Special Olympics West Hawaii held an area-wide bocce tournament Oct. 24 at Pualani Park in Kailua-Kona.
This was an important contest for the athletes and their unified partners as it was the qualifier for the next level of competition: the Holiday Classic on Oahu. Having practiced twice a week since late summer, everyone was ready to roll.
Bocce is traditionally offered in the summer season, but has also been added to the winter schedule this year to replace bowling, which is unavailable due to the closure of Kona Bowl for renovation.
An official West Hawaii sport for only a few years, bocce has been steadily gaining in popularity with athletes and attracting many new unified partners as well.
Among veteran players, the competition has become quite exciting. One of SOWH’s most senior athletes, Norman “Deadeye” Matsubara, who is over 50 years old and has emerged as the undisputed area champion of the game. He’s definitely the guy everyone will be watching to win top honors at the Holiday Classic this year.
But on Oct. 24, several first time “rookies” displayed impressive skills and motivation as well. Suffice it to say there will be no resting on laurels with this group.
Results of Doubles competition:
Division A
1st: Stingrays
2nd: Geckos
3rd: Sharks
Division B
1st: Dolphins
2nd: Honus
3rd: Whales
Results of Unified competition:
Division 1
1st: Norman Matsubara and Rich Randazzo
2nd: Isaiah Wong and Laurine Kaleohano-DeLovio
3rd: Linden Ventura and Chris O’Callaghan
4th: Dara Sabri and Kitt Kurtz
Division 2
1st: Adrian Cleintuar and Carl Warner
2nd: Ray Donager and Bob Yong
3rd: Duke Kaawa and Scott Avery
4th: Dorrit Williams and CoeAnn Gierke
Division 3
1st: Michael Tom Makanui and Les Lund
2nd: Edna Phillip and Doreen Parker
3rd: Murray Williams and Pam Haydon
4th: Apple Isidro and Dulcie Sorenson
Please enjoy the following photos taken by SOWH volunteer Nikki Cleintuar. To view the entire album, click here.
