#2106 Dec 6, 2023
The 2023 calendar year was the busiest – and wettest - year ever for the Ipsen Family Bocce Park.
The cold, wet, and wild 2022 Fall League, which ended six weeks later than usual due to the drought drenching winter …
gave way to a cold, wet, and wild beginning of the Spring League …
which gave way to the nearly rain free Summer League …
but (you guessed it) due to playoff rain ended the Friday two days before the start of the 2023 Fall League.
The common thread to each of the seasons – rain, rain, and more rain had a salutary purpose: Goodbye drought.
Oh, and during all of this we brought cornhole out of the backyards and onto Main and Oak streets.
The inaugural 2023 Clayton Cornhole League brought out some new blood, great new vibe, and some seriously good cornhole.
The versatility of the Park combined bocce and cornhole with some great tournaments,
senior play, junior play, family gatherings, team building, birthday parties, retirement parties, showers, and celebrations of life.
Fall League
Despite the seemingly incessant rain and bitter cold,
the Fall League playoffs were plenty hot (thanks to every type of heater, soup, whiskey, and winter wear).
For the first time in all of our league history, we had the top four seeds all lose in the quarterfinals,
which made room for some new blood to the semifinals and three first time medal winners:
| 1st Place: |
Family Ties (Capo: Kris Wismer) |
| 2nd Place: |
Mazzei Chevrolet (Capo: Matt Mazzei) |
| 3rd Place: |
Pallino Posse (Capo: Julie Cowherd) |
| 4th Place: |
Throw Pallino First (Capo: Julie Rogers) |
Click here
for Fall League results and photos.
Spring League
The wet start to the 2023 Spring League soon gave way to beautiful spring and early summer weather,
and with it some beautifully played bocce.
The playoffs looked headed for what is becoming an all too familiar championship match involving Ed’s Mudville Grill, East County Rollers, or both.
But that would have to wait.
Standing in their way, and rolling right by them, were the 11th and 12th seeds (Breaking Bocce and Mike’s Auto Body, respectively).
The semifinals and finals, which ended just before 1:00 a.m. on a literally too hot Saturday, saw another first-time winner,
Mike’s Auto Bocce take the championship with some patient, consistent,
and well-placed rolling that took down both Mudville’s and East County:
| 1st Place: |
Mikes Auto Bocce (Capo: Brennan Rose) |
| 2nd Place: |
Ed’s Mudville Grill (Capo: Carol Ricetti) |
| 3rd Place: |
Breaking Bocce (Capo: Cathy Duckworth) |
| 4th Place: |
East County Rollers (Capo: Jack Gutierrez) |
Click here
for Spring League results and photos.
Summer League
The wet and cold that marked the beginning of the Fall League and Spring League gave way to the opposite end of the spectrum
for the beginning of the Summer League – a heat – and a lot of it – wave.
The season non-started ominously when the first group (Sunday 1:30) was postponed because it was only about 110⁰.
That heat soon gave way to a glorious streak of gorgeous weather that blessed the rest of the season
– right up until the end when early rains scrambled the playoff schedule.
What the fall and spring leagues brought in terms of surprise medal winners, the Summer League semifinals were a little more orderly.
All four semifinalists were previous medal winners.
In the end, the old adversaries, Ed’s Mudville Grill and East County Rollers, renewed their storied, friendly,
and very competitive rivalry with three closely played games that ended with a walk-off casino, courtesy of East County:
| 1st Place: |
East County Rollers III (Capo: Jack Gutierrez) |
| 2nd Place: |
Ed’s Mudville Grill (Capo: Carol Ricetti) |
| 3rd Place: |
Block Party (Capos: Cathy and Mike Duckworth) |
| 4th Place: |
Killer BBBs (Capo: Karen Rudd) |
Click here
for Summer League results and photos, including a video of the championship walk-off casino.
Cornhole
In 2019 we decided to install pavers at the courts.
The courts were shut down during July and August (summer league prime time).
Clayton Perry, a general manager at Skipolini’s came up with the idea of having a cornhole season on the patio
to give lost and wayward bocce players something to do because they could not get their bocce fix.
Success and fun followed. While Clayton left this earth much too early,
his legacy lives forever at the Park as his brilliant idea has now spawned a cornhole league and tournament in his honor.
Cornhole is incredibly popular (with an ESPN contract) and in our town is played primarily in backyards.
Now you can, literally, add Main St. As of 2023 cornhole is now played in the center of town using our beautiful hand-crafted boards.
Our inaugural 2023 Clayton Perry Memorial Cornhole Tournament was played in July, which was followed by our cornhole season.
The 2023 Cornhole League was played Monday through Friday on Court 1. We initially played on the court surface, but really found our stride once we turfed the court.
Thirty-six teams played in the 7-week season.
The season began with a mix of novices (sometimes the bag hit the board), minor leaguers (sometimes the bag went in the hole), and major leaguers (how do they do that!).
They say a rising tide raises all boats, and people who couldn’t find the board were finding the hole and those who were already good got better with the competition.
Cornhole brought a fresh new crowd to the park and the joyful sounds that go with it.
New friendships abounded and as the season went on, the level of play got better, and the cheering and cheerfulness got louder.
There is also no question that playoff cornhole is as competitive, exciting, and boisterous as playoff bocce.
Teams that got knocked out stuck around and cheered on the teams that knocked them out.
Our first class of semifinalists set a high standard for the quality of their play and the quality of their sportsmanship:
| 1st Place: |
Cornholios (Capo: Frankie Quadrato) |
| 2nd Place: |
Sacks & Wood 2 (Capo: Jeff Nelson) |
| 3rd Place: |
Tag ‘Em and Bag ‘Em (Capo: Dave Gomez) |
| 4th Place: |
That’s How We Hole (Capo: Todd Skow) |
Click here
for Cornhole results and photos.
Final Thoughts
There is no more beautiful sight when coming down the Oak St. ramp on a beautiful evening
than to see the Park lit up with 60 or more people having a good time being around each other.
Our modern life is way too busy and stressful.
Everyone needs an outlet and we are happy that our players chose bocce, and now cornhole, as one of those outlets.
The CBCA and its Bocce Committee want to thank all of our players for their commitment to our ‘athletic’ and social activities
that help define the health of a community, that is played with good cheer, camaraderie, and most important of all, your good sportsmanship.
Life goes on regardless of how much fun bocce and cornhole are.
We are saddened to have lost at least three players (that we know of) who have moved on from this life and are undoubtedly playing bocce on a different court.
Rest in peace: Rich Purdue (Throw Pallino First), Eric Peterson (Mazzei Chevrolet), and Cathy Duckworth (Block Party).
We know we missed some others and will miss all of them.
Finally, we want to thank the staff at Skipolini’s for their ever present
and cheerful spoiling of us by bringing food and drinks so that we don’t dare miss a turn.
And to our groomers, Brent Dawson and Guy Hagler, who together work on our courts 250 days a year
(and regularly triggering our security system while grooming at 1:00 a.m. and later) or more watering,
raking, sweeping, rolling, repeat.
The Ipsen Family Bocce Park, with only four courts, has the highest intensity usage of any courts in Northern California,
and undoubtedly other places too. We cannot possibly sustain this without our dedicated groomers.
Respectfully,
CBCA Bocce Committee
Brent Dawson
Cecilia Hartley
Ed Hartley
Keith Haydon
Jim Lawrence
Matt Medel
Dennis Mitchell
Becky Overstreet
Lisa York
