Happy New Year 2009!

SE Regional Triples Tournaments

BOCA PETANQUE 2000.

SE REGIONAL MELEE TRIPLES.

SATURDAY JANUARY 10TH.

Registration fee per player: $10.00 before the 1/9/2009, $ 15.00 after.


SE REGIONAL SELECT TRIPLES.

SUNDAY JANUARY 11TH.

Registration fee per team: $ 60.00 before the 1/9/2009, $ 75.00 after.

Prizes: All the money collected ( after the $ 5.00 fee to FPUSA ) will be going towards the main tournament and the consolante.

Bring your lunch and drinks.

FRIDAY JANUARY 9TH.

From 2PM on: petanque practice, 5 PM drawing of the teams and Pastis served, compliments of Boca Petanque Club.

For information and registration:

John Rolland: 954-425-2646.

2nd Annual Chicago "Polar Bear", Jan 10th

What a contrast from the Florida posting just below, to this one from last year's "Polar Bear" tournament in Chicago. Playing in snow and ice is not for the faint of heart, but then, we petanquers are know for being a little "fou"(crazy).

On January 10th, the next Polar Bear is scheduled and if you are in the Windy City, try your hand at winter petanque.

What is their secret to having a successful tournament? Have a look at this photo and you'll see it, the boule warmer.
Dan Danielson, President of the Chcago Petanque Club says it this way:
"SNOW! It builds character...
and makes characters go outside and lob steel boules into the air.

We are having our 2nd Annual Winter "Polar-Boule" Games on Jan 10th. The weather can not stop us. The secret is to have a boule-warmer griil and keep one boule in your pants pocket. (I know hiding a boule is against the rules, but it sure does feel good.)"

For more info: www.chicagopetanque.com

See the photos from last winters event at Flickr.

Winter Petanque Chicago Style
http://www.flickr.com/groups/938624@N24/

Florida's Trophy Tournament

There was a big turnout of Players for the Saturday afternoon practice session, we all played until sundown.
Sunday started setting up the Courts under a little of a cool weather for us but there was plenty of help and we were ready to warm up quickly. There as a total of 18 Double Teams as far North as Canada and New York but mostly from Florida. We Played 3 games in the morning and 16 Teams Qualified for the afternoon Single Elimination Rounds. The Final was fought by the Defending Champs Roger Arpaia / John Rolland VS Yannis Devert / Laurent DiMeglio even though the first beat the second by a landslide in the preliminary round that was not the case in this Final to 15. After the Dust settled the Results were as Follow:

1st Yannis Devert / Laurent DiMeglio

2nd Roger Arpaia / John Rolland

3rd Gerard Galliano / Mark Vedrin

4th Gilles Canesse / Pierre Lallinec

For more Pictures of the Event:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Juankydotcom/FloridaTrophy#

Our guys in Dakar, Senegal

We now have a few photos of our team in Dakar, Senegal, where just over a week ago, they competed in the World Petanque Championships.

Robert Pierre, our Chef de Delegation tells us the terrain was basically the beach with rocks spread over it, and in this photo taken during the opening ceremony shows it, just look at what they are standing on. Must have been completely different than what any of us has ever played on.

Just next to our team is the France B team who ended up winning the championship in a fanny over Thailand.
One of the duties of the Chef is to present a gift to the host country. Here is Robert offering a very nice photo book in French of the U.S. National Parks to His Excellency Bacor Dia, Minister of Sport for Senegal. The fellow in the middle is Gassan Ezzidine, President of the Senegal Federation. Looks like a warm day, doesn't it?
Another of the duties of the Chef is to attend the President's Dinner along with the team coach, Ly Nguyen. And in the spirit of gift giving, the Chef receives a small gift, in this case a decorated drum, and Gassan receives one of our jerseys.


And how about this for a nice group shot on the beach in Dakar? From left to right, you see Pascal, Christian, Ly, Thuan, Mai, and Robert.


No doubt our fellows returned with more than a few memories and maybe some souvenirs. Our team for the 2010 World Games will be traveling to some far off place, perhaps Taiwan, but we won't know for sure for a while.

