The awe inspiring venue for the 2010 World Raffa Championship was the backdrop to Australia’s introduction to World Raffa Bowls competition!

The Bowls Center complex in Rome is the first purpose built stadium designed to accommodate all the bowl sports represented by the CMSB (The Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules)- the main stadium includes eight courts, seating for 600 spectators, media commentary box, medical room, meeting rooms etc. In addition, other facilities that form part of the complex include, practice courts, a second smaller multipurpose stadium, residential accommodation, restaurant , offices and lecture room as well as playing courts for bocce volo, raffa, lawn bowls and petanque – all this set on acres of land in the EUR zone on the outskirts of Rome. 

The thirty nations that competed in this World Singles Championship, conducted between the 27th September and 3rd October, 2010 in three categories, men’s, women’s and under 23 years, were treated to a spectacular opening ceremony and nightly entertainment accompanied by excellent hospitality throughout the duration of the tournament.

Australia received an invitational entry to compete in the men’s competition, with Gino Montuoro rising to the challenge in the men’s senior event and Nicholas Penney in the under 23 competition.  Australian visitor and experienced team manager of women’s volo teams, Lina Cher, was co-opted to act as manager/coach for the team.

The tournament demonstrated a wide variety of skill level and experience amongst the players, some of whom had been competing in the sport for over twenty years, such as the newly crowned World Singles Champion, Austria’s Nicola Natale, and then there were other players like the Australians, participating for the first time.

The Australians were able to secure the services of Fabrizio Fortunato, international referee and experienced player to guide them through the maze of complex rules associated with the raffa game and receive training and demonstration in the correct technique of the sport.

Gino mastered the pointing well with good judgement of the distance and understanding of the fast rolling court surface.  In practice, his throwing ability was also quite good, but understanding the rules that governed the court proved more difficult for him.

Nicholas, on the other hand, grasped the fundamentals of the rules very quickly.  In practice, he experienced initial difficulty in coming to terms with the court’s super smooth surface.  In order to succeed with a ‘throw’ shot on artificial surfaces, it is essential to hit the ball on the full, otherwise it bounces up and over the target bowl.  To assist in overcoming the bowling problem, we sought the assistance of the experienced Italian and multi-times champion of the sport, Germana Cantarini, to assess and assist with his pointing style.

In the competition encounters, Gino started out with a loss to Brazil, followed by a narrow win against Montenegro, a third match loss to China and finally, a win against Morocco.  This placed Gino 23rd in the 30 nations’ classification ladder for his event.

Nicholas began with a loss to Switzerland (runners up in the Under 23 event), then a narrow win against Serbia. A bye, followed by a win against Bulgaria and then successive losses to Argentina and the Czech Republic, concluded his tournament, placing Nicholas 12th in the participating 22 nation classification ladder.

The game of ‘raffa’ is entertaining, particularly with the various optional styles of delivery.  For newcomers, the rules appear complex.  Played on a synthetic surface and using coloured synthetic bowls makes for an interesting spectator sport.  The requirement of a referee for each court is a resource issue that necessitates the training of many referees.

Television network, RAI, filmed throughout the championship, televising live the semi final and finals on the Saturday afternoon.  Coverage of the championships by RAI was on-sold to media outlets world-wide, including to Australia’s SBS.