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Best of the Bocce Bunch
By Nate | November 21, 2007
Bocce: A test of will, a brutal competition, a searing ordeal that pushes the limits of human endurance, the ultimate…ah, who am I trying to kid? You stand around and pitch small balls at other small balls. The worst that can happen is you pull a muscle…slightly…and that’s assuming you’ve been completely sedentary since the Reagan administration.
Vermont Teddy Bear’s bocce season starts around the time it’s safe to dip your foot in Lake Champlain (i.e., Memorial Day) and ends whenever there’s time to organize the tournament finals. This year, that was late October, when tourney finalists Silver and Steele (Cynthia Sullivan and Cat McKeen) met with Gerbocce Daisies (Tamara and Chris Powell) upon the field of bocce battle (i.e., our lawn) to decide who would proudly hold the mantle of bocce champions for the rest of the year.
Both teams gave it their all, but in the end, the experienced Gerbocce Daisies bested Silver and Steele, 15 to 8. Actually, Cat McKeen tells me she was surprised to have made it to the finals, as she’s a relative bocce newbie. “The championship game was the 18th game of bocce I’ve ever played.” Then she adds, “But my dad was a semi-pro bowler and played bocce in Europe with his IBM team… maybe that helped.”
So congratulations to both the teams for making it past a throng of competitors with names like “Grunt and Heave,” “BocceGram,” and my fave name, “The Knights Who Say Ni.” Here’s hoping that Gerbocce Daisies carries the mantle of victory forward with all the dignity it deserves.
Aside from getting Bear Crew outside and having fun (something that doesn’t take much prodding, trust me), bocce can be used as a tool for doing good, in the best Be Bear tradition.
Here are some more pics of the pride of the Vermont Teddy Bear 2007 bocce tournament:
Cat McKeen
Cynthia Sullivan
Tamara Powell
Chris Powell
Topics: Bear Crew, VTB Factory |
August 10th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Great post and pics. I am glad to see that Vermont Teddy Bear is spreading the word about this fascinating past time. It is one that I have recently started playing, and have enjoyed quite a lot. But just one question remains: any chance of a bocce teddy bear?
August 11th, 2008 at 8:25 am
Thanks Bocce Ball!
We have a gallery full of sports Teddy Bears, but, alas, no Bocce Bear yet. However, custom-made Bears are a specialty of ours, and we’d be happy to make such a special Bear for you at our Design Your Own Teddy Bear site.