Swampscott seniors want back in the game with bocce court

SWAMPSCOTT – Swampscott seniors are looking to get back in the game, and it would appear that the game is bocce.Regular users of the senior center appeared before the school committee Wednesday to seek approval to build a court for the ancient bowling game outside their facility to attract more male members. The school committee controls the senior center land.Deb Bogardus, chairman of the Friends of the Senior Center, said the bocce court at the Marblehead Community Center is active with people of both genders. “We thought it would be a way we could get more men interested,” said Bogardus.?We?ve all had trouble attracting men in our lives,” school committee member Marianne Hartmann said with a laugh as the rest of the room joined in and Superintendent Lynne Celli almost choked on her coffee mid-sip. Hartmann said her own father, home from Florida, would be drawn to the court.?You?ll have men,” she said. “It?s a great idea.”Senior center regular Myron Stone said the men usually play chess while the women knit.?The men don?t seem to want to come to the senior center,” said Stone. “A bocce ball court could get more men involved.”Stone said all community residents, not just center members, could be invited to play.?What would be the minimum age to play?” asked Business Manager Ed Cronin, to which Stone said in jest, “You could get away with your gray hair.”The 10- by 61-foot court, typically built of crushed, compacted stone and bordered by wood, would be located on a strip of land just outside the center.With the committee?s vote of approval, it?s up to the Friends of the Senior Center to get the ball rolling, so to speak, in determining how to pay for the court.Senior Center Director Marilyn Hurwitz said Thursday that the approval was only the first step in the process, and no date has been set for the court?s opening.Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].