The premier bocce sport eNewsletter in Australia Editor Frank Funari , Graphics Nerio Nespeca and Photographs BA , Raymond Cher & others

Copyright Bocce Australia

COVID-19

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World Games moved from 2021 to 2022!

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BA50 celebrates bocce with a look at Griffith, NSW

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When in lockdown how do you play Bocce?

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Top stories in this newsletter

All Bocce sport in

Australia suspended and postpone until further notice! On 13th March 2020, Bocce Australia made the decision to immediately suspend and postpone all official Bocce events in Australia, this included related Programs, Events, Tournaments and National Championships until further

notice, due to the COVID-19 virus pandemic.

This is a decision we did not take lightly and want to reassure the bocce community that we continue to work with the Australian Government, Chief Medical Officers, Sport Australia and other health authorities to ensure the health and wellbeing of our players, coaches, referees and volunteers are maintained.

“We are in unprecedented times”. Never before have we seen anything quite like this. It’s not just about what we touch, where we go and the distances we keep, though these are all incredibly important. It’s also about how we compose ourselves in a time of uncertainty, and how we interact with compassion for others in the same situation – our family, our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues, our business

partners. “We’re all in this together”.

MARCH 2020

Our goal, as Bocce Sport administrators is to work with the Sport Australia and our World sport-ing governing bodies FIB, CBI and CMSB to prepare for when we come out of this situation so that we can reactivate the sport for our members, clubs, sponsors and stakeholders who will be wanting to get back to normal operations. COVID-19 is increasingly having a significant impact on the global community and is a rapidly evolving issue. Government organisations, public health units and the WHO continue to provide accurate, timely and detailed updates relevant to the whole community.

Bocce Australia is in regular contact with Sport Australia and state sporting agencies so that we can provide our members an overview of the currently available information highlighting the unique needs and challenges for Australian sport during this time of hibernation.

With most sports postponing Championships to 2021 like the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Bocce World bodies of FIB and CBI are looking to reschedule to the northern sum-mer of 2021. The AOC, AIS, and Paralympics Australia agree that this is consistent with the key principals of putting the health of athletes first and acting in the best interests of sport and the Australian community.

Bocce Australia along with the Asia Oceania Sport Bocce Confederation are working with FIB & CBI on a new Bocce Calendar for 2021 and 2022 including for the World Games. Meetings are being scheduled in the coming weeks to discuss options and how best to align the events.

To keep up to date with COVID-19 developments copy the following link into your browser

https://www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert?utm_source=health.gov.au&utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=digital_transformation&utm_content=health-topics/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov

Australian Government Department of Health Please look after each other as we find new ways to stay connected.

The situation is absolutely surreal, and we all have lives outside of bocce that will be impacted in different ways.

Support each other, and contact us if you need support as well. ff

Bocce Australia — Applauds all our front-line workers in the COVID-19 fight!

Say thank you to the unsung heroes, our

frontline workers of COVID-19.

A round of applause for all our Doctors, Nurses, Health care workers, Aged-care workers, first responders — Police, Ambo’s, Firey’s, SES, our Teachers, Pharmacist's, Cleaners, Truck drivers, Delivery drivers, Supermarket workers, Centrelink workers, Military & other essential personnel who are risking exposure to COVID-19 so everyone else can stay home and stay healthy. Thankyou, you are truly our unsung frontline hero’s, you are our modern day ANZAC’s . ff Photo by REUTERS/Susana Vera

Bocce Australia

Celebrates 50 years….

We continue this series of celebrating Bocce

in Australia with this month saluting the town

of Griffith, NSW which at one stage was the

epicenter in the region for bocce boasting 4

clubs, over 32 bocce courts and home to

some of the top bocce players in Australia.

Bocce was an important element in the social

life of Griffith’s settlers prior to World War II.

Work was hard and money was scarce, but a

game of bocce could be set up almost any-

where. Families frequently gathered at one

or other of the Italian farms, such as that of the

Ceccato family and a makeshift bocce court

would be laid out. With the help of home made

grappa, food cooked by the women and the

strong musical traditions of the Comunità in the

evening, these were lively occasions remem-

bered fondly by all participants.

At other times they would pack onto the back

of farm trucks and head to the Murrumbidgee

River. There was a bocce court on the

Salvestro’s own farm. The end of this lively

social life came with the advent of the Second

World War, when Italians needed to keep their heads down

and avoid notice.

This type of bocce ball was used in Griffith in the c1937 to

1971 period. Charlie’s father Antonio Suine was a good

player and used this bocce set. From 1971, when bocce was

formalised in Australia and internationally as a competition

sport, metal bocce balls were adopted and the old rubber

1

3

Press photograph of bocce at Catholic Club,

Yoogali. Courtesy of Griffith Italian Museum

Inscription on back of photo. Courtesy of

Griffith Italian Museum

composition balls were no longer used. Griffith was one of the first places in Australia where the

game became an organised sport. It was brought to the area by the first Italian settlers began as

an informal social activity on impromptu courts set up at private homes around Hanwood and

Yenda, or sometimes on the river bank at Darlington Point. Groups of men would play for a drink,

the losers doing the shouting, while their wives had a chance to gossip and their children to play

together.