Our sincere thanks to all our players, coach, and Chef for doing such a nice job of representing the U.S. in Dakar.

SE Regional Doubles - Mixed Doubles

Doubles Results:



1st Michel and Pierrette Sucur

2nd Alex Canesse and Juan Garcia

3rd Raymond Fulconis and Michel Crouzillat





Mixed Doubles Results:



1st Roger and Lucie Arpaia

2nd Raymond Fulconis and Regine Maistri

3rd Guy Labouyrie and Muriel Schmidtke



We all enjoyed this SE Regional Weekend hosted by Armand Lallinec and his Club "The South Florida Petanque Club". There was some great pointing by the Locals on these very tough Courts to Play on.

The weather was hot on Saturday reaching the Mid 80's and due to a Cold Front Sunday started in the low 50's but ended up close to 70 degrees.

For a lot of more Pictures Go To:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Juankydotcom/SERegionalTournaments#

Enjoy!!! and stay WARM.

World Games Results, Dakar, Senegal

There were teams from 53 countries competing in Dakar, Senegal, November 12-16, 2008, but one team emerged the champion, France B. Don't they look happy?

If they do, it may be because they fannied their opponent, the team from Thailand, unusual, but not unheard of in these competitions.

Here are the semi-final match-ups:


In the Coupe des Nations, the consolante, here are the results with Spain gaining first place.

Our U.S. team (Christian Triay, Pascal Corchia, and Thuan and Mai Nguyen, coached by Ly Nguyen) put up a good showing, but were shunted into the Coupe des Nations and were then unable to emerge from their pool. However, we congratulate their effort and appreciate their willingness to travel so far at some expense of time and money. Their proficiency as a team improved as they played games, but not quickly enough to remain in the compeition.

Our Chef de Delgation, Robert Pierre was snagged by the BBC News Service for an inteview and part of it can be read here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7729884.stm

It was decided at the Board meeting in Dakar, of the FIPJP, the international governing body for petanque, that the next Seniors World Competition will be in 2010, though one is planned for Women and Juniors in 2009, perhaps in Tunisia.

Complete results of the competition can be seen at: www.fipjp.com

Open Florida Trophy 2008

SUNDAY DECEMBER 7TH 2008.

OPEN FLORIDA TROPHY 2008.

FORMED “ DOUBLETTES “.

$ 700.00 Minimum prizes.
Entry fee: $ 50.00 by team if paid by December 1st
$ 60.00 by team after December 1st.


LUNCH PROVIDED by RENZO’S.

THE FLORIDA TROPHY IS OPEN TO ALL PETANQUE PLAYERS, HOWEVER THE FLORIDA TROPHY WILL STAY IN FLORIDA.

PLAYERS FROM FOREIGN COUNTRIES ARE WELCOME, BUT THEY HAVE TO PLAY WITH A USA PLAYER.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 6TH.

Practice all afternoon.
4.00 PM. deadline for inscription.
6.00 PM. Pastis and nibbles served compliments of BOCA PETANQUE CLUB 2000.


SUNDAY DECEMBER 7 TH.
9.00 AM. FLORIDA TROPHY STARTS.


Register and send money to:
John Rolland:
5788 Wind Drift lane,
Boca Raton, Fl 33433.
Cell: 954-425-2646.

FPUSA SE Regional Tournaments - Lake Worth, FL.

REGIONAL DOUBLETTE TOURNAMENT SAT.NOV.15,2008

STARTING TIME: 9AM
PLACE: SFPC,JOHN PRINCE PARK,LAKE WORTH,FL.
ENTRY FEE PER TEAM: $50.00
CLOSING DATE: NOV.12

REGIONAL MIXED DOUBLETTE TOURNAMENT SUNDAY,NOV.16,2008

STARTING TIME 9AM
PLACE: SFPC,.JOHN PRINCE PARK,LAKE WORTH,FL.
ENTRY FEE PER TEAM: $50.00
CLOSING DATE: NOV.12

LUNCH WLL BE FURNISHED TO ALL PLAYERS BY THE CLUB SATURDAY.PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN DRINKS.

