The Joy of Bocce Weekly
 In This Issue: Vol. I, Issue 26 - July 8, 2002 
•   Notes from the publisher
•   Bocce product of the week - The Joy of Bocce
•   Readers' Feedback
•   Non bocce product of the week - Plant Power
•   Photos of the Week
•   Tournament update
 Notes from the publisher
Come visit us often at www.joyofbocce.com. We have bocce info, merchandise, links to other great bocce sites, and the best selling bocce instructional book in the USA. http://www14.mawebcenters.com/striker/orderform.ivnu Order Now @ $12.95. Just click on the book cover above.

WELCOME TO THE 93 NEW SUBSCRIBERS SINCE LAST WEEK!

Sorry we didn't publish last week. The list server moved to a new location and had some problems getting back up and running. When they got back on line it was late and I decided to not publish just to see if anyone would really miss the issue. I was pleasantly surprised when many emails came in looking for their weekly bocce "fix".

I hope you will like this electronic newsletter. To be deleted from my list, you can Unsubscribe at the end of this issue. Conversely, if you know others who would enjoy and benefit from this Ezine, encourage them to sign up. You could forward this issue to them so they can decide for themselves if they want to "opt in". I promise that I will never be in the business of selling or trading your email address or other personal information.

Please help us grow by forwarding this issue to your bocce playing friends. They can opt in for the FREE Ezine at http://www14.mawebcenters.com/striker/feedback.ivnu.

A word about ads: Like any entrepreneurial type, I'd love to turn a profit from something I really enjoy. For now, I have decided not to accept paid advertisements. If I pitch a product here, it is something I have examined and tested and deem it beneficial to our readers.


Millie and Tino Piccioli of Ashland, Massachusetts are looking for two partners to compete with them in The World Series of Bocce in Rome, New York on July 19, 20, and 21, 2002. Email them at mrccioli@netzero.net or call them direct at 1-508-881-1945.

Opt in for the FREE Joy of Bocce Weekly

 Readers' Feedback
Publisher's comments in brackets { }

{George Farruggio's photos from Punto Gordo, Florida brought more than a few queries about the canopies that cover the ends of those bocce courts. If anyone knows the best place to purchase them or how to construct them, please REPLY and I will get the info out in this Ezine.}

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"Thank you for your book. It was a good read and I found it educational. I went up to the Italian Center in Vancouver B.C. where they have four immaculate indoor clay courts. However I need some help that I didn't get from your book. Specifically, I am building a Bocce court 10x60. I have perimeter boards and a 3" limestone foundation. I need help with the finish surface. I have access to "oyster shell powder" which is easily accessible but I also understand there are a couple of Canadian outfits that sell the clay in powder form for clay tennis courts. Any opinion on which might hold up better in an outdoor often rainy environment?
Tom McNutt
Not Italian But I love your book"

{Can any reader help with this question? If so, please REPLY}

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"Hi Mario,

I really enjoy your Bocce Weekly Newsletter. I am just getting started in playing bocce. I am going to send for your book. I also bought a good set of bocce balls from Rico Daniele. I am ready to build my own backyard bocce court here in Northeastern NC. No one in this area even knows what bocce is. I hope to generate interest in the game in this area. I am having a difficult time finding someone to help build a court. I just returned from a visit to Las Vegas, where they are into bocce big time. Real nice courts. They use a surface called FIELD TURF (not Astro Turf). Spoke to the bocce court expert David Gille about it. He has a web site on www.legacytrueturf.com. I may use this surface."

{Does anyone have any experience with this surface? If so, please REPLY and give us an honest evaluation of how it plays and whether it is a good value for the money.}

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{Millie and Tino Piccioli of Ashland, Massachusetts are looking for two partners to compete with them in The World Series of Bocce in Rome, New York on July 19, 20, and 21, 2002. Email them at mrccioli@netzero.net or call them direct at 1-508-881-1945.}

 Photos of the Week
This week's photos come to us from Rico Daniele of The Wonderful World of Bocce Association of Springfield, Massachusetts. Rico's forte is promoting bocce to families and children. He even has an inflatable bocce character called Raffa that entertains the kids. His recent tournament at Forest Park in Springfield attracted families who played bocce and enjoyed a gourmet picnic.

