WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BLOG for La Pétanque Marinière in San Rafael, California. LPM has been an active Marin pétanque club since 1972 and affiliated with the Fédération of Pétanque USA, since 1975. We welcome people of all abilities, ages and nationalities to come and enjoy pétanque with us.

The Pierre Joske Courts are located on Civic Center drive in San Rafael. (click for directions). Casual games are played every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from about 1 pm. Tournament play is usually held on the second Sunday of every month.

Please consult the links on the sidebar to the right for more information on clubs in the bay area, nationally and world wide.

If you would like to play but haven't any boules, please contact our President, Christine Cragg. They can bring some for you to use, as well as introduce you to the basic skills and techniques of pétanque. In addition, if you are looking to purchase boules but are unsure as to which size and weight are right for you, we have a range of different examples from which to choose.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Pétanque in Tacoma, WA

KATHLEEN MERRYMAN; THE NEWS TRIBUNE

It is a sad fact that a language learned in school rusts faster than the affection for it does.

Without the opportunity to speak it, all the hours of vocabulary drills and declensions seize up in a mass of poorly maintained education.

At least that’s what happened to my French.

I am of the generation that learned French because it was the language of diplomacy and grand literature, not to mention quite a bit of good food and opera. We were brought up to appreciate the grace of its vocabulary and its ties to Greek and Latin. No one really expected us to speak it, unless we got lucky enough to backpack across Europe, or to afford haute cuisine.

To read the rest of the article, click here

Sunday, January 25, 2009

County Safety Building Progress


AN EARTHQUAKE is not going to wait for Marin County's budget outlook to brighten.

The county needs to move forward with plans for a new public safety building, even though the first phase is expected to cost $57 million. The county has $30 million set aside for the project.

The Marin civil grand jury has strongly urged the county to expedite construction. The government watchdog reached its conclusion after taking a close look at the county's plans, the proposed site and the need to house local emergency services, personnel and equipment in a building that would be engineered to withstand the large quake. Read the full article here

Monday, January 19, 2009

2009 Bay Area & Beyond Calendar

Bay Area & Beyond, 2009 Club Schedules
CONTACT the HOST CLUB about EACH EVENT for more SPECIFIC INFORMATION or possible CHANGES
Red Lettering indicates FPUSA sponsored tournament

DATE

CLUB

EVENT

January 18th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

January 18th Sunday

San Francisco

“Galette des Rois”

Random Doubles




February 1st Sunday

San Francisco

Carrousel 2x2 - change partners each game

February 7th Saturday

Marin

2 Men + 1 Woman, Select Triples

Rain date – February 8

February 15th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

February 21st Saturday

February 22nd Sunday

Boca Raton

FPUSA, National Men’s Singles and

FPUSA, National Women’s Singles

FPUSA, National Mixed Triples




March 1st Sunday

San Francisco

Select Mixed Triples (2M & 1F)

+ Consolante (if 10 teams or More present)

March 7th Saturday

Marin

Northern CA Commemorative Cup

Select Mixed Doubles (1 man + 1 woman)

Rain date – March 8

March 15th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

March 28th Saturday

Sonoma

Season Opener 4-Boules Singles & Soup

Rain date – March 29




April 4th & 5th

Saturday & Sunday

Boca Raton

FPUSA, Woman’s World Championship

Qualification Tournament

April 5th Sunday

San Francisco

1 shooter + 1 or 2 pointer – 5 games

April 11th Saturday

Marin

Lentils & Sausage Picnic

Panaché format – Open to All

April 19th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

April 25th Saturday

Sonoma

Select Mixed Doubles + Potluck Lunch

Rain date – April 26




May 3rd Sunday

Sacramento

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Mixed Triples

May 9th Saturday

Marin

Tête a Tête – Men’s Tournament

Tête a Tête – Woman’s Tournament

May 10th Sunday

Menlo Park

Mother’s Day Picnic with

Random Mixed Games

May 17th Sunday

Sonoma

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Mixed Doubles

May 17th Sunday

San Francisco

Select Mixed Triples (2 men + 1 woman)

+ Consolante

May 31St Sunday

San Francisco

Club’s 50th Birthday > 1959 - 2009

Concours (A) Select 2/2 - Trophies

Concours (B) 2/2 Mêlée – Trophies

1 Gift for all players present!




June 7th Sunday

Sonoma

BBQ Lamb Picnic Party & Pétanque

June 14th Sunday

Marin

Annual Steak Picnic

Panaché format - Open to All

June 21st Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

June 27th Saturday

June 28th Sunday

Portland, OR

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Select Triples

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Singles

June 28th Sunday

Sonoma

Sonoma Cup – Select Triples




July 12th Sunday

Sonoma

Ravenswood Bastille Day Grand Concours de Pétanque – Random Triples

July 12th Sunday

San Francisco

Fete de l’armistice – Random Doubles

July 19th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

July 19th Sunday

Marin

LPM ‘Members-Only’ Tournament

Format to be determined – Pot Luck Lunch

July 25th Saturday

July 26th Sunday

Lamorinda

FPUSA, National Men’s Doubles

FPUSA, National Women’s Doubles

FPUSA, National Mixed Doubles




August 9th Sunday

Marin

FPUSA, N.W. Regional

“60+OVER” Mixed Doubles

August 16th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

August 16th Sunday

San Francisco

2/2 Select Open

+ Consolante (if 12 teams present)

