Norwin’s Unified Bocce team began their season on December 17 against Hempfield, and played again on December 18 against Mt Pleasant to celebrate senior night. A ceremony was held before the game to acknowledge seniors Adam Guskiewicz, Travis Roe, and RJ Mahler.
Many students are aware of Norwin’s Unified Bocce team, but few are knowledgeable as to how the game works.
“Bocce is a straightforward game that anyone can enjoy!” said Coach Kristin Sweeney. “The goal for each team is to get the most bocce balls closest to the small target ball called the pallina.”
Games are played to 16 or until the 30-minute time limit elapses. Whichever team gets their bocce ball closest to the pallina is awarded points based on how many are closest. For example, if Mt Pleasant’s ball was 2 feet away from the pallina and Norwin had two balls closer than 2 feet, Norwin would receive 2 points.
“Bocce is such a fun game to coach!” Sweeney said. “The matches are intense and competitive, but the students have a great time!”
Special Olympics Unified Sports has grown to include competition on scales ranging from local high schools all the way to the global stage. According to the Special Olympics website, the ultimate goal of Unified Sports is to “bring people together.”
“Special Olympics is dedicated to promoting social inclusion through shared sports training and competition experiences. Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities on the same team. It was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding.”
Not only does Unified Bocce bring Norwin students together, it works with other school districts to create a sense of community, dedicated to enjoying friendly competition while fostering a healthy atmosphere for inclusion.
“My favorite part about playing bocce is being with people I love and being with my friends!” freshman Makenzie Klipa said.
The Knights’ record currently sits at 4-4. This is a huge improvement from 2 years ago when around this time they were 0-3. Not only are the Knights winning more games, they’re getting more opportunities to compete.
“I really enjoy trying to make the team win and making people happy,” said freshman Kaitlyn Cichowicz.
Winning or losing, the Norwin Unified Bocce team has so much fun when they compete, and that’s no more evident than when you attend a game.
The Knights will play their next game at Penn Trafford on January 23. Come out and support the team. Admission for every match is free, and the schedule for upcoming games is on the Norwin website.