Maria participated in the new game of Raffa Bocce, a version of the sport that is taking over in Europe, from the traditional game of bocce to which Australians are accustomed.
Maria travelled with her husband, Joe Greco, who provided the Free Press with an insight into the trip.
Borrelli, however, represented the traditional game of Bocce Volo, where the skill of throwing a bocce bowl over a minimum distance of 13 metres is required and difficulty is increased by 700mm with each throw to a maximum of 18m.
Only two players were picked for Volo Bocce, Borrelli and Enzio Tomasi from Queensland.
In the Raffa, the women’s team was Maria Greco and Diane Penney from Morwell, with the men’s team Silvio Bruzzese and Rocky Mancini from Sydney.
The trip was 34 hours in duration before the team arrived at its resort in Mersin.
The first morning involved travelling by bus to the sports stadium 30km away, having to be on the courts by 9am to get the hour of training.
There were 27 countries participating in Raffa, with a total of 37 countries participating overall.
Joe Greco said this continued every day, up by 6am, breakfast, then catch the bus by 7am for an 8.30am start. Returning home anywhere between 8pm to 11pm.
“The courts were very unlike ours. Where we have hard, compacted sandy courts, they had two types,” Joe said.
“One was very smooth with a concrete base and a very thin layer of fine, sifted sand (slipping was a problem) and the other was a made-up court layed out on a basketball stadium, constructed with a rubber backed carpet.
“That was very hard to play on, it was not level and as the day went on ripples developed. This proved very frustrating as luck replaced skill.”
Joe said, unlike Australian bocce players, where the sport is played more for the sport and fun, some of the European country representatives have bocce as a paid job — every day, for eight hours.
“We found all the teams very friendly — we exchanged tokens of memorabilia with each team as a token of friendship,” he said.
“Overall we had an enjoyable experience, made some friendships, even though we did not win any medals.
“Bocce Australia is contemplating holding these games in Australia in 2024.”
Joe said he was looking forward to implementing this type of game in Australia.
“It is a game that is suited to both men and women of all ages. Interested players can contact either myself or Tony through the local bocce club at Kyabram and Tatura,” he said.
“I would like to thank all that have supported us.”
Further information is available through the Bocce Australia website.
