Event Archives
April 2010 Recreational Open Tournament - Richard Goins Court, Saturday, 4/17/2010, 10am. It was overcast and cool but not cold, and forcasted showers never happened. Al Bridges, Jon Cayce, & Frank Knight (The A team) played Richard Goins, Faye Jones, & David Jones (The B Team). The B Team shocked the A Team 12 to 10, although the A Team bounced back strongly for a 12 to 5 win. Then the B Team hammered the A Team twice at 12 to 1 and 12 to 4. Yes, the Al and Frank component of the Memphis Traveling Team was schooled by the Home Boys this day!
Sixth Annual Calvanese Singes Tournament: 10/17/2009. Chattanooga's oldest continuously operated bocce tournament again set a new record for participation with sixteen enthusiastic and hardy players. I say hardy because, unlike the first five times, the tournament Saturday was chilly all day, at about 50 degrees with some breeze. However, it was dry and clear. As in previous years, we had a Friday evening party at Sue and Frank Knight's house to determine seeding and order of play. Every year we have new players, and the party is better than the last because of their excitement. With a bocce clubhouse under construction, the round-robin arrangement at three locations around town may be grossly altered next year. As last year, we played at Heritage Park, Richard Goins' House, and Marina Pointe. We devided into one group of four and two groups of six. After the round-robin games, points were calculated and the final four were seeded as: John Bonds #1, Bill Caulkins #2, Buzzy Hamilton #3, and Frank Knight #4. (Frank had barely squeeked by Al Bridges on the "points allowed" tie-breaker). The playoffs were held at Marina Pointe. In the semi-finals, J.B. wacked Frank and Bill did the same to Buzzy. In the finals, Bill edged J.B.12 to 9 to become our second two-time Calvanese Champion and snarf up the $500 prize as well as claim the status as Chattanooga Bocce Champ for a year. The other players who enjoyed competeing this year (in reverse alphabetical order): Larry Stewart, Diana Smith, Rich Ruocco, Jacqelyn Rogers, Damon Quintanilla, Joe Pope, David Jones, Richard Goins, Jon Cayce, Carolyn Caulkins, Al Bridges, and Jack Akins.
October 2009 Club (Closed) Doubles Tournament - Heritage Park, Sunday, 10/11/09, 2pm. A clear, cool, beautiful Fall day in Chattanooga. Four doubles teams had a great time playing a double elimination tournament after Richard and Al scraped and raked the Heritage gravel surface, which then looked good. Joe Pope & Frank Knight somehow edged Richard Goins & Al Bridges 12 to 11 dispite Frank getting lost somewhere before page 2. Bill & Carolyn Caulkins then slipped by David & Faye Jones 12 to 11. If this kind of competitions keeps up, we won't get home 'til after supper. In a losers bracket match, Richard and Al eliminated David and Faye. Back in the winners bracket, Joe and Frank dropped Bill and Carolyn into the losers bracket. Bill and Carolyn then eliminated Richard and Al. Back in the winnes bracket again, Joe and Frank prevailed over Bill and Carolyn and consequently won the tournament without having to play an "if necessary" match. Besides having a good time, we all knew we were getting in some good tuning up for the Calvanese Tournament on Saturday.
September 2009 Club (Closed) Doubles Tournament - Marina Pointe, Sunday, 9/13/09, 2pm. Mostly overcast though warm, but cool under the tent. Four teams played a double elimination event. David Jones & Frank Knight defeated Carolyn & Bill Caulkins and then Jon Cayce & Amy beat Jacquelyn & Buzzy Hamilton. In the losers bracket, OOpps, I forgot everything that happened after that except that David and Frank beat Carolyn & Bill in the final match. If anyone can clue me in to the rest of the bracket results, I will be happy to correct the record.
August 2009 Recreational Open Tournament - Richard Goins Court, Saturday, 8/29/09, 10am. It was very pleasant, overcast 3/4 of the time, low to mid 80's, and no rain. The News-FreePress had run a nice article in the Signal Mountain and East Brainerd Wednesday inserts. A man named Mike Frizzell was consequently curious about bocce and joined us for a game. Members playing, teaching and trading teams for three games were: Judy Maskevich, Mike Bailey, Frank Knight, Buzzy Hamilton, Diana Smith , and Jacquelyn Rogers.
