Doubles Mixer Tournament and Potluck Lunch

The Burlington Bocce Club and the Department of Parks and Recreation are hosting a doubles mixer tournament and potluck lunch for August 11, 2007.  The tournament will start at 9am. We will follow United States Bocce Federation Rules.  If you would like to take part and be guaranteed a place in the tournament you must register by contacting Zander at zponzo@uvm.edu or at 658 –0240 by 10pm Monday, August 6, 2007. {You may register after this time, but there is no guarantee that you will be in the tournament.} There is a five-dollar fee per person that will be collected at tournament registration between 8:30am and 9am at the bocce courts.

In this tournament you register as an individual and will be assigned a partner for the tournament; that is why it is called a mixer.  Depending on the number of entrants, it will either be a double or single elimination tournament.  Order of play and partnerships will be posted between 8:30am and 9am at the courts.  Games are to 13 points, but there will be a time limit for games.  This limit will be based on the number of entrants in the tournament. If a team is not ready to play at the time their game is scheduled for, they will lose by forfeit.  There will be prizes for the first and second place teams, but the tournaments priorities are to promote fun, bocce, and friendship.

In case of weather that precludes play, you will be notified by e-mail and/or phone by 8am of August 11.  You can also contact me at 658-0240.

Please remember to bring some tasty food to the potluck.  The potluck will start at noon.

I hope you decide to be involved.

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May 2007 Update

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October 11, 2006

Members Present:  Dan C., Dori D. & Zander P.

Reports on Members’ Work:

 Block grant research – Zander reported that he quested materials from CEDO, but has yet to receive any.  He will try again. Contact with UVM and BHS – Zander has not done this yet, but will in the next week or two.

 Preliminary Logo Design – No additional logos have been received for consideration, so we will stick with current until options emerge.

Newspaper Articles – An article about the club was in Seven Days.  Zander will be sending it out to members.  Barbara L. will be writing an article about us for the Free Press.  Barbara was at our Saturday demonstration, and plans to be at our meeting with the Commission.

Follow-up on September 30 & October 1 Play & Demonstration

We uniformly thought that both days were fun, useful, successful, and positive.  We had fun and enjoyed getting to interact with new people.  The rain on October 1 highlighted the need for an indoor facility.

Presenting at the October 17 Meeting of Department of Parks and Recreation Commission

 Zander will open with an overview of the club, what it has been doing, and what it could use from the Commission and the D.P.R. Other members will follow picking up on what is missing, with special emphasis on the importance of the game to them.

Club Logo Discussion

Since we have no alternative logos to choose from, we will continue to use the logo found at the start of these minutes.

Article for Free Press

Barbara L. is writing the article and plans to be at the Commission meeting to get more data.  She plans to publish the article in the Free Press some time in October.

Additional Items as Suggested and Time Allows

Site Selection:  After the September 30 play, Dan, Dzenan, and Zander accompanied Bob Whalen from the D.P.R. to view the prime sites under consideration, and a possible indoor site at the Armory. 

The outdoor sites were: two at Oakledge, Schmanska, and Leddy.  The Leddy site was quickly eliminated during the tour – not enough room.  Schmanska was eliminated at the meeting – out-of-the-way, parking on other side of busy road, and access difficult for those with limited mobility.  At the meeting we considered sites “1” (immediately south east of the park entrance, and “2” (immediately southeast of the pavilion at the south end of the park.  Both sites are well endowed with criteria the club has stated.  The members present at the meeting selected the northern site, as it was a bit more isolated and less likely to be inadvertently vandalized by casual use for purposes other than Boccie or Petanque.

The Armory has possibilities, but things are very much in flux now regarding the administration and use of the armory.  As plans for use develop we will be notified so that we can put forward our desires.

This and That: Contact companies that produce Boccie and Petanque balls, and those that sell them.  They might be interested in sponsoring events to promote the games and even donating money to our construction fund.  2.  Visit places that are active in Boccie and Petanque, such as Mechanicsville, N.Y. and Montreal, for the purpose of learning more about their clubs and courts, and connecting for possible competition.

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September 21, 2006

Members Present: Ben, Ken, Ahmet, Dan, Enes, Refik, Dzenan, Smajo, Zander,

Reports on Members’ Work:

 Block grant research – Zander

Zander reported that block grant applications can be submitted in January and that the total pool of available money will be about $40,000 dollars.  He will get necessary forms so that we can begin working on a proposal.

Website construction – Dzenan 

Dzenan has our website up and running.  He will modify it to add information on Petanque, to show the club’s new name, and to add links to relevant web sites.  Members were asked to send picture and biographical information to Dzenur for inclusion on website.

