By Tara Fischer
Staff Writer
The Ocean Pines Association’s first-ever season of its new bocce league kicks off this week with a series of matches among the 72 registered community members. Organizers hope the initial summer yields healthy participation, with a long-term plan to schedule games against regional divisions.
A waiting list will be distributed sometime this July for interested residents who missed sign-ups for the current season, extending from now through August, to get their names down for the bocce league’s fall play schedule.
The new bocce league officially begins its summer season today, Thursday, June 19. A series of matches will start at 4 p.m., with a game played on each of the Yacht Club’s two new courts. Subsequent contests will occur at 5:30 p.m., 7 p.m., and 8:30 p.m. According to Michael Galello, the bocce club director, the league will have contests scheduled every Thursday, Friday, Sunday, and Monday throughout the summer.
The new sports league consists of 72 members, divided into teams. Galello noted that there are eight groups of two members and 14 crews of four members. The two-member teams have matches on Thursdays and Fridays, while the four-member teams will play on Thursdays and Fridays or Sundays and Mondays.
The club director said one of the teams, the “Red Roosters,” is currently “loose,” with no set individuals. Instead, as a gesture of appreciation to the Ocean Pines Board of Directors and the operations leadership for making the new Yacht Club bocce courts a reality, four members of the board and/ or OPA General Manager John Viola will play in the first match today, acting as substitutes.
That team’s future as the season goes on is still up in the air.
“I set up [the Red Rooster], I kind of put it together,” Galello said. “It’s kind of a loose team, you know, whoever is available will play. If somebody legitimately comes to the table and wants to play in the league and they can come with four people, I’ll slip them in instead.”
The new league is kicking off with the completion of the two new professional bocce courts at the community’s Yacht Club. The enhanced play areas are replacing an existing, outdated bocce space.
The new courts are made of synthetic material rather than natural. Galello said this decision was made to give the stations an extended lifespan, which is estimated between 15 and 18 years. Occasional maintenance like sand replacement will be required throughout this time, but the club director said that kind of work is easy and not a big deal. The facility is now lighted as well, which will allow the league and casual bocce participants to play after sunset.
Galello expects additional improvements to the courts after the season ends. He noted that the area surrounding the play sites was built with a base for pavers, although they have not yet been added.
“We’re not going to install the pavers this year; we ran out of time,” he said. “The pavers will probably be installed in the fall or spring. It’s kind of a minor part of all this. We wanted to open up and start playing.”
Galello hopes that the bocce league’s inaugural season is successful, with more to follow throughout the year. Eventually, organizers hope to make Ocean Pines an open league, welcoming members from anywhere, not just OPA, and playing other divisions in places like Rehoboth or Ocean City.
The new league will offer healthy competition and fun, and be a new way for older people to stay active and involved.
“It’s going to bring another element towards amenities to socialize,” Galello said. “I’m getting a lot of pickleball players because, you know, there are injuries, and this is a less physically demanding sport. It involves skill, accuracy, strategy, and I think many people can gravitate to that without overextending their elbows, shoulders, knees, and getting into physical therapy to play a sport.”
The summer play schedule kicks off today. For those who want to participate in an upcoming bocce ball league season, stay tuned for a waiting list, which is likely to be distributed later this summer.