August 2009 Club (Closed) Doubles Tournament - Heritage Park, Sunday, 8/9/09, 2pm. It was hot and Frank had not promoted it much. Faithful bocce club members Diana Smith, David Jones, and Frank Knight played a few round robin games. It was a good opportunity for some one on one coaching for our newest member, Diana.
July 2009 Recreational Open Tournament - Goins' Court, Saturday, 7/25/09, 10am. It was not nasty hot. We're on the tail end of a cool spell, and there was a breeze and shade. Ten bocce players were split into 3 teams (named after the captains) that played a double elimination format. The Bill's (Bill Caulkins, Mark Souders, & Mike Bailey), The Al's (Al Bridges, Diana Smith, Judy Maskevich, & David Jones), and The Frank's (Frank Knight, Jeffrey Cross, & Richard Goins). The Bill's edged the Al's 12-10 and then snuck by The Frank's 12-11. In the losers bracket, The Frank's handled The Al's 12-6, hanging the double L on them. Back in the winners bracket, The Frank's gave The Bill's their first loss, 12-5. The "if necessary" finals was another battle, with The Bill's falling to The Frank's, 12-9 
. Woo Hoo! It was so much fun, most of The Al's stayed and provided constructive suggestions 
. It is certainly more fun having at least a few fans/onlookers. Jeff and Mark joined the Club today. Afterwards, Mike, Judy, and Diana were treated to a tour of the developing clubhouse by Frank.
July 2009 Club Doubles Tournament - Goins' Court, Sunday, 7/12/09, 2pm. Scattered rain didn't scatter on us today. It was "warm", humid, and mostly sunny, but with shade. Three teams played a double elimination format. I recorded only the last match score. Joe Pope & Frank Knight put Richard Goins & Al Bridges into the losers bracket and then did the same thing to Mike Bailey & Judy Maskevich. In the losers bracket, Richard and Al eliminated Mike and Judy. Back in the winners bracket, Joe and Frank defeated Richard and Al 12 to 8 to win the tournament without an "if necessary" game. Judy carried through on her threat to join the Club today. Welcome Judy! Jacquelyn Rogers and her spouse David dropped by to admire the action and for their first visit to Goins' Court.
June 2009 Recreational Open Tournament - Marina Pointe, Saturday, 6/27/09, 10am. We are learning who is tough enough and bocce enthusiast enough to not let a little heat and humidity prevent them from playing. It wasn't the worst ever and we had the tent, but it was hot and humid, and strangely overcast part of the time. Six players divided into two teams of three each. New players Judy Maskevich and Mike Bailey (Mike joined the Club today!) teamed with Frank Knight on team "Oldtimers" and battled the "Whippersnappers", made up of David Jones, Joe Pope, and Amy Powell. It couldn't have been any closer, with the Oldtimers winning after a great point roll by Judy that the Whippersnappers couldn't beat. Afterwards, Joe & Frank clubbed David 12 to 5 and Joe & David handled Frank easily,12 to 7.
June 2009 Club Doubles Tournament - Marina Pointe, Sunday, 6/14/09, 2pm. Four teams played a double elimination format. Not all of the games were to 12 points. Bill & Carolyn Caulkins knocked Al Bridges & David Jones into the losers bracket, and Joe Pope & Frank Knight did the same to Jon Cayce & "JB" John Bonds. Al and David then eliminated Jon and JB in the first losers bracket match. In the winners bracket, Bill and Carolyn clocked Joe and Frank, who then eliminated Al and David in the second losers bracket game. As in the May doubles tournament, Bill and Carolyn terminated Joe and Frank to win this tournament without having to play an "if necessary" game. During this event, Bill played the tape of the 6 or 7 minute interview that he provided to the UTC radio station recently. All agreed that none of us could have done better. We had a board meeting following the tournament.
May 2009 Recreational Open Tournament - Heritage Park, Saturday, 5/30/09, 10am. David Jones stepped up and took responsibility for running this tournament while Frank was out of town. David Jones, Faye Jones, and Amy Powell showed up. With not enough to entrants to play, the three faithful club members went home.
