The Waterside Club, Phoenix, NY, hosted the 2023 New York State Bocce Club Championship (NYSBCC) and Special Olympics, Unified Sports celebrity bocce event on April 21 and April 22, 2023. The Waterside Club and the NYSBCC is proud to promote Special Olympics, Unified Sports and Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools®; as well as, promoting community-based programs in our communities.

Clubs and organizations that participated are considered to be Ambassadors—They are like-minded passionate bocce enthusiasts advocating for the growth of the sport. They promote inclusion, sense of community and celebrate the unique abilities of all. Identified as an Ambassador series event, this state-wide invitational brought together top tier bocce clubs and organizations, from throughout the State, representing their respective state region.

Thank you to all sponsors, clubs, participants, and guest who supported this noteworthy cause. Special thanks to our friends at the American Bocce Company and the Bocce Broadcast Network for live streaming and broadcasting this event on YouTube. 

Congratulations to Troy Italian Community Center (ICC) who defeated Toccolana Club to bring home the title.

Tournament Results:
1st - Troy Italian Community Center (ICC), Troy NY
2nd - Toccolana Club, Rome NY
3rd - Mount Vernon/Yonkers Bocce Club, Mount Vernon/Yonkers NY
3rd - Short Street Bocce Club, Lockport NY

SPECIAL OLYMPICS FACT ~ “Young people with disabilities do not often get a chance to play on their school sports teams. More and more U.S. states are adopting the Unified Sports approach that Special Olympics pioneered. Special Olympics United Champion Schools® programming is in more than 8,300 schools across the United States, with a goal of being in 10,000 schools by 2024.

In more than 8,300 Unified Champion Schools across the country, Special Olympics has trained and mobilized youth leaders and educators to create more inclusive schools by including students with ID in all aspects of school life."

“Unified is more than a sports league – it’s a way of life. Together as teammates in every sense, our Unified athletes and partners are creating school communities where inclusion, tolerance and acceptance of all students is the rule and not the exception.” — Stacey Hengsterman, President and CEO of Special Olympics New York

Keep the balls rolling for Special Olympics, Unified Sports.