Special Olympics West Hawaii

The Big Island Games Day for bocce and soccer will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, July 26, at Old Kona Airport’s soccer field. Special Olympics West Hawaii athletes and their unified partners will be competing against other island teams for a spot at the Aukake State Games, which will be held on Aug. 16 and 17 on Oahu.

Volunteers for the Big Island Games Day are needed. They will assist with athlete staging, scorekeeping, awards, medical and lunch. To help, contact Debbie Extor, SOWH volunteer coordinator, at 808-322-9567 or sowhdebbie@yahoo.com.

Attendance of families, friends and community members is always welcomed. So come and cheer on the SOWH teams.

Here are some suggested cheers from Carolyn Lucas, SOWH online communications director and former rah-rah-sis-boom-bah squad member.

FOR THE SOCCER TEAM:
We’re fired up, we’re sizzlin’
We’re turning up the heat.
When it comes to soccer,
Our team can’t be beat!

FOR THE BOCCE TEAM:
Come on, get up and scream,
We’re going crazy for the bocce team!

For more information about the Big Island Games Day or upcoming competitions, contact Lona Warner, SOWH head of delegation, 808-327-0491, 808-989-2080 or biglona@hotmail.com.

Bocce (pronounced BAH-chee) is a lawn bowling game that really gets the Special Olympics West Hawaii team rolling. This low-impact sport is easy to learn and, of course, delightful to play.

Longtime volunteer Nikki Cleintuar attended a recent SOWH bocce practice and took the images below. The team is preparing for the 2008 Aukake Classic, which take place August 16 and 17 in Oahu’s Waiau District Park.

Head Coach Lona Warner measures the distance between the pallina and the player’s balls to determine the winner of the round.

SOWH athlete and bocce player Amy Aguiar (right) hangs out with her unified partner K.C. Strand (right).

A veteran athlete of many SOWH sports, Duke Kaawa is ready to try bocce along with his new unified partner Doreen Parker. Duke and Doreen are also Hula Halau Makanani dancers.

For several years, Kelly Yonemura has been an inspiring unified bowling partner for SOWH, regularly averaging more than 200 points per game. In his rookie season on the bocce court, he is still firing up his teammates with his great competitive spirit and enthusiasm.

Les Lund is a unified partner, coaching assistant and dedicated volunteer. He looks very serious as he follows through on his toss. But winning thegame is only secondary to this man-of-many-hats who spends countless hours helping athletes become winners in life.

Ray Kealoha Donager has been involved with Special Olympics for more than 20 years. In 2007, he traveled to China to compete as a powerlifter in the Special Olympics World Games. He returned with no less than four gold medals. Ray is trying bocce for the first time. He is fitting practice into an already busy schedule which includes a full-time job, dancing hula and gardening on the weekends.

SOWH athlete and bocce player Michael Tom Makanui (right) waits his turn as his unified partner and dad Bob Makanui (left) takes his best shot.

• Egyptain carvings, dating back to 5200 BCE, portraying two boys playing a primitive form of bocce ball. Egyptains are widely believed to be the first to play this game, which they supposedly used rocks instead of balls. However, some sources claim bocce was started in Greece during sixth century BC.
• Bocce is a direct descendant of the Latin word “bottia” which means boss.
• Early Romans used coconuts to paly bocce and then carve balls made of olive wood. A notable player was Emperor Augustus.
• Umberto Granaglia, considered the greatest bocce baller, was named “Player of 20th Century” by the Confederation Mondiale des Sport de Boules. He was most recognized for Volo, the most technically skilled form of the game.
• Bocce became so popular that King Carlos IV and King Carlos V prohibited the game from being played because it supposedly interferred with military training. The Republic of Venice even introduced fine and imprisonment for those caught palying bocce in 1576.
• There is a cocktail named after the game. A bocce ball is made with orange juice, amaretto and club soda.
• Bocce is one of the newer sports of Special Olympics. It was introduced at the World Gamers in 1995. As of 2005, more than 90,000 Special Olympics athletes have competed in bocce annually.
• The small ball used in bocce is called a pallino, one ball, jack, cue or beebee. It varies in size, from 53 mm to 63 mm, but is usually white.
• The larger balls are actually called bocce balls. They are made of composition, wood or metal. The typical size ranges from 107 mm to 113.
• The object of the game is for one team to get as many of their bocce balls close to the pallina than the opposing team’s closest ball.

Special Olympics West Hawaii is seeking bocce and soccer coaches, unified partners and volunteers for its summer season, which runs from Sunday, June 22, through Saturday, Aug. 16.

The organization will train coaches as needed. It is also trying to secure a practice site.

Practices take place twice a week: Thursday from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. and Sundays from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. The season ends with the Aukake Classic on Oahu, where a tournament will take place on Aug. 15 and 16.

Special Olympics is founded on the belief that people with disabilities can, with proper instruction and encouragement, learn, enjoy and benefit from participation in individual and team sports, adapted as necessary to meet the needs of those with special mental and physical limitations.

Have fun and help our community.

For further information, please call Lona Warner, Head of Delegation for Special Olympics West Hawaii, at 327-0491 or 989-2080. Also send an e-mail to biglona@hotmail.com.