Tercentennial Bocce Tournament Is A Go

By Shannon Hicks

A one-day bocce tournament will be held on Saturday, August 6, at The Pleasance.

Newtown resident Rosemary Zanfini has received calls from residents who are interested in playing in a single-elimination tournament that will coincide with the Newtown Tercentennial events taking place all day at Fairfield Hills.

The tournament will begin at 9 am, with two teams of four playing the first round. Each game will be played to 16 points, and the winner of each round will advance until a final winner is determined.

“We’re going to play to 16 points, although the standard for us is 24,” said Ms Zanfini, who plays in an amateur league that meets weekly at The Pleasance.

“Full games will take too long. I’d like everyone who has signed up to show up, and I want everyone to have time to play and still enjoy the rest of their day,” she added.

Bocce is an Italian bowling game somewhat resembling lawn bowling. It is played on a court, usually dirt, that is 75 feet long and 8 feet wide and bounded on all sides by boards.

Traditional bocce teams consist of two players, but bocce enthusiasts know that games can be played — and enjoyed — by individuals, trios, and even foursomes.

Teams are stationed at the end of each court. To start play one player tosses or rolls a small ball, a pallino, to the opposite end of the court. Alternating turns between teams then have players trying to get their bocce balls closest to the pallino.

The boards surrounding the court keep all balls in play at all times, and playing off the boards is allowed. It is also permissible to knock an opponent’s ball out of position, and to knock the pallino away (this is called boccie out or bocci out).

Points are scored for each ball a team has closer to the pallino than their opponents.

The bocce court at The Pleasance is gravel based, and a rake is kept nearby so that players can even out the court before they begin play. The public needs to bring its own bocce equipment normally, but Ms Zanfini says she and her friends will provide the bocce balls and pallino for Saturday’s event.

“A lot of people play lawn bocce in Newtown, and many of the people who have called me have said that that’s what they’re familiar with but they want to try playing on the court [at The Pleasance],” said Ms Zanfini.

“We’re just competing for the glory this weekend,” she added. “I don’t have any prizes to give out, no trophies. We’re just playing for the title of Tercentennial Bocce Champion.”

The Tercentennial Bocce Tournament will be the earliest event in a day of activities that will continue until after dark, when Newtown hosts its first fireworks display in 20 years. The town stopped presenting annual shows after the 1985 display, when insurance costs became prohibitive.

Events at Fairfield Hills will begin at 9:30 and will include, during the course of the day, an antique car show, a vintage base ball game, a Revolutionary War encampment, children’s activities, a dunk tank, live music, the presentation of a framed copy of the original town deed to First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, magic performances, foot drills and a battalion review by The Second Company Governor’s Horse Guard, and a Democrats vs Republicans softball game.

The weekend will open with a concert by The Bearcats, a traditional jazz band, on Friday at 7 pm, also at Fairfield Hills.

Stories concerning other Tercentennial events on Saturday events can be found elsewhere in this week’s Bee, as is a full pull-out special section with full details including maps for parking and fireworks viewing areas.