The Marblehead Council on Aging’s bocce team hosted players from COAs in Swampscott, Beverly and Wenham to close out the 2023 season. They called the event Boccerama.
“I liked the overall camaraderie between the groups,” said Pat Bibbo, who coordinates bocce teams and games here in Marblehead.
“Starting in May, our travel team played home and away matches with Beverly and Wenham. We played Beverly six times and Wenham five times. We won seven of our matches, lost two and tied two.
“Although the matches are competitive, we’ve become a friendly group with a deep respect for each other,” Bibbo added. “We hadn’t met the Swampscott folks prior to Boccerama.”
More than 50 people from the four communities competed.
“The majority of the games were pretty even and with only one game, as a result of our having one court, being played at a time. This made it fun as the other players watched and cheered adding to the upbeat day.”
Bibbo continued: “We kept scores of games while they were going on but had no official winners. We probably all finished pretty even as far as wins and losses.”
He is already looking forward to next year’s Boccerama.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist who has written hundreds of stories for local newspapers, including the Marblehead Reporter.