By Justin Beddall
Any self-respecting Italian keeps a set of bocce balls in the trunk of his car.
Jason Del Vicario says this with a grin on his face, but he actually does have balls imported from Italy in his car at all times. You never know when a game might break out. There was a time not long ago, when he played up to four times a week.
Like no joke. Kits Beach, parks at night, all sorts of good fun.
Growing up in an Italian household, he naturally played bocce as a kid. Years later, he picked up the bocce balls at a house party and he was hooked again.
To introduce others to the fun that can be had participating in the old-world sport, he hosted a tournament, Bocce by the Beach, and 35 teams showed up.
This Saturday, his annual bocce tournament turns 10.
Its competitive but fun. You can have a drink in your hand, he says.
Much like lawn bowling and curling, bocce has undergone somewhat of a renaissance with the younger generation. Its no longer a sport strictly associated with espresso-sipping elderly Italian gentleman in white undershirts.
Compared with a decade ago, Del Vicario says hes seeing a lot more people in their 20s and 30s playing the game.
There was a time when Del Vicario had a chance to become president of the Canadian Bocce Federation but he figured the rules were a little too stodgy for him. Same surface, same rules. Boring.
He prefers freestyle bocce, which can be played anywhere, anytime and can include obstacles like park benches or called shots, like for instance, off trees.
Del Vicario has freestyled on gravel, beaches, playgrounds, cement and snow. Anywhere, he says while demonstrating a bocce toss on a swath of grass in front of Ron Zalco.
Along with his annual tourney, Zalco does a few corporate gigs and parties featuring bocce each year.
I just do it because I love it and its fun, says the portfolio manager.
Its pretty chill, theres no doubt about it.
Dressed today in a Toss My Pallino, Baby! T-shirt, hes excited about his Saturday tourney, which hes won three times since its inception, that has a $750 purse for the winner and several other prizes.
It can be a nerve-wracking sport, he says noting, theres never usually blow-outs in bocce.
Bocce usually pits two-player teams against one another, with each team tossing four balls. To start the game a small white ball (pallino) is tossed. The object is to land your balls closest to the jack or displacing your opponents balls.
Easy right?
While the games rules are simple, there are subtle nuances to aiming and tossing the balls which De Vicario insists must be Italian imports.
As he picks up a ball, Del Vicario demonstrates a praying mantis shot, essentially an air-born shot with some backspin. Alternatively, you can bowl the ball on the ground towards the pallino.
Still skill and experience dont always translate into championship trophies.
Anybody on any given day could win.
The 10th Annual Bocce by the Beach takes place July 21 (Sat.) at Spanish Banks West from 1 to 3 pm. Registration at 12pm or e-mail [email protected]. Balls (from Italy) are provided. Cost: $40 per team. More information: Bocce.ca/events.html.
