Category: Bocce News

The results are in. Another successful Bocce summer league. 

I would say the best attended summer league with over the 3 full months of play, with only one rain out.

You can see the ladies ran supreme this year taking 3 of 4 cash spots.

Overall champion in a close battle and winning by just 3 points Gail Dehnert with Scott Henry coming in at 2nd.

Most consistent lagger Phoebe with a few players nipping at her heels.

Pulling out the win on the last night for shooting was Gerry. Owen, after leading most of the season, finished 2nd.

Barbara Ito always brought lots of theatrics and for sure the best follow thru, easily took the style award.

A big thank you to Gail who kept track of all the stats and the draw for each week. Also, thanks to many others for helping in various capacities.

To an enjoyable summer of bocce.

Thanks, Greg

The 2026 lord bocce champion was crowned today and he is Robert Doble, who takes home the high coveted Lord Bocce Mug as well as a bragging rights for another year. Robert came back thru the loser’s bracket to twice defeat runner-up Brian Peterson who was at the time the only undefeated player.

Rounding out the top 3 with solid play was Jeff Johnson.

27 players took part this year with lots of good, spirited competition thru the elimination and championship rounds. You can easily see that the overall quality of bocce played at our club has increased a lot.

Congrats to all that took part and we look forward to seeing you take part at other club Bocce events.

Thanks Greg

We made it thru the day dry,  humid and at times a little windy.

9 teams battled it out thru pool play and double elimination.  What ended up being a bocce event as well as an endurance event.

Sons of Ichiro (this team goes back many years with different players) went undefeated and took the 2026 title, medals and first place cash prize money.
This year’s team consisted of Bob Sheffels, Mark Charonis, Tony Pizzello and Paul Gessner.

A strong runner up finishing 2nd was Woodland Park #1 consisting of Robert Doble, Jeff Johnson, Steve Vanderveer and Nathan Zeidman who also received medals and cash prize.

Rounding out the top 3 was Woodland Park #3 consisting of Glen Cunningham, Clem Zipp, Rob Peterson and Greg Singleton receiving medals and cash prize.

A big thank you goes out to all that collectively helped out with all the behind scenes work with the preparation set up and take down, it’s a big help, when everyone pitches in.

Until the next event

Thanks, Greg

Ohio style bocce under clear skies and comfortable temps was very popular this holiday Sunday.

1^st place went to Bob & Jennifer Sheffels, Gail Dehnert & Greg Singleton

2^nd place went to Bre, Richard, Gerry & Chuck.

Because of a late scratch by Erich with an injury, Sal randomly selected a team, and that team was Bre & Richard. Proved to be a good selection since they played well and took the 2026 Solstice title. This was Sal’s 3rd straight year of being on the winning team.

Second place went to Glen & Greg, and third place to Doug & Phoebe (a late fill-in for Joan).

Everything went well, and a big thank you to Paul Volpone, who provided a variety of sausages which everyone gobbled down.

12 teams of two took part under nice weather and lights.

Appreciate all that took part and helped with the set-up and take-down.

Thanks, Greg

A glorious day it was, kicking off the outdoor bocce season at Lower Woodland Bocce Club in the Vegas-style event.

10 teams of 3 played a full day of bocce, starting with pool play, then single elimination money round.

The top two seeds in the money round lost their first games and are out, while the number 7th and 8th seeds advance and end up playing for the title.

Erich, Carlo, & Jerry take first, while Bob, Mark, & Carl take 2nd. The 3rd & 4th place teams opted not to play the game and split the 3rd place prize money by 6.

Thanks to Glenn for setting up the barbecue (Bob with the propane) with a nice variety of sausages, hot links, etc.

Appreciate all the help setting up and putting away all the equipment.

Look forward to other events coming up.

Thanks, Greg

Sixteen members from Woodland Park represented our Club with distinction at the big Peppermill Casino Bocce Tournament held in late November in Reno, NV.

In that tournament, 67 four-person teams from across the United States competed for $14,000 in prize money. Round robin competition on the first day of play sorted teams into three divisions – Gold, Silver, and Bronze. On the second day, all teams competed in double-elimination brackets in their respective divisions to determine championships and prize money.  

WPLBC members who finished in the money include:

• Dave Gordon, 3rd place in the Gold Division. Former WPLBC member Christopher Caligiuri – now living in Iowa – played with Dave on a strong team that also featured two elite players from California;
• Scott Henry, Greg Singleton, and Bob Sheffels, 7th in the Gold Division. Former member Clem Zipp also played on that team;
• Glen Cunningham, 1st place in the Silver Division. The other three players on Glen’s team are all members of the Paesano Bocce Club in Gresham, OR;
• Amanda Garcia, Brian Henry, and Pat Henry, 1st place in the Bronze Division. Former member Anthony Singleton was the fourth member of that team.

Other participating Club members were Salvatore Cascone, Gail Dehnert, Robert Doble, Daniel Henry, Wyatt Henry, Jeff Johnson, Phoebe Naguit, and Steve Vanderveer. They didn’t come home with prize money, but each played with class and skill to show they belonged and bring recognition and honor to our Club.

The 2025 WPLBC Bocce League season closed on the final Monday of August with these winners:
 
• Greg Singleton, Overall Points
• Scott Henry, Shooting Skills Contest
• Bob Sheffels, Lagging Skills Contest
 
This season featured strong participation. Weekly attendance averaged around 20 players and shot up into the low 30s on particularly pleasant evenings. Weekly random draws resulted in teams that mixed veteran players with new members and fostered good competition.
 
Thank you to Games Chairman Greg Singleton and top volunteer Gail Dehnert for creating order out of chaos during the team draws. Also, for keeping tabs on the results. Their fine work made for a well-run, harmonious season.

