Bocce blasts off at Mill Dam Park

By Michael R. Ebert
michael.ebert@newsday.com

For the first time, Long Island’s mentally-disabled athletes will face off on the court -- the bocce court.

This Sunday’s event, called “Bocce Blast 2007,” is expected to attract several dozen competitors with a passion for tossing two-pound balls down a narrow 76-foot-long court. It’s also expected to serve as a springboard for the local athletes to prepare for regional, state and world Special Olympics games in the coming years.

“There’s a stereotype that bocce is only played by old men, but we’re changing that,” said Peter Rabito, president of American Bocce Club in Huntington, who is planning the event. “I knew we didn’t have such a program, and it seemed like a really good way to give back.”

According to Rabito, bocce remains one of the Special Olympics’ newer sports, having been introduced at the World Games level for the first time in 1995. Since then, participation has exploded worldwide with over 90,000 mentally-disabled athletes competing, according to the organization’s most recent report released in 2005.

As a result, Rabito says, it seemed like the perfect time to launch “Bocce Blast,” which is being sponsored by the Special Olympics New York - Long Island Region, the Town of Huntington and Rabito’s American Bocce Club, which was created in 2004.

“This is not a tournament,” explained Rabito, who said this event will kickoff the Huntington-based Special Olympics Bocce Training program, which he will be conducting. “It’ll teach athletes the rules, how to play, and give them an overall introduction to the sport.”

Incidentally, “Bocce Blast” will be the town’s second bocce event this month. On August 5, a total of 25 four-person teams did battle at East Northport’s Elwood Park, as part of an annual town showdown between Huntington and Babylon’s bocce posses. This year, Huntington took top honors with resident Peter Vidilich’s team finishing first.

“Originally, it started as only seniors playing, but it’s become people of all ages,” said Councilman Mark Cuthbertson, who hosted along with Babylon Supervisor Steve Bellone.

Rabito agreed, adding that people are now using town courts at all hours of the day, “while previously they’d be empty.”

The “Bocce Blast 2007” event will commence at 10 a.m. Sunday at Mill Dam Park in Huntington Village. For more information, call the Special Olympics New York – Long Island Region’s office at 631-254-1465.