The Sedona Posse Grounds Bocce League finished its inaugural season on Friday night, July 12. The league is currently comprised of four teams: Kachina, The Kids, The Wild Bunch, and Sedona Bocce Club. Sedona Bocce Club won the postseason championship game. The winning team featured Milton Crews, JB Mullens, Elijah Crews, and Randy Crews.
“The whole point of creating this league was to provide intergenerational community sports for a wide range of age groups, which is really great,” league organizer Danusia Szumowski said, noting that the Cruz family is a trio of grandparents and grandchildren. “For example, the kids' team is made up of several people. [who] We do and have done a lot of search and rescue missions in the town.”
Szumowski said the Sedona Bocce Club's daily practice was key to the team's victory in the finals against the Wild Bunch.
“People were very generous to winners and losers,” Szumowski said. “It came down to just enjoying the game rather than getting super competitive. And I saw that across the board. Maybe one or two teams got a little competitive, and that's OK. But the main thing is just being together, and that's what's important to all of us here.”
Randy Cruz said bocce ball is more of a mental sport than a physical one, emphasizing the importance of tactics in bocce ball.
“There's a lot of strategy involved in this sport, figuring out the best angle to attack the ball or whether to attack the opponent's ball,” Cruz said.
The Posse Grounds bocce ball court is open to the public for play during the day when it is not being used by leagues.
Bocce balls may be borrowed from the orange storage boxes near the tennis courts using lockbox code 1985.
The group organized on Facebook as the Sedona Posse Ground Bocce League to discuss a game that combines elements of lawn bowling with a shuffleboard-style scoring system. The league hopes to keep growing, but Szumowski said adding more teams would require adding another night of games.
Park visitors can expect additional signage to be installed at the bocce court by the time the league's next session begins in September. Parks and Recreation Manager Josh Frewin said the city is also looking for sponsors to install additional benches around the bocce ball court.
“The bench is $900 and is one of those green and black benches that are around the park and it has a plaque on it. Most of what we receive is [someone]said Frewin.
“We encourage community members to seriously consider [the sport]” Szumowski said, “No special athletic ability is required, anyone can play. [equipment]So people in wheelchairs can play. It's the most inclusive sport of all.”
If you are interested in signing up for the league or would like more information, you can register online here. Visit sedonaaz.gov/sports.
Anyone with questions may contact Brashier at (928) 282-7098 or cbrashier@sedonaaz.gov.