Dave Gordon put his short and off-the-wall shot artistry on full display to seize the 2025 Lord Bocce Crown in final challenges held Saturday, Aug. 23 at WPLBC. Or in less majestic but more understandable terms, Dave is our 2025 Club Singles Champion. This is Dave’s third reign as Lord Bocce. His previous titles came in 2014 and 2019. Look for Dave again in 2031.

Erich Eipert continued his solid play to finish second. Relative new-comer Jeff Johnson, he of the rapid-fire release, also impressed to place third.

Saturday’s action featured eight survivors in culmination of an arduous journey that began some weeks ago with 27 challengers. The five others who made it to the final round were Richard Cicale, Bob Sheffels, Jennifer Sheffels, Doug Vickroy, and Bre Zitzka. This is the second year in a row that two women were among the final eight challengers. Soon the Club will have its first Lady Bocce.

Thank you and well played to all who participated in this year’s Challenge. Special thanks to Games Chairman Greg Singleton for his usual great leadership in organizing this marquee event.

The 2025 Summer Solstice Doubles Bocce Tournament was played on June 21st.

We ended up with 13 teams (of 2). We made 3 groups, two of 4 teams and one of 1 team of 5. Play started at 4 p.m. and finished just a bit past midnight.

Slight, really light drizzle the last 15 minutes; other than that, it was a dry evening.

Round robin seeding round, then single elimination money round. The top 2 teams from each group advanced to the gold seeding round, and teams finishing 3 and 4 advanced to the silver seeding round.  One team from the 5-team group didn’t make it to the seeding round.

Repeat champions Erich Eipert and Sal Cascone took the gold title. 2^nd place went to Phoebe & Jesse, while third place was Bob & Jennifer.

Robert Doble & Jeff Johnson took the silver division first-place money. Bre & Brian 2^nd place with Mark & Dave 3rd place.

Lots of bocce for everyone.

On Saturday, April 26, eight teams competed in a “Vegas Style” club bocce tournament at Woodland Park.

The Vegas format features three-person teams. In each frame, six people (3 per team) roll from the same end and every player throws two balls. That totals 12 balls on the court at once. The resulting chaos features daunting congestion and many collisions of balls. Fun!

Play started under cloudy skies and finished under bright sun that brought temperatures up to near 70 degrees – exactly the tonic needed for a blissful day of early-season bocce. Laughs were plenty but competition was keen. See results and winner photos below:

Under clear skies and overall nice weather on Sunday 9/8 the club Tree Event occurred. It was the last WPLBC bocce tournament event of the season.

Teams of two were made by random draw of the cards and each team played each other and that made for a very competitive day. Two teams ended up 4-1 with the tie breaker being head-to-head play.

Carlo and Sal came out on top as 2024 champions and divided $60. 2nd place went to Erich & Wick and divided $40. Finishing 3rd were Bob and Gail and divided $20. Congratulations to all!

On Saturday September 7th WPLBC member Mark Charonis hosted a Special Olympics family bocce tournament. Bob, Brian and Tony also supported the event. A good time was had by all.

It is time to Sign Up for Festa Italiana Bocce played at the Seattle Center. This attended every year by many WPLBC bocce players. Here are the details to sign up.

37th Annual Festa Italiana
2024 Oberto Bocce Tournament
Saturday, September 28th and Sunday, September 29th

Come join the fun at one of the major events of The Seattle Center Festa, BOCCE!  Play will be located on the main level of the Armory Building.
 
Sign up for Saturday for Recreational Tournament Play. (teams that play on a casual basis, no experience necessary) *
 
Sign up for Sunday for Masters Tournament Play. (teams with more serious players that play in tournaments)
 
*The Bocce committee reserves the right to reassign a team to the Masters category if necessary.  You will be advised by phone if this occurs.
 
All teams must be registered to play.  Registration will close Thursday September 26th.

Play will begin each day at 9:00 am.  Latecomers may forfeit their chance to play after that time. 
 
Click Link to Register Team:  https://bit.ly/FestaBocce2024
 
If you don’t like online forms just email Scott Henry directly (see contact information below) and give him the name of your team and the team members.

Entry fee is $100 per team.  Payment does not need to be received until day of the tournament. First and second place teams in both categories will receive a trophy or medallion.  Cash prize for First and Second place teams will be awarded in the Masters Division only.
 
Checks should be made payable to:
Festa Italiana
 
Mail check to:
Scott Henry
12113 Marine View Dr SW
Burien, WA 98146
 
For any questions feel free to reach out to Scott Henry, 206-250-7324 or scotthenry@johnlscott.com

On August 25th, 2024 the champions of 2024 Lord Bocce competition was determined. Christopher won this year for his third straight Lord Bocce championship. Robert finished 2nd and Phoebe 3rd.

Of the 8 competing for the Lord Bocce title on Sunday our club ladies made a strong statement with 3 ladies in the final 8 and Phoebe finishing 3rd.

This annual event happened Saturday, July-27. The format is 4-person teams with a round robin consisting of seeding round (3 game guarantee) then single elimination money finals. Here were the top 3 winners.

The bocce summer solstice doubles event was held on June 22nd, 2024 and started just after 4pm and finished just before 1 am(!). It was well attended and the weather was great. Nine 2-person teams took part in this bocce competition. There were two groups of round robin play with 6 teams advancing to single elimination money round.

Erich & Sal were repeat winners making it two in a row for them. They went 5-1 for the night and took away the championship prize.
Bre & Brian came away with second place. Both teams were solid all night.
Chuck & Christopher completed the top 3.

This is a yearly tournament that is part of Festa Italiana Seattle at the Seattle Center.  Saturday play is the Recreational Division. Sunday play is for the Experienced Teams Division. This event is not organized by our Club nor held at our site, but many of our members participate each year in this tournament.