Lorraine Wilson
The balls are rolling, the teams are back, and the Fall Bocce season is officially underway at Robson Ranch! Unfortunately, Texas didn’t get the memo about the word “Fall.” With courtside temperatures topping 100 degrees, our bocce players are starting the season with an opponent tougher than any team on the schedule—the Texas heat!
Player safety comes first, so the Bocce Club has a careful process for determining when conditions are simply too hot for league play.
Rather than relying solely on weather apps, the club uses a device that measures the actual temperature, humidity and heat index at courtside. During the first week of play noon readings reached a scorching 104 and 109 degrees, along with Extreme Danger heat-index warnings.
Those readings are taken just inches above the player seating area—the surface where players sit, stand and walk during a match. Board members and Division Commissioners then compare the readings with several weather forecasts before making the call on afternoon and evening play.
Cancellation decisions are made at least 90 minutes before match time. Capos and co-Capos are notified through GroupMe, a notice is posted on the RRD Bocce Facebook page, and Bocce League Cancelled signs are placed at the Bocce Complex.
Teams don’t have to worry about that cancelled match. The Scheduling and Scoring Committee automatically assigned a makeup date, and League Lobster updates the schedule. Fall makeup matches begin Nov. 16, take a break for Thanksgiving and the Dec. 1 Christmas Party, and conclude before the playoffs during the second week of December.
The club is even exploring the possibility of installing its own weather station at the Bocce Complex, giving us another tool for keeping players safe.
Soon enough, cooler temperatures will arrive and Texas will remember that it’s supposed to be fall. Until then, bring your bocce spirit, watch for cancellation notices, look out for your teammates and remember the unofficial rule of Fall Bocce:
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate!