Students be ballin’ bocce style
About a dozen spectators watched and cheered as Russell Warren and an opponent faced off for the championship round of the Bocce Ball Club’s first tournament April 19 in Monroe Park.
Bocce ball is an Italian sport that dates back to the Roman Empire. Players first throw a small white ball, called the jack, then each player tries to throw their ball as close to the jack as possible.
About a dozen spectators watched and cheered as Russell Warren and an opponent faced off for the championship round of the Bocce Ball Club’s first tournament April 19 in Monroe Park.
Bocce ball is an Italian sport that dates back to the Roman Empire. Players first throw a small white ball, called the jack, then each player tries to throw their ball as close to the jack as possible. The player who gets their ball closest to the jack earns a point. A typical game is played to five points.
“You have to be leisurely about it. I’ve been playing bocce since I was eight; my whole family and I used to go out on sunny days laughing and having a good time. It’s just a real simple, real fun game,” said President and founder of the Bocce Ball Club John Wassel.
The match between Warren and his opponent was extremely close, but in the end the green-haired Warren was declared the winner.
With about two years of bocce ball under his belt, Warren said VCU’s talent pool left something to be desired.
“(Winning the tournament) was an honor, but of yet, I haven’t been able to face much competition. I expect next year to be a lot tougher,” Warren said.
The Bocce Ball Club is new to VCU, and doesn’t have enough members to get financing from the school yet, so there was concern about how well the tournament would go and how many people would show up. Club Treasurer Beau Hoffman said he was very pleased with the results.
“Right now it’s BYOBB, bring your own bocce ball, since we only have one set,” Hoffman said. “I’m really pleased by the turnout. A lot of people just came over to see what was going on and ended up watching, or even playing a few games.”
There were about half a dozen non-members who ended up joining in, such as GMU sophomore Amy Cornett. Several people even signed up for the club.
“I was just sitting in Monroe Park with my friends, and they invited us over. I’ve never played bocce before, but it’s so much fun,” Cornett said. “It’s perfect for a Sunday afternoon and such a great way to meet people.”