It is said the competition was often lively, with much excitement and shouting. The gathering

might then continue on to the evening with cards or dancing to records such as the ‘Blue Danube’

or ‘Skater’s Waltz’, played on a hand turned gramophone.

The popularity of bocce lead to the formation of many of Griffith’s social, and now licensed clubs,

beginning with the Italo-Australian Club in 1936, for whom the Coronation Hall at Yoogali was

built. Griffith’s players were once the best in Australia and the game, organised through several

clubs, was played by both men and women. The Yoogali Club is thought to be the first club in

New South Wales to admit women. ff

Excerpts for this articles were from the NSW Migration Heritage centre. Special thanks to the following: Cornwall, J 2007, Fruits of Our Labour. The history of Griffith’s Italian Community. Griffith City Council. Kabaila, P 2005, Griffith Heritage. Pirion Publishing, Canberra. Heritage Office & Dept of Urban Affairs & Planning 1996, Regional Histories of NSW, Sydney. Heritage Collections Council 2001, Significance: A guide to assessing the significance of cultural heritage objects and col-lections, Canberra. Robyn Oliver, “Bocce in Griffith”, Area News, March 1991. Robyn Oliver, “1930s Christmas with the Salvestro Family”, Area News, Dec 1994

Bocce Australia invited Raymond Cher and Joe Rozzo to provide there recollections of bocce in Griffith.

“Bocce in Griffith…… “ written by Raymond Cher “ Records show that that bocce in Griffith as a pastime was well established in the 1930’s, but fast forward to the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s and bocce in Griffith was at its zenith with 4 very active clubs - two of which were back to back allowing for 16 courts” . “The nineties saw bocce in Griffith begin to decline with some of the clubs keeping their courts but with fewer players”. “With the introduction of the BFA’s Women sector in 1992, new life and enthusiasm saw bocce flourish once again in Griffith under the leadership of Norina Pastro. A ‘can-do’ woman heavily involved in the Griffith com-munity and a promoter of bocce, especially women and juniors in her be-loved Hanwood Catholic Club. Pushed with the support of other members of her club and the BFA to stage the 1998 National Juniors at the Han-wood Catholic Club. Lina reminded me that Norina was the oldest person to practice the throw during a women's camp held at Redlands and apparently was chaffed when getting it right. Norina was nominated and received the ASC's Sport's medal and later was admitted to the BFA's Virtual Hall of Fame for her exceptional contribution to the sport of bocce. Unfortunately Norina passed away in 2018.

Norina Pastro

The icing on the bocce cake that year was the presence of the then FIB World President, Al-phonse Lagier Bruno, a real coop for the sport in Australia and particularly for Griffith. Lagier-Bruno noted in his message………

‘I hope that my visit will be considered an acknowledgement and a recognition by the FIB of the extraordinary work accomplished in Australia by the BFA and in particu-lar the President Ray-mond Cher for the devel-opment of our magnifi-cent sport’. The tournament attracted teams from Victoria, NSW, SA, Queens-land, WA and a National Under 18’s Girls team represented by local Grif-fith’s girl Anita Bennett, Gloria Le-ombruni (SA) and Enza Velardo (Qld.) A first for a Junior National! 1998 National Junior’s Winners Ross DiIeso - Singles (SA) Pat Spataro, Joe Pascuzzi, and Cristina Gusatto - Doubles (Vic) Pat Spataro - Bowl/Throw (Vic) Ross DiIeso - Progressive Throw (SA) Frank Maltese - Precision Throw (WA) Champion State - Victoria

L-R: Lina Cher, Tony Biancacci, Raymond Cher, Alphonse Lagier-

Bruno, Frank Funari, Tony Pegoraro and Italo Vigolo

L-R: Alphonse Lagier Bruno, unknown, Ray Cher & Frank Funari

Bocce Australia officials with the coaches of the State Junior teams

Another interesting feature of that

tournament was that it brought to-

gether many young spectators from

previous junior events in quite un-

precedented numbers!

“Sadly, as we go to print, I can

report that that Hanwood no

longer has bocce courts and of

the other three clubs, only one

is operational”…said Ray.“

Bocce in Griffith” written by

Raymond Cher ( 10/04/20).

Photographs in this article were

taken and supplied courtesy of

Raymond Cher.

