(8/13/23) from the American Sons of Columbus Facebook Page:
The 9th Annual Tom Gialde Bocce Tournament is a wrap. Congratulations Men’s Champs – Four Horsemen (John Liberto, Joe Mazzeffe, Jeff Roberts and Frank Pisciotta Jr) and Women’s Champs – Spicy Marinaras (Marie Martin, Michelle Seaton, Josephine Cammisano, Lynda Sacco and Teresa Pisciotta).
(8/9/23) from the US Bocce Facebook Page. Thank you to USBF Board Member, Benji Tosi, for this contribution.
Keeping it real in California!
This weekend we had a very special visitor to Aquatic Park Bocce Club in San Francisco.
French and European Bocce Champion Grégory Chirat stopped by with his wife and daughter for a game of Quadruples!
Here are video/photo highlights from that game. See the video on the Facebook Page.
Aquatic Park Bocce Club is the oldest Bocce club in North America. It is the only US club that still preserves the old-school traditional way of Bocce.
2023 National Championships Photo Gallery 2 – Highwood Bocce Courts
Click the link to see all the photos.
2023 National Championships Photo Gallery – Highwood Bocce Courts
Click the link to see all the photos.
CONFEDERACIÓN PANAMERICANA DE BOCHAS
Clasificados al Mundial Juvenil Mixto ARGELIA 2023
(Winners will qualify for Worlds in Algeria in September 2023)
MODALIDAD NACIÓN CLASIFICADA
INDIVIDUAL FEMENINO
1st PERU; 2nd ARGENTINA; 3rd/4th PARAGUAY & URUGUAY
INDIVIDUAL MASCULINO
1st BRASIL; 2nd ARGENTINA; 3rd/4th CHILE & PARAGUAY
PAREJAS FEMENINO
1st PERU; 2nd PARAGUAY; 3rd/4th BRASIL & ARGENTINA
PAREJAS MASCULINO
1st ARGENTINA; 2nd BRASIL; 3rd/4th PARAGUAY & CHILE
PAREJAS MIXTO
1st BRASIL; 2nd PARAGUAY; 3rd/4th URUGUAY & CHILE
PRECISIÓN FEMENINO
1st PARAGUAY; 2nd PERU; 3rd/4th URUGUAY & ARGENTINA
PRECISIÓN MASCULINO
1st BRASIL; 2nd ARGENTINA; 3rd/4th PARAGUAY & PERU
Congratulations to all the winners of the US Bocce Nationals this year in Highwood.
Click the link to see the results.
Here is the link to the US Bocce Federation Open Rules, as well as the International PRV Rules and the Precision Shooting Rules.
From June 19 – 25, 2023, the Pan American Juniors Bocce Championship (Punto Raffa Volo) will take place in Asuncion, Paraguay. Schedule.
(Submitted by Ken Gorny)
I would like to thank all of the candidates for offices in the Western Sector of the USBF for accepting their nominations to serve for the next 2-year term starting in January 2023.
As current President of the Western Sector, I would like to express my appreciation for all of the current officers, especially our Treasurer, Marsha Jones and Laura de la Rosa, Treasurer for the National USBF, who reestablished the USBF’s non-profit status and put us on a sound footing. Marianne Schmidt, Secretary, helped me with the Zoom meetings and all the correspondence sent to our members. The Membership Committee, including Cynthia Rivera, Marsha Jones and Diana Pellegrini, established a system to send out and track memberships, and welcome new clubs and members.
The Newsletter Committee, including Alan Knox, Jerry South, and Brad Cotton, with Nancy Mueller, made progress in publishing newsletters and contributing to the national website, and JoAnn Jacobs maintained the USBF Facebook site for the Western Sector, However, there is much for the new leadership to do, building on our first steps. I believe I speak for all of us who have chosen not to run for an additional term, when I say that we are here to cheer on and support the new Board with all of the knowledge we have gained during our time in office.
