FPUSA BLOG

2012 Florida Trophy -RESULTS-

2012-01-23T21:24:00.001-05:00

There were a total of 12 Doubles that came in to Battle for the Florida Trophy on this warm Sunday morning.

The Results for the Florida Trophy:

1st Roger Arpaia / Gerard Galiano

2nd Claude Lopez / Juan Garcia

3rd Michel Robichaud / Gilles LaChance

Florida Trophy Pictures

2012 FPUSA Tournament Calendar

2012-01-18T17:29:00.000-05:00

SE Regional Mixed Triples -Results-

2012-01-16T19:47:00.002-05:00

A cool sunny day for a wonderful Mixed Triples Tournament at The South Florida Petanque Club Courts with lots of Tough Competitors from around Florida and Canada.

There were a total of 12 Teams with three games to play in the morning and the Top Eight Teams moving to the Main Concourse and bottom Four to the Consolante.

Main Concourse

1st Place Juan Garcia ,Gilles Canesse and Raquel Garcia

2nd Place Claude Lopez, Christian Cote and Linda Cote

3rd Place Roger Arpaia, Jean Rolland and Marieke Rolland

4th Place Gerard Reuther, Michel Sucur and Sergine Giroux

Consolante

1st Place Guy Labouyrie, Michel Crouzillat and Jo Ella Manalan

2nd Place Gerard Butruille, Marc Vedrines and Denise Magas

3rd Place Christian Cazenave, Axel Cazenave, and Regine Maistri

4th Place Raymond Maistri, Pat and Armand Lallinec

Tournament PICTURES!

SE Regional Triples -Results-

2012-01-11T19:47:00.001-05:00

We just had our First Tournament for the Year and it was a good one!
The weather was just perfect.
The format was to play a total of 4 Games in the morning and top Four teams will go to the Semi Final and then Final and third and fourth places. and the rest to the Consolant.

1st Place Claude Lopez, Claude Lauhle and Bernard Martin

2nd Place Juan Garcia, Mario Olivieri and Raquel Diaz

3rd Place Roger Arpaia, Mark Vedrin and John Rolland

4th Place Jacques Martinez and his Harem

The Star of the day was Axel that its on the way to be the best at this game and the Future of USA Petanque.

John Roland Open 2011 - Results-

2011-11-19T14:43:00.001-05:00

The Results for the 2011 Edition of the John Roland Open goes as follow:

Main Tournament

1st Yanick Lauhle and Jean Michel Lauhle

2nd Marco Foyot and Bernard Martin

3rd Pascal Corchia and Gilles Canesse
3rd Maryse Bergeron and Marieke Roland

Consolante A

1st Ziggy and Juan Garcia

2nd Michel Robishaud and Gilles LaChance

Consolante B

1st Ives Chenette and Paco

Link to the John Roland Open Pictures:

JR Open Pictures

Weekend to remember!

2011-11-16T11:39:00.007-05:00

Players of all stripes, from Israel, Netherlands, France and Canada, joined their American brothers and sisters in-boules as they met this past weekend, November 11-13, on 68 courts constructed by host Philippe Boets of Petanque America in Fernandina Beach, Florida, to play in the largest petanque tournament in the U.S., the Petanque America Open.

As in past years, Christophe Chambers, familiar to all of us, shouldered what would be a mind boggling task to most of us by skillfully formatting the 136 teams (272 players) into an impeccably run competition of qualifying games, concours, and consolantes.

By Friday morning, the 11^th, several sets of clinics were being offered to the steady stream of players arriving, boules in hand.

Many players had enrolled in the advanced clinic conducted by Marco Foyot, "Le Gran Marco", who has won so many competitions in his home country of France and on the international circuit that there is not room to list them, but being on the winning team for the "Marseillaise" 6 times gives a hint of his accomplishments on the court.

FPUSA instructors, Ed Porto, Frank Pipal put on well attended "basics of petanque" clinics, as did Artem Zuev in his "Art of the plombée" offering.

Narin Garrett (Redwood Empire Boules Club) gets a few hints from Marco Foyot as Verena Rytter(LPM) looks on.

In addition to special motel rates, Philippe had arranged for easy transfer to the tournament venue and a players area at the courts featured food and beverage vendors and a large tent for taking one's meals in the company of fellow players. Everything necessary for the complete petanque experience, competition and camaraderie, was in place. Over an apero, Christophe conducted the draw.

Christophe conducting the draw assisted by Erin McTaggart (Redwood Empire Boules Club)

Marco Foyot pointing in an early match.

Saturday morning, under clear skies, Philippe's welcome remarks and Christophe's announcements explained all and the tournament was under way.

After a full day of 5 qualifying games, on courts made difficult by a covering of fine fill over thumb sized rocks, players retired to restaurants for a good meal and awaited the next day's slotting of teams into the various levels of the tournament.

Sunday, players crowded the bulletin board to determine into which tournament they were placed as a result of their performance the previous day and then play commenced.

All day teams competed hoping to "end up in the money" and by just after dark on a lighted court the final game produced a winner.

Truly astounding for most spectators were the large numbers of carreaux made by shooters Marco Foyot and Damien Hureau in the final.

Full results will follow in a few days, but here are the top four teams.

1^st Place- Marco Foyot (France) and Bernard Martin (Boca 2000 Petanque)

2^nd Place- Jean-Pierre Subrenat (New York Petanque) and Damien Hureau (France)

3^rd Place- Peter Mathis (Redwood Empire Boules Club) and Antoine Geoffroy (Canada) and Mario Gagné and Ben Gauthier (both Canada) (note: match not played for 3^rd & 4^th place, both teams received 3^rdplace result)

At the awards ceremony that followed at a local restaurant, prizes were awarded to teams finishing in the money and gift certificates contributed by FPUSA totaling $500 were handed out by random draw to teams who otherwise had not won prize money.

Philippe Boets and Diana Jacobs(LAPC) "cut the grass"

Need boules?

This is a "not to miss" tournament for any and all players. Plan to be on a team for it next year!

NE Regional Tournaments -RESULTS-

2011-09-22T22:01:00.002-04:00

OFFICIAL RESULTS from the NE Regional Triples and Doubles Tournament hosted by the
Maine Boules Club on September 10 and 11th.

We had an excellent turnout with 38 competitors for the Triples and
and 36 for the doubles.

TRIPLES Concours
1st Kate Unkel, Jetsun Penkalski and Patrick Hayes/MBC and LBNY
2nd Cynthia Stroud, Gina deJoy and Andre Strong/MBC
3rd Ernesto Santos, Kate B., Lucien Tianajaona/ LBNY
4th Mark Kindschi, Mia Kanazawa, Bill Irvine/MBC

Consolante
1st Joel Schifflet, Paul Kelly, Bill Harris / NYPC
2nd Duncan Ralph, Frank Bianco, Russ Dischinger /MBC

DOUBLES
Concours
1st Cynthia Stroud, Andre Strong/MBC
2nd Lucien and Bill Harris/ LBNY/ NYPC
3rd Mark Kindschi and Mia/MBC

4th Ernesto and Kate B./ LBNY

Consolante
1st Joel and Paul/ NYPC
2nd Kate U. and Jetsun/ MBC
3rd Paula and Colin/ MBC

As you can see, Maine Boules Club was very well represented on the podium, with
special congratulations to Paula and Colin - brand new members who
were playing in their very first tournament. Great to see that 7 out of 8 teams in the 2 concours contained at least one woman player.

You can find many more photos, including the awards ceremony and lobster dinner, on the Maine Boules Club facebook page

or on the Pilgrim's Inn website.

Thanks to all who competed, hosted guests, raked, signed us up,
cleaned up, and provided us with water, coffee, pastries and shelter.
It was truly a wonderful weekend. We loved playing on the new piste
at Webber's Boatyard. Many, many thanks go to Annaliese and Matt of
the Boatyard Grill, who made it possible for us to play there and kept
our bellies happy.

           Sincerely,
       Mia Kanazawa
       MBC President

NW Region Doubles & Triples Results!

2011-08-25T16:52:00.005-04:00

It was a great weekend for a couple of tournaments, August 20-21, the FPUSA NW Region Doubles and Triples. This time of year in Portland Is known for bringing the heat, and though it got to 95℉ on Sunday and felt hotter than that on the courts for most of us, we were all grateful not to see triple digits. Players from seven out of the dozen clubs in the NW region made this a true regional tournament with 20 doubles teams and 13 triples teams.

The doubles final in progress

Doubles Winners, 1st & 2nd Places, see below for full listing of winners.

Triples Winners, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd places

Recap of Results:

NW Region Doubles- Saturday

1st Place- Ed Porto & Frank Pipal (PVPC)
2nd Place- Mike Stasack & Ryan Baker (EPIC)
3rd Place- Paul Zemanek (PPC) & Paul Sherer (RB)
4th Place- Van Woolfe & Daniel Andre (PPC)

Consolante

1st Place- Dave Riffo (LPM) & Dan Feaster (REBC)

2nd Place- Jim Laughlin & Marvin Wood (PPC)

3rd Place- Ray Peterson & Jeed Chaiboonruang(EPIC)

NW Region Triples- Sunday

1st Place- Shaughn McClurg (PPC), Johhny Prince (REBC), Van Woolfe (PPC)
2nd Place- Paul Zemanek (PPC), Paul Sherer & Brian Barton (both RB)
3rd Place- Joe & Bob Cortright, Wally Peppel (all PPC)
4th Place- Ray Peterson, Jeed Chaiboonruang (EPIC), Nan Walter (REBC)

Consolante

1st Place- Philippe Agnesse (PPC), Mike Stasack & Ryan Baker (both EPIC)
2nd Place- Jim & Sarah Laughlin & Marvin Wood (all PPC)

Key to club abbreviations- PPC= Portland Petanque Club, EPIC=Eugene Petanque International Club, RB=Rogue Bouligans, REBC= Redwood Empire Boules Club, LPM=La Petanque Mariniere, PVPC=Petaluma Valley Petanque Club

John Rolland Annual Select Tournament 2011 (Updated)

2011-08-11T20:00:00.000-04:00

Boca Petanque 2000 in Boca Raton, FL.

"Doublettes" November 5th and 6th 2011.

Up to $4,000 in Prizes

Open only to the first registered 40 Doubles Team.

Entry Fee: $50 per Player.

4PM Friday November 4th, Drawing of the Teams at the Club. Nibles and Pastis will be Served to All Participants.

