Bocce triple crowner to sign autographs this weekend

Philip Ferrari, an Algonquin resident who is a three-time gold medalist in the World Games for bocce, will be signing autographs this weekend at Joe Caputo and Sons Fruit Market on Randall Road, where you can also wish him good luck in his next competition.

What's bocce?

It's a sport played with one small ball and eight larger ones.

The small ball is thrown first as the target and the object of the game is to get your ball as close to the target ball as possible, without hitting any of the other balls.

"It's an easy game to play, but a difficult game to master," said Ferrari, 66. "You get instant satisfaction with the sport."

Ferrari has been playing the sport for more than 40 years.

He achieved a triple crown in the sport at the World Games, securing gold medals in 1989 for team-level competition in Round Lake, in 1993 as the singles champion in Memphis and 2008 again for team competition in Highwood, Ill.

He also has represented the United States at international tournaments in China and Canada.

His introduction to the sport came at the age of 18 through several uncles.

"When you were a young man, you didn't play - you watched the elders play," he said.

Caputo's is sponsoring his next bocce tournament, in which he'll represent Illinois for a singles title at the Campo di Bocce competition from June 22-29 in California.

"We wanted to help him out and he's a shopper so we try to do good things for people that shop with us," said Caputo's Manager Dave MacNaught.

Ferrari's autograph signing is from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the grocery store, 100 S. Randall Road in Algonquin - he will be signing photos of himself.

To learn more about Ferrari or bocce, visit www.worldbocce.org.

LITH Triathlon inbound: For all you runners, swimmers and bike riders out there, Lake in the Hills' Triathlon is coming up this Sunday.

Participants will first swim a half mile in Woods Creek Lake, just off Indian Trail Beach, bike a 15.5 mile course and run four miles - the race terminates at Ken Carpenter Park.

For more information or to register, visit www.lith.org.

• Lenore T. Adkins covers Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Pingree Grove and McHenry County College. She lives in Elgin. To reach her, call (847) 608-2725 or send an e-mail to ladkins@dailyherald.com.