A new activity at the Brandon Senior Center has proven to be quite a hit.
Bocce ball was recently introduced as an outdoor sport at the center, located at 345 Ball Street in Ortonville. The activity was originally scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Mondays, but it grew to be popular enough that program director Martha Tooley added another time slot at 10:30 a.m. Mondays for those who were interested.
Games are played at one of the Brandon Township Recreation baseball fields, located next to the Senior Center.
Elaine Hall of Brandon Township was one of the residents who was curious about the new activity. ‘I saw it on their calendar and decided to try it,? she said.
Her husband, Ron Hall, learned about bocce ball one day when his wife came to the center for another activity.
‘My wife was coming over here for art class, and I saw something about bocce ball, so I decided to give it a try,? he said.
Brandon resident Norman Mallory originally came to the event totally unfamiliar with the sport. ‘I didn’t even know what it was until I saw it,? he said.
According to the Web site ibocce.com, the match begins with a coin flip between the captains from each team. The winner of the flip may have the first toss of the pallino, a small target ball approximately four centimeters in diameter. A player may toss the pallino any distance so long as it passes the center line of the court and does not hit the back well.
The team who originally tosses the pallino throws the first bocce ball. If it hits the back board, that team must roll again; otherwise, they step aside and does not roll again until the opposing team has either gotten one of its bocce balls closer to the pallino or has thrown all its balls.
The team whose bocce balls are closest to the pallino is called ‘inside? and the opposing team ‘outside.? Whenever a team gets inside, it steps aside and lets the outside team roll. The team outside throws until it beats (not ties) the opposing ball. This continues until both teams have used all their bocce balls (a total of eight, four from each team). The team which scored last, throws the pallino to begin the next frame.
Only the ‘inside? team scores ? one point is given for each ball of the inside team that is closer to the pallino than any ball of the opposing team. The captains of each team are responsible for keeping score and reporting match results. The team which scores 12 points wins the game, but teams must win by two points.
The combination of playing outdoors and social contact makes bocce ball a worthy event at the Senior Center, Ron Hall said.
‘It’s fun and enjoyable ? you get some fresh air and meet some new people,? he said.
Details: Brandon Senior Center, (248) 627-6447; for bocce ball rules on the Internet: www.ibocce.com.