Saturday the 5th of November Tournament Begings.

Lunch will be available both days including wine and water ($6 only with advance paid reservation).

8:30 Registration of the Teams

9:00 The Games start promptly

20 Teams will Stay in the Main Tournament and 20 Teams will go to the 1st Consolante

Sunday the 6th of November

8:30 Registration of the Teams

9:00 The Games start promptly

8 Teams will Stay in the Main Tournament, 12 will Go to the 2nd Consolante. (5 Games on Saturday)

From the 1st Consolante 8 Teams will Remain and 12 Teams will Go to the 2nd Consolante. (4 Games on Sunday)

Sunday: Prize Ceremony 5:00PM Food and Drinks will be served, compliments of Boca Petanque 2000

For Information and Registration:

John Rolland

5788 Wind Drift Ln

Boca Raton, FL. 33433

Cell: 954 425-2646

NW REGION Doubles & Triples, AUG 20-21, Portland, Oregon

2011-08-01T13:08:00.007-04:00

For FPUSA NW Region Clubs

The Portland Petanque Club is pleased to host the NW Region Doubles and Triples over the weekend of August 20-21, 2011. We hope you will join us for what is sure to be a fun weekend with some great competition. Portland is known to be a fun destination for players and our club has a good record of hosting tournaments.

Hope to see you!

For questions, see contact information on forms. Click on forms to enlarge for printing.

Revised FPUSA Calendar

2011-07-20T00:02:00.004-04:00

Please note this late change to the calendar: the Pan American World Championship Qualifier has been rescheduled to November 9th.

This tournament is tentative, and depends on commitments from other federations in the hemisphere who were given until September 30th to decide whether or not they will participate.

Best wishes -Ed

-------------------------------

Ed Porto

FPUSA National Sport Director

Perfect Weekend for a perfect tournament! The Pan Am Qualifier!

2011-07-01T13:45:00.019-04:00

Last weekend, June 25-26, 2011 under glorious blue sky and mid 70's temps, the Lamorinda Petanque Club welcomed 20 triples teams to their home courts in Lafayette, California to compete in the Pan American Qualification Tournament, the winner of which is the FPUSA's choice to represent this country in the World Petanque Championships to be held next year, 2012, in Marseille, France. It could happen that there will be an intermediate selection tournament on the way to the World Championships but this won't be known for a few months yet.

By Friday afternoon, the 24th, the courts were full of players learning the lay of the terrain, and Lamorinda Club volunteers were setting up for the next two days of competition.

Players from all over, New York, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Oregon, Washington, and of course, California, arrived in high spirits, there were lots of bear hugs as acquaintances were renewed and all looked forward to playing against the best the FPUSA has to offer.

The Lamorinda Club had been preparing for months and the organization was impeccable. String lines dividing the courts were taut, lumber had been laid to stop errant boules, the tournament format had been set, days-end snacks were set to arrive on time, a non-playing umpire, Antoine Lofaro, was ready to measure and give rulings, and Tournament Director Etienne with the support of Club President Bill Hansen, had his play sheets of the team match-ups ready to go. Our sincere and profuse thanks to the club and its volunteers for giving the FPUSA and its players such an enjoyable weekend!

Ed Porto, FPUSA Sport Director makes opening announcements

After team captains reported to the control table Saturday morning and players blitzed through the continental breakfast, play began promptly at 9AM. There were 5 random games that day on assigned courts. Chatter fell off and serious boules work began and continued for the rest of the day, interrupted only by a delicious lunch offered on site by the club as part of the registration.

At the end of the day, the 12 teams with the most wins and best point spreads were slotted into the concours tournament for Sunday's concluding games. The other 8 teams were entered into the Federation Cup, a tournament also open to players who had not come to compete in the Qualification tournament.

By Sunday morning, the 12 teams in the Concours began play in 4 pools of three teams each. Top seeded teams based on the previous day's results were given a 1st round bye and the remaining 8 teams played in their pools. A team losing two games was eliminated and by mid-afternoon, the best 8 teams began the single elimination run to the winner's circle, quarter finals, semi-finals, and the Final. It had been decided that the losing teams of the semi-finals would both receive 3rd place medals and there would be a final match for 1st and 2nd places.

The opening rounds of the Final

The final match then, was between the New York Petanque Club team (see full names and clubs in the results list below) of Eric, Xavier, and Jean-Pierre, and the team composed of Pascal, Juan, and Ziggy. A double wide court, previously not played on that day by these teams was prepared and after the coin toss, the jack was set and play began.

It soon became apparent that putting in a good point was going to be determinant in this game. Players struggled to get one in, sometimes the points were long, and other times short. The two shooters on each team rarely missed, lots of crowd pleasing, applause getting, hits of steel on steel, followed, and this put pressure on the pointers to get another point in.

Working hard to get those points in.

The team of Juan, Pascal, and Ziggy soon started to run up a lead after starting strong. The other team managed points here and there, but they couldn't make their count get past 5 points and soon it was 12-5, and then one more end made it 13-5. We had our winners!

Players were back slapping and hugging and sharing the excitement with any and all. The jubilant winners were ecstatic they had won, especially since this was the first time the three of them had played together as a triple. But petanque is that way, isn't it?

Two excited players from the winning team!

While hundreds of photos of combinations of players were being embedded on countless memory cards, volunteers were carrying wine and snacks on trays to appreciative players. it was a gratifying end to a perfect two days of competition.

Etienne, Tournament Director does double duty!

Some of the items donated for an after game auction to help the club defray costs.

The next Pan Am Qualification Tournament will be scheduled for 2013 to pick the team for the 2014 World Games somewhere on our globe, our big blue marble. See, even the world is just a boule, though a huge one.

See you at the next one!

Here are many more photos! https://picasaweb.google.com/Juankydotcom/PanAmQualifier2011#

The winners! (LtorR) Pascal, Ziggy, Juan

2nd place Concours, (LtoR) Xavier, Jean-Pierre, Eric

One of the 3rd place teams (LtoR) Ti, Ernesto, Alec with Lamorinda President Bill Hansen

The other 3rd place team, (LtoR) Peter, Mickey, PJ

Federation Cup Winners, (LtoR) Philippe, Thai, Van

2nd Place Federation Cup, (LtoR) Erin, Peter, Narin

3rd Place Federation Cup winners, (LtoR) Paul, Peter Paul, Brian

Federation Cup Consolante Winner Joe Cortright accepting the prize for his team.

FPUSA Pan American Qualification Tournament Results

1st place

Juan Garcia (captain) (Boca Pétanque 2000)

Ziggy Kessouagni (Chicago Pétanque Club)

Pascal Corchia (la Boule Du Desert)

2nd Place

Eric Bertin (captain) (New York Pétanque Club)

Xavier Thibaud (New York Pétanque Club)

Jean-Pierre Subrenat (New York Pétanque Club)

Joint Third Place

Ernesto Santos (captain) (La Boule New Yorkaise)

Alec Stone Sweet (La Boule New Yorkaise)

Richard Meas (La Boule New Yorkaise)

Peter Mathis (captain) (Redwood Empire Boules Club)

PJ Mallette (Portland Pétanque Club)

Mickey Coughlin (Redwood Empire Boules Club)

FPUSA Federation Cup Tournament

First Place

Philippe Agnesse (captain) (Portland Pétanque Club)

Antony Nguyen (Portland Pétanque Club)

Lavant Woolfe (Portland Pétanque Club)

Second Place

Narin Garrett (captain) (Redwood Empire Boules Club)

Peter Wellington (Redwood Empire Boules Club)

Erin McTaggart (Rewood Empire Boules Club)

Third Place

Peter Paul Montague (captain) (Rogue Bouligans)

Paul Porter (Rogue Bouligans)

Brian Barton (Rogue Bouligans)

Federation Cup Consolante

Winners- Joe Martin(captain),

Joe Cortright (all Portland Petanque Club)

Bob Cortright

The Mondial Ricard-La Marseillaise, A Big Open tournament in Montreal

2011-06-11T11:45:00.004-04:00

The Canadian Federation of Petanque announces the 4th Annual Mondial Ricard-La Marseillaise, a tournament open to players from around the world, including those from the U.S.

The three day event, August 5-7, 2011 takes place in Longueuil, suburb of Montreal and features several tournaments, recreational, invitational, and selects, with varying registration fees, but a large purse is assured.

If more information is needed contact Diana Léger : dianaleger@hotmail.com

AVIS DE TOURNOIS

4ieme Mondial Ricard-La Marseillaise à Pétanque 2011

BOURSE TOTALE PLUS DE 17500$ (conditionnel au nombre d’inscriptions)

Dates : 5-6-7- août 2011 Lieu : rue St-Charles à Longueuil/Québec/Canada Responsable : Hélène Bergeron

Programme Sportif

Vendredi 5 août 2011

11h à 12h TOURNOI RÉCRÉATIF Coût : 6$/joueur Organisé par les Clubs de Longueuil

Formation à déterminer (Max. 72 joueurs (es))

13h Début des parties

14h Inscriptions Tournoi V.I.P. Sur invitation de Distillerie Corby

14h30 Début du Tournoi V.I.P.

