MAYOR GIULIANI KICKS OFF BOCCE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH IN LITTLE ITALY
Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today kicked off the Citywide Bocce Tournament Championship match at DeSalvio Playground in Little Italy. The weekend-long, borough-wide competition -- which began on Saturday, October 18 between 57 teams -- is the focal point of a cultural celebration of Italian American heritage. Joining the Mayor was Parks Department Commissioner Henry J. Stern.
"This is a wonderful competition that combines strategy, skill and determination," Mayor Giuliani said. "But more than that, it is a celebration of the Italian culture and heritage and the special traditions that are part of the Italian-American community. Today's championship is the culmination of borough preliminaries and there is no more fitting place for this exciting citywide event than Little Italy. Congratulations to all the players and their families who have participated in this year's competition."
Commissioner Stern said, "With the Yankees out of the playoffs, bocce is the only game in town."
The 1997 Citywide Bocce Tournament is sponsored by the Parks Department and is free of charge to all participants. This year 57 teams competed -- the largest number in the tournament's three year history. The teams competed in each of the five boroughs, at Van Cortlandt Park in The Bronx, at Marine Park in Brooklyn, at Juniper Park in Queens, at South Beach in Staten Island, and at the JJ Walker Playground in Manhattan. Last year's winners hailed from Dyker Beach, Brooklyn.
Bocce is an Italian game that is played on a 91 X 13 foot court. Players aim to roll their bocce ball as close to a smaller ball called the pallino. The team that rolls closest to the pallino wins. Teams are comprised of 5 players, both men and women.
Sportscraft generously donated 20 bocce sets and opera singer Christina Fontanelli performed the National Anthem and some traditional Italian songs.
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