Tejo
COLOMBIAN NATIONAL SPORT (officially recognized 2000). Players throw metal DISCS (tejos) ~18m to hit CLAY-EMBEDDED TARGETS with GUNPOWDER PACKETS (mechas) that EXPLODE ON IMPACT. Score points for hitting the metal ring (bocín), triggering mechas (mecha), or landing inside the ring (embocinada). Uniquely combines PRECISION THROWING + EXPLOSIVES + BEER (tejo bars are Colombia's tavern culture). Practiced 500+ years (pre-Columbian Muisca origins). 4-player teams; ~2 hours per match.
Quick facts
Category
Traditional & Cultural Sports
Type
Team sport
Players
2–8
Duration
~120 min
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇨🇴 Colombia
Estimated origin
500+ years old; pre-Columbian Muisca disco throwing; codified 20th century
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional
How it works
Objective
First team to 21 points via mecha explosions + ring hits.
Rules
Basic rules
Underhand throw a 680g metal disc 18m at clay-embedded target
Distance + accuracy.
Hitting bocín ring = 3 points; mecha explosion = 6 points; embocinada (inside ring) = 6 or 9 points
Signature scoring.
Team alternates throws; closest to bocín scores if no explosion/ring
Tie-breaking.
First team to 21 wins
Standard target.
Alcohol + beer culture is inseparable from tejo
Cultural context.
Scoring
First to 21 wins; mechas + embocinada score big; ring hits + close discs score small.
| Action | Points |
|---|---|
| Mano (closest disc) | 1 point |
| Bocín ring hit | 3 points |
| Mecha explosion | 6 points |
| Embocinada (inside bocín) | 6 points |
| Moñona (mecha + embocinada in one throw) | 9 points |
Win condition · First team to 21 points; must win by at least 1 clear point.
Equipment
Tejo (metal disc, 680g standard)
Signature throwing disc
Cancha (clay-embedded target with metal bocín ring)
18m throwing lane
Mecha (gunpowder packet placed on bocín)
Signature explosive target
Cerveza (beer) — traditional tejo-bar culture
Cultural drinking companion
Terminology
- Tejo
- The metal throwing disc; also the game itself.
- Bocín
- Metal ring embedded in the clay target.
- Mecha
- Gunpowder packet placed on the bocín; explodes on impact.
- Embocinada
- Throw landing inside the metal ring.
- Moñona
- Rarest achievement — explosion + inside-ring in one throw; 9 points.
- Cancha
- The clay-embedded target + throwing lane.
Major competitions
Colombian National Tejo Championship
annual · Colombia · since 1950
Where it is played
Governing bodies
Federación Colombiana de Tejo (FEDECOLTEJO)
Founded 1955 · Bogotá, Colombia
Frequently asked
Is tejo really a national sport?+
YES — the Colombian government OFFICIALLY DECLARED TEJO A NATIONAL SPORT IN 2000 (Law 613). It sits alongside football (soccer) as one of Colombia's most culturally embedded games. Tejo bars in Boyacá + Cundinamarca departments serve tejo + cerveza together; it's inseparable from local rural + urban working-class culture.
Sources & provenance
- Wikipedia — Tejo— Wikipedia