16h en continu ÉCOLE DE PÉTANQUE Fédération de Pétanque du Québec

16h à 19h PRÉ-MONDIAL RICARD-LA MARSEILLAISE À PÉTANQUE Accueil des équipes

Triplette Hommes et femmes Enregistrement des joueurs

Limité à 36 équipes Hommes et 24 équipes Femmes

Coût : 180$/équipe Bourses réservées pour les B Cadrage : 4 parties/16 équipes qualifiées H et F

(Parties en temps limité ** jusqu’en demi-finales) Tirage au sort des équipes

Annonce classement B

18h TIR EN ÉQUIPE DE 10 1 équipe- 10 tireurs- 1,000 boules Début

Samedi 6 août 2011

8h MONDIAL RICARD LA-MARSEILLAISE À PÉTANQUE Début des parties

1^er tour : 4 parties en temps limité =16 équipes qualifiées

À déterminer Arrêt pour le repas

13H30 à 14h Tournoi RICARD no. 2 (parties en temps limité) Inscriptions

Triplette Hommes et Femmes mélangés (limite de 28 équipes)

Coût : 30$/équipe

Cadrage : 3 parties/16 équipes qualifiées/élimination

4 Prix identiques après les ¼ de finale

14h en continu TIR DE PRÉCISION INDIVIDUEL Pétanque Olympique Longueuil

14h en continu ÉCOLE DE PÉTANQUE Fédération Pét. du Québec

14h 15 Tournoi RICARD no. 2 Début du Tournoi

14h 15 MONDIAL RICARD- LA MARSEILLAISE À PÉTANQUE Début des parties

2e TOUR Poules suisses : (partie en temps limité)

18h 30 TIR EN ÉQUIPE Fédération Pétanque du Québec Début

1 équipe / 10 tireurs / 1000 boules / 1heure

Dimanche 7 août 2011

9h MONDIAL RICARD-LA MARSEILLAISE À PÉTANQUE Reprise du tournoi

8 Équipes qualifiées Hommes et Femmes (suisse)

14h Demi-finales

16h Finale

10h en continu TIR DE PRÉCISION INDIVIDUEL Pétanque Olympique Longueuil

8h à 8h 45 Tournoi RICARD no 3 (parties en temps limité) Inscriptions

9h Triplette Hommes et Femmes Début du tournoi

Maximum 32 équipes Hommes et 18 équipes Femmes

Coût : 30$/équipe

Cadrage : Championnat/Consolante 1-2-3

12h TOURNOI RÉCRÉATIF Coût : 6$/joueur Inscriptions

13h Formation : à déterminer maximum 78 jours (es) Début du tournoi

12h ÉCOLE DE PÉTANQUE Fédération Pét. Du Québec

Avant la finale du Mondial TIR DE PRÉCISION INDIVIDUEL ½ et Finale du concours de tir

INFORMATIONS GÉNÉRALES

Pour le Mondial Ricard : Inscriptions et paiements à l’avance. (Si chèque, à la Fédération de Pétanque du Québec)

Sur les 36 équipes Hommes= conservons 6 places pour l’International et 2 sur les 24 équipes Femmes

RÈGLEMENTS DU TOURNOI MONDIAL RICARD-LA MARSEILLAISE

1. Les équipes se présenteront obligatoirement en maillot, chemise ou T-shirt identiques

2. Les parties se dérouleront en 13 points ou au temps en 60 minutes la partie

3. À son sifflet l’arbitre lancera et arrêtera les parties au temps

4. Au début de chaque mène chaque équipe aura droit à un seul lancé du but.

5. Toute mène commencée avant le coup de sifflet final de l’arbitre devra être terminée.

6. En cas d’égalité après une heure de jeu, une mène supplémentaire départagera les équipes.

7. Le jeu a lieu à l’intérieur du cadre seulement (un seul terrain)

8. Les Équipes gagnantes et perdantes marquent leurs résultats sur leur fiche de jeu et la font signer par l’arbitre sans délai.

9. Un arrêt de 15 minutes sera observé entre les parties sauf pour les équipes qui réalisent une mène supplémentaire qui doivent reprendre la partie suivante en même temps que les autres.

10. Passé cet arrêt de 15 min, les équipes retardataires seront pénalisées de un point par tranche entamée de 5 minutes porté au crédit de l’équipe qui attend.

11. Au-delà de 30 minutes de retard l’équipe absente sera déclarée perdante.

12. En demi-finale et en finale les parties se dérouleront en 13 points.

13. L’arbitre sanctionnera les comportements non sportif de ralentissement du jeu, la sanction après avertissement pourra aller jusqu’à l’exclusion de l’équipe. Sa décision est sans appel.

INSCRIPTIONS

Pour vous inscrire en personne lors des tournois suivants : Tournois nationaux du parc PIE XII à St Leonard le samedi 18 juin,

La coupe Sylvestre à Levis le 2 juillet,

National de Trois-Rivières le 7 juillet,

Le tournoi des bleuets à Roberval le 23 juillet,

Festival de Valleyfield le 30 juillet.

par courriel à Diana Léger : dianaleger@hotmail.com

DATE LIMITE D’INSCRIPTION : 29 JUILLET 2011

LE NOMBRE D’ÉQUIPES ÉTANT LIMITÉ CE SERA PREMIER ARRIVÉ ET PAYÉ PREMIER ENREGISTRÉ.

Veuillez libeller votre chèque à l’ordre la Fédération de Pétanque du Québec et le faire parvenir à l’adresse suivante :

Hélène Bergeron

629 Préfontaine

Longueuil J4K 3V8

Pour information : Hélène Bergeron ou Bernard Aurouze au 450- 442- 9202.

POUR INSCRIRE UNE ÉQUIPE UN NOM SUFFIT ACOMPAGNÉ DU PAIEMENT.

LE CLUB DE PÉTANQUE OLYMPIQUE DE LONGUEUIL ET LA DISTILLERIE CORBY, RICARD ET LES AUTRES COMMANDITAIRES VOUS REMERCIENT DE VOTRE PARTICIPATION ET VOUS DEMANDENT DE RESPECTER LES POINTS DE RÈGLEMENTS ÉLABORÉS POUR LE BON ORDRE, LE RESPECT DE L’HORAIRE ET DES SPECTATEURS.

LE COMITÉ ORGANISATEUR

Fresno Petanque does a National!

2011-05-20T11:42:00.028-04:00

Play with this handpainted beauty? Never!

The FPUSA's largest club, the Fresno Petanque Club, making its national tournament debut, offered up three full on tournaments the weekend of May 14-15, the National Mixed Doubles, Women's Doubles, and Men's doubles, with very high team counts, 32 for Saturday's Mixed, and 44 for Sunday's Women's (15) and Men's (29).

Getting started and checking in

Fourteen clubs from the four corners of the country sent players to this San Joaquin Valley locale. Warm weather was expected, but only those who managed to get in a few games on Friday afternoon ever saw any of that. Both Saturday and Sunday were cool and wet, and there were only half joking accusations aimed at the players from the Pacific Northwest that they had forgotten to check their clouds and rain at the border.

Baseball diamond overflow, smooth and hard!

The courts were a challenge to most players. Indeed, the high percentage of Fresno players ending up in the top placing teams attests not only to their skills, but also to their familiarity with these courts which had been overlaid with fine gravel that tended to camouflage areas of softer dirt beneath and that often stopped a plombée cold in its tracks. And the overflow area was a "hard as tempered glass" baseball diamond which had every shooter cursing and having to rely on long rolling shots to displace a boule.

Cool and wet was somehow better under the trees

Greg Lapp, Fresno Club President, and his large crew of volunteers, aided by some formatting suggestions from Sport Director Ed Porto, presented a well organized, come-off-without a hitch two days of serious play. Croissants and coffee were waiting each morning, tasty lunches arrived on time, and Saturday evening's dinner was superb.

The superb banquet

Greg and Deb, tournament organizers, enjoying winning the mixed consolante.

For all tournaments there were three morning qualifying games to 11 points and afterwards, half or more of the teams in each tournament advanced to the concours, the remainder to well fought consolantes.

One nice touch, indicative of the Fresno Club's bent toward marketing and promotion, a drawing for the raffle that had been ongoing for a number of weeks that will be used to send our junior team to a high level tournament in Luxembourg, since the worlds juniors was cancelled for this year. First prize was $1000 and much donated merchandise from local merchants complemented cash winning tickets.

With plenty of daylight left on Sunday afternoon, all the winners had their medals and prize money, and were looking for the exits and resumption of their "day jobs" on Monday.

A wonderful weekend, full of the camaraderie and good play that keeps us coming to these get togethers and thinking of the next one.

A big thank you to Fresno Petanque, and hope to see you on the courts.

Here are the results:

MIXED DOUBLES

Gold:

Mickey and Nicole Coughlin, Redwood Empire Boules Club

Silver:

Jimmy Simpson and Karen Petrina, Fresno Petanque Club

Bronze:

Peter Mathis and Holly Sammons, Redwood Empire Boules Club

4th Place- Paul Yang & Joyce Simpson

In the Mixed Consolante

1st - Deborah & Greg Lapp

2nd - John Morris & Helen McGill

3rd - Barbara Howard & Pascal Tisseur

4th - Ted Haynish & Anne Robertson

MEN'S DOUBLES

Gold:

Ed Porto, Petaluma Valley Petanque Club and Roger Arpaia, Boca Petanque 2000

Silver:

Paul Yang and By Vang, Fresno Petanque Club

Bronze:

Peter Mathis and Mickey and Coughlin, Redwood Empire Boules Club

4th Place- Tim Motooka & Alain Gusella

In the Men's Consolante

1st - Thai Nguyen & David Johnstone

2nd - John Morris & Vic Bianchi

3rd - Ed Loughmiller & Carl Motschiedler

4th - John Harris & George Lewis

WOMEN'S DOUBLES

Gold:

Cynthia Stroud, Maine Boules Club and Diana Jacobs, Los Angeles Petanque Club

Silver:

Antonia Paulsen, La Petanque Mariniere and Pim Nielsen, La Boule d'Or

Bronze:

Lisa Vaughan, Club Francais de Sacamento and Tish Harris, Oakhurst Petanque Club.

In the Women's Consolante

1st - Karen Petryna & Anne Robertson

2nd - Mary Albright & Helen McGill

Mickey & Nicole, 1st in Mixed

Karen and Jimmy, 2nd in Mixed

Diane & Cynthia, 1st in Women's with Antonia & Pim in 2nd

Men's winners, (L to R) By & Paul (2nd), Roger & Ed (1st), and Peter & Mickey (3rd)

Women's Consolante Winners Anne(L) & Karen(R) (Fresno)

Men's Consolante Winners Thai & David (Lto R)(Portland)

NW Regional Mixed Triples - June 5th

2011-05-19T12:59:00.006-04:00

Here is the entry form for the NW Regional Mixed Triples Tournament - last one in San Francisco before the summer chill sets in!

Petanque America Open 2011

2011-05-16T17:16:00.001-04:00

The Registration is now Open for the Petanque America Open 2011 on November 12th and 13th 2011.

Please do not wait till the last minute. The sooner we know you're coming, the easier it is to get organized.
Registration fees are refundable 100% up to Oct 30.

It seems that the target for this year is 128 Teams (Doubles)

http://www.petanque-america-open.com/index.html

Additional Qualifier Information for Non-Citizens and players who have belonged to other federations

2011-05-07T13:17:00.004-04:00

To enter a qualifier tournament which may lead to being a member of a team respresenting the FPUSA in a wolrd championship tournament, non-citizens and players who have belonged to other FIPJP Federations must complete this form as a part of their registration for that tournament.

Any questions, please contact Frank Pipal, FPUSA Secretary.