Preliminary Logo Design – Dave

 Work responsibilities kept Dave away from the meeting.  Request was made for additional suggestions for logo.  Bob Whalen suggested we modify logo shown on this page so that balls are placed to represent the letter “B”.

 Newspaper Article – Zander

Barbara Leitenberg will be writing an article about the club for the Burlington Free Press.  She will be contacting some members for information and will be invited to our next meeting.

 Coordination with D.P.R. – Dan

 Dan continues and will continue his coordination work with the D.P.R.  He arranged for Bob Whalen to be at the meeting and got us the meeting space.

 Facility Design and Schematics – Dave and Dzenan

 Dzenan presented to the club a design and schematic for a four-court boccie and Petanque facility.  The club realized that it is most likely that the facility will have to be built in phases. Costs and increased specificity will be based on where the courts will be placed.  Bob Whalen said he and D.P.R. he will help with cost estimates.

Bob Whalen from Dept. of Parks and Recreation:

Bob said he would be working with the club in the locating and building of a facility.  He will help us tour possible sites for outdoor and indoor play.  The prime outdoor site is the armory, but Ben will look into indoor play possibilities at
Shelburne Sports and Zander will check out UVM.  Club members will visit potential sites on September 30.  This will begin at noon, right after our play and demonstration at South Park (Calahan Park).

Establishing Two Dates and Places for Club Boules Play:

Two dates and places were selected:  South Park (Calahan Park) at 10 AM on September 30, and Waterfront Park on October 1 at 10 AM.  Zander will work to get this information announced in the Burlington Free Press.

Suggested Names for Club now Called Burlington Boules:

We selected Burlington Boccie and Petanque Club as the club’s official name.

Additional Items as Suggested and Time Allows:

Costs - We once a site or sites are selected we will need cost estimates for construction.

Labor - Members again agreed that they are willing to donate their labor to the construction and maintenance of a play facility.

Artificial Turf - Zander will check with UVM and BHS to see if they have left over artificial turf we could have at cost or less.

Reporting to D.P.R. Commission - Members agreed that it was a good idea to present to the commission at their October 17 meeting.  We will discuss what we want to say at our next meeting (11 October 2006).  Dan will insure that we are the agenda for the October 17 meeting and that we are placed late in the meeting so that most BBPC members can attend.

Tour - As mentioned above, we will be touring possible court sites after the demo/play at South (Calahan) Park.

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August 24, 2006

Members Present:     Maruan Taji, Refic Sisic, Elvir Basic, David S. Alofsin, Smajo Sehovic, Dzenan Kababegovic, Enes Smailagic, Dan Cahill, Zander Ponzo

Meeting’s Purpose:  Zander presented the meeting’s purpose as the generation of ideas that would lead to decision making at subsequent meetings: decisions that would lead to the creation of at least one quality facility for Boules in Burlington.

Introductions: Each member stated his name and his connection with a Boules game.

History: Dan gave a brief history of the club’s origin and previous work: Fall 2005 presentation to Parks and Recreation Commission, subsequent meeting between Dan and Zander, meetings between Dan and Bob Whalen of Parks and Recreation, field visit of members to possible site at Calahan Park, Zander and Dan meet again and plan meeting for August 24, 2006.

Desired Attributes & Possible Locations for Courts: Members stated their ideas on desired attributes for possible court sites.  They were: central location, visibility to public to attract attention and interest new players, attractive setting (use our natural beauty), parking and restrooms, and lighted.  Calahan, Leddy, Perkins Pier, Waterfront Park, City Hall Park, and Oakledge were mentioned as possible sites. (Should North Beach be added to this list?)

Composition of Possible Sites: The following were thought to be needed once a site or site was decided on: four courts for competition and to meet international standards; bleachers/seating, scoreboard; landscaping for beauty; fence for safety; court composition to be similar to that used for clay court tennis, asphalt covered with crushed stone, or artificial turf; and maintenance tools.

Resources Needed: Labor, money and promotion: labor will come from club members and Parks and Recreation, while money might come from donations ( Skip Farrell, Anthony Pomerleau, Pizzagali, and club member), block grants, and the city. Promotion for the club and our interests could come from web site, newspaper articles, television coverage, logo, boules demonstrations, posters placed in relevant spots, word of mouth, flyers, and speaking at public forum time at meetings of Parks and Recreation Commission and City Council.

Member Responsibilities and Timeline for Task Fulfillment: The members listed below agreed to do the indicated task or tasks and will have completed them prior to our next meeting.

          Block Grant Research – Zander

            Website Construction – Dzenan

            Preliminary Logo Design – Dave

          Facility Design and Schematics – Dave and Dzenan

            Cost Estimates – Dave

            Newspaper Articles – Zander

          Coordination with D.P.R – Dan

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