Scout brings bocce to Baldwin

Baldwinite Christopher Pugliese has been around bocce ball his entire life. “Being Italian, I have had a lot of experience with bocce ball,” Pugliese said. “I have a lot of memories of my grandparents and family playing it at get-togethers.”

Those games were always played in backyards, not in Baldwin parks. The community never had a bocce ball court to call its own — until earlier this month, when Pugliese and community officials cut the ribbon on two brand-new courts in Baldwin Park. The Baldwinite coordinated the construction of the courts as part of his Eagle Scout Service Project, which must be completed to obtain the Boy Scouts of America’s highest rank.

“I thought it would be cool if I could make that for Baldwin,” Pugliese said. “I like” Baldwin Park “and there was available space there.”

The courts, which were opened on Baldwin Day, are located near the basketball courts in the park, and balls can be obtained from the community room by providing a driver’s license. Pugliese is a member of Boy Scout Troop 121 in East Rockaway, as well as Troop 824 in Baldwin.

Pugliese said his grandparents on both sides introduced him to the game. “It was never competitively,” he said. “It was always just a thing we did for fun.” In bocce ball, a ball called the pallino is thrown into the playing area. Players then take alternate turns trying to get their bocce ball as close to the pallino as possible, hitting the pallino to get it closer to their ball than their opponent’s or moving their opponent’s ball away from the pallino. The game continues until a pre-determined amount of points is obtained.

The courts took about a year to construct, Pugliese said, and was built by volunteers. “We had a couple of people form the park,” he said. Park-goers and elected officials broke in the courts on Baldwin Day with a mini-tournament. “It was nice because there were a lot of people who showed up,” Pugliese said.