May 2009 Club Doubles Tournament - The Stewart Home, Sunday, 5/17/09, 2pm. Rainy weather, but at the last minute we were able to play on Larry Stewart's back yard court. It was cool and clear, becoming nicer by the hour. Speaking of nice, the court was nice. 60 by 11 feet of nice. Shirly and Larry were swell hosts, even providing compimentary beer, wieners with chili & cheese, potato salad, slaw, etc. Meanwhile, five doubles teams played a double elimination tournament. Shirley Stewart & David Jones put Larry Stewart & Bryan Kelly into the losers bracket where they were joined by Joe Pope & Frank Knight who were wacked by Al Bridges & Richard Goins. Carolyn & Bill Caulkins stayed in the winners bracket by beating Shirly and David and later, Al and Richard. Joe and Frank survived in the losers bracket by beating Shirley and David and then Al and Richard. Joe and Frank then pulled an El Foldo as Bill and Carolyn won the tournament without having to play an "if necessary" game. In other words, they went UNDEFEATED!
April 2009 Club Doubles Tournament - The Bocce Clubhouse, Sunday, 4/19/09, 2pm. Here again we were able to move indoors with just a few days notice, based on the weather forcast. And indeed it was raining outside, while we enjoyed a great turnout of members to play bocce indoors! Joe Pope & Frank Knight beat David & Faye Jones, Richard Goins & Tony Lombino beat Jon Cayce & Nada Hyde , and Al Bridges & Nancy Lombino defeated Jacquelyn Rogers & Larry Stewart. The three winning teams then odd-manned and Al and Nancy lucked into the bye while watching Joe and Frank down Richard and Tony in the semifinal. In the finals, Joe and Frank squeeked by Al and Nancy by a score of 12 to 10. Al, Jon, David, and Frank stayed and played a heated bonus period of best 2 out of 3. Those results are not available at this time while the losers recover. Those who had not seen the developing Clubhouse, such as Amy Powell and David Rogers (a non-member observer) who were in attendance, were able to tour the place, and nobody got lost.
March 2009 Recreational Open Tournament - The Bocce Clubhouse, Saturday, 3/28/09, 10am. Well, now were talkin bocce! Our very first tournament held at the clubhouse! There was a threat of rain - no problem! We played upstairs on our portable 50 x 7.5 foot court. One of our new members, Jacqueline Rogers, played with us for the first time, learning lots of bocce since she is new to the game. Two teams captained by David Jones and Frank Knight played several games and split them about evenly. Joe Pope, Jon Cayce, "JB" Bonds, Al Bridges, Faye Jones, Richard Goins, and Jeanne Posie were the other players who had the priviledge of using our new building for the first time to be able to play whenever we wished. Another new member, Paul Hunter, showed up and also got to play some and be amazed by some of the old timer rolls (not really).
March 2009 Club Doubles Tournament - Marina Pointe, Sunday, 3/8/09, 2pm. Not a huge start of the season with only four players including one guy tardy. Weather: clear and cool/chilly. A bystander was taught some bocce. Then David Jones & Paul Hunter defeated Damon Quintanilla & Jon Cayce two out of three to win the day.
