and the coaches from Redlands Bocce Centre supported the delivery of the school program.
“This is just the start and I am looking forward to executing the school program with other bocce clubs in Queensland and, by next year, throughout the country,” Mr Singh said.
“The future of the OZ Bocce school program looks promising.”