FRONT PAGE Celebrating Special Bocce Moments of 2018 – 19 BOCCE AUSTRALIA The 2019 Bocce Nationals has attracted a star-studded line up of 21 teams, representing the teams from all corners of Australia, contesting in the six boc- ce disciplines - The traditional events of Singles, Doubles, BowlThrow, Triples along with the throwing event of Precision Throw which will be joined with the spectacular and more exciting Progressive Throw event. The championships will welcome a number of newcomers, especially in the Men’s ranks – the ‘Old Foxes’ (Angelo Tenaglia, Giovanni Gigante and Romano Bencic) from Sunshine club, and the ‘Top Shots’ from Club Marconi of Guiseppe Marraffa, Frank Mammone, David Samsa with coach Valerio Chian- dotto. Also this Nationals we welcome back the professional unit from McLar- en Vale of Raffaele Zollo, Erminio Ranaldo, Rosa Maglieri and Maria Valente headed by Serafino Maglieri, and likewise long-time bocce enthusiast from Redlands Dino Marrone. Again this year we also celebrate the return of some past greats, including Anthony Parlato from Redlands, Queensland, Cristina Finocchiaro and Mary Greco from regional Victoria, as well as the enduring perennials from across the nation: Lou Masotti (Bundaberg Qld); Rodolfo Mancini (SA); Nella Chian- dotto (NSW); WA Women’s Coach Mafalda Zambon; Jim Coviello(LMC,Vic)and Vanessa Allegretto (Vic); Maria Ferraro (SA); and the power players from way out west - Velimir Matutinovich, Italico Vigolo, Mario Vacca, Blazenko Kuscevic and Dusan Vuklosav all from WA, just to name a few! The players that are occupying the interest of bocce enthusiasts across the nation include young guns: Daniel Samsa, fresh from success at the Asia/ Oceania Championship, along with his sister, Nicole (NSW); Santo Pascuzzi (National Under 35); Nick Penney and Joe Maselli (Morwell Vic.); Jason Masotti (Bundaberg Qld); and Tony Borelli(Vic). The heavy guns in the tournament include Dino Mikolic and his Vic. Metro team mates as well as NSW Metro with Giuseppe Rozzo at the helm. The WA teams and Redlands regional teams along with teams SA will all be counting on experience for a podium finish! Front Cover: Some of the winners from the 2018 Senior Men’s and Women’s Champion- ships hosted at the Redlands Sporting Club, Queensland. Inside Front Cover from top clockwise L to R: • The players and officials from the Australian Nationals 2018 hosted at the Redlands Sport- ing Club, Queensland • Daniel Samsa, winner of Bronze Medal for the Bowl Throw event, at the U23’s World Titles in China, October 2018. • The Penney’s with Coach Franco Fava in Argentina for the Bocce Raffa World Titles, • Port Lincoln Bocce Players join the Federation • Smiles all round at the World Women’s Titles, China 2018, as the Australian Women Doubles team of Maria Maselli and Vanessa Allegretto celebrate having achieved an all- time highest ranking of 5th in the world. • Special O’s led by Michael Migliaccio have a fun night of bocce in the dark with bocce glow bowls. • Opening of the Asia Oceania Bocce Championships, Frank Funari President Bocce Aus- tralia ,Cr. Lawrie Cox—Mayor of City of Whittlesea, Frederic Ruis - President FIB with Bronwyn Halfpenny—MP for Thomastown, Tony Biancacci—President AOSBC, Fernando Cardinale - President Casa D’Abruzzo Club On This Page from top to bottom: • Bundaberg School of Bocce run by Lou Masotti and the Bundaberg bocce team. • Club Marconi celebrates 60 years of Bocce.—Frank Funari and Tony Biancacci present Marconi Vice President & Sports President - Mario Soligo & Marconi Board with an anni- versary gift to commemorate this historic milestone. • NSW Juniors celebrate Game 1 win of State of Origin against Victoria • WA Women’s Bocce Team win Australia’s crown as 2018 Champion Team • Bocce Australia Board enjoying a break from the planning workshop • New Coaches and Referees emerge from the BA Coaching & Referee clinic hosted at the Newmarket Bocce Club, Brisbane • All winners the Asia Oceania Sport Boules Championship, Melbourne May 2019 Program Booklet & Editorial—Frank Funari, Graphics—Nerio Nespeca; Photos Copyright Bocce Australia & courtesy Raymond Cher. © Bocce Australia History of Bocce The origins of bocce or as the French call the game ‘boules’, are believed to date back to 9000 BC where stone bowls were found in Turkey. Traces have also been found dating back to the time of the Pharaohs. In fact, a game similar to bocce was played in ancient Greece. In ancient Rome, the Romans were the first to play this game in competition Emperor Augustus was said to be a big fan of the game. It was then developed in its present form in Ita- ly, France and many of the European Mediterranean countries. As European countries colonised new found lands, they brought with them local customs and games such as Bocce. It was the European migrants that introduced bocce to Australia. It then became popular with their descendants and the wider Australian community. It should be noted that outside Australia, bocce has gained a huge following in plac- es like America, Europe, South America, Africa and more recently with the expansion of the sport into Asia, with China, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei and Nepal being big on the game. The Games of Bocce Learn the different styles of the sport, including the Traditional Game, or the Other Bocce Games which are really tests of the players abilities. 