Fifth Annual Calvanese Singles Tournament : 10-18-2008. The Bocce Champion of Chattanooga for the year: John "JB" Bonds, who claimed the $500 prize, and became the first two-time winner. Is there a better time in Chattanooga than October, with cooler temps, breezes, changing leaves, Oktoberfest, and our biggest Bocce Tournament! For the fifth year out of five, the weather was glorious. Our number of players was fourteen, a new high. After the round-robin matches, held at Richard Goins', Marina Pointe, and Heritage Park courts, the semifinalists, in the order of seed were: Bill Caulkins, Buzzy Hamilton, Jack Akins, & John Bonds. They, and some of those that did not advance, gathered at Richard's Court for the playoffs. JB said he was nervous, but maybe his opposition would have had more success against him if he weren't. Dispite being the number four seed, he defeated the number one seed, Bill handily by 12 to 7. In the other semifinal, Jack beat Buzzy by the same score. JB must have been really nervous in the final, because he nuked Jack 12 to 0. One merciful thing about getting skunked is that it is over quickly, or at least it seems like it when it happens to me. Interestingly, Jack had beat JB 12 to 9 in the round-robin phase of the tournament. The participation this year was impressive, as was the spirit. Nada Hyde attended the playoffs in her Southern Belle get up, beguiling all a them there bashfull Southern boys on the sideline. We are all looking forward to our indoor bocce clubhouse being finished within several months, and morale is high. An example of this is the willingness of more than half of our membership to commit most of an entire day to the Tournament, and to compete with their best effort even though they may not feel that they have a realistic shot at the prize and the championship. Things happen with bocce though. The presumed best players can get laid low, and the presumed weaker players can do the laying low. Did that come out right? At any rate, we all enjoyed a fun party Friday night at Frank and Sue's house and a beautiful day of bocce Saturday. The list of others who played, in alphabetical order: Al Bridges, Darla Burleson, Carolyn Caulkins, Jon Cayce, Richard Goins, David Jones, Frank Knight, Joe Pope, Damon Quintanilla, & Rich Ruocco.
September 2008 Recreational Open Tournament - Richard Goin's home, Saturday, 9/27/08, 10am. It was a beautiful overcast early Fall day, and great to be outside playing bocce! Eight folks divided into two teams and played a best 3 out of 5 format. The Bill Caulkins, Mike Chapman, Richard Goins & Carolyn Caulkins team beat the Frank Knight, Damon Quintanilla, Darla Burleson, & David Jones team 12 to 4 and 12 to 7 in the first two games. A new leaf seemed to turn when they then lost 9 to 12. However, they immediately proved their dominance by closing out the game and the tournament 12 to 10. Then everybody left for lunch.
September 2008 Club Competative Doubles Tournament - Richard Goins' home, Sunday, 9/14/08, 2pm. Very pleasant and overcast, no hot sun. Three doubles teams played a double elimination format. Richard Goins & Frank Knight defeated David & Fay Jones 12 to 6. Bill & Carolyn Caulkins then beat Richard and Frank 12 to 6. In the losers bracket, Richard and Frank eliminated David and Faye, 12 to 4. Charging back into the winners bracket, Richard and Frank beat Bill and Carolyn, 12 to 7. However, in the "if necessary" game, Richard and Frank were denecessarized by Bill and Carolyn with a lopsided score of 12 to 4. Too bad, so sad.
August 2008 Recreational Open Tournament - Marina Pointe, Saturday, 8/30/08, 10am. Some people are getting ready for the Calvanese Tournament! Six participants divided into three pairs and played a double elimination format. Damon Quintanilla & David Jones beat Joe Pope & Frank Knight 12-7. Bill & Carolyn Caulkins then beat the D's (Damon and David) 12-8. In the losers bracket, Joe and Frank eliminated the D's 12-8. Then in the winners bracket, Joe and Frank forced an "if necessary" game by beating Bill and Carolyn 12-9. Bill and Carolyn bounced back to win the final match 12-8 and dance off with the prize money. Oh wait, there wasn't any money, just a few hours of really good bocce competition, as you can tell from the scores.
August 2008 Club Competative Doubles Tournament - Marina Pointe, Sunday, 8/10/08, 2pm. It wasn't too hot and we had our tent. Three teams played a double elimination format. Frank Knight & Rich Ruocco defeated Tony & Nancy Lombino, 12 to 0. Bill & Carolyn Caulkins then put Frank and Rich into the losers bracket, 12 to 10. Frank and Rich elminated Tony and Nancy, 12 to 1. In the winners bracked, Bill and Carolyn then wacked Frank and Rich 12 to 5 to win the tournament without even having to play an "if necessary" game.
July 2008 Recreational Open Tournament - Heritage Park, Saturday, 7/26/08, 10am. Frank was on the Baltic Sea, we are in the hot doldrums of Summer, and everybody is looking past this Summer and waiting for our indoor clubhouse. However, that did not stop three stalwart bocce players from supporting bocce in Chattanooga by playing today. In a double elimination singles format, David Jones defeated Damon Quintanilla in a real battle, 12 to 10. David then beat Bill Caulkins 12 to 5. In the losers bracket, Bill knocked out Damon, 12 to 4. Then, back in the winners bracket, David did not need an "if necessary" game to eliminate Bill 12 to 8, win the tournament, and dance the cockatiel cha-cha.