Photos of the week

 Bocce product of the week - The Joy of Bocce
Bocce product of the week - The Joy of Bocce

Still available - The Joy of Bocce (128 pages - 7" X 10" B/W Photos & Diagrams ISBN 1-57028-044-4) The first instructional book on bocce in America.

Chapters Include:

The Game
The Terminology
The Game, A Closer Look
The Game As Played on Official Courts
The Equipment
Strategy & Tactics
Building A Backyard Court
Tournament Play & Rules
International Play
A Brief History Lesson

Here's what people are saying about The Joy of Bocce:

"Whether your style is backyard, post-barbecue play, or serious tournament action, this book is right up your alley."

Jeff Joaquim
Backyard, post-barbecue player

Order The Joy of Bocce

 Non bocce product of the week - Plant Power

Non bocce product of the week - Plant Power

{Hey, bocce's great, but I'm always on the look-out for all kinds of good products for my readers}

Plant Power is one of my favorite products brought to market by my company. Like any self respecting Italian, I take pride in my expertise as a vegetable gardener. Not a fertilizer, Plant Power consists of enzymes that sink down into the soil and break down the complex organics that are already there so that the plant's root system can absorb them. The first couple of years with this product I did controlled experiments trying to keep all factors the same (amount of water, sunlight, etc.) except for the enzymes. The results were dramatic. I alwas got more fruit and larger fruit from the Plant Power samples. As a matter of fact, I had some world-class broccoli that I promised my wife that I would pick one day after I had taken some photographs to document the banner yield. When I awoke the next morning I was dismayed to find that the neighborhoood woodchuck had devoured the entire crop. I didn't think one varmint could eat that much produce in one evening. It is my understanding that Plant Power has been tested by the UMass School of Agriculture, where it put-performed Miracle Grow by a substantial margin - and all of this with no chemicals of ingredients that may be harmful to Mother Earth.

Try an 8-ounce bottle for $10.95.

Also available - case of six 8-ounce bottles for $65.70.

Check out Plant Power

 Tournament update
Tournament update {chronological order}

Please - anyone running a tournament - do me a favor - put a notice near your tourney bracket board informing players that they can go to http://www.joyofbocce.com and "opt in" for my FREE Ezine on bocce.

July 19 - 21, 2002. The World Series of Bocce - Rome, New York.

July 27, 2002. All welcome at Bowman Bay State Park for the Masters Bocce Open, hosted by the Seattle Luncheon Club and run by Open and Closed Course Bocce Association. Contact boccethis@yahoo.com for further details.

August, 2002 - Chattanooga Southeastern Tournament. "The most scenic court in the South." For more information on the August tournament (and photos), click http://www14.mawebcenters.com/striker/Chattanooga.ivnu. If you come to play this August, you'll get an added bonus - you get to meet me! I serve as referee for the games.

August 24 and 25 - IL PRIMO PENNSYLVANIA BOCCE INVITATIONAL, Scranton, Pennsylvania. August 1st = entry deadline.
The biggest bocce competition on the East Coast. Open Division as well as Novice with four-player teams in each (all roll one ball), and tournament is open to both men and women. Entry fee $30.00 per player for the Open Division and $20.00 per player for the Novice - ALL entry fees going toward cash prizes. Guaranteed minimum first place cash prize of $1,000.00 in the Open Division and $400.00 first place prize in Novice Division. Contact: Jim Cawley @ slick00@adelphia.net or call (1 800 229-3526)

September 8, 2002 - Sunshine Village Universal Bocce Bowl - Szot Park, Chicopee, Massachusetts. Four player teams - Entrance fee = $200 (fee includes competition, T-shirt, lunch and dinner for all players) - For more information call 413-592-6142. If you come to play this September, you'll get an added bonus - you get to meet me and my teammates from Home Run Park in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

NO MATTER HOW BIG OR SMALL, NO MATTER WHAT PART OF THE COUNTRY, SEND US YOUR TOURNAMENT INFO SO WE CAN GET THE WORD OUT IN THIS COLUMN. PEOPLE MAY WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR EVENT OR JUST VISIT TO CHECK IT OUT TO "BROADEN THEIR HORIZONS."

Merchandise still available at joyofbocce.com

Check out the first-rate equipment we offer. The finest measuring devices for bocce (made in UK by Prohawk for lawn bowling, petanque, and bocce) - the finest bocce balls in the world (made in Italy by Perfetta) and the number one selling instructional book on bocce in America - Check them out.
 Check out the merchandise