Tournaments

Congratulations to our 2019 Tournament winners!

This year we had 18 teams competing in a double elimination tournament with trophies, prizes and bragging rights… and the winners are:

Left to Right: 3rd Place — “The Mechanics” (Dave Edsinger, Stephen Palmer); 1st Place — “Shookstown Shakedown” (Cindy Renn, Texanna Dutrow); 2nd Place — “The Jeffersonians” (Patrick & Dad James Elam)

A fantastic day for the 2019 tournament!

2018 Bocce Tournament!

Twenty teams competed in our double elimination 2018 tournament.

November 4, 2018 was a great day for our 2018 tournament in Baker Park!

Pictured left to right, Eric French & David French (3rd Pl), Connie Martin & Mary Gilbert (1st Pl), Cindy Renn & Texanna Dutrow (2nd Pl).

Congratulations to our 2017 Tournament winners!

2017 tournament winners Phil & Tigger DiNardo.

October 7, 2017: Fantastic tournament… food, tents and manicured courts 🙂

We had seventeen 2-person teams playing plus a number of spectators… one mother drove down from Connecticut to compete with her son! She made matching t-shirts for their team, “The Bad News Beers”… what fun.

2017 Tournament Winners!

Pictured left to right, Steve Palmer (2nd Pl), Phil DiNardo & Tigger DiNardo (1st Pl), Dave Edsinger (2nd Pl) and Eric Phebus (3rd Pl). Not pictured, Alan Phillips (3rd Pl).

“Bocce in the Park” 2017 Competitors

Let the games begin…

Previous Tournament Winners

2016 winners Debbie & Ken Gamache presented their prize by tournament director Judy Briley.

2015 tournament winners Tom and Heather Coleman.

"Bocce, sometimes anglicized as bocci, is a ball sport belonging to the boules family, closely related to British bowls and French pétanque, with a common ancestry from ancient games played in the Roman Empire. Developed into its present form in Italy (where it is called bocce, the plural of the Italian word boccia which means 'bowl' in the sport sense), it is played around Europe and also in overseas areas that have received Italian migrants, including Australia, North America, and South America (where it is known as bochas, or bolas criollas ('Criollo balls') in Venezuela, bocha in Brazil). Bocce was initially played among the Italian migrants but has slowly become more popular with their descendants and the wider community." From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

photo by Brecken Pool via flickr (CC)

There are "tournament rules" and there are "backyard rules". We play by what are called “open rules”. Basically, the smaller jack ball is thrown and then each team takes turns trying to roll their balls closest to it. Check out the video "How to Play Bocce" by Major League Bocce for a simple, entertaining explanation of the rules.
One of the reasons that we love the game is that Bocce can be played by all age groups and is wheelchair friendly – making it a sport that is open to just about everyone!