July 2008 Club Competative Doubles Tournament - Heritage Park, Sunday 7/13/08, 2pm. Ten faithful CBC supporters of bocce showed up to fine tune their skill on gravel and experienced rare very light sprinkles and occasional Amazonian sun. The five teams played a single elimination format. The team of Amy Powell & Tony Lombino drew a bye. In the first match, Joe Pope & Frank Knight defeated Darla Burleson & Damon Quintanilla. In the second match, Richard Goins & Al Bridges knocked out David & Faye Jones. A coin flip then gave Richard and Al a bye while Joe & Frank had to play Amy & Tony. Big Joe and Little Frankie won. In the final, Joe & Frank ran out of juice and Richard & Al danced the celebration cha cha.
June 2008 Recreational Open Tournament - Richard Goin's Court, Saturday 6/28/08, 10am. It was very warm, but under 90 and there was a nice breeze and plenty of shade. Rain never happened. Nine players divided into 3 teams and played a double elimination tournament. David's team of David Jones, Buzzy Hamilton, & Richard Goins defeated Frank's team of Frank Knight, Rich Ruocco, & Joe Pope in a competative match 12 to 10. The David's then beat Al's team, Al Bridges, Tony Lombino, & Nancy Lombino, soundly by 12 to 2. In the losers bracket, the Frank's beat the Al's 12 to 3. Moving on, the Frank's then put some pay-back on the David's, 12 to 5. However the David's then bent, folded, and mutilated the Frank's by 12 to 0 to win the tournament. I don't think we have ever seen a 12 to 0 final match in Chattanooga in any tournament, and I certainly hope it never happens again, at least not if I'm on the losing end!
June 2008 Club Competative Doubles Tournament - Richard Goins' Court, Sunday, 6/8/08, 2pm. This was the first time that we played a tournament on Richard's court. It was a treat for us to enjoy one of our very own private courts! The court played slow, but is still a work in progress for Richard. After we got the postponed final match of the May Doubles Tournament out of the way (see the results below), four doubles teams went single elimination. It was above 90 degrees, but there was plenty of shade and a breeze. Bill Caulkins & Damon Quintanilla beat Al Bridges & Richard Goins 12 to 5. Frank Knight & Joe Pope then eliminated Faye & David Jones 12 to 10. Bill and Damon took the finals from Frank & Joe by the same 12 to 10 slim margin. Damon seems to be picking this game up pretty darn fast.
May 2008 Recreational Open Tournament - Marina Pointe, Saturday, 5/31/08, 10am. It was clear and quite warm, but we had the tent and it was breezy. Twelve players dribbled in. We had established teams of two, single elimination. Rich Ruocco & Frank Knight were beat by Damon Quintanilla & Bill Caulkins. Darla Burleson & Jon Cayce then terminated Amy Powell & John "The Calvanese Champion" Bonds. After advancing with a bye, Nancy & Tony Lombino ended Darla and Jon's run, followed by Damon and Bill putting the kabash on Al Bridges & David Jones, possibly because the latter team of two had advanced with a bye, and were half into a siesta by the time they played. In the finals, Nancy and Tony were whacked by Damon and Bill. Darla Burleson joined the Club. Bocce Archie the hat eating cockatoo was an observer.
May 2008 Club Doubles Tournament - Marina Pointe, Sunday, 5/18/08, 2pm. The forcast was for intermittant thunderstorms. We experienced intermittantly clear and rainy afternoon hours. The big news however, was that twelve players showed up! Bill Caulkins, our tournament director, ran a single elimination format that required two Byes for an eight team bracket. The two first tier matches saw Al Bridges & Richard Goins eliminate Rich Ruocco & Dan Romanchik and then Joe Pope & Frank Knight knocked out Tony & Nancy Lombino. The first bye team of David & Faye Jones then eliminated Al and Richard, while the second bye team of Bill & Carolyn Caulkins fell to Joe and Frank. We might have played the finals after a sudden downpour, but the court by that time had an inch or so of water. The final two teams of David/Faye and Joe/Frank agreed to complete the match at 9:30am on Sat. May 31st at Marina Pointe, however, Joe couldn't make that, so the final match is pending. Addendum: The final match occurred on June 8th at Richard Goins' Court. Joe & Frank defeated David and Faye 12 to 7. We've decided to record all competative match scores insofar as possible.