Bocce Australia also asked Joe Rozzo, President of NSW Bocce, who he thought were some of the famous Bocce personalities from Griffith. Joe replied …...“ The players from Griffith that I know that where at the top in many of the NSW championships were Romeo Perin, Luigi Rosa and Armando Dalo. (Romeo participated in the very successful 1991 World Bocce Championship in Gap, France. Perin substituted for Jack Daniel who had to withdraw for family reasons).

Another player that is worthy of a commendation is Luigi Andreazza, he was a great supporter of Norina and bocce in Griffith. He trained and coached the juniors for many years…..”.

Bocce Australia thanks Raymond Cher, Lina Cher and Joe Rozzo for their input into this edition of Bocce Australia celebrates 50 Years.

Singles trophy presentation

L-R: Alphonse Lagier-Bruno, Delfina Gallio , 1st—Ross

Dileso, 2nd—Pat Spataro & 3rd—Simon Topatig

The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, moves to JULY 2022

The International World Games Association (IWGA) and Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC) have agreed to postpone the 11th edition of The World Games until 7th to 17th July 2022. The Games had originally been planned to take place from 15–25 July next year.

The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) decision to move the Tokyo Olympic Games to July 2021 made a significant impact on the planning of The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama. Keeping to the original dates in July 2021 would have meant excluding many athletes and officials involved in the Olym-pics, and would have led to a potential reduction in public and media interest. When the IOC announced its decision, the BOC urgently set about assessing what alternative dates might be viable, particularly as regards venues and accommodation. Meanwhile, the staff of the IWGA were establishing when the vital services provided by key partners, such as Swiss Timing and International Sports Broadcasting, could still be made available.

It soon became clear that only one 10-day period existed in which venues, accommodation and key part-ner support could be guaranteed: 7–17 July 2022. The IWGA Member Federations with sports on the pro-gramme gave their full support to delaying The World Games, and the joint decision of the IWGA and BOC Boards to adopt these new dates was unanimously approved by the federations in a video confer-ence.

“A great deal of detailed work is now required to implement this decision, and further progress reports will be issued in due course,” says IWGA President José Perurena. “But I am impressed by the flexibility and efficiency of the Birmingham Organising Committee: they have been able, in just two days after the IOC’s announcement, to get all the main organisational items in place.”

IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow says: “I am very proud of the capable organising team in Birmingham. All organisational main pillars such as venues and accommodation are in place for 2022, and we are able to have exactly the same sports programme as we had planned for 2021. We look forward to working to-gether with the chairman Jonathan Porter, his CEO Nick Sellers and their team to organise the best possi-ble Games for our athletes.”

From our February edition — Can you name the players in the Photos?

L-R:.Johnny Pase, Natale Tonel, Arnaldo Allegretto, and Edigidio Pase

L-R:Giuseppe Favrin, Tony Pegoraro, Decimo Franceschi, Bruno Favrin, Orlando Perosin and Luigi Gobbi is the person dink-ing out of the cup. These names compiled with the help of Ray Cher & Tony Pegoraro.

Bocce Federation of Australia

logo during the many years

of sponsorship by B&H.

CONTACT

Tel: +61 0417 339 640

eMail: info@bocceaustralia.com.au

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bocceaustralia

Web: www.bocceaustralia.com.au

When in Lockdown how

do you play Bocce?

On your mobile phone! With Australia being in lockdown how to do you maintain a healthy

body and mind. Plenty of things to do —go for a walk & keep your

distance. Those fortunate to have a home Gym—go for it! If you

still have a backyard—play bocce on the grass and if you do not

have a backyard play bocce on your mobile.

If you go to the App Store type Bocce game and plenty are listed.

Try the free one s and let us know which ones are your favorites?

We will publish the most popular mobile bocce game in the next

edition of Bocce eNewsletter.

Keep healthy, Stay Home as Better days will come! ff

Coronavirus: How COVID19 is changing the way we live, socialise, teach, work and in Sport the way we will do things in future. The novel coronavirus, has changed our daily lives and the way we interact. As cities shut down & people engage in social distancing, our tech has become essential to connect with others at a time of isolation. For Bocce Sport the transition to digital is gaining speed—the FIB has established online conferencing using Microsoft Teams; In Australia we have led the digital transition by using Facebook (with the Raffa Women’s World final live stream exceeding 43,100 views); use of Instagram; Zoom teleconferencing and soon to be used for long-distance training; online registrations; podcasts; high tech sportswear and more. With the power in the hands of the clubs and federations it is important to come back leaner & better equipped to deliver what sponsors & members will be absolutely desperate for when sport comes back later this year, or early next. This is an opportune moment for clubs and federations to become better collaborators. Less reliant on the old, better equipped to deliver always-on experiences where members truly live (their phones) & valuing them appropriately. The beauty of digital is that fresh and interesting inventory is infinite. Although this is a truly difficult and unprecedented time for all of us, it’s also a rare gift and opportunity to pause, think and move forward better than we were before.

Better times will come, but the rest is up to us… ff