News

Welcome to the 2023 season!

Capo Meeting Email

First, as many of you have noticed, we have decided to forgo the capo meeting this year in favor of an email. In the end, the meeting was mostly a vehicle for delivering information. So, we’re just going to send it to you directly! As usual, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to send an email to info@beniciabocce.org.

The Board and Officers

Next, I’d like to inform everyone of changes on the Board of Directors.

• President - Steve Pieroni

• Vice President - Beth Szabo

• Treasurer - John Van Blake

• Secretary - Matt DeClaire

• Directors - Greg Richey, Scott Reep, Ron Kane, Zac Van Blake, Lynn Hannafin, Jorge Castaneda, Jenny Castaneda

Financials

Our financials are in good standing. We are now working with a surplus which enables us to invest in facilities and equipment.

Courts

The material added to Courts 3 and 4 last year was successfully removed on Thursday 4/13. The courts are ready for the City to install fresh Bocce Oyster Shell/Flour Blend to match courts 1 and 2.

Registration

We are pleased to announce that we have a total of 63 teams and 687 players registered for the upcoming season, with two new teams joining the league. We would like to recognize the best new team name, which goes to A Reason to Wine.

Schedule

• League play starts Sunday, April 23rd.

• Playoffs will be held from September 5th to September 16th.

Please review your team’s schedule online, and proactively start the rescheduling process for any matches you know your team cannot attend. beniciabocce.org/reschedule

Opening Day

On Saturday, April. 22nd, we’ll be holding an open play day from 11:00 until 1:00 as an opportunity to both get together, and also help out anyone who has questions. We will be conducting a court preparation clinic and encourage all capos to attend with the hope the courts will stay in better shape throughout the season. In addition, we plan to raffle off the old bocce balls as we purchased 4 new sets, and have a local pizza vendor serving pizza. First 25 slices are free! Please take this opportunity to meet and greet new teams and get some practice rolls in.

Rules

We’ve made some updates to the rules including the following changes. For full details, you can find the rules online at beniciabocce.org/rules

• A match is forfeited if any team member plays without having signed their waiver.

• In order to help keep our sheds in better order, Home teams are additionally responsible for ensuring proper shed organization at the end of the match.

• Only capos and players in the current game are allowed inside the courts. This prevents large “measuring committees”.

• Being that it’s hard to regulate and contain, music is now prohibited during play.

• The Board has adopted a new “Zero Tolerance Policy” on bullying. We had several instances last season where Board members had to come down to the courts to diffuse situations. This is unacceptable. Capos are responsible for their team members. If you need to file a complaint, you can do so online at beniciabocce.org/complaint.

As a reminder, capos are required to provide the rules to each of their teammates and every member in the league is required to read and understand the Rules and the Standards of Conduct as a condition of participation in the Benicia Bocce League.

Shed

Please keep the sheds organized.  There are labels throughout the shed identifying where the equipment/chairs/tables belong.  If we work together, we can ensure we leave the sheds in good condition for the next team.

Please let us know about any equipment needs or failures.  We will correct the problem as soon as we can.

Finally, we would like to remind you that we are here to support you throughout the season. If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact us at info@beniciabocce.org.

We wish all of our players a safe and enjoyable season.

Teams have been placed, and the 2023 schedule has been finalized. Find your teams among the divisions, and then click through to see your teams schedule. Capos, if you already know of a match that needs to be rescheduled, you can get started now online. beniciabocce.org/reschedule Let us know if you have any questions at info@beniciabocce.org.

It’s time to start thinking about next year. Registration will be held between Jan. 28th and Mar. 11th.

This year, in order to encourage timely waiver signatures, we’re making them a requirement for registration. This means, your registration will not be complete until all waivers on your team have been signed. If you include email addresses for players, waiver emails will get sent to them automatically. Though, sometimes they don't make it to inboxes. Capos can get waiver links from their online team page and send them to their players directly.

Register here

If you are looking for a team to join, or more players for your own team, head over to the BBL - Find a Team Facebook page.

We’ve made it to the end of the regular season. I hope everyone had a good time. Time for the Playoffs!

The Playoffs are a single elimination tournament. The top four teams from each division, plus four wildcard teams, will advance to the Playoffs. The bracket, plus information about seeds, can be viewed online at:

https://www.beniciabocce.org/playoffs

Here is the schedule:

• Round 1: Sept. 6 - 9
• Round 2: Sept. 12 - 13
• Round 3: Sept. 14 - 15
• Round 4: Sept. 16
• Championships: Sept. 17

All matches are at 6pm, except for the Championship, which is at 4pm.

Remember, the Playoffs are a unique schedule. You won’t necessarily be playing on your regularly scheduled night. And if you do well, you’ll be playing multiple nights in the same week. A match for third place will be held at the same time as the Championship match.

Court Material

As mentioned previously, we have been evaluating what to do with the new material on courts 3 and 4. We didn’t find an acceptable solution to changing them mid-season. So, we’re going to wait until after the Playoffs to address it in the off season. For now, the playoff schedule has been optimized to use those two courts as little as possible, including not using them at all past Round 2.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Don’t forget to RSVP to the End of Season Party!

Here are some important details for the coming season.

Board

Here is your board for the year:

• President: Matt DeClaire
• Vice President: Jorge Castaneda
• Treasurer: John Van Blake
• Secretary: Jenny Castaneda
• Directors: Greg Richey, Ron Kane, Scott Reep, Zac Van Blake, Beth Szabo, Steve Pieroni, Lynn Hannafin

Covid-19

We are generally back to normal, without the restrictions we had in place last year. I'm sure you've noticed that we have extra content. Please read that carefully before you sign your waiver. Please perform home health checks before coming to the courts. If you have a cough or a fever greater than 100.4°, remain at home. Sanitizer will continue to be available in the sheds, but is not required this year.

Key Dates

• Opening Day - Sunday, April 24th
• Last day for roster changes - May 14th
• Blackout weekends
• Memorial Day - May 27th - 30th
• Independence Day - July 1st - 4th
• Tournament - Saturday, July 23rd
• End of Year Celebration - Saturday, Sept. 10th
• Playoffs - Sept. 6th - 17th