April 2008 Open Recreational Tournament - Heritage Park, Saturday, 4/26/08, 10am. Light intermittant drizzle did not keep us from enjoying bocce, and the drizzle soon stopped. Nada dropped by in one of her Southern Belle outfits and rolled a couple of balls. It was a a great photo-op. Team Faye/Richard (Faye Jones, Richard Goins, Frank Knight, Tony Lombino and Jon Cayce) won the first game by one point. Team David (David Jones, Nancy Lombino, Al Bridges, and Mike Chapman) bounced back with a big win goin away. However, Team Faye/Richard won the match with a final game victory. Spelled V-I-C-T-O-R-Y.
Special Membership Meeting - April 24, 2008, 1811 Dodds Ave., Chattanooga. Two issues were discussed. Then, more than two thirds of the members present voted to adopt an amendment to the club bylaws in the meeting announced by the Board of Directors in a newsletter more than two weeks beforehand. The amendment reiterates the purpose of the Club, and can be found in the bylaws submenu in the "About" choice on the menu bar.
Secondly, by concensus the members present expressed enthusiasm for a propsal put forward by Frank Knight. Frank and Sue Knight have purchased a warehouse building at 1811 Dodds Ave. As soon as the building is refurbished, the upper level, which fronts the street, will be rented out. The lower level, which fronts the alley behind the building, has 9000 sq. ft. which is empty except for nine evenly spaced I-beams supporting the upper floor. Frank proposed building four bocce courts, as designed by the Club, and decorating the remainder of the interior in a manner to be attractive to all and coducive to entertaining. Included would be two rest rooms, a kitchen, storage space, and a sizeable seating area for entertaining. Frank and Sue would donate the use of the space on an annual basis as a home base and indoor venue for the Club. The members agreed that there is good potential for strong growth of the Club and that with a committment from the membership to make it happen, the venue could be rented out often enough to cover the cost of maintenance, utilities, insurance, and any other costs beyond rent, and that the Club is willing to shoulder the greatly increased responsibily of operating a significant recreational facility. A reprint of the proposal document submitted by Frank will be filed with the minutes of the meeting. The discussion included a tour of the inside and exterior of the warehouse building.
April 2008 Club Doubles Tournament - Heritage Park, Sunday, 4/13/08, 2pm. Weather was forcast to be chilly and drizzly, which may explain the disappointing turnout for our first tournament of the year. However, it was cool and clear, much nicer than expected. Team David Jones and Nancy Lombino beat team Tony Lombino and Frank Knight 2/1 in a double elimination format.
Fourth Annual Calvanese Singles Bocce Tournament - 10/13/07. The winner was John Bonds. Details will be inserted.
September 2007 Recreational Tournament - Heritage Park, Saturday, 9/29/07, 10am. Cooler, beautiful weather has finally arrived, and with it, more people in the Park, and more interest in bocce by standbyers. Seven players divided into two teams and played a warmup match and then double elimination. The team of Al Bridges, David Jones, and Faye Jones ultimately prevaled over the team of Frank Knight, Nada Seargeant, Jon Cayce, and Kaye Barnette, Faye's sister. David brought his feathered dog, Archie, the cockatiel. Archie attracted much attention from both kids and adults. In fact he refused to be ignored.
September 2007 Doubles Tournament - Pinnacle Homes, Sunday, 9/9/07, 1pm. Cancelled due to lack of participation.