I am encouraged to have heard some of the candidates express their intentions to focus on promoting bocce to youth groups, schools and families. Their youthful energy and familiarity with social media are bringing in many younger players. We all benefit when new bocce courts are built, existing courts are improved, and new players are welcomed into the USBF bocce family. Building partnerships between public parks, private corporations, individual donors and politicians can accomplish wonders, with the right people pushing and organizing events that can bring us together.
The new Western Sector officers that were officially elected at the November 14th meeting are Lisa Watson, President; Ron Fideldy, Vice President; Margaret Shindelus, Sector Representative; Colleen Randazzo, Secretary; Marsha Jones, Treasurer and Populous Director; and Natalina Bernardi, Mark Bigel, Martha Crosley, and Jessica Libien, Populous Directors. Ben Campbell has volunteered to help Jessica Libien with the Outreach Committee.
We have certainly weathered some hard times during Covid but we have been making progress as we have adjusted to live and play with its restrictions. By continuing to work as a team we can accomplish much of what we set out to do. We each have a role to play, and no one can do it alone. The organization is what the members make it!
Stay Safe and I hope to continue seeing all my friends on the courts.
(Story by Margaret Shindelus)
CBI – PUNTO RAFFA VOLO & FIB – VOLO
The historic World Bocce Championships was a joint venture of the Confederazione Bossistica Internazionale (Punto Raffa Volo) and Federation Internationale De Boules (Volo). The event was a gathering of 52 teams from 37 countries.
The championship was held at the Toroslar Bocce Hall and Volleyball Gymnasium in Mersin, Turkey. There were 10 outdoor Volo courts and 4 outdoor and 4 indoor courts for Raffa that were used for the 6 disciplines of Volo and 7 disciplines of Raffa. The huge, covered bocce facility was part of a sport complex built for the 2013 Mediterranean Games. The outdoor courts were concrete covered with sand and the indoor courts were carpet laid over a sport court floor.
Raffa Team USA contingent started our long journey by meeting at Chicago O’Hare airport and traveling together on the same flight to Adana Turkey, which was a 1-1/2 hour bus ride to Mersin. Speaking of the Mediterranean, our living accommodations were at a low-rise resort hotel complex located at the seashore. We had adjoining two story 4-plexes that housed our entire USA Raffa and Volo contingents. The American flag was proudly hung from the upstairs railing.
The tournament was well organized, and we had a team member participating in every PRV event. We started each day with breakfast at 6:30 am, a 40-minute bus ride to courts at 7:15 am, and team members competing every hour from 8:30 am to 9:00 pm. We stayed together and supported each other throughout the week. If we had any break we were able to watch the Volo competition and appreciate the precision shooting skills and athleticism of the competitors.
Team USA fared well and finished with an overall PRV World Ranking of #16. The team was led by Amy Lazeretti going undefeated in the Women’s Singles preliminary rounds with a 4-0 record and finishing with a #5 World Ranking. Miles Russell teamed with Amy Lazeretti in Mixed Doubles and attained a #9 World Ranking. Teresa Passaglia and Margaret Shindelus competed in Women’s Doubles and finished with a #9 World Ranking. Greg Della Croce competed in both Men’s Singles and teamed with Miles Russell in Men’s Doubles attaining a #17 World Ranking in both events. Miles Russell and Margaret Shindelus each competed in Precision Shooting and both finished with #11 World Rankings.
Each team member proudly represented the USA displaying their skills and all were gracious in both victory and defeat. We are grateful to USBF President, Danny Passaglia, for accompanying Team USA as Head of Delegation/Coach, and for outfitting all National Team members (PRV and Volo) with great uniforms that he obtained through sponsorship of TOP87.
Highlights of the event were Opening Ceremonies where we marched into a huge ovation from the crowd only to be followed by and even louder roar when the host country Turkey came in behind us. Each day it was awesome to see the young children bused in to watch the games and to see how excited they were to cheer for Turkey and seeing the kids request autographs from team members from around the world. Everyone we encountered was gracious, kind and helpful to us throughout our entire journey. It was an incredible experience for each of us and we are grateful for having the opportunity to proudly wear a USA uniform.