bonita bay bocce

March 2019 Bocce Newsletter

The Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 20th in Riverwalk Park. This is our largest event of the year and we expect attendance to be close to 1,000 participants. Due to this, we ask for your assistance with the following:

Due to the Good Friday holiday and city inspections, the large event tent will be set up on the Thursday, April 18th. Please do NOT park in the center section of the park on Thursday morning (this area will be marked with cones).

On Friday, April 19th, please DO NOT park in the coned areas (these areas are needed for event set-up).

There will be NO play (Bocce or Pickleball) on the day of the event (Saturday, April 20th) prior to 11:30 a.m. (Pickle ball courts will be locked until event is over at around 11:30 a.m., then play may resume as normal).

We greatly appreciate your cooperation and support for this “eggs-cellent event!”

Presidents Message

Greetings,

We enjoyed two great tournaments in February.  Be sure to read the details below and find out who won.  The League Challenge is the last tournament of the season and it is not too late to sign up.  Your league could have bragging rights for being #1. Check out the details below.  Don’t forget the pizza and salad being offered after the games.  All you need to do is sign up on the web site so they know how many pizzas to order.  Our last event of the season is the Beach Party so while you are on the bonitabaybocce web site sign up for a fun time at the beach with your Bocce friends.

All of the Bocce events are possible because of our volunteers.  We are fortunate to have so many who offer to help.  We welcome any who would like to volunteer.  You can sign up below.  I guarantee you will have fun and make new friends. I would like to recognize volunteer, Barbara Kasdorf.  She is the lady who makes sure the schedules are posted on the message board and she also takes calls to reserve the pavilion.  Oh, and what about Walter Slack?  He worked tirelessly on membership records before we transferred or records to Wild Apricot.  He still prints out our entire season’s schedules and checks to makes sure there is always a pen at the message board….. he tells me he replaces pens weekly if not more often…. so if you have some extra ball point pens give them to Walter!.

Coordinators….Save the date…..The annual meeting luncheon is scheduled for Thursday, April 4 at 11:00 AM at Back Water Jacks.

I look forward to seeing you again at the courts!

Diane Sweeney

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2019 League Challenge

Here are the details you need to know:

* It is a one day single elimination tournament.

* Each league decides which of their members will form a team to

represent them in the tournament and who will be the team captain.

* Tournament details and the schedule will be sent to the team captain once registration and the schedule are completed.

* If a league has less than 16 members, one team of four may sign up from that league.

* If a league has 16 or more members, two teams of four may sign up from that league.

* Tournament teams must consist of two women and two men.

* A league member may only play on one tournament team. So, if a member plays on two or more leagues, they can only participate on one team in the tournament.

Registration begins on Monday, February 25, 2019 and will close on Monday, March 11, 2019.

*Go to: www.bonitabaybocce.com 

*Enter your e-mail and password

*Choose Events

*Choose League Challenge

*Enter your league name

*Enter the captain's name

*Enter other team members as guests

*Come and join in the fun on Saturday, March 16, 2019!

Men's tournament

The 2019 Men’s Tournament took place Friday and Saturday, February 15th and 16th.  24 men participated in this double elimination, single player event. Perfect bocce weather on both days and perfectly groomed courts led to a great time for the participants and spectators alike.  

The 24 competitors played a total of 47 games as Neil Albert edged out Tom Covelli in the final two rounds to take home his winner’s trophy.   It was great entertainment to watch both of these talented players as they played off for the title. 

Neil was presented with his winner’s trophy, and both he and Tom received gift certificates to Backwater Jack’s.

After the final championship match, competitors, volunteers and spectators enjoyed the hotdog roast and picnic at the court pavilion. 

Our thanks to the Men's Tournament director, Dave Williams and his “executive assistant" (and spouse), Nancy Hayden, for all of their long hours of planning and hard work.  Dave wants to thank the following bocce club members for their help and time refereeing, cooking and grooming the courts for play:  Diane Sweeney, Morna Fournier, Jerry Hoerner, Bob Switzer, Joe Calabrese, Hank Gempeler, Bob Ross, Sonja Ross, Will Rymar, Sheila Rymar, Tom Covelli, Max Selig, Jim Plesh, Dave Zaun, Bob Newbury, Bob Faherty, Roger Stedronsky, Jim Baird, Dave Kozlowski, Jim Dillon, June Cousineau, Pat and Mike Gallagher, Karen Thompson, and Gloria Johnson. It takes a large group of volunteers to pull off an event like this, and their help is greatly appreciated by all!

Bocce Court Maintenance News - Dave Williams, Bocce Club Facilities Director

 A bag containing a set of bocce balls was missing from the storage closet at the courts for several weeks. We want to thank the individual who “borrowed” them for finally returning them this week!

Please remember to keep the speckled balls in the new bags (bright blue and yellow) and LOCK THEM UP in the lockable cabinet!

Women's tournament

On February 27th and 28th, twenty women participated in the 2019 Women’s Tournament.  This is a double elimination tournament and the two person teams are created by a random draw.  There was a lot of great bocce played on those two mornings as witnessed by interested spectators. First place was taken by Karen Bothwell and Marianne Galluccio with Nancy Hayden and Gloria Johnson coming in second.  First place winners received an engraved jewel as a trophy and a gift card.  Second place winners received a gift card.  On Thursday, an end- of-tournament celebration luncheon was enjoyed by the women at the 55th Hole. 

Thank you to Dave Williams and his team for getting the rain water off the courts for us and having them perfectly groomed.  And, a big Thank You to all of our referees for doing an outstanding job!

BBB League Coordinators

Once again, thanks to all of you for serving as coordinators!  In your league play every two weeks, you are the invaluable link between the BBB Club Directors and our 600 members.  Particular thanks are due to all of you who kept us informed of changes in membership and league participation so that our Wild Apricot data base can be kept current.

Earlier this month, I sent a note to some of you including a list of members who had not paid their 2019 dues.  I asked you to contact them and let us know if they had dropped out.  Since then, a few have informed us that players have left the club and a few have renewed their membership.

As of today, there are still 135 lapsed members.  Please let me know of any others that have indicated their intention to leave or settle their accounts.  All those not paying their 2019 dues will be removed from our active data base on March 10^th, 2019.

Thank you again for your ongoing support.

 

Bonita Bay Bocce, Island pond Ct. Unit 1201 Bonita Springs,  FL 34134