August 2007 Recreational Tournament - Pinnacle Homes, Saturday, 8/25/07, 10am. Another strong turnout in the nasty summer hot spell we've been having. Ten players divided into three teams and played a double elimination format. Carolyn Caulkins/Buzzy Hamilton/Faye Jones/Sean Lowe made immediates losers out of Frank Knight/David Jones/Brad Guagnini. They then did the same to Bill Caulkins/Jad Johnson/Steve Carey. In the losers bracket elimination game, Frank/David/Brad were the survivors. Their game found some serious legs, because they then edged Carolyn/Buzzy/Faye/Sean to force an "if necessary" final match which they won convincingly. Faye Jones joined the club today. Sean had been a Pinnacle resident. He brought Jad to play, and both enjoyed themselves. All headed for the a/c.
August 2007 Club Doubles Tournament - Bluff View, Sunday, 8/12/07, 1pm. We were in a terrible hot spell, and yet had a great turnout of 13 members. I'm determined to develope a multicourt venue by next season so that we can hold great tournaments to reward the support and spirit of our players. We voted to have a single elimination format, and one team had three players. John Bonds/Jon Cayce and Tony Lombino/Nancy Lombino lucked into byes. In the first round, Frank Knight/Joe Pope were eliminated by Richard Goins/Al Bridges and Nada Monette/Mike Currie/David Jones were eliminated by Bill Caulkins/Carolyn Caulkins. In the semi-finals, John/Jon eliminated Richard/Al and Bill/Carolyn eliminated Tony/Nancy. The Caulkins then wacked the Johns to win the tournament. Steve Carey admired from the sidelines. The inevitable finally happened. Bluff View cracked down on our habit of bringing our own food and drinks. Must buy theirs.
July 2007 Recreational Tournament - Pinnacle Homes, Saturday, 7/28/07, 10am. Was scheduled for Bluff View, but a thunderstorm earlier in the morning necessitated the switch to PH. Networking by Frank's e-mails and phone answering set, five enthusiastic players enjoyed an overcast, cool (for the month) morning and early afternoon of bocce. Our very newest member, David Jones, made a big impression on the rest of us by winning, without losing a single match, a double elimination format over the two teams of Tony & Nancy Lombino and Mike Currie & Frank Knight. It appears that our growing club membership is pushing us to another level of performance.
July 2007 Club Doubles Tournament - Heritage Park, Sunday, 7/8/07, 1pm. Forget heat and humidity. We had our tent and we had our bocce. Three teams played double elimination. The team of Frank Knight and Nada Monette was mercilessly crushed like a bug under a steam roller, not once but twice by the team of Richard Goins and Al Bridges. First in the initial game and then in the losers bracket after Bill and Carolyn Caulkins had brushed Richard and Al out of the winners bracket. Other than that, Frank and Nada had just a really swell time. Richard and Al did well back on the court, but not quite enough to win. So Bill and Carolyn won three and yipee. Rumor has it that there was the teeniest side bet involved. Steve Carey was an observer after he got his yard mowed. John and Amanda Gross also watched some, on Amanda's birthday. They and their family play bocce regularly in the yard. I think John felt like they could do OK in club competition after he observed Frank's game on this day.
June 2007 Recreational Tournament - Heritage Park, Saturday, 6/30/07, 10am. It turned out hotter and muggier than expected. But with shade available, the fifteen enthusiastic players and supporters of bocce in Chattanooga did the bocce thing. We decided to play four teams in adouble elimination format, with games prior to the championship round going only to eight points. Bill Caulkins' team that included Maurice Scheni, Jon Cayce, and Nada Monette bowed out first with two straight losses. The were followed out by Al Bridges' team that included Monique Lewis and Alva Crow with one win and two losses. They were knocked out of the tournament by Buzzy's team that included Joe Lewis, Carolyn Caulkins, and Tony Lombino. The Buzzy team roared out of the losers bracket, with Maurice subing for heat impacted Joe Lewis, and nailed the winners bracket team of Frank Knight's with Cameron Pope, Joe Pope, and Mike Currie. But wait: they were required to beat that team twice. Not on this day in this universe did that happen. Frank's team dropped the hammer on Buzzy's team in the final match, winning this months Big Shew. The last two matches were to 12 points by concensus of the players. Bill kindly officiated the last two matches. Nancy Lombino and Steve Carey were observers today.
