Bocce has become so popular at the Special Olympics Maine State Summer Games that organizers needed more space for courts at the University of Maine.
As the summer games got underway on campus in Orono on Friday, bocce competitors could be found both inside UMaine’s Mahaney Dome and outdoors on a nearby athletic field.
The dome was no longer enough space on its own for the roughly 120 teams, Special Olympics Maine bocce director Scott Gregory said.
“It’s grown dramatically, and that’s one of the reasons that we have two venues because we just couldn’t accommodate everybody in one spot,” said Gregory, who noted that there were closer to 65 or 70 teams years ago when the bocce competition first started in the dome.
Traditional Special Olympics bocce was being featured inside the dome with unified bocce outside. The traditional competition features all Special Olympics athletes while unified includes a combination of athletes with disabilities along with partners without disabilities.
Gregory, who has been overseeing bocce for the organization for roughly 20 years, attributed the game’s popularity to its accessibility. He called it a sport in which “age and disability really don’t matter.”
Bocce is an Italian game with ancient roots, featuring two types of balls. A smaller ball, called the pallina is thrown first and becomes the target. Teams then alternate rolling larger balls in an attempt to get closest to the pallina.
“It’s a game pretty much anybody can play,” said Jeff Bosse, the longtime coach of the Amicus team from Bangor.
One of Amicus’ three bocce teams is made up of local athletes Cailynn Goss, Caitlyn Gunn, Josh Dufour and Steve Costello. They were all having a relaxed and good time after an initial match on Friday morning.
Goss has been playing for 30-plus years and said the most fun part of the event is “seeing our friends and interacting with other teams.” The team members said focusing and having good sportsmanship were key to their strategy on Friday.
Outside at the unified portion of the event, athlete Ashley Stasulis said her approach is to “work hard, play hard and have fun.” Stasulis is a member of the Auburn-based Navigators team and has competed with the group for around 15 years.
Athlete Justin Beliveau got involved with Navigators after high school. He competes in multiple track events for the team and does not play bocce. But he was there Friday morning supporting his teammates and emphasizing what is possible for the athletes competing this weekend.
“Even though you have a disability, it does not matter whatsoever,” Beliveau stressed. “You can do anything if you put your mind to it.”
Navigators coach Michelle Roy said that team support is “a really important piece of what we do” and stressed the amount of preparation that went into getting ready for bocce and other events at the Special Olympics summer games this weekend.
Athlete Daniel Fitzgerald of Orono was a fan of the games’ location, saying that “it’s fun to do it in my hometown.”
The bocce event has evolved over the years to become more and more accessible to people with different disabilities, Gregory said. That has included elements like the use of multi-colored ping pong paddles to signal each team’s turn, which can help athletes who have a hearing impairment. Some teams have also developed ramp systems to help athletes in a wheelchair who may not otherwise be able to roll the ball and put it in play.
Gregory credited the athletes and coaches for their creativity.
In addition to leading the bocce program, Gregory is also a Special Olympics Maine board member.
“In my mind, it’s our fastest growing sport,” he said about bocce. “This is by far the biggest group of people that we have, at least for summer games.”
Those games will continue throughout the weekend on the UMaine campus. Other events Friday morning and afternoon included a young athletes festival and track and field competition. A parade of athletes and opening ceremonies were scheduled to take place Friday night. Additional track and field and wheelchair events are slated for Saturday, along with an athlete dance in the evening. Final competitions will be held Sunday morning along with a friendship circle and closing ceremony.
The games include more than 2,100 athletes across the state running in age from seven to over 70, according to Special Olympics Maine.
“It’s huge,” Amicus coach Bosse said about the overall event and what it means to the athletes. “It’s a chance to get together to compete, show the state, show the world what they can really do.”
