BOCCE
Some of the best bocce players in the country came to Morwell over the weekend to vie for the coveted Latrobe City Classics title at the Italian Australian Club.
Twenty teams came from New South Wales and metropolitan Victorian to compete and Australian Bocce Federation president Frank Funari also made a special guest appearance.
Morwell Bocce Club member Maria Maselli was one of several players to fly the flag for the hosts across the two-day event.
“We had a really good weekend. It was full on and very busy on Saturday and Sunday,” Maselli said.
The Morwell teams went all the way through to the semi-finals before they were bundled out but Maselli said the championships were a win in a broader sense.
“The motels were all booked out and the president said he had trouble getting accommodation,” Maselli said.
“Morwell is known in a few areas but before we started doing this nobody knew where Morwell was so it’s put us on the map and shown that we do have good players here.
“It’s really good for the region and that’s why we make an effort to keep it going every year.”
This year’s championships marked the 18th running of the event and Maselli said the Latrobe City Classics had developed a sparkling reputation within the bocce community.
“One thing that we’re happy with is that we’re known as the happy club. Even if we didn’t win anything the other teams were happy to be here,” she said.
Best and fairest for the championships as voted by the referees was Max Tricarico of the Young Generation Team from Sydney.
Results
First: Sunshine Club (T. Palermo, M. Massena and A. Parisi)
Second: Lazio Marche (J. Coviello, F. Di Palma and D. Mikolic)
Third:- Veneto Club (R. Gatto, G. Giacomelli and F. Noal)
Fourth: Casa D’Abruzzo (R. Marino, P. Marino and L. Di Fabio)