SEND ENTRY FORMS AND CHECKS PAYABLE TO SFPC, 1 SO.LAKESIDE DR,APT A3,
LAKE WORTH,FL.33460

http://www.usapetanque.com/pdf/SEregional1.pdf

http://www.usapetanque.com/pdf/SEregional2.pdf

INFORMATION: P LALLINEC,SAME ADDRESS, 561-588-8161 plallinec@netzero.net

NY Open - Results -

Alec Stone Sweet & Yacob Nour Win the 2008 New York Open

A field of 30 teams gathered in New York’s Bryant Park for the annual New York Open doubles tournament, a two-day petanque event. Coming from outside the tri-state area were teams from California, North Carolina, Illinois, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Maine, and Canada.

It was a beautiful Fall weekend. If it were only like this for the WCQT! But the delight of seeing the usual sun-bathers on the lawn turned into the ruckus of machinery digging it out for the construction of the ice rink. And we had only limited access to our usual makeshift terrains around the lawn. But show must go on.

Sixteen teams qualified for Sunday’s main event. Richard ‘Ti’ Meas and Amadou Thiam were knocked out by Xavier Thibaud and Ernesto Santos, as were Jean-Pierre Subrenat and Eric by Alec Stone Sweet and Yacob Nour, the Canadian champion.

A few notable upsets were Raja Harb and Hugh Gallagher beating Loi Nguyen and Hakim Kozar and team Joseph Hassoune beating the Canadians, Marc Raymond and Alex Bendi.

The remaining full Canadian team—Remy Bouchard and Laurent Mirabeau—lost to Xavier and Ernesto in the semifinal. Alec and Yacob beat Yngve Bilsted and Gilles Ray to reach the final, which they won against Xavier and Ernesto 13-10.

Prizes went to 14 teams in all: the top 8, the top 2 concours consolante “A”, and top 4 regular consolante “B” teams, with 1st Place awarded $800, 2 Irony Chronos from Swatch, 2 Armagnac Chateau De Laubade 1991.

For more details of the finals, go to http://www.labouleny.com/.

For a slideshow of the event, http://www.flickr.com/photos/labouleny/sets/72157608121434443/show/

Going "down under" and looking for a tournament?

This "down under" tournament is actually in New Zealand, not Australia, but you might find it fun to enter if your travel plans will place you in that part of the world toward the end of January 2009.

A flyer from the Auckland Petanque Association tells us they regularly attract teams from Tahiti, Vanuatu, Australia, and even France and England.

Because they aren't providing complimentary rooms or other amenities, our Sport Commitee won't be involved in designating teams, so teams are free to enter on their own using the entry form below.

Please use the email address on the form for any questions you might have.
Good luck!

please click on the images to enlarge

Final news from our women's team in Samsun

Our team in blue, just before the face off with Team A of Turkey. (the host nation gets two teams)
And here are Diana's words describing the match:

"Yesterday in the first round of the Nations Cup we played the Turkey A team. It was one of the premier matches of they day. The stands were packed with family and friends of the team. It lasted 2 hours and 45 minutes and we prevailed, 13-11."

In the shooting competition, conducted just like the ones we do in our clubs here, it was Thailand vs. Netherlands and France vs. Tunsia in semis. Then France vs. Netherlands in the finals. The French woman won with a stunning score of 47.

Here is Sandra letting off a few shots during the shooting competition.

Here is the Champion Shooter from France, Angelique Papon, 47 points!

"Tomorrow we go on in the Nations Cup" And, you can see from the results how well our team did, getting all the way to the semi-finals before being outscored by the Belgians in a close one, 13-12. and the Belgian team went on to win the Coupe des Nations.

In the concours for the World Championship, the Spanish team won over the Thai's 13-10.

One can only be impressed by how well our team played and we are very proud of them. A big "well done" to them all! Team USA finished 3rd winning a Coupe des Nations bronze! Wonderful finish with many memories! We thank all of you for your fine effort!

In between games and the rain squalls that made everyone appreciate the big tent,
Sandra, Diana, and Erin strike a pose.

The next women's championship is in two years, time to start practicing!

Report from Turkey!