2011 Pan Am Men's Qualifier and Federation Cup -INFO-

2011-04-15T14:35:00.012-04:00

Dear FPUSA members,

Here are the official entry forms for the tournaments on June 25 & 26th in Lafayette.

Federation Cup notes:

- The Federation Cup is a one-day select triples tournament, open to all FPUSA members.

- Membership and renewal requirements are noted on the form.

- Teams who are eliminated from the qualifier on Saturday, June 25th, have the option of playing in this tournament.

- Entry fees for those teams will come from their qualifier entry fees.

- Team shirts are encouraged, but not required, for teams playing in the Federation Cup — look like Big Dog, play like a Big Dog!

- If you are in need of a partner(s) for the Federation Cup, please contact Tournament Director Etienne Rijkheer prior to registration: rda888@gmail.com We will do what we can to match you up.

Qualifier reminders:

- Please be mindful of the registration deadline. Entry forms must be received by June 18th. No guarantees can be made if your form comes in late. Please register early.

- If you are a non-citizen, or if you have previously been a member of another FIPJP Federation, please be sure that you submit the proper documentation for proof of US residency and verification of status of license. You may contact me, edporto@sbcglobal.net, or Secretary Frank Pipal, fpusasecretary@comcast.net, if you have specific questions on that.

- Required signatures on the registration forms can be completed on site, but proper residency documentation must be provided in advance to ensure participation.

- Team shirts are required for both days of the Qualifier.

The club has organised Special Discount Rates at the Walnut Creek Marriott Hotel - $79.00 per night! Click here to find out more

After the last game on Saturday, complimentary Wine and Hors d'Oeuvres will be offered to players in lieu of the earlier announced dinner plan. Previously sent in dinner reservation checks will be returned.

If you have any questions, please get in touch, or go to the Lamorinda Blog

Thanks and All the Best,

-------------------------------

Ed Porto

FPUSA National Sport Director

click on images to enlarge

UPDATED QUALIFIER AND FEDERATION CUP INFORMATION

There is one addition and one reminder to

the eligibility requirements for this year's men's Qualifier and for the Federation Cup tournaments to be held in Lafayette, CA, June 25-26, 2011.

The addition is that the Qualifier is open to men only, by change of policy by the FIPJP, and the reminder is that male players under the age of 18 (juniors) are eligible to enter the Men's Qualifier and male and female players under the age of 18 are eligible to enter the Federation Cup.

Hope to see you there!

click on the images to enlarge

NATIONAL DOUBLES, FRESNO MAY 14-15, 2011!

2011-04-05T11:59:00.010-04:00

A full weekend of tournaments graciously hosted by the Fresno Petanque Club. Have a look and make your selections for tournaments and offerings that will include a lot of relaxed conversations and good times.

(click on the images to enlarge and drag them to your desktop to save them for printing)

NW REGION TRIPLES MELÉE, MAY 1st, Sacramento

2011-04-05T09:00:00.000-04:00

Players in the FPUSA NW Region will be interested to know of this tournament hosted by the Club Francais de Sacramento at their Rancho Cordova Courts. Typically the weather is nice this time of year and the club has shown itself to be a wonderful host for the many tournaments it has put on.

(to enlarge an image below, just click on it and put it on your desktop to print it)

SE Mixed Doubles & Mixed Triples - RESULTS -

2011-03-07T20:25:00.000-05:00

We had a great time even though the weather did not cooperate with rain most of Saturday but Sunny and Hot on Sunday.
Lots of Canadians means tougher Competition and they came up in bunches, the pointing of the canadian ladies was flawless.

SE MIXED DOUBLES

1st Place Marcel Biolley and Nicole Belloy

2nd Place John Rolland and Marieke Rolland

3rd Place Roger Arpaia and Denise Dore

SE MIXED TRIPLES

1st Place Claude Laulhe, John Rolland and Marieke Rolland

2nd Place Claude Lopez, Roger Arpaia and Pierrette Sucur

3rd Place Michel Robichaud, Elie Ohayon and Denise Dore

TOURNAMENT PICTURES

2011-03-02T19:20:00.003-05:00

Dear FPUSA members,

Below is a very nice, all-expense-paid offer from the Turkish Federation for FPUSA to send 4 juniors, aged 13-14, to a new event — the World Children Sports Games.

Notice is relatively short, but if there is interest and commitment from parents and supporters, perhaps a delegation and team could be arranged.

Please contact me as soon as possible if you are interested.

Thanks and all the best -Ed

Here is the text of the message from the Turkish Federation:

Dear Mrs / Mr Presidents,

1st World Children Sports Games (WCSG) will be organized between 24th April and 1st May, 2011 in Ankara, Turkey. There will be 13 different sports in WCSG. It is planned to be repeated for the following years.

Raffa, Boules and Petanque will also be included in WCGS. The metropolitan municipality of Ankara will cover all the expenses of this organization. Travel costs will be paid by our federation.

13 and 14 years old children will participate to the games. So we are intending to host up to 30 countries.

We will pay for international and domestic flights, hotel and meals! The participants don’t need to spend any money. (The flight tickets will be bought by our federation.)

This is not only a competition, but a big festival for the children! There will be many social programs in which the children would enjoy themselves.

Each delegation will be composed of 4 players, 1 coach, 1 manager and 1 national journalist. So we will cover all the expenses for 7 persons. But if the delegation will be represented in 2 or 3 specialties (Raffa, Boules and Petanque), then our federation will cover the expenses of 6 players.

We plan to have singles, doubles and triples in Raffa and Petanque. In Boules we plan to have progressive, shooting&pointing game and a doubles game. (Technical details will be given later.)

As the time is very short, we need to know your intention of participation very soon.

Please write me back about your intention of participation until the end of this week. We also need to receive name lists by the 15th of March.

I will be glad to host your delegation in Ankara during this great event.

Please don’t hesitate to ask me if you need further information.

Thanks in advance for quick replies.

Best regards,

Mutlu Turkmen

SE Regional Doubles -RESULTS-

2011-02-21T19:30:00.001-05:00

Great Weather and a Total of 18 Doubles showed up at the South Florida Petanque Club's Courts for the Annual SE Regional Doubles Tournament. Teams from St Augustine, Sarasota, Miami, Boca Raton the Locals from Lakeworth and as far away as our neighbours from Canada.

Main Tournament:

1st - Claude Lopez and Juan Garcia

2nd - Gilles Canesse and Eric Moutard

3rd - Gerard Reuther and Raymond Maistri

4th - Elie Ohayon and Michel Sucur

Consolante:

1st - Guy Labouyrie and Michel Crouzillat

2nd - Jacques Martinez and Marcel Biolley

3rd - Roger Belloy and Daniel Wachtl

4th - Jean-Claude Cortes and Patrick Pon

Thanks to JoElla Manalan for providing the Results so quickly.

SE Doubles Pictures

SE Melee and Formed Triples -RESULTS-

2011-02-07T22:08:00.002-05:00

SE Regional Triples Results

1. Roger Arpaia, Alain Brunette and Juan Garcia

2. Claude Lauhle, Bernard Martin and John Rolland

3. Christian Cote, Gerard Reuther and Michel Crouzillat

SE Regional Melee Triples

1. Claude Lopez, Guy Labouyrie and Jeanette Dechape

2. Bernard Martin, Juan Garcia and Jean Masabrass

3. Jacques Martinez, Elie Ohayon and Marcel

Petanque in Europe this summer!

2011-02-05T14:36:00.004-05:00

One of Ibiza's beautiful beaches, just 50 miles off the coast of Spain, across from Valencia

For those of you who are interested in playing abroad next summer, here is a calendar of some significant tournaments that FPUSA teams have entered in past years.

Mind you, the level is always very challenging, hence the requirement for those interested to officially represent the FPUSA to be granted approval by the FPUSA Sport Committee.

However unofficial teams are free to go on their own and do not need Sport Committee approval.

The FPUSA has just received a formal invitation for an official FPUSA Team from :

FEDERACION BALEAR DE PETANCA

DELEGACION DE IBIZA Y FORMENTERA

For the 17th int’l de Petanque of the “Island of Ibiza”, scheduled on May 27^th thru 29^th, including full room and board.

Team of 3 + Coach, Sport Commitee approval required.

More details available from RCPIERREsq@hotmail.com

The following tournaments do not include a formal invitation offering room and board at this time, though some of them could come up with one within the next few months depending on their sponsorship. As it goes, an update will be posted on our Blog:

La Marseillaise a Petanque

July 3^rd thru 7^th in Marseilles, France, of course.

Int’l Espaci Occitan

July 29^th thru 31^st, in Dronero, Italy (close to Cuneo).

EuroPetanque d’Azur

August 4^th thru 8^th , in Nice on the French Riviera.

Mondial de Millau

In Millau, France, Aug 11^th thru 15^th

Later in August, there will also be:

Grand prix international de Zurich, Switzerland, and

La Nismoise in Belgium.

As soon as the dates are available, they will be posted on the FPUSA blog.

Last (for the time being), is:

Jersey Petanque Association:

International of Jersey on October 8^th and 9th

Interested by entering any of them? Please contact our int’l events coordinator:

RCPIERREsq@hotmail.com

A weekend in Louisiana playing boules, how fun!

2011-02-04T13:38:00.004-05:00

A new FPUSA club is forming in Lafayette, Louisiana, La Boule Cadienne de Lafayette and hosting their 3rd annual tournament featuring some excellent players flying in from France to complement a bunch of local teams and some from around the country. Last year about 40 teams were entered. If you like crawfish, turducken and some great cajun food, this is the place to be March 19 & 20, 2011.

(click on the graphic to enlarge)

SE Regional Doubles Tournament

2011-01-29T10:11:00.001-05:00

One more Regional Tournament for the SE Region to Sign up for.
This is a Doubles Formed Format in Lakeworth, Florida on Sunday February 20th 2011.

3rd Annual Heart of Texas Open Tournament

2011-01-26T21:16:00.005-05:00

The Annual HOT (Heart Of Texas) Tournament will be Sunday April 3rd at the French Legation in Austin Texas, 802 San Marcos Street Austin, TX. 78702 French Legation Museum, Austin TX

The Tournament is Open to Everyone.

It is a Doublette style tournament meaning teams of Two.

Registration fee is $15 each for members $20 each for non members.

Please have your team appoint a Captain, who is responsible for registration, payment and communication.

