Myrtle Bocce 6

[FloweryBranchCruiser]

Yes, that is spelled correctly! Who will be the Myrtle Bocce 6 at Myrtle Beach 6?




Come join the Georgia PT Cruiser Gang on Friday night at the Red Roof Inn for an exciting
Bocce tournament. Each 2-player team will play for the shot to be part of the
“Myrtle Bocce Six” (the top 3 teams). We will allow 16 teams to sign up (first 16 are in).
The tournament will be a 16-team bracket with prizes for the top 3 teams. To register
your team, see Darryl Gumz (FloweryBranchCruiser). The tournament will begin at 4 pm.
Each game will play to 12 points (must win by 2). There are no marked court, but the
areas of play will be very well defined. Entry fee is $10 per team with ALL fees going to
the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Danny “The Hit Man” Vitali is calling out all bocce players and “wanna-be’s” for an
evening of relaxing and thrilling fun! Ed "Guido" Taylor, Jack "Carlucci" Scales, and
Frank "You Want Some of This" Mullane are itching to show the whole world that
they are the best players around.

So, you don't know what bocce is?




What is Bocce
Bocce is a competitive game of skill. It sharpens the reflexes and judgement – and
stimulates good fellowship among players. It is played by young and old alike. It is
very popular throughout the United States among Italian Americans who compose
its greatest advocates and best players.

The purpose of the game is to roll the bocce, a 4½ inch ball weighing about three
pounds, as close as possible to the pallino, a 1¾ inch ball which is rolled down the
alley first. The bocce coming closest to the pallino scores. Twelve points constitute a
game.

The game requires: good judgement of distance, the ability to size up a situation
immediately, a good eye to spot contours and rough spots in the alley, and the proper
psychological frame of mind.

Bocce fans claim the game helps improve their bowling, golf and shuffleboard because
it has many features of these games in it. There is no age limit for the Bocce players.
Many elderly citizens play the game for relaxation and exercise.

For many Italian Americans, Bocce is a nostalgic glimpse of the "old Country." It brings to
their minds a reminder of the proud Italian heritage of which they are a part. It's a brief
glance at "The Glory that was Rome."




History of Bocce
The first is provided by the Overbrook Club in Pennsylvania, PA and was written by Louis
Soncini.

Bocce is an ancient game, its birth lost in the shadows of antiquity. Some authorities claim
it originated in Egypt about 5200 B.C.; others, that the game was started in Greece during
the 6th Century B.C. The most reliable sources agree that Bocce, as we know it today, was
played between battles during Rome's Punic Wars against Carthage, which started in
264 B.C. Soldiers selected a small stone called a "leader" and threw it first. Then larger stones
would be thrown at the "leader" and the stone coming closest to it would score. The game
provided exercise and relaxation for the soldiers. Teams were composed of two, four, six, or
eight men and the score would vary from 16 to 24 points per game.

The game continued to be played until 1319 when Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV ordered
its discontinuance as he thought that, because of its popularity, it would interfere with
sports of a more military nature.

Years later the prohibition was lifted when the Medical Faculty at Montepelier, France,
declared that Bocce was the best exercise to prevent rheumatism.

An interesting historical note on Bocce claims that the English Admiral, Sir Francis Drake, was
informed of the approaching Spanish Armada while playing a game of Bocce. Drake, in his
usual cool manner, r