|
In This Issue:
|
Vol. II, Issue 8 - February 24, 2003
|
 |
|
|
•
|
Notes from the publisher
|
|
|
|
•
|
Bocce product of the week
|
|
|
|
|
•
|
Bocce at the library (photos of the week)
|
|
|
|
•
|
Non bocce product of the week
|
|
|
|
|
•
|
Coupon offer from CafePress.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Joy of Bocce Weekly
The FREE weekly Ezine for bocce aficionados everywhere
Volume 2, Issue #8 February 24, 2003
Publisher: Mario Pagnoni Copyright 2003 http://www.joyofbocce.com
Come visit us often at joyofbocce.com. We have bocce info, merchandise, links to other great bocce sites, and the best selling bocce instructional book in the USA.
Order Now @ just $13.95 by clicking on the book image to the right.
I hope you will like this electronic newsletter. To be deleted from my list, you can Unsubscribe at the end of this issue. One of our enthusiastic readers suggested that “…bocce and unsubscribe are mutually exclusive terms.”
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.
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.
In the next couple weeks/months we are going to try to get the various leaders from bocce groups around the USA to agree on a common set of so-called “Open Rules”. There are well-defined rules for International Play that are used by all. There is no reason why those of us who play the more informal style of bocce can’t have the same kind of uniformity too. Stay tuned.
PLEASE – we are always looking for bocce photos and feedback from all over the USA. We want to connect bocce fans everywhere. You can email (author@joyofbocce.com) or snail mail (Mario Pagnoni, P.O. Box 608, Methuen, MA 01844).
|
|
|
|
|
This week’s pictures are from a bocce program we offered recently at the Nevins Memorial Library in Methuen, Massachusetts. It was school vacation week, so the library advertised a Bocce Demonstration and Tournament for parents and kids.
The turnout was excellent with a nice mix of elementary and middle school kids and parents. We put together some make-shift courts by laying two-by-fours down on the carpet in one of the library’s open meeting rooms.
First, we sat the kids down and did a short overview of bocce, admitting that the true origin of the game is “lost in the mists of antiquity”. Referring to bocce as a “ball and target game”, we explained that the ancient Greeks may have tossed rounded stones at smaller ones, and the Roman armies may have played with coconuts brought back from their various campaigns to conquer the world.
After briefly discussing some of bocce’s lore, we talked about the game's evolution - boules and petanque in some European countries, Bowls or Lawn Bowling in others. But the Italian version, bocce, was what we would enjoy this day.
Director of Children's Services Kathy Moran-Wallace did a fabulous job promoting and organizing the event, and we had a great time. Photographers from two local newspapers showed up and we got some good PR for the library and for the sport.
We grouped the players into fourteen two- and three-player teams (some with parents, some without), and played a single elimination event with games to just six points. Even so, the event took 2 ½ hours to complete.
The courts were small (about 24’ by 5’) and played extremely fast. It was obvious that, with the fast surface, short courts, and inexperienced players, many balls were going to hit the back walls.
Volunteer referee and bocce aficionado Jerry Valley decided to keep these “live” even if they did not strike another ball before hitting the end board.
The mother and son team of Mary Beth Donovan-Grassi and Christopher (age 9) went undefeated to capture first place (good for 1st choice from a stash of excellent audio books). Similar prizes went to the top four finishers.
Click the link below to see the photos, and please, feel free to copy this model to promote the game in your area. I am always amazed at how quickly children take to this wonderful game. Also, a common observation among on-lookers is that the competition is intense, but a lot friendlier than the traditional American youth sports like baseball and basketball.
{Please send bocce photos from different areas of the USA. The Joy of Bocce Weekly tries to feature photos from all over the country and from other countries too. I'd love to post your pictures here as "This Week's Photos."}
|
|
|
|
|
CafePress offers coupon good for this week only!
The new Joy of Bocce logo got rave reviews last week. I’ve uploaded it to my virtual storefront at CafePress.com, placing it on t-shirts, caps, mugs and other items. Please check out the finished product by clicking the link below or the cap to the right.
I’m hoping that t-shirts and other items proclaiming the joy of bocce will help build our subscriber list (our ambitious goal is 10,000 bocce subscribers by the end of 2003). The more bocce fans we can reach, the more impact we can have in promoting and unifying this great game.
CafePress.com, the clever print on demand company is offering coupons for the very first time! Using a special coupon code, Joy of Bocce Weekly subscribers can receive $5 off their purchase when they spend $40 or more (not including shipping).
This offer expires Friday, February 28, 2003. Click the link below to check out dozens of items displaying the striking new Joy of Bocce logo.
Enter the coupon code, PREZDAY, at checkout if your order totals $40 or more.
|
|
|
|
|
{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.
March 8 & 9, 2003 - The Italian/American Bocce Association of Punta Gorda, Florida. Fourth annual Southwest Florida Open Bocce Tournament. For more Info, contact George Farruggio at Tel. # 941-575-0482, Fax. # 941-575-6231 or E-Mail wam@strato.net.
March 16, 2003 - Anthony's Pizza & N. Pagano Plumbing - 1st annual bocce tournament (Indoors) at Hartley Park in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Limited to the 1st 16 four-person teams. Respond to Guy at (GMSF4@aol.com).
March 29, 2003 - Cape Coral Bocce Association, Money Tournament, Open Rules, Veterans Park Bocce Courts, 4100 Coronado Parkway, Cape Coral, Florida, Four Player Team, Prizes 1st = $3000, 2nd = $1000, 3rd = $500. Entrance Fee = $200 per Team (Based on 16 teams). Register by March 15, 2003 - Contact Skinny Battista (239) 540-8246 or skinny@prodigy.net.
April 26, 2003 - 1st Annual Long Island Bocce Club Spring Fling - 4 player Team - Single Elimination - Milldam Park, Huntington New York - Cost: $100.00 Team - Honorarium Awards for both Teams in the finals and Best Team. Contact: www.libocceclub.com or email James@libocceclub.com.
April, 2003 – Biltmore Invitational – Lake Tahoe, NV. Contact Kyle Hughes 1 (800) 245-8667.
April 5, 2003 - Four Person Team, Italian Athletic Club, Stockton, CA, Open Rules, Contact Ron Jacobs (209) 957-1223 or ronjo9445@aol.com.
April 26, 2003 - Three Person Volo, Waterloo Gun and Bocci Club, Stockton, CA, Volo Rules, Contact David Canclini (209) 957-3314 or canclini@gotnet.net.
May, 2003 – Herrin Festa Italiano Superball Championships, Herrin, IL.
May 18, 2003 – Sunshine Village Universal Bocce Bowl, Szot Park, Chicopee, Mass. Four player teams - $200 entry fee – includes t-shirt, lunch & dinner. Limited # of teams – 1st place = $600, 2nd place = $300, 3rd place = $200. Contact Rico Daniele @ 1-800-BOCCE54.
June 8-15, 2003 - United States National Bocce Tournament - Highwood Bocce Courts, Highwood, IL
winners will compete in the WORLD COMPETITION in SWITZERLAND. Contact Mike Conti @ 847-692-6223.
July 11-13, 2003 Bocce Classic IX Tournament, John Pirelli Lodge, 2625 County Line Road, Dayton Ohio, contact rbloomky@aol.com.
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."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