Tournament starts at 9:20 AM

Doors will open at 8AM

Registration dateline is March 28th

Please email or call Arsene (Club President) arsene.dupin@gmail.com
(512)468-0957

I went to the the 2nd Annual HOT Tournament last year and had a Great Time in the beautiful city of Austin. Arsene and the whole HOT Petanque Club received us like if we were part of the Club with open arms. They had teams from San Antonio, Dallas, Houston and Austin plus Miami and Philadelphia.
That means... I will be there again!

SE Melee and Formed Triples, Boca 2000

2011-01-24T21:34:00.001-05:00

Boca 2000 will be Hosting the SE Regional Melee Triples Tournament on Saturday Feb 5th and the SE Formed Triples Tournament on Sunday Feb 6th 2011.

National Singles and Mixed Triples - RESULTS -

2011-01-24T21:12:00.004-05:00

Boca 2000 Petanque Club hosted the National Women Singles and National Men Singles Tournaments on Saturday Jan 22nd 2011 on a dark and cold day for us Floridians and the National Mixed Triples on a much better clear and Sunny day reaching 70 degrees.

We had Players from Portland, California, Canada, Maine and Philadelphia, from Florida Players from St Augustine, Jupiter, Sarasota, Lakeworth, Boca Raton and Miami.

National Women Singles:

1st Place Marieke Rolland
2nd Place Peggy Matsuda
3rd Place Diana Jacobs

National Men Singles:

1st Place Bernard Martin
2nd Place Roger Arpaia
3rd Place Christian Cote

National Mixed Triples:

1st Place Gilles Canesse, Juan Garcia and Raquel Garcia
2nd Place Christian Cote, Ben Gautier and Linda Cote
3rd Place Roger Arpaia, John Rolland and Marieke Rolland

Tournament Pictures Link

FPUSA SPORT COMMITTEE FOR 2011

2011-01-12T12:14:00.003-05:00

Here is the line up of the FPUSA Sport Committee for this year. These experienced players keep our tournament program running right, monitor playing practices to help keep our competitions trouble free, and our umpire staff up to speed. Our thanks to these volunteers for stepping up to help!

click on graphic to enlarge

In Memory of Tino Lofaro.

2011-01-07T20:27:00.000-05:00

I met Tino twice in my travelings playing Petanque, once in Portland, Oregon for a National Triples and a second time at a WCQT Tournament in Sonoma , CA.

He was a Great Player with a wonderful Smile and sense of Humor and I noticed that He was loved/admired by everyone.

We Surely will miss Him.

Thanks to Barbara Hall for the nice Picture of Tino.

This is the Obituary from The Santa Rosa Press Democrat sent in by ED Porto.

National Singles and Mixed Triples Tournaments

2011-01-02T19:21:00.000-05:00

Entry Forms for the National Women and Men Singles Tournament on Jan 22nd 2011 and the National Mixed Triples Tournament on Sunday Jan 23rd 2011 In Boca Raton, FL.

Florida Trophy 2011

2011-01-02T18:06:00.002-05:00

EVENT
Florida Cup Doubles
DATE: 1/16/2011 START TIME 9:00 AM PLACE: Sarasota

PARK NAME: LAKEVIEW PARK
ENTRY FEE PER PERSON: $25.00

YOUR PAYMENT AND COMPLETED ENTRY FORM MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE CLOSING DATE AT THIS ADDRESS 0R AT LAKEVIEW PARK.

Brenda K. Green

416 S. Lime Avenue

Sarasota, FL 34237

Check or money order made payable to Sarasota Club dé Petanque

EVENT INFORMATION

Registration 8:00 a.m. Competition begins at 9:00 a.m.

Closing date: January 15 (6:00PM), 2011

Lunch: Sandwiches and beverage

Cash Prizes (Guaranteed minimum) $1000.00

- - - - - - - - - - Detach and send in form below with payment. - - - - - - - - - - NAME

Skill level
Check one: __ EXPERIENCED __ NOVICE __ BEGINNER
Ph. # / e-mail

CLUB

Report from FPUSA National Sport Director

2010-12-26T14:30:00.000-05:00

Dear FPUSA Members,

Another year has come and gone, and I hope it was a good one for you all.

FPUSA experienced growth in membership once again in 2010, crossing the 1,500 member threshold with more clubs than ever before. Although numbers are not fastidiously kept, it is clear that participation was up over the 7 national and 21 regional tournaments held in 2010.

Thanks again to all our host clubs and volunteers for putting on the 2010 program and to all who played or supported our title tournaments. We are making strides in our organization and sport administration — not perfect by any means, but members are really coming around to the improvements that we have been trying to implement over the past few years.

I want to give a big thanks as well to the 2010 FPUSA Sport Committee members, Gilles Canesse, Christophe Chambers, Diana Jacobs, Albyn Jones and Paul Yang, for their valuable help in making sport policy and for serving the membership at our tournaments. And to our FPUSA Blog masters, Juan Garcia, Dan Danielson, Joe Martin and Frank Pipal, and to the numerous club bloggers out there, for posting photos and results of our title tournaments throughout the year.

Here are a few highlights from 2010:

Seniors' World Championship
Our compliments and congratulations should go to our Team Captain Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Xavier Thibaud, Eric Bertin, PJ Mallette and Coach Steve Ginsberg for their fine performance at the World Championship in Turkey this past October. They qualified for the concours playoff, something a US team has not done in recent memory, with a position of 18 out of 48 teams.

It was a long haul for our team. They qualified way back in September of 2008 (when we were unsure about the World Championship schedule). Then they had to travel to Montreal in December of 2009 to "qualify" again for one of the two Pan American Confederation's slots at the 2010 WC. It turned out that there was only the USA and Canada at the Pan Am playoff. But our guys kept their competitive edge and defeated Canada, winning two of three games, and took home the first Pan American championship trophy. Nice job, all around!

Women's Qualifier for the 2011 World Championship
This past July, nine women's teams competed for the honor of representing us at next year's Women's World Championship. The event was characterized by tight games and good spirits, so compliments to all for making the event successful and rewarding.

As we all know, only one team can take home the gold. And they were Antonia Paulsen, Diana Jacobs and Pym Nielsen. Winning in comeback fashion over a couple of strong teams in the semis and the finals, they scratched their way to impressive victories, never giving up until the last boule was played. The team has selected Cynthia Stroud, who was part of our 2009 US Team, as the fourth player. Be sure to wish them the best of luck, next time you see them!

Juniors' Qualifier for the 2011 World Championship
For the first time in quite a while, we held a Juniors' Qualifier. Two teams from Fresno, California and Eugene, Oregon faced off for a one-day, best-of-5 series this past July. The sportsmanship that all players and coaches exhibited was exemplary. The match was close and, in the 5th game, Fresno won a nail-biter, taking the series 3 games to 2. The day's match was so close that the total "points for" and "points against" after the five games were dead even!

Congratulations to Pengsue Normen, Hai Normen and Kenny Yang for a job well done. And to the Eugene team of Jackson Bedbury, Carly Stasack and Rio O'Mary. Carly was chosen as the fourth player. Special Thanks to Coaches Paul Yang and Mike Stasack, and to "Chief Statistician" Ryan Baker.

Note: no dates or host sites have been set for the 2011 WC's. Hopefully there will be announcement early in the new year.

2010 Nationals
We did very well with Nationals in 2010. You can get results from the various entries on our blog, but turnout was great both in Brooklyn (Doubles) and in Lafayette, CA (Singles and Mixed Triples). Triples, hosted by Portland, suffered a bit by not being a qualifier, but luckily there was one team from New York who competed. All other players were from the west coast.

2010 Regionals
It was nice to see the calendar fill up in three of our regions. The NE is still a tough nut to crack — must be that old "Yankee independence" thing, or something like that. But a big thanks to the NYPC for carrying the program forward there. The players really appreciate it.

Some notes on 2011:

Please see posted events calendar.

2011 Qualifier:
FIPJP has changed the traditional "Seniors' World Championship" to "Men's World Championship." All male players must be 18 years of age or older. Our Qualifier will therefore be "Men Only." More details on the event to be held in Lafayette, CA will be forthcoming. We will try to have a secondary tournament, an "open," so that women, juniors and players who are not interested in going to the WCs can be part of the event

2011 Nationals
Make your travel plans now for the upcoming Mixed Triples and Men's & Women's Singles to be held January 22-23 in Boca Raton, FL. Entry forms and hospitality info will be released soon.

And how about that Fresno Petanque Club?! They will be hosting their first nationals on May 14-15: Mixed Doubles and Men's & Women's Doubles. FPC has a reputation for top notch hospitality, so this one promises to be a real barn-burner!

2011 Regionals
With our regional offerings now at 7 different formats, you might say we are at our saturation point. The flip side of this "something-for-everyone" approach is that there is plenty to choose from for regions and host clubs. If you have any ideas for new or improved formats, please contact me or a member of the Sport Committee.

Again, three regions have filled the 2011 calendar pretty well. It's still early for event planning in the northern climes, but it's nice to see Maine Boules Club signing up for a couple NE regionals. Let's hope for a few more slots to fill in up there - maybe a Mixed format or two. Despite the many challenges and few members in the Midwest Region, we are still holding out hope for a Midwest regional at some point in time.

Note: SW and NW Regional Singles will be separated into Men's and Women's in 2011. This is an experiment and, is optional for the host clubs. If successful, we will consider making it a permanent feature of our regional program.

2011 Regulations
Everyone's favorite topic. Ha!... The Sport Committee will discuss and submit some format and rule updates for our title tournaments and qualifier in the new year. FIPJP/FPUSA official rules of the game will be published by Secretary Frank Pipal and distributed to the clubs with the 2011 license packets.

The 2010 regs and official rules will remain applicable until the 2011 editions arrive.

Best Holiday Wishes to you and your families.

And thanks again for your support of FPUSA!
-Ed
-------------------------------
Ed Porto
FPUSA National Sport Director

Seasons Greetings from Boule on Kill Petanque Club

2010-12-18T11:43:00.004-05:00

From the Boule on Kill Petanque Club in Esperance, New York, we have a Happy New Year Greeting.

Our thanks to them for providing this little snow person who must love boules, but only in the winter, don't you think?

2011 FPUSA Calendar of Events

2010-11-30T18:29:00.005-05:00

Updated calendar as of April 1, 2011

John Rolland Tournament

2010-11-22T15:48:00.004-05:00

The Annual John Rolland Petanque Tournament was a Great Success!.