We have our first report from our women's team, competing this weekend in the Women's World Championships in Samsun, Turkey, and from the looks of this photo, they are off to a good start. We'd all take 13-4 win anytime, don't you think?

Here they are in blue (l to r), Erin McTaggart, Diana Jacobs, Sandra Bonneville, and Antonia Chavez,, ably assisted by Mary Albright, Chef de Delegation, just before the game with Monaco.


They are playing on an asphalt surface covered with loads of what looks to be kitty litter! But, Diana says it plays pretty well. Now, there's a new surface for us to try.

And this photo tells us they are not playing in Kansas:
We wish them the very best of luck in the rest of the tournament. And many thanks to Jan Claire, former FPUSA Secretary, who supplied them with many helpful tips that he gathered during the time he spent in the area some years ago while in the US Air Force.

To be sure, competing with the best players in the world is a gratifying and memorable experience, though to get there this team had to win a national competition, and then come out of their pocket to supplement the funds supplied by the FPUSA. We thank them profusely for their dedication to promoting the sport in America.

NY Open, Bryant Park Oct 11-12- 2008

The 2008 New York Open Tournament. It is a 2 day tournament (Oct 11 & 12), an open select doubles. "Big money and prizes galore!" We are expecting teams from around the country and Canada. Entry fee is $60/team. Registration deadline is October 8.

Entry Form: http://www.labouleny.com/pdfs/2008/NYOPEN-Entry-Form.pdf

A tournament in Manhattan's Bryant Park, is like no other.

It was a great joy to play our favorite game on gravel terrains in a park made lush by thick lawn, and dense beds of well tended plants, all under cover of mature platanes (London Plane trees) pruned American style, for height and canopy.

This past weekend's WCQT, to determine the team to represent the U.S. and the FPUSA in the next World Championships, was impeccably organized by Ernesto Santos and Steve Ginsberg of La Boule New Yorkaise with a lot of help from their fellow club members.

The draw for the initial games began last Saturday morning (Sep 27) while players comprising the 14 triplette teams from around the country (California, Maine, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Washington) munched French pastries, bought souvenir shirts, and made decisions on how best to play in the rain, just a t-shirt because it was warm, or with rain gear because of the intermittent drizzle.

(LBNY vs PPC in Sunday pools)

After playing 4 games on Saturday, the best 8 teams were slotted into two pools of 4 teams each for Sunday morning. The others went to the Federation cup, an "open" tournament with prizes and trophy cups, that replaced the traditional consolante

On Sunday, under better skies, but with one little soaker of a rain about mid-morning, pool play commenced. A team needed two wins for a spot in the finals and by mid-afternoon, we had our match ups.

(Sunday pools play)

The rains had caused the usually "hard as a rock" terrain to be a mix of soft and firm spots, making it difficult for pointers to read the landing spots for plombées, and continuing the maddening (for shooters) tendency for boules to bound away harmlessly unless they first hit steel. A shot boule touching the ground first, inevitably was a wasted ball. And, it was difficult for pointers to get both their boules "in the game" because of the variability of the wet ground.

(Andre (MBC) measures in a semi-final game)

In the semi-finals then, It was Alec Stone Sweet, Richard "Ti" Meas,(both of LBNY) and PJ Mallette (VOMPC) against Andre Strong, Mia Kanazawa, and Mark Kindschi(all Maine Boules Club), and Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Xavier Thibaud, and Eric Bertin (all LBNY) against Peter Mathis (VOMPC), Juan Garcia, and Mamary Coulibaly, (both of Boca Petanque).

After this round of games, the final was to be between Alec, Ti, and PJ and Jean-Pierre, Xavier and Eric. The other two teams, Andre, Mia, and Mark, and Peter, Juan, and Mamary, both won third place bronze medals after a decision earlier this year to do away with another match to determine 3rd and 4th places. Peter's team won the coin toss to be third in line for players to fill in for the next "worlds" if enough players in the first two teams are unable to attend.

The final was, by all accounts, one of the best matches seen in years. The club's usual practice terrain was converted to the Carré d'Honneur, since it had not been used in the concours and was therefore, neutral, conferring equal challenge to both teams.

Spectators gathered on chairs and benches, talking ceased, and the jack was tossed out to begin the match.