1) The Traditional Game—Singles and Doubles; 2) Single Progressive Throw, Rapid Relay including the new excit- ing Mixed Rapid Relay; 3) Precision Throw and 4) Bowl Throw The Equipment - The bowls are made of a brass composition. Unlike the bowls used in lawn bowls, bocce bowls do not have a built-in bias, and they are hollow inside. The bowls used in competition weigh about one kilo- gram and are approximately 10 centimetres in diameter. Bocce courts have a surface of levelled sand. They are 27.5 metres long and can vary from 3 to 4 metres wide. The Shots There are three types of shots. All bowls are delivered from the Foot Line. The Throw. The bowl is thrown underarm into the air after a run-up, the objective being to displace either the jack or another bowl. Raised Bowl. The bowl is delivered underarm through the air to end up as near as possible to the Jack. Bowled Delivery. The bowl is deliv- ered underarm to run along the ground and end up as near to the jack as possible. Single Progressive Throw, Double Rapid Relay and the Mixed Rapid Relay These events are all about running, stamina, strength, concentration and precision throwing, to hit the target bowl in a high octane 5 minute running blitz. Single Progressive Throw is for one player, Rapid Relay is two players (two men or two women) and the Mixed Rapid Relay is a team (one man & one woman). All these running events have 5 minutes to run the length of the court throw- ing at the station- ary target white ball as shown in the diagram above. In team of two each player throwing 4 balls in turn, while in the Single Progres- sive it is the one player throwing at the targets for the full 5 minutes. The winning team is the team that scores the most hits in the 5 minutes. The current World Mixed Rapid Relay record is 54 hits from 58 throws held by French duo of Barbara Barthet & A.Chirat. ff © Bocce Australia It is with great pleasure that Bocce Australia, welcome bocce teams from all corners of Australia, plus for the first time, individual clubs It is this strong commitment to the Sport of Bocce, that we have all gathered here to participate in this Championship. Actions speak volumes, and this is the case when we see so many dedicated men and wom- en bocce sport athletes keen and ready to compete at the elite level. Congratulations to all, you should be proud of the hard work and dedication it took to qualify for this event. It will be a time to enjoy the thrill, the challenge and the sense of belonging, that comes from participating and competing in sport. This fantastic event would not be possible without the commitment and support of so many volunteers especially from the South Australian Bocce Federation, Mirella Mancini and her dedicated team of volun- teers and those that have travelled from across the country, we thank you for giving your time to make this event great and embracing. To our sponsorship partners and supporters, without your financial support, effort and energy, this major event could not take place. In particular thanks must go to our premier partners the Australian Sports Com- mission—Sport Australia, and the two host clubs - Fogolar Furlan Club and Sicilia Social & Sports Club , who have helped in every way to bring this event to reality – a big thank you. To all the competitors, on behalf of Bocce Australia and my Executive Board, we wish you every success and the best of luck and a wonderful time at these championships. Frank Funari President Bocce Australia Rita Palumbo President, Sicilia Social & Sports Club Inc. A message from the President of the FOGOLAR FURLAN CLUB Bocce have been played here on this spot for about 70 years. Well before the Fogolar Furlan was established in 1958, Italian migrants would gather at the Zuliani house, (which once stood on this site), to play the game which linked them to their homeland and to each other. The courts we now use are a far cry from the simple open air pitches that were once the centerpiece of migrants’ Sunday afternoons … And the game itself has developed from an excuse for a chat and an hour or two of reminiscence and relaxation to an internation- ally recognized sport played around the globe.