We had many Elite Teams from Canada and Players from France, California and From Florida Teams from Orlando, Sarasota, Lakeworth and The Local Club Boca 2000 that it's Celebrating the 10th Anniversary on December 12th 2010 with Food and Play just the way we like it.

Competition was at the highest level with Four Pools of Six Doubles Teams in which only Two Teams will Advance to the Main Concours on Sunday after a total of Five Games.

The Results after the end of Tournament Play was as Follow:

1st Place Maryse Bergeron - Marieke Rolland

2nd Place Yanick Lauhle - Alain Brunette

3rd Place Ludwig Vinches - Thomas Pouplot

4th Place Claude Lopez - Juan Garcia

5th Place Jean Michel Lauhle - Stephane St.Croix

The Winners of the Consolante were:

1st Place Roger Arpaia - Yiannis Devert

The Shooting Contest.

1st Place Thomas Pouplot

2nd Place Maryse Bergeron

The Winning Team of Maryse Bergeron and Marieke Rolland were undefeated throughout the Tournament steamrolling over the Male Competition. Maryse Played like a World Class Champion and it could not be done without the Flawless Pointing of Marieke.

After the dust settled on the Courts we moved to a close by Asian Restaurant for a Great Dinner and Award Presentations and just like after any Tournament New Friendships were Born!!!

Click on the Link Below for the Pictures.

Tournament Pictures

There was also a Newspaper article on the Sun Sentinel about the Event and the Two Winners, sent to me by John Rolland ( Boca 2000 Club President)

FPUSA 2010 National Doubles

2010-11-21T09:14:00.000-05:00

Hello Everyone—

I finally managed to squeeze in some time to start posting to our blog. Hopefully, I can periodically report on some of the stories concerning our wonderful sport when I come across them. Let me start by posting a summary of the FPUSA National Doubles tournaments that were held in New York City back in late Sept. Ahhh—I remember it like it was only yesterday.....

—Christophe

FPUSA National Doubles Saturday Sept. 25^th 2010 hosted by New York Petanque Club

On Saturday the National Mixed doublet was held at the beautiful new Paul Ricard petanque courts located in Prospect park, Brooklyn. Thanks to a strong contingent from Maine Boules Club, we managed to gather together 20 teams for the contest. 3 games were played in the morning, followed by a lunch provided by one of the club’s sponsors—P’tit Paris.

After lunch, we took 12 teams forward into the concours, with 8 teams going to the consolante. The final was played right into the evening and finished under the lights from nearby lamp posts and car headlights. Such is the chance we take when booking one-day tournaments late in the year. With entry fees and purse incentives, FPUSA was able to give out $1100 dollars in prize money. Not bad for a mixed doublette.

On Sunday it was 2 separate tournaments, the Men’s doubles and the Women’s doubles. The women’s contest fielded 8 solid teams, while on the men’s side 22 teams competed. After lunch, 4 women’s teams and 14 men’s teams moved on to the concours playoffs. There was $900 available to the men and $200 dollars for the women. Of course the first three places in all tournaments received FPUSA medals as well.

men's and women's action

Overall, it was a great weekend with a nice turnout. Everyone celebrated the end of the tourney with a complimentary aperitif provided by NYPC sponsor RICARD. Goodbyes were said, and then players disappeared into the New York night.

Cynthia & Susan (Maine) win the women's gold... mixed final finishes by the light of the moon.

FPUSA National Mixed Doubles Results: Saturday Sept. 25^th 2010

Concours

1) Richard “Ti” Meas / Lorissa Rinehart LBNY

2) Yngve Biltsted / Leyla Biltsted LBNY

3) Xavier Thibaud / Holly Sammons NYPC / Willits

4) Diane Bianco / Joe Martin Maine / Portland OR

Consolante

1) Erin McTaggart / Mike Menefee Willits

2) Alec Stone Sweet / Narin Garrett LBNY / Willits

FPUSA National Womens Doubles Results: Sunday Sept. 26^th 2010

Concours

1) Cynthia Stroud / Susan Shaw Maine

2) Holly Sammons / Shannon Bowman Lamorinda /Willits

3) Mia Kanazawa / Kate Unkel Maine

4) Narin Garrett / Kate Brideau Willits / LBNY

Consolante

1) Lorissa Rinehart / Erin McTaggart LBNY / Willits

2) Peggy Matsuda / M. J. Campbell Mann Petanque Mariniere / Maine

FPUSA National Mens Doubles Results: Sunday Sept. 26^th 2010

Concours

1) Eric Bertin / Xavier Thibaud NYPC

2) Amadou Thiam / Charlie Kossi LBNY

3) Emile Boujeke / Steve Ginsberg LBNY / NYPC

4) Bill Harris / Nick Mullendore NYPC

Consolante

1) Gilles Ray / Antoine Ray NYPC

2) Jean Pierre Subrenat / Franck Labasse NYPC

PA Open 2010 Amelia Island, FL.

2010-11-16T19:06:00.001-05:00

These are the Results from the Petanque America Open that by the way was a complete success with perfect Weather to go with it.

Well organized Tournament by Phillippe Boets, Christophe Chambers and the City and Citizens of Amelia Island that helped everyone feel so welcome

CONCOURS A

1) Jean Michel Laulhé / Stéphane St. Croix

2) Ben Gauthier / Mario Gagné

3) Alain Brunette / Yanick Laulhé

4) Eric Bertin / Xavier Thibaud

5) Marc Vendrine / Jean Blanchet

6) Bernard Martin / Jean Pierre Hueaud

7) Peter Mathis / Roger Arpaïa

8) Juan Garcia / Mamary Coulibali

Concours AA

1) Art Zuev / Paul Iskin

2) Yngve & Leyla Biltsted

3) Yves Chenette / Pascal Hénault

4) Joseph Hassoune / Jean-Pierre Hemery

CONCOURS B

1) Jeannot Ruperti / Franck Labasse

2) David Spangenberg / Peggy Matsuda

3) Joel Acchiardi / Joe Drago

4) Stephen Johns / Fernando Triana

CONCOURS BB

1) Robert Pierre / Michel Ribet

2) Jon Claessens / Corey Milliord

3) Andre Strong / Cynthia Stroud

4) Gina DeJoy / Susan Shaw

CONSOLANTE A

1) Gilles LaChance / Michel Robechaud

2) Michel Crouzillat / Raymond Fulconais

3) Jean Dagorn / Dan Feaster

4) Armand Lallinec / Jean Birocheaux

CONSOLANTE AA

1) Daniel Smith / Augustin Vigoureux

2) Howard Ando / Jane Wilkinson

CONSOLANTE B

1) Felix LeGrand / Michel Cardon

2) Reginald Argentieri / Eric Moutard

3) Patricia Lallinec / Régine Maistri

4) Verena Rytter / Claudie Chourré

CONSOLANTE BB

1) Uijin Park / Lauren Gioscio

2) Richard Taranto / Kirsten Taranto

Reported Results by Christophe Chambers. Petanque America.

New Florida Clubs

2010-11-07T18:11:00.002-05:00

I recently noticed that we have three new Petanque Clubs on the East Coast of Florida and the Two of the latest Clubs from the North East Area, one from Amelia Island and the Other from ST Augustine.

AMELIA ISLAND BOULES

PHILIPPE JUBIN

2112 EGRET LN

FERNANDINA BEACH FL 32034

904-206-1159

pjubin@live.com

http://ameliaislandboules.blogspot.com/

BOULES DE LEON

DANIEL SMITH

18 SARAGOSSA ST

ST AUGUSTINE 32084

904-810-9882

boulesdeleon@yahoo.com

JUPITER PETANQUE CLUB

STEPHANE SOILLEUX

PO BOX 3324

TEQUESTA, FL 33469

561-254-1153

jupiterpetanque@gmail.com

http://www.jupiterpetanque.com/

FPUSA on steady growth path!

2010-11-02T12:21:00.005-04:00

(click on the graph to enlarge it)

FPUSA membership is experiencing steady and respectable growth, now at over 1500 players, a high mark for the organization, according to FPUSA Secretary, Frank Pipal.

The graph clearly shows that more new players are joining us each year than are being lost to attrition. The number of clubs is increasing also, with a gradual trend toward filling in some areas of the country that have been missing out on how much fun the game of petanque is.

Adding new players, new clubs, and new venues for tournaments are sure ways to keep our organization on track to set new records.

If you are a member of the FPUSA, then you deserve a pat on the back for welcoming these new players and helping us to continue growing! Thank you!

FPUSA Team shines in World Championships!

2010-10-28T17:29:00.011-04:00

Those who have been following the World Championships that concluded a couple of weeks ago (October 7-11) know of the results: France won both the triples competition and the shooting contest. The team from Madagascar was second and Spain and Mauritania were collectively in 3rd place. A new world record in the shooting was set by Claudy Weibel of Belgium (66 points out of 100 possible).

And, the Turkish federation with only a couple of months notice, pulled off a very well organized event. You'll remember the championship had originally been awarded to Taiwan but earlier this year, it was determined they would be unable to fulfill their commitment to host it and Turkey, thankfully, took it on.

Opening ceremony

Our team of four was captained by Jean-Pierre Subrenat, and the three others were Xavier Thibaud, Eric Bertin (all NYPC), and PJ Malette, well known Bay Area player. Steve Ginsberg, also NYPC, had signed on as coach.

Our team was one of the 48 best teams from around the world who gathered in Izmir for a few days of games to sort out the best-of-the-best.

With coaches and delegates and spectators, there were about 500 of us, not counting the large staff of Turkish volunteers and those from the FIPJP.

The teams sought out practice grounds in the dual purpose park containing trade fair pavilions and an amusement park with a roller coaster and bumper cars, etc. There were dirt areas and a practice court had been constructed outside.

Jet lag aside, our guys were feeling good, looked sharp in their uniforms, and one could just sense they were going to play well together.

The large hall had been configured with 24 courts and the concrete floor had been covered with about an inch of coarse and fine gravel. Indeed, there were some spots where a previously tossed boule had blown the gravel away, leaving bare concrete and a boule would descend from its plombée to land directly on bare concrete and then go soaring off the court.

Here's what they played on, gravel over a concrete floor!

Each team played a total of 5 qualifying games (3 on Friday, 2 on Saturday) using the Swiss System which arranges matches according to how well teams are playing, better teams end up being matched with better teams, worse teams with others that are not playing so well.

