LAUNCH OF NEW SPORT UNIFIES STUDENTS
The Fox Chapel Area bocce team members celebrated a great play ! ox Chapel Area FOX CHAPEL AREA SCHOOL NEWS
LAUNCH OF NEW SPORT UNIFIES STUDENTS
It ’ s a sport in which mere inches can mean the difference in scoring a point or not , and at times , referees must carefully take a tape measure to make the determination . There is applause after each of the players rolls the ball , aiming to get close to the target called a pallino . “ It ’ s going to be close ,” the announcer says as an athlete rolls a ball through the playing court .
Well over 100 students , teachers , and parents of athletes attended the first-ever indoor bocce match played at Fox Chapel Area High School on January 25 . The newest high school sport , indoor bocce , is unique because it is designed to include an equal number of students with disabilities alongside their peers who do not have disabilities . Part of the Unified Sports program offered in Allegheny
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County schools and sponsored by Special Olympics , the two teams of eight athletes on the Foxes bocce team hold regular practices and competitions – just like all of the high school interscholastic athletic teams .
Although students with disabilities are included on interscholastic sports teams , they sometimes cannot fully take part . “ This gives them the opportunity to participate in an entire sport , in every way with their peers ,” said life skills teacher and one of the Foxes bocce coaches Anna Hopper . “ They want to do something in school like everyone else .”
According to senior Bailey Beal , who watched the Foxes bocce team compete from the stands , “ These kids are the best !” She was excited about the great turnout for the first competition .
A member of the Foxes bocce team launched his ball . It takes strategy to decide just how hard to roll the ball to maximize a shooter ’ s advantage . Even if the ball is close to the target , the next opponent may strategically hit that ball away from the pallino .