Friday, October 17, 2008

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/.



Thursday, October 16, 2008

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

Sunday, October 12, 2008

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!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

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.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

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#