At the end of these 5 matches, our U.S. team was ranked a very strong 18th out of the 48 teams in the competition! Rarely in our 30 years of sending teams to the worlds has our U.S. team ranked so high in the qualifying matches. The chemistry and camaraderie was there; it was enough to make one very proud of these players.

In these 5 games, we won against Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Russia, and lost against Thailand and Portugal. Steve's spot on coaching provided valuable strategic insight and all our players logged time in the matches.

All the qualifying games were timed as is necessary in the Swiss system (1¼ hours plus 2 ends), and in the game against Russia, we were down 5-8 after the 1¼ hour time limit, but in the next two ends we pulled ahead 9-8, and got our 3 wins that was needed to qualify for the concours. A nail biter for us!

Based on the Swiss ranking, our team was in the top 24 and had made the Concours! These top 24 teams were put into the Concours pools ( 8 pools of 3 teams each) and played each other. Lose twice and you are out of the concours though teams losing twice are given another chance by being put into the consolante (called the Coupe de Nations), which is where our teams usually are placed right away since most of the times we go, we are in the lower half of the team rankings.

As it happened, our Concours pool included Morocco and Portugal, and we ended up losing twice and were sent into the Coupe de Nations, where unfortunately for us, we lost to Djibouti, a strong team that got to the Coupe de Nations semi-finals. So then we were spectators which meant we were able to enjoy watching the best teams progress.

On Sunday, the matches concluded with some of the best petanque playing many have ever seen. These players in the worlds are able to make a very high percentage of their boules count in the game, with only the occasional stray point or missed shot. And, many of their shots result in a carreau, so they will shoot a far away boule holding the point knowing there is a good chance their boule will sit in the same spot (sur place) or at least hang around for the point.

Our team and entourage, Top row L to R, Eric Bertin (shooter), Eric's brother who came along, Steve Ginsberg (coach), me (Chef de Delegation), Robert Pierre, FPUSA International Events Coordinator. Crouching, L to R, Xavier Thibaud (middle), Jean-Pierre Subrenat (pointer), PJ Malette, 4th player.

In the final for the world championship, it was France against Madagascar. They went back and forth on the score, but it ended up 12-12. In the last end, the jack was pushed out to 12 meters. France held a not too close point, Madagascar shot their last boule, knocking out the French boule. Their boule rolled very close to the jack giving them two points because they had another not so close boule. Philippe Suchaud made a clean shot on the Madagascar boule at 12 meters, leaving Madagascar with the winning point, but France had one more boule and Henri Lacroix pointed it in to win the game! The crowd erupted in cheering and the French team ran to each other hugging and kissing. It was a spectacular game!

After the awards ceremony with the winner's nation's flags being raised and medals looped over heads and bouquets of flowers presented, the 45th World Championship concluded.

That evening there was a gala dinner at a restaurant on the waterfront featuring an entire roasted lamb and pasta and much hugging between the players of the various teams, and trading of team shirts with one another, sometimes peeled off one player to be put on by another.

The New Zealand team doing a very fine "Haka" dance at the Gala Dinner as part of that country's bid to host the 2012 World Championships.

Monday morning several hundred players and delegates made their way by taxi to the Izmir airport for the flights home.

Quite an experience to be around so many excellent players but all enjoying the same camaraderie that you and I experience when we meet for casual play on our courts.

The next Worlds is in 2012, maybe you will want to start sharpening your game now.

FPUSA National Doubles, Sep 25-26, 2010

2010-08-26T15:35:00.014-04:00

New York Petanque Club is hosting 3 doubles championships the weekend of September 25,26! The Mixed Doubles is on Saturday and both the Men's and the Women's Doubles follow on Sunday.

Since converting their tree shaded area in Brooklyn's Prospect Park into one of the more challenging petanque terrains in the country last year; the club has hosted numerous tournaments and offers FPUSA players a full weekend of the best petanque with the best players! Surely that includes you, too!

Here are the forms with all the information. Click on the images to enlarge them. Any questions contact info@newyorkpetanque.com

Hope to see you in the big apple in September!

FPUSA National Triples Champions!

2010-08-26T12:23:00.006-04:00

(Lto R 2nd place winners, Philippe and Piere Agnesse and Joe Cortright, and 1st place champions Tim Channel, Mike Stasack, and Ryan Baker)

With perfect weather in the 70's and 80's on the home courts of the Portland Petanque Club, 13 triples teams started their series of games on Saturday, August 21, games that would ultimately lead to four winners in the concours and two in the consolante by late afternoon on the next day.

The evening before an "apero" followed by a potluck featuring Wisconsin style brats grilled by club president Tim Larson had welcomed the players for the draw and casual play and a chance to learn the courts.

By about 4pm on Saturday we had all our games in and the results were used to seed the pools for the concours and the consolante the next day. Eight teams were placed in two 4 team pools, and the other 5 teams formed the round robin consolante.

Sunday morning, while enjoying a really tasty continental breakfast of complimentary mini-pastries from La Petite Provence, announcements and welcome remarks were dispensed with and play began.

Teams in pools began their quest to win two games in row and assure their progression out of the pools and into the Semi's and Finals. But, as we know in this zero sum game, a winner also means a loser, so those teams who lost their first game struggled to win one more so they could also advance. But, teams losing twice were then spectators for the afternoon. Being a spectator was a pleasant enough way to spend the afternoon watching the continuing games with such good teams competing.

In the Semi-Finals for the concours then, we had the local team of Pierre and Philippe Agnesse and Joe Cortright matched up with the New York Petanque Club team of Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Xavier Thibaud (both on the FPUSA team going to Turkey for the "worlds" in a couple of months, and Thierry Juillard.

The New York team uses the plombée very impressively to great effect and their flat shooting style yielded more than a few carreaux. However, the Portland Petanque club's team came out ahead 13-8, also very impressive.

In the other semi-final, it was the Seattle Petanque Club team of Greg Conyers, Lee Harris, and John Hunt, against a team comprised of Eugene club players Mike Stasack (EPIC president) and Ryan Baker, and Tim Channell, founder of the Fresno Petanque club. They eased to a 13-2 victory over the Seattle boys.

The Final for 3rd and 4th place was therefore between the the New York players and the Seattle team. It was a close game but the New York players pulled off a 13-11 win to take 3rd place and win medals and prize money.

So our final for 1st and 2nd Place was between the Portland club and the Eugene/Fresno players. In a long game with many great plays, and to the surprise of many spectators, the Eugene/Fresno team emerged the victors (13-11) and National Triples champions for 2010!

The consolante meanwhile had been continuing on. The top two teams in this tournament and who finished "in the money" were, in First Place, our own Tim Larson, Wally Peppel, and Shaughn McClurg (Congratulations!!) and taking second a Seattle/Lamorinda team of Jimmy Flour, John Chanthavisay, and Jean-Marie Letellier. Also, congratulations!

By now, delicious aromas from the buffet catered by La Provence were wafting over the courts and a couple of dozen players and guests queued up for for the chicken, and salmon entreés, accompanying salads, specially selected wines, and wonderful mini-pastries. Such fun!

Awards and photos followed and while most player were ready to return home or to their motel rooms to "vege out", a dedicated group were out on the courts again while there was still light enough to see the cochonnet and play another game or two.

The combination of camaraderie and good food and drink is what draws us to the sport and keeps us coming back. Most of us would agree petanque is a wonderful addition to life.

(L to R, Joe Martin, Tournament Director, and 3rd place winners, Thierry Julliard, Xavier Thibaud, and Jean-Pierre Subrenat)

The full on buffet!

FPUSA National Triples, August 21-22, Portland, Or

2010-07-15T13:00:00.009-04:00

The Portland Petanque Club is pleased to host the FPUSA National Triples Championship, August 21-22, 2010, on their home courts in Portland, Oregon. This is familiar ground to many out of town players who for some years have enjoyed playing for national doubles, triples, and WCQT titles on the varied terrain of its 18 courts.

The tournament for FPUSA players begins, as usual, with casual play on Friday afternoon, the 20th, then qualfying pool play on Saturday and eliminations and a consolante on Sunday, followed by an on site catered buffet dinner and the awarding of medals and prizes.

Souvenir T-shirts have been designed and ordered and can be purchased at the tournament.

Deadline for receipt of entry is August 17.

Any questions, please contact Tim Hruska-Larson , PPC Club President. Hope to see you!

For pdf downloads of the information:

1. Announcement

2. Entry form

3. Dinner reservation

4. Hotel information

A week's worth of petanque in Canada!

2010-07-01T11:18:00.006-04:00

Our good friend and player, Roger Arpaia, of the Boca 2000 club who coordinates activities for the week long Festival of Petanque of Salaberry de Valleyfield in Quebec, about 50 miles SW of Montreal, tells us that we players have only two weeks to register for the kick off tournament, the Ben Gauthier International Triplette.

To our amazement, we have learned that there are 72 gravel courts which are the site every year of a days long series of competitions, 23 July through August 1st.

There are several classes of tournaments to accommodate players of all skill levels and qualifications. No doubt some of the 9 different tournaments are for holders of Canadian federation licenses, but Roger emphasizes their welcome extends to Americans, too, so there will be spots for all entrants. Entry fees and prizes vary according to tournament. Camping is available, too.

This is as close to a "petanque immersion" as one can imagine, don't you think?

Complete information is available on the petanque club's website:
http://www.clubpetanque.suroit.com/

Roger can be contacted for details and questions: rarpaia@hotmail.com

Fresno Petanque shows off the game!

2010-06-11T16:56:00.002-04:00

In this video featured on a local Fresno TV station June 10th, Tim Channell, FPC board member and former president of the club, introduces one of their junior players who will be on an FPC team competing on the LPM courts in Marin, July 17&18, for a spot on the U.S. junior worlds team next year.

The player, PengSue, shows he is no slouch and can point with the best.

We congratulate the efforts of this fine club and its players for promoting the sport to their community and getting their youngsters involved at perhaps the perfect age!

"Teach The Trainers" a grand success!

2010-05-26T12:09:00.012-04:00

Englemann Cellars, site of the TTT

This past weekend, May 19-23rd, was the occasion of the FPUSA Teach The Trainers program in Fresno, California. Skillfully organized by Tim Channell of the Fresno Petanque Club, and conducted by Victor Nataf of the FIPJP (the international petanque federation) the 32 FPUSA players from around the country met for 3 full days of instruction and hands on training on the courts to show them how to design programs for younger players and for adults new to the game.

Gary explaining a drill to Frank

Going through the line doing one of the drills.

