Bocce fans out to change image at Highwood finals

They've been rolling something called a pallino and executing volo shots this week in Highwood, all part of a national championship for what's affectionately known as "the amusing sport."

Lake County's Italian enclave wraps up its weeklong duties as host of the U.S. Bocce Championships today. Finals for the men's and women's competitions begin at 1 p.m. -- no admission charge -- at the Highwood Bocce Club in the city's downtown north of Route 22.

Bocce isn't just a domain for old Italian guys these days, stress the sport's backers. The championships attracted nearly 120 players from across the country ranging from their teens to the 80s.

Tiffany Martini of Pleasanton, Calif., was among the younger players at the championships, representing Campo di Bocce. Martini used to play other sports, but she turned to bocce after a knee injury.

"I play with my family, so it's good for all ages," said Martini, 30, who is part of a women's round-robin competition Friday afternoon in a festive venue where visitors could grab a high-quality $2 cappuccino.

For the uninitiated, a match starts when players roll the small ball called a pallino past the center line of a court, typically 60 or 85 feet long. Games usually are played to 13 points.

In open team competition, two players from each side are stationed at opposite ends of the court.

Each players rolls two balls, with only one team scoring in a frame by being closest to the pallino.

Players will execute the volo - a shot lofted past the center line - at strategic moments. The volo can be used to knock an opponent's ball away from the pallino.

U.S. Bocce Federation President Daniel Passaglia of South suburban Homer Glen said the sport is growing, with more courts being built at public park systems, retirement communities and resorts.

There even are new entertainment complexes with bocce, food and drinks.

Passaglia said Mead Junior High School in Elk Grove Village even has a bocce club, which he's supported since it began about four years ago.

"We want to show it's not the old guy with a glass of wine," Passaglia said.

John Ross of Monte Sereno, Calif., the bocce federation's former president, who sat at a scorer's table Friday, said the sport's simplicity is its charm.

Federation materials even have a reference to bocce being coined "an amusing sport" in the 1960s.

"It takes about five minutes to learn and a lifetime to master," said Ross.

Mario Massa, 89, one of the founding Highwood Bocce Club members in 1967, helped run the championships this week.

He said bocce and the club's hosting of the national event gives an identity to Highwood, which is tucked between higher-profile Lake Forest and Highland Park.

"To me, it's important, because the Highwood club is known around the world," said Massa, who recently was treated like bocce royalty on a trip to Italy. "If you go to China, they know Highwood."

"I know people in China -- they know me. "