HILUXURY – Hawaii Luxury Magazine

Lacrosse is a sport that combines coordination and skill.

Lawn bowling involves participants rolling a ball as close to a designated marker as possible. It is similar to the Hawaiian game ulu maika.

Bocce ball is similar to lawn bowling and even has its own set of rules for Hawaii.

Local leagues take on these year-round pastimes

Sports enthusiasts often find themselves in the doldrums this time of year. Luckily, there are three sports played year-round on Oahu that are easy to learn, engaging to witness and, best of all, only require a little bit of equipment and an open field to get started.

Lacrosse

Lacrosse is a fast-paced sport that’s full of action and excitement.

“It gets in your blood,” says John Keogh, co-president of the U.S. Lacrosse Hawaii chapter, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year.

The roots of modern lacrosse can be traced back centuries to Native American religion. Referred to as “The Creator’s Game,” lacrosse was played for multiple reasons – from resolving conflicts to healing the sick, even as a preparation for war. In 1867, Canadian dentist W. George Beers standardized the game with the adoption of set field dimensions, limits to the number of players per team and other basic rules.

In general, each team consists of 10 players (12 in women’s lacrosse) passing a hard rubber ball with a lacrosse stick down a field (similar to a soccer field) with the intent of scoring a goal.

“Lacrosse combines skills of soccer, basketball and hockey; it is not as violent a sport as people think,”

Keogh says, adding that the game utilizes agility, speed and coordination over brawn.

The Hawaii chapter’s adult league meets every Sunday at Kapiolani Park. Women’s games begin at 10 a.m., and men start at 11. Children and teens play Sundays at Central Oahu Regional Park and Kapiolani Park under the Aloha Youth Lacrosse Association. More information can be found at www. hawaiilacrosse.com and www.alohalax.com.

Lawn Bowling

Capt. James Cook arrived in the midst of the ancient Hawaiian new year festival known as Makahiki. Among the many games he witnessed was the Ula Maika, in which elliptical stones are bowled a distance of 60 feet to marker discs called Ula.

Similar games of lawn bowling can be traced as far back as 12th century England, and even farther in ancient civilizations found in Egypt, China and North and South America.

Today, lawn bowlers follow rules drawn up in 1893 by the Scottish Bowling Association. The objectives are simple: Roll the bowl (ball) as close to the white jack as possible. (The jack is rolled the length of the green to start each end. Where it stops, after being centered in the middle of the rink, becomes the target.)

“The game is strategy, skill and luck – sometimes more luck than the other two,” says Dominick Petillo of the Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club, the only lawn bowling club in the state. “We have a small club of 11 members. We have gotten visitors from Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, England and Japan.”

The Honolulu Lawn Bowls Club meets at 9:30 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the greens at Ala Moana Park. For more information, call 808-256-4311.

Bocce Ball

Similar to lawn bowling, bocce ball involves rolling a ball toward a target set down a stretch of field. Its origins can be traced to Egypt circa 5200 B.C. and to Greece in about 800 B.C. In the Islands, a unique Hawaiian Rules (H.R.) version of the game has been developed on the University of Hawaii Manoa campus.

Traditional bocce games are played on a hard-surfaced court bound by raised edges and backboards at the ends. Two main playing surfaces are used for H.R. bocce: One similar to a putting green designed to provide a variety of up- and downhill play and graded to enhance right- and left-hand breaks; the other version reminiscent of a mini-golf course, where play is directed through as series of fairways.

To set up a match, a cue-sized ball called a pallino is rolled down an alley. Where it lands becomes the target point. Two teams of one, two or four players (two, three or four in H.R. bocce) then compete to see who can roll, toss or bounce the bocce, a ball about the size of a grapefruit, as close as possible to the pallino without going out of bounds. The bocce closest to the pallino at the end of the frame (when both teams have exhausted all balls) scores one point, with games usually played to 12 points.

The best way to learn is to play for yourself. Bocce ball sets can be purchased at most sporting goods retailers.