There was plenty of classroom instruction at the local Fresno winery (Englemann Cellars) that had donated its facilities for our use, and lots of outside activities demonstrating different drills and exercises useful to teaching new players basic skills and strategy. The focus of the training was to enable those of us who attended to understand and consider the elements necessary to construct a program of training sessions that would enable a new player to progress through the game. Indeed, our final exam was to layout a training session on some element of shooting that would fit into a one year program of instruction.

Victor using the big screen to illustrate his points.

Assuming all passed this exam, each will be issued a certificate showing them as Level 1 Instructors in Petanque.

After the class sessions each day, there was a reception allowing us to taste that winery's products, followed by dinners, catered and also at a local restaurant.

Dining "family style" at a local Basque restaurant

Needless to say, one great value of the TTT was the opportunity for those attending to network, often with others whom they were meeting for the first time, to compare thoughts and plan for a continued relationship in the ongoing process of developing and spreading awareness of the sport of petanque.

Victor receives a plaque in appreciation of his work with us. (photo courtesy Philippe of PA)

The generous support of time and money from both the FPUSA and the Fresno club for this first time effort guaranteed that the TTT was a grand success. The follow up will be for our Certified Trainers to begin the process of conducting training in their communities.

(photo courtesy of Ken Lee)

One of those attending, Ken Lee of LPM will soon have additional photos on his LPM blog

http://petanque-marin.blogspot.com/

Video link to the Fresno local TV broadcast of the event. Try it soon because it won't be up for long.

http://www.cbs47.tv/news/local/story/Fresno-the-Chosen-City-for-Petanque/sTUQXtY9dEi5tBpPJ6Ha1w.cspx

Calling all Juniors and Women's Qualifier teams!

2010-05-19T22:35:00.002-04:00

Here is a heads up, a preview, from La Petanque Mariniere and Ed Porto about the Qualifier tournaments for the Junior and Women's teams to be hosted by our great club in San Rafael, CA during the weekend of July 17-18, 2010.

Women's Qualifier

Saturday: qualifying games

Sunday: pools and elimination

Juniors' Qualifier

Saturday and/or Sunday formats will depend on turnout.

Saturday "Open" Select Doubles Tournament

Space may be limited depending on turnout in the main events, so advance reservations may be required.

Format will depend on number of teams.

Sunday "Open" Select Triples Tournament

Space may be limited depending on turnout in the main events, so advance reservations may be required.

This tournament will include teams from the main events who do not qualify for their respective pools and playoffs.

Format will depend on the number of teams. The tournament will be completed in time so that everyone can watch the Qualifier finals.

Lunches will be available and/or included in the entry fees. Details to be announced by La Petanque Mariniere.

There will be a very reasonably priced court-side BBQ on Saturday evening after the games are completed. Details and reservation forms to come.

Awards ceremonies and aperitif at the courts will follow the games on Sunday.

La Petanque Mariniere is gearing up to make this a great weekend - for all our Qualifier participants, for those who would like to compete in either or both of the "open" tournaments, and for those who come as spectators and supporters.

Hotel Information for the Women’s World Qualifier and Junior World Qualifier July 17 & 18, 2010

Hotels are listed in order of their proximity to the Courts.

1) Embassy Suites 101 McInnis Pkwy San Rafael, CA 415-499-9222 www.embassysuites.com (location San Rafael)

2) Four Points Sheraton 1010 Northgate Dr San Rafael, CA 415-479-8800 www.fourpoints.com (location San Rafael)

3) Villa Inn 1600 Lincoln Ave San Rafael, CA 415-456-4975 www.villainn.com

4) Colonial Inn 1735 Lincoln Ave San Rafael, CA 415-453-9188 reservation: 888-785-2111 www.colonialinnmarin.com

5) Courtyard by Marriott 2500 Larkspur Landing Circle Larkspur, CA 415-925-1800 reservation: 800-321-2211 www.marriott.com/SFOLL

6) Marin Suites Hotel 45 Tamal Vista Blvd Corte Madera, CA 415-924-3608 reservation: 800-362-3372 www.marinsuites.com

7) Best Western Petaluma http://www.bestwesterncalifornia.com/hotels/best-western-petaluma-inn/

New York Petanque Club Open!

2010-05-18T17:12:00.005-04:00

The New York Petanque Club has updated its June 19-20tournament to be a doubles and it is sure to be a great success. More information is on their website, click here.

John Rolland Annual Select Tournament

2010-05-03T19:21:00.000-04:00

$5,000.00
John Rolland Annual Select Tournament

Boca Petanque, 16700 Jog Road

November 20th and 21st 2010

Open only to the 1st registered 24 "Doublettes" Entry Fee $100.00 per Player.

Includes Dinner (Prize Ceremony)

Sunday Night the 21st , (guest $20.00) also Breakfast every morning, coffee, pastries... Lunch Available: Mergez, Hamburgers, Salad...

Schedule: Friday the 19th.

Drawing of the Teams: 7:30PM at a local Restaurant. (information will Follow at a later Date)

Saturday the 20th: The Games start promply at 9:00 AM.
There will Be 4 pools of 6 teams with 5 Games on Saturday.
Main Tournament: 1st and 2nd of the Pool, 1st Consolante 3r and 4th of Pool, 2nd Consolante 5th and 6th of Pool.

Optional

Friday the 19th: From 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM Shooter Contest. Cost $5.00 at 4: PM: 1st 6 Qualified Shooters will Play: 1/4, 1/2 and Final.
PURSE: $100.00 + all inscription Money. (split: 50% of the Purse to the 1st + Trophy, then 30%, 10%, 10%.

3 to 5 Games on Sunday: 9:00 AM

Tournament Prizes

For the 24 "Doublettes"

Tournament Prizes

1st $2000 + Trophy
2nd $900
3rd $400
4th $400
5th $200

1st Consolante Prizes

1st $500
2nd $200

2nd Consolante Prizes

1st $200
2nd $100

Please make check payable to: Boca Petanque 2000.
Send Check and Entry Form as soon as Possible to:

John Rolland
5788 Wind Drift Lane
Boca Raton, FL. 33433

Organized by: John Rolland, Claude Laulhe and Alain Brunette

SPONSOR: BISTRO RESTAURANT, YIANNIS OWNER

SE Regional Triples - Sarasota, FL.

2010-05-01T18:55:00.001-04:00

We just had the SE Regional Select Triples on April 24th and the following day April 25th the SE Regional Melee Triples. The weekend was perfect and the rain stayed away until the end of the second day of play.
The playing ground changed from one day to another, softer and slower on Saturday and hard and faster on Sunday, just to keep it interesting.
The Results are as Follow:

SE Select Triples

1st Gilles Canese, Salem Touati, Juan Garcia

2nd Eric Moutard, Marcel Kallanian,Christian Bousquet

3rd David Bloom, Brenda Green, John Hayes

SE Melee Triples

1st Eric Moutard, Marcel Kallanian,Salem Touati

2nd Gilles Canese,Juan Garcia, Stephane Sollieux

3rd David Bloom, Richard Goodin, Christian Bousquet

4th John Hayes, Joan Sollieux, Jacques Bajard

SE Regional Triples - PICTURES

A Friend past away...

2010-04-22T22:56:00.002-04:00

Our good Friend Jean Vergnes past away and will always be remembered. Hugs and Kisses to Pauline, we Love You.

PLAYER PROFILE – JEAN VERGNES

You cannot become a member of the South Florida Pétanque Club without meeting Jean Vergnes right away. His larger than life personality, his friendly demeanor, and his willingness to impart his knowledge of the game make him a person that you immediately notice. Many of you know of Jean’s career as a famous chef and his numerous culinary awards, but he started playing pétanque even before he began cooking. He began playing at school at the age of 6 and the good players from the region helped the young players to learn the game. There were competitions between schools and players were punished when they did not do as they were told. So Jean’s familiarity with the game spans many years and helps to account for his present skills.

When asked what he thought was important about the game today, Jean said that he was encouraged to see so many women playing, and beyond that, working hard to improve their skills. He sees this as a positive thing for the future of pétanque, but he also thinks that it’s too bad that this is only happening now that he is 85.

Jean has been married to the lovely (and very patient!) Pauline for 48 years and said that “he wouldn’t change her for the world”. They are a wonderful couple and it would be hard to imagine the club without their presence.

Pétanque should be played seriously, according to Jean, but always in a spirit of fun. He thinks it is wrong to use the game to create dissension and problems between players and that pétanque should be a time for amusement and good fun. He advises players to never give up, to keep trying, and best of all, to enjoy the time spent with good friends relaxing and having fun.

By JoElla (South Florida Petanque Club)

Very interesting Article from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/nyregion/23vergnes.html

HOT Open Tournament - Results -

2010-03-30T20:31:00.002-04:00

"HOT" is the abbreviation for Heart of Texas Petanque Club in Austin under Club President Arsene Dupin. They just celebrated their Second Annual Open Tournament in which usually Clubs from all over Texas get together to match their skills. Teams From Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin also a Miami/Philly Team showed up due that when Arsene visited Miami at the beginning of the Year and we played Petanque at the Biltmore Hotel, He mentioned to Me about the Tournament and at that Time I wanted to visit and Play in it.

I was impressed by the City of Austin, what a beautiful City with lots of Culture plenty of Restaurants and Night Life even though Arsene wants to keep this a secret so no more People will decide to move in and spoil the Fun.

I visited and Played in every playing area they had available, The French Legation, Pease Park and The most Beautiful of them all in Lakeway Park, with a Lake in the background Picnic tables Barbeque Area and Plenty of space for the Kids to Play and I forgot to mention Two well design Petanque Areas that will make up for four Courts with a large sign with the Rules and several Scoreboards and just about 40 minutes from Downtown.

The Tournament was on Sunday and Players started gathering at The French Legation a little after 8:00AM.
There was a total of 24 Teams participating.

The Tournament of well planed and Run from beginning to end with the Help of everyone in the Club.

The weather was just perfect throughout the Weekend and after all was Said and Done the Final ended just before Dark at around 7:30PM with the win of the favorite local Team of Amine Najha and Arsene Dupin on a close and very exciting Final 13/11.

Final Results:

1st Place Amine Najah and Magikhana Arsene Dupin

2nd Place Juan Garcia and Mamary Coulibaly

3rd Place Michel Costa and Fernando Triana

PICTURES - Heart of Texas Open Tournament

Also Visit The Heart of Texas PC Website for more info on this Event:

http://heartoftexas.wordpress.com/