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Local City Builds Community Through Bocce Building Community

The City of Rome, New York connects community members through bocce.

By Moriah Humiston

Bocce Courts
© 2021 Moriah Humiston

HUMISTON: ROME, NEW YORK. WHEN PASSING THROUGH YOU MIGHT HEAR ABOUT THEIR RECORD BREAKING TRACK TEAMS, OR MAYBE EVEN THEIR WINNING BASKETBALL RECORDS. BUT, YOU’LL DEFINITELY HEAR ABOUT THEIR WORLD SERIES… OF BOCCE.

HUMISTON: BELIEVE IT OR NOT, BOCCE IS ENJOYED BY ALL AGES RIGHT HERE IN THE SMALL CITY OF ROME NEW YORK. WHETHER YOU’RE AGE EIGHT OR AGE 80, THERE’S SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE TO DO WITH THE GAME. AND THE EXCITEMENT STARTS FOR THE GAME RIGHT HERE AT THE TOCCOLANA CLUB.

BERNIE COLANGELO: OH!

HUMISTON: BERNIE COLANGELO HAS BEEN PLAYING BOCCE FOR DECADES.

COLANGELO: OH… I ONLY GOT ONE

HUMISTON: IF IT’S YOUR FIRST TIME AT THE BOCCE COURTS, YOU COULD HAVE THE SAME REACTION AS BERNIE’S FRIEND GINO.

COLANGELO: HE SAID, “WHAT THE F IS THIS!” AND I SAID, GINO, THIS IS HOW ROME DOES BOCCE.

HUMISTON: FOR BERNIE, IT’S A COMPETITION. FOR OTHERS LIKE JANICE MULLINS, IT’S ALSO ABOUT FRIENDSHIP.

MULLINS: I JUST LOVE THE LADIES I BOCCE WITH. IT’S JUST A LOT OF FUN. I LOOK FORWARD TO IT.

HUMISTON: JANICE AND BERNIE ARE TWO OF GENERATIONS THAT HAVE CELEBRATED THE WORLD SERIES OF BOCCE.

NAT SOUND: THIS IS THE WORLD SERIES OF BOCCE, 1996. IT’S BEING HOSTED BY THE TOCCOLANA CLUB. ROME, NEW YORK.

HUMISTON: BUT, SINCE THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, THESE COURTS HAVE BEEN EMPTY. NO PEOPLE, JUST DEBRIS, AND THE SCORES OF THE LAST GAMES.

HUMISTON: THESE BOCCE COURTS MIGHT BE EMPTY FOR NOW BUT BERNIE’S NOT WORRIED AND NEITHER IS ANYONE ELSE AT THE TOCCOLANA CLUB. WHY? BECAUSE HERE IN ROME, NEW YORK, THE PEOPLE THAT PLAY AND MAKE UP THE GAME OF BOCCE ARE ALL DRIVEN BY ONE WORD.

COLANGELO: PASSION. PASSION. PASSIONATE. I THINK WE HAVE A HIDDEN GEM HERE AT THE TOCCOLANA CLUB, I REALLY DO.

HUMISTON: THE HISTORY, CAMARADERIE AND MEMORIES AT THE TOCCOLANA CLUB MAKE BOCCE MORE THAN A COMPETITION, BUT A LOVE FOR FRIENDS AND FAMILY AS WELL. SO, UNTIL THE NEXT WORLD SERIES, THE TOCCOLANA CLUB WILL BE FILLED WITH LAUGHTER, COMPETITION, AND OF COURSE, BOCCE BALLS. REPORTING FROM ROME, NEW YORK, MORIAH HUMISTON, N-C-C NEWS.

ROME, N.Y. (NCC News) — Rome, New York has plenty of sports to offer to the community, but bocce is a tradition. While some people play the game as a competition, at Rome’s Toccolana Club, others play to see their friends.

“It’s a camaraderie between, you know, a group of people, men, or women that you get together,” said Bernie Colangelo, a long-time member of the Toccolana Club. “There’s a lot of people that love and are passionate about bocce.”

Since 1974, the City has been hosting The World Series of Bocce, where competitors in the community and across the country come to compete. The COVID-19 pandemic caused this tradition to be put on pause. It has now been two years since the World Series.

Nevertheless, bocce players in Rome and in the greater Central New York community come to the Toccolana Club daily to practice the game.

“I truly believe we have something special at the Toccolana Club,” Colangelo said. “I really do.”

The Toccolana Club is hoping to host The World Series of Bocce again in July of 2022.

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