Bocce Ball – League Play

We invite all Branch 8 members and partners to join us. You will require some knowledge of how the game is played and we will explain the rules that govern in League Bocce play. Never played?, join the Branch 8 Open Play Bocce and gain some experience. Visit the Open Play Activity information on the web page. When you have the basics of play, league play may be what you’re looking for. The CBF League provides all the equipment. The Concord Bocce Ball Federation (CBF) League season is from May to September (playoffs may extend to October). The League plays at Newhall Park and Baldwin Park courts in Concord. We (SIR Bocce team name) play Tuesday nights at 6:30 PM on the Baldwin Park courts which are located off Beach St. (near Port Chicago Highway and Bonifacio St.) Games complete no later than 10:00 PM. Play is limited to 10 SIR members and/or partners as we currently have only one team registered to play.

If you have any questions, please call Chick.

Chairman – Chick Lowry

Clowry2845@gmail.com

925/932-4886

Asst. Chair – Bob Barnes

Bob_Barnes@msn.com

925-348-6443

Play schedule, results and photo follow:

October 2024

League Play Bocce is currently in hibernation awaiting next season. Watch for our start up in early spring. If current team members find other things to occupy their time I will be looking for some replacements. Watch for the 2025 team status. If you have a desire to join the team, please send me a note and I will add you to a list of possible players. We can investigate a second team with the CBF if there are several new players. We currently only has a one team option to continue.

Winter is on the way. Bocce will return when the temperatures are warmer.

Go Sir Bocce!

Chairman: Chick Lowry – Clowry2845@gmail.com

Asst. Chair: Bob Barnes – Bob_Barnes@msn.com

September 2024

Well the Bocce Season has ended without much glory for the Sir Bocce Team. We had to play the two of the very best teams in the league for our last two evenings and the outcome was grim. We scored points against each team, but in the end lost three games to each of them. Our final league positioning was 8^th place out of 9 teams.

However, there is always a silver lining even within the darkest clouds. We increased our original seeding by one place, starting out in the 9^th slot. All our players performed well during the season with five experienced players and five “newbie’s” who had either never played the game or it had been a long time past. A big cheer goes out to Bob and Susan Weiss, Peter Shapiro, Dennis Mierzwa, and Jim Sowell who ALL made good contributions to the scoring efforts. The team performance continued to increase every week.

It is now time to put the equipment away and look to other activities to fill retirement time. We’ll be back in the spring to try it again. If current team members find other things to occupy their time I will be looking for some replacements. Watch for the 2025 team status. If you have a desire to join the team, please send me a note and I will add you to a list of possible players. We can investigate a second team with the CBF if there are several new players. We currently only has a one team option to continue.

Thanks to Bob and Laurie Barnes and My wife Elaine we continue to have a core group of players. See ya all next year. Go Team Sir Bocce!

Chairman – Chick Lowry, Asst. Chair – Bob Barnes

August 2024

Since our last up-date we have played an additional 15 games. The win/loss results for the season is currently are Won 16, Lost 26. Our current winning percentage is now at 38.1%. The numbers are improving as we seem to be peaking at the right time, near the season’s end, winning 5 of our last 6 games. There are 6 more games to play this season and they are the most difficult events with both teams being top contenders. The playoffs will be a distant dream as we are currently seeded 7^th out of 9 teams. However, we started as the 9^th seed.

Bocce will be wrapping up for the SIR Bocce team 2024 on September 3^rd. There will be a team celebration scheduled shortly after the season end. No awards or trophies for the members, just some good food and lots of memories. I will be mentioning some of the extraordinary efforts of our team members and thanking them for their continuing improvement during the season. Fifty percent of our group had either never played the game or had only participated in the open play SIR bocce Activity, a pretty good outcome for our joint efforts.

Our League Play Activity will again go into hibernation for the remainder of 2024, resuming in the Spring of 2025. We will poll the team members to see who wishes to return then. If you are interested in League Play let me know and if there is an opening I will let you know. If there are enough interested parties, We can approach the Concord Bocce Federation to see if we can register a second team.