Wednesday Bocce League First Place Team Bada Bing (left to right): Dick Gwilt, Captain Carol Gwilt, Muriel Milewski, John Brnabich, Klara Fuerstenau and Gail Davidson. Bada Bing emerged as the PebbleCreek Bocce Association Grand Champions.
Friday Bocce League First Place Team Bocce Bandits (left to right) kneeling: Cheryl Kasselmann and Faye Ralph; standing: Dave Ruedlin, William Moser, Bill Wright, John Ralph, Mike Coombs, Jan Ruedlin and Captain John Cacciola
Bocce Association President Cheryl Kasselmann awards the Grand Championship Trophy to the Wednesday Bocce League First Place Team Bada Bing players (left to right): Dick Gwilt, Gail Davidson, John Brnabich, Captain Carol Gwilt, Klara Fuerstenau and Muriel Milewski. Bada Bing defeated the Bocce Bandits, the Friday League’s first place team in playoffs held on March 18.
Pat Milich
The popularity of Bocce Ball in PebbleCreek continues to soar since the official opening of the community’s beautiful state of the art complex at Eagle’s Nest last fall. With the start of the spring season on March 25, Association President Cheryl Kasselmann reports that a total of 471 residents signed up to play in the Wednesday and Friday Day Leagues as well as the all new Wednesday Night League. This is approaching nearly double the turnout of 250 players in last year’s Spring League.
The response was overwhelming to the Association’s recent inquiries through Channel 22, the PebbleCreek website and PebbleCreek Post to determine if there was enough interest among PebbleCreek Bocce enthusiasts to form a new Night League, now that lights illuminate the eight new courts in their beautiful setting among the swaying palm trees with golf course and mountain views.
According to Association Treasurer Mollie McErlean, who handles registration and scheduling for the Bocce Association, within a week or two after publicizing the plan to possibly start a Night League, enough individuals had signed up to form 16 teams, the maximum number that can be scheduled without going to a second tier. With interest in playing at night so overwhelming, the Bocce Board of Directors has announced that the Night League will no doubt be expanded to a second evening in the fall 2015 and spring 2016 seasons.
PebbleCreek residents who work during the day are delighted to be able to have an opportunity to join in the fun and camaraderie that is so much a part of the Association’s mission to “provide a calming and competitive way to spend a couple of hours outdoors in the company of old and new friends.”
The competitive side of the group was most assuredly on display at the Eagle’s Nest Bocce Complex on March 18 when the first place team of the Winter Wednesday League (Bada Bing) competed against the first place team of the Winter Friday League (Bocce Bandits) for the Association’s Winter Grand Championship. Bada Bing captured the top prize and was applauded later the same day at the Association’s annual Spring Picnic at Sunrise Park.
After a brief summer sojourn, Bocce will resume in the fall. Early registrations can be turned in to Mollie McErlean up to September 5. Regular registration will be held Tuesday, September 8 and Wednesday, September 9 from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. at the kiosk in the Eagle’s Nest Clubhouse. Fall League play starts Wednesday, September 30 and ends Friday, December 11.