The Wilderness Bocce Season kicked off earlier this week with a match held in
a
forest clearing north of Bangor, Maine between teams from Italy and Sweden.
The
rules of Wilderness Bocce required that all games be played in forests
at least
fifteen miles from the closest village. Tournaments must be played
in a natural
clearing, and any branches, boulders, holes, hills or other
'in situ'
obstructions may not be removed or modified. Animals moving
through the clearing,
likewise, shall be considered 'in play'; a ball moved
by the swipe of
a bear's paw or slap of a beaver's tail must be played from
the point
at which said ball comes to rest. Games shall commence at dawn
(specified to be
'the point at which it becomes sufficiently light to tell a
white thread
held at arm's length in one hand from a black thread held at
arm's length
in the other) until crepuscle (defined as 'twilight; that point
at which a
vampire might safely join the game'). Sweden topped Italy in
the opening match
by a score of 2,133 to 1,740.
