Our own Arizona Senior Bocce Olympics Tournament Winners! From left are Michael Buscaglia, Ralph Falvo, Bill Janicki and Gary Bross. Congratulations to you all for a fine competition!
Irene D’Aloisio
Congratulations to Gary, Michael, Ralph and Bill – Team Emeritus from Sisk Park Bocce!
The Arizona Senior Olympics Bocce Tournament was held in February of this year at the Sun City Bocce Club. Our own Sun Lakes bocce team from the Sisk Park Bocce Club took third place. They played on Tuesday, February 17. Team Emeritus is made up of four of our own Sun Lakers: Gary Bross, Michael Buscaglia, Ralph Falvo and Bill Janicki. Their bocce prowess earned them a Senior Olympics White Ribbon. They accomplished their mission by edging out several teams from around Arizona and California.
Team Emeritus fully enjoyed the experience. Having made new friends and having enjoyed the play in the well-organized event, they plan to play next year and encourage bocce players of all levels to participate.
Arizona Senior Olympics was founded by the City of Phoenix in 1982 and remained a city program for 16 years. In the first year, 150 participated. That grew to more than 300 the next year and continues to grow reaching as many as 5,000 athletes. The Senior Olympics was originally managed by City of Phoenix staff with help from participating communities, including Tucson, Green Valley, Prescott, Flagstaff and more. With seniors coming from all over Arizona, the program name was changed to Arizona Senior Olympics. In 2008 with the recession, the City of Phoenix cut the program. The original founder, a city employee, retired and formed the Arizona Lifelong Fitness Foundation, of which the Arizona Senior Olympics is the signature program.
The Foundation, for 50 Plus seniors, holds workshops, clinics and other events throughout the year and more information can be found on the website at www.seniorgames.org. They specialize in programs and activities that keep persons in the second half of life physically, mentally, and socially active and fit. Their newsletter, The Finish Line, can be found in the Lovin’ Life After 50 publication at all valley Walgreens.