Team Padrini wins state bocce title at LPDA

Valdese-based Team Padrini won the North Carolina State Four-Person Bocce Tournament on Sept. 9 at the Le Phare Des Alpes clay-court venue in Valdese. 

Padrini took only one loss in the double-elimination tournament, topping the Pallino Ninjas in the championship, 12-7. Winning team members included Marvin Kamp, Morris Baker, Glenn Harvey, and Barry Remington. 

For the runner-up Ninjas, team members were Matt Brown, Dennis Barus, Carrol Hoyle, and Steven Christie. Team Bocce Amici (player names not available) out of Winston-Salem placed third at the event. Teams from Asheville, Mooresville, and Raleigh also competed in the event.

The tournament was hosted by LPDA, a nonprofit group formed in 1909 by the Waldensian settlers of Valdese, and it included winning regional teams from throughout the state, including from the regional hosted by LPDA during the annual Waldensian Festival. 

As participation in the regional tournament grew over the years, the LPDA facility was expanded. Through a generous donation by a local family, a new shelter was constructed, resulting in three regulation bocce courts under the same roof.

This year’s state champion squad had the oldest players in the tournament. Asked about the origin of the name, Padrini, team captain Harvey explained that “we wanted to call ourselves the Octogenarians, but the 68-year-old teammate dragged our average age down to 79.5. In deference to LPDA’s Waldensian heritage, we chose an Italian name of respect for the elderly.” 

In Italy, Padrini means “godfathers,” the revered sponsors of a child’s baptism. It also means protectors, patrons, or mentors … a fitting name as the team members and other LPDA members helped with the construction and repair of public courts for the towns of Valdese and Hudson. 

The Padrini team members play bocce weekly with dozens of others throughout the area. Harvey was introduced to bocce in 2014 when, with his construction experience, LPDA appointed him as project manager for the facility renovation. The expansion enabled LPDA to host the regional tournaments since 2014 and the state tournaments soon thereafter. 

Suitable for all ages, the sport of bocce is gaining in popularity across North Carolina and the United States. Nonetheless, LPDA’s claims of the finest bocce courts in the state and Valdese’s claim as the “bocce capital of the world” are unchallenged, to date.