(the final)

It began with soaring plombées from Alec, and equally effective lofts from Jean-Pierre, who seemed to add a little twist on his points. Even so, it was not unusual to see what looked to be a perfectly launched boule land short, or go rolling past the cochonnet. Yet often enough, the repeat toss went right to the jack and rested against it.

When Ti connected one of his shots, it was a delight to behold, propelled out of his hand, his boule followed a fast and flat trajectory to its mark, causing a loud "crack" with one or both boules coming to rest many feet away. Eric, on the other hand, tended to shoot with a higher arc and it usually hit its mark, though as the game progressed, Xavier took on more of the shooting for his team. PJ did double duty with very high and effective plombées and hard fast shots.

After Alec, Ti, and PJ pulled ahead to a 7-3 lead, Jean-Pierre, Xavier, and Eric began to find their game. In a few short ends though, it was 12-7 for Alec's team. But in the next end, Jean-Pierre's team found themselves with the point and the other team out of boules. All of Alec's, Ti's and PJ's boules were clustered in front of that point, and the back was open country.

A concerted effort from Jean-Pierre, Xavier, and Eric, then began, trying to move the jack back into open ground where the rest of their boules could more easily be tossed in to give them a 12-13 victory.

But, boule after boule was rolled, and plombéed at the cochonnet, and while they were all close, the jack was not to be budged. So it became 12-8, still for Alec, Ti, and PJ.

One might say a second game now began, very tense, lots of pressure, with both teams making spectacular plays and points, always followed by applause from spectators, and it was quickly 12-12, with the last end about to decide the winners.

It began with a good point, then another, then a shot missed, a jack moved, more attempts at the point, finally there was a point from Jean-Pierre deflected at the last second by a piece of half-buried paper but coming to rest just in front and a centimeter or two farther away from the jack than Alec's boule.

Now, there were two boules very close together, both inches from the jack, the one behind belonging to Alec's team and holding the point. Another shot was attempted by Xavier at this back boule without success. Eleven boules had been played but everyone's attention was fixed on those two by the jack. There was game on the ground unless the boule that remained, the one resting in Eric's hand could make it different.

The eternal question was in the air, shoot or point? Eric went into a crouch to point and released his boule smoothly and forcefully, it dropped and rolled deliberately toward the jack, passed between it and the other boules and continued on its way, but as it passed, it clipped the back boule, pushing it farther from the jack. The game was over!

Spectators were out of their seats, hands were being grasped, players embraced, some players teared up.

(the winner's take their due)

The winning team, and the one to represent the FPUSA in the next World Games, is Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Xavier Thibaud, and Eric Bertin. Our hearty congratulations to both teams for such a good game, and our best wishes to the winners for a successful "Worlds".

Here is the scoring line duly recorded by Ernesto: 2-0, 2-3, null, 7-3, 7-4, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 8-7, 10-7, 12-7, 12-8, 12-10, 12-12, 12-13.

At the Awards Dinner celebration at the nearby Saju Bistro restaurant, players were treated to a complimentary pastis from LBNY, and a most excellent meal of tasty entree's followed by a short ceremony of medals and prizes awards.

( the boys from LBNY get their medals)

(PJ accepts the 2nd place team recognition)

(Peter and Juan collect their team's bronze)

In the Federation Cup, the winners were, Christophe Chambers, Lucien Rakotojaona, and Raja Harb in first (LBNY), followed by Cynthia Stroud, Jetsun Penkalski, and Peter Soriano (MBC) in second. Congratulations all!

(Christophe and Lucien with their team's Federation Cup win)

A wonderful weekend for all making the trip, thanks to the camaraderie of the players, the work of LBNY, and the setting of Bryant Park, spectacular even in the rain.

Here is a Link to more Pictures of the Tournament.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Juankydotcom/WCQTBryantParkNY#

Resin jacks banned

Citing safety concerns, the FPUSA board, composed of players elected by its member clubs, has recently voted to ban the use of resin jacks in all competitions and casual play.

Anyone who has been hit by a jack whizzing across the terrain after being struck by a shot boule knows how much it can hurt and there is anecdotal evidence that injuries to players are more severe and more painful from these plastic jacks than from the wooden ones.

