Bola Canaria: Getting Close to the Mingue and Team Strategy

Bola canaria is a traditional game from the Canary Islands in which two teams roll their balls to get them as close as possible to a small target ball, the mingue. In this version, a captain decides on each turn who throws and with what intent: get close, protect one of their own balls or knock away an opponent's.

How to play

1. Explain the game, its place in Canary Island village festivals and its similarity to pétanque and bocce, although here the ball is always rolled (3 min).
2. Form teams of four with two balls per player, in the same color within each team, on 15 x 4 m courts marked with cones (2 min).
3. One player rolls the mingue between 8 and 12 m; then teams alternate by the rule that the team with the farthest ball throws next (5 min of practice).
4. Games to 9 points: before every throw, the captain announces the intent out loud (get close, protect or knock away) and the team notes on the worksheet whether it worked (15 min).
5. Team analysis: percentage of intents achieved and which type of throw the team should have used more (5 min).

Rules

• The ball is always rolled and released below the waist.
• No one stands in the path or behind the ball area during a throw.
• Close measurements are taken with a tape measure by a player from a team that isn't playing.
• The captain rotates each game so everyone makes decisions.

Variations

Adaptations

• Wheelchair user: rolls with a cardboard ramp and takes part as captain.
• Visual impairment: a partner claps over the mingue and describes where the balls are.
• Autism: always has the same throwing order within the team.

Learning goals

• Control force in rolled throws aimed at a target.
• Make tactical decisions based on where the balls lie.
• Lead and communicate decisions to the team.

Equipment for a class of 25

• rubber balls: 32
• tennis balls: 4
• tape measures: 4
• cones: 16
• worksheets: 8

Teacher tip

Heavy colored rubber balls work better than small basketballs; a yellow tennis ball makes a good mingue. On a dirt field the game feels closer to the original.

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