June 2007 Club Doubles Tournament - Pinnacle Homes, Sunday, 6/10/07, 1pm. Amy Powell and Adam Dyer, two of our new members this year, made their tournament debut. They also learned lots of bocce the hard way by courageously jumping into our competative tournament format. They were two and out in the four-team double-elimination event. Al Bridges and Richard Goins managed a win one before bowing out. Bill and Carolyn Caulkins went cruising into the finals undefeated. Unfortunately for them, Jon Cayce and "J.B." Bonds shot out of the losers bracket in a serious groove. They wacked the Caulkins twice to win the tournament. The Johns danced the hokey-pokey or was it the chicken dance.
May 2007 Recreational Tournament - Pinnacle Homes, Saturday, 5/26/07, 10am.
May 2007 Club Doubles Tournament - Bluff View, Sunday, 5/20/2007, 1pm. The event was delayed one week because of Mother's Day last Sunday, and yet was still lightly attended. Six club members on three teams played a double elimination tournament on a beautiful, warm, breezy, sunny day at the Bluff. Each of three teams won at least one match. Jon Cayce and Tony Lombino eliminated Nancy Lombino and Al Bridges, but were in turn eliminated by Frank Knight and Joe Pope. An onlooking couple, Jason and Eleanor Pieton were very interested in the club. Eleanor grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and her father is on a bocce team there.
April 2007 Recreational Tournament - Bluff View, Saturday, 4/28/2007, 10am. It was a gloriously beautiful morning to play bocce on the Bluff, especially as it warmed up towards noon. Twelve folks played. All happened to be club members: John Currie, Buzzy Hamilton, Jon Cayce, Richard Goins, Frank Knight, Carolyn Caulkins, Bill Caulkins, and Nada Monette were joined by four of our new members this year: Mike Monette, Tony Lambino, Nancy Lambino, and Brad Guagnini. We agreed to pick three teams of four players each and play double elimination. Jacks (Jon, Nada, Tony and Bill) came out of the losers bracket to win one game against the winners bracket Queens (Frank, Carolyn, Mike, and Brad), but Queens won the "if necessary" game and did the winner's dance. Kings (John Currie, Nancy, Buzzy, and Richard) gave it their best. There were numerous onlookers strolling in and out of the bocce area, to whom we introduced bocce, and we all had a swell time.
Jim Appugliese Memorial Bocce Picnic - Pinnacle Homes, Sunday, 4/22/2007, 1pm. Members of the Club joined Jim's family for bocce and Italian home cookin' on a warm sunny day. More details and photo(s) to follow.
Third Annual Calvanese Singles Tournament - 10/14/06. The winner was Frank Knight. What a great tournament! Of course I might think so since I won (blush, blush). As was the case for our first two Calvanese tournaments, the weather was beautiful, and everyone had a swell time, more so than ever before, it seemed to me. After the round-robin matches at our usual three venues, the playoffs occured at Heritage Park. After seeding was calculated, Frank Knight squeeked by Al Bridges in one semifinal, and Jack Akins defeated John Bonds in the other. Frank then put the hammer down on Jack to win the championship. As surprised as I was that I won the tournament for year-long bragging rights amoung Chattanooga bocce players, the biggest surprise of the tournament was the skill of Jack and his ascent to the championship round. He spanked Bill Caulkins (last year's champion) by a score of 12 to 3 in their round-robin match, which effectively ended Bill's chance of reaching the playoffs (Al did the same thing to me in 2004). Jack did this dispite the lack of much recent playing experience around town that any of us regulars knew about. Some of us bocce experts (hah!) have discussed what happened, and agreed that Jack was handicapped by not having played much (if at all) at Heritage Park. The gravel surface there requires a different style of ball delivery than Pinnicle Homes and even Bluff View. The other participants, without whom there would have been no tournament, were (in no particular order): Jon Cayce, Rich Ruocco, Carolyn Caulkins, Damon Quintanilla, Bill Caulkins, Buzzy Hamilton, Richard Goins, and John Curry.
Second Annual Calvanese Singles Tournament - The winner was Bill Caulkins. Details will be inserted.
First Annual Calvanese Singles Tournament - The winner was Kevin Youngquist. Details will be inserted.