The FPUSA ban follows the lead of a couple of European federations that banned the jacks after noticing player reactions from being hit by the heavier plastic jacks. There is some suspicion that the plastic compresses upon impact from the steel boule and then is projected into the air with even more force than the wooden jack.

Latest Updated FPUSA Tournament Schedule

From the Sport Committee comes the most up to date tournament schedule which includes information for the SW Region Mixed Doubles.

Click on schedule to enlarge it

Latest sign up info on the WCQT in New York

From Ernesto Santos, President of La Boule New Yorkaise, we have sign up and lodging information for the World Championship Qualification Tournament set for September 27-28 in Bryant Park, NYC.

The information is in the form of a pdf at this link: http://www.labouleny.com/pdfs/2008/WCQT-entry-form+Rules.pdf


There will also be a Sunday Dinner sign-up form available at a later time. If you will be joining us for the weekend please inquire about that before sending in your team registration.

Contact Ernesto at: president@labouleny.com or visit their website at www.labouleny.com

Quebecois or Kewbekwa? Petanque or pay-tonk?

Parc Ferland, Quebec City,

Some will recognize right away that Kebekwa is the phonetic spelling of Québécois, and is now the name of the pro basketball team in Québec City (the "Kebs"), but it also describes the nationality of most of the 70+ teams of men and women who competed this last weekend in the first "Marseillaise of the Ville de Québec".
Friendlier players won't be found and they quickly showed what good hosts they were too, for the 3 Japanese teams, and the 6 teams with Americans on them.

(the 3 Japanese teams and the Ricard representatives)


A small park just a few short minutes from the Vieux Québec tourist district was set with a large circus tent, a number of smaller "pop-ups", and 32 courts, all ready for two days of serious petanque, some relaxed socializing while sipping some of Ricard's best "jaune", a couple of fine catered lunches, and a bang up dinner and awards presentation that had most of us in bed by midnight Sunday.

La Boule New Yorkaise teams enjoy a yummy lunch (seated at the table on the right)

Courts were just 3 meters by 15, but they played well, small gravel, firm underneath, and shots could be either "a la rafle" or precisely "au fer", otherwise they would bounce. One did have to be careful not to stand in another team's playing area, and, once in a while, a jack would get kicked into another court, but teams waited courteously while the end finished. The organization was flawless and with 32 teams in the Sunday consolantes, two of them were run simultaneously while the concours was also played.

About 20 volunteers from local clubs made sure lunch tickets were doled out, teams located, and all questions answered, mostly in French, but there were ample numbers of English speakers.

Young ladies from Ricard were handing out free samples of the traditional pastis drink and a newer one featuring cranberry juice with a squeeze of lemon. Very nice, you say? Yes, it was.
The final match on Sunday, played on well lighted courts, featured two Québec teams playing to 15 points surrounded by appreciative spectators on bleachers. It was back and forth until one team composed of Yanic, Mario, and "Domi" had come from behind to make the score 12-10. Yanic's team had 3 boules in hand and the point. The other team had one boule left and shot at the boule holding the point hoping to bring their others on the ground, back in, but, as luck would have it, hit the jack instead, popping it out and giving three points and victory to Yanic's team.

(the final, Yanic, Mario, and "Domi" in blue and white)

Three teams with Americans on them finished in the money. David from Chicago came to the tournament hoping to be matched up and was put with two Québec players and finished 14th out of 16 in the concours. John Rolland, our former FPUSA president, also playing with two Québecois finished second in one of the consolantes, and, the team of Robert Pierre, Diana Jacobs, and Joe Martin, finished 2nd in the other consolante. The other 3 American teams, all from LBNY, were waylaid before reaching a final of some sort.

(one of the money teams, left to right, Robert, Diana, and Joe)


(LBNY appears in force)

In one of the many "tombolas" or lotteries conducted during the weekend, Jean Pierre Subrenat won a nice set of Obut boules.

Those Canadians do play a good game and Québec feels like France, so if Europe airfares and prices are too discouraging, think of our friends to the north of us.

see you on the courts,
Joe