August 23rd Sunday

Lamorinda

Select Doubles

August 30th Sunday

Sonoma

Wine Makers Picnic & Mini Tournament




September 5th & 6th

Saturday & Sunday

Sacramento

Annual Emil Furlan Tournament

Select Mixed Triplette

September 13th Sunday

Marin

Annual Leg of Lamb - free to Members

Panaché format – Open to all

September 20th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

September 20th Sunday

San Francisco

Concours (A) Men’s 2/2 Select

Concours (B) Women’s Mêlée des Mêlée

September 27th Sunday

Sonoma

VOMPC Open Championship

Select Triples




October 4th Sunday

San Francisco

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Doubles

October 4th Sunday

Sonoma

Oktoberfest – big feast – mini tournament

October 10th Saturday

Marin

Random Doubles

October 11th Sunday

Lamorinda

FPUSA, N.W. Regional Mêlée Triples

October 17 & 18

Saturday & Sunday

Sonoma

Wine Country Open – Select Doubles

Qualify Saturday – Finals Sunday

October 18th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

October 18th Sunday

San Francisco

Interclub Tournament – clubs must present an even number of players – minimum of 4

Pre-registration Required




November 1st Sunday

San Francisco

1 Shooter & 1 or 2 Pointers – 5 games

November 7th Sunday

Marin

Tournament a la Mêlée

Rain date – November 8

November 15th Sunday

Menlo Park

Random Mixed Games

November 28h Sunday

Sonoma

Random Doubles – Potluck Lunch




December 6th Sunday

San Francisco

“Panier de Noel”. Carrousel 2x2

Apéro - Potluck Lunch

Generally, the following holds true:

1st Sunday

San Francisco

La Boule d’Or

Pres. John Krauer 650.755.2391

or French call cell 650.534.4785

2nd Sunday

San Rafael (Marin)

La Petanque Mariniere

Pres. Christine Cragg 415.302.5069

www.cochonnetmarin.com

www.petanque-marin.blogspot.com

3rd Sunday

Menlo Park

La Boule Joyeuse Pres. Dolores Ebollito

Info. Monique Martin 650.369.9475

LaProvencale1@aol.com

4th Sunday

Sonoma

Valley of the Moon Petanque Club www.vompc.org

Pres. Michael Cooper - me_cooper@sbcglobal.net

Secretary: Tom Bricca - tombricca@comcast.net

Info. Hotline 707.258.3450

As Announced

Lafayette, CA. - Contact Lamorinda Club Pres. Mary Albright 925.283.2682

Or Brian Murphy 925.689.0293

Casual Play every Sunday - all year - begins @ 1pm Winter / 3pm Summer

As Announced

Sacramento

Club Francaise de Sacramento

Pres. Colette Evans 916.362.0509

Info. Kevin Mcgill / mcgillfam@gmail.com

www.petanquesacramento.net

As Announced

Willits Boules Club

Pres. Mickey (707) 972-1917

Pres. Contact: Lawren Giles 707.459.1911

dmarshall@pacific.net

As Announced

Oakhurst, CA - Oakhurst Club - Pres. Manny Sanz

Casual Play held Saturday mornings 9 A.M. – year ‘round

and Wednesday evenings 5:00 P.M. – April through October

www.oakhurstpetanque.com

As Announced

Fresno, CA - Fresno Petanque www.fresnopetanque.com

Pres. Tim Channell

Contact: timchannell@sbcglobal.net

- CONTACT LIST FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND CHANGES OF EVENTS -

Use this as a general guideline for where and when to play.

There will be possible changes throughout year

Please contact individual Clubs for current information!


Monday, January 12, 2009

from Ed Porto

Greetings FPUSA Club Presidents et al,
I hope that 2009 is off to a good start for you and your clubs.

2008 was another great year for FPUSA and our membership - more clubs, more members and more events! Appreciation goes to all the host clubs and volunteers who made it all possible. We expanded our Regional program to include Melees and Mixed Triples. Our National program took on a new look as well. With Men's Doubles/Women's Doubles/Mixed Doubles and Men's Singles/Women's Singles/Mixed Triples combinations, our members enjoyed a variety of single-day tournaments on two national tourney "weekends."

There was great competition at the Qualifier in New York last September, with the winners decided in a 13-12 come-from-behind victory in the final. Congratulations to Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Eric Bertin and Xavier Thiebuad of La Boule New Yorkaise for their excellent play and teamwork. They will be good representatives for us in 2010. Lastly for 2008, in California, FPUSA hosted a "60 and over" group from the New Zealand Federation. What a blast it was! And many of our senior members in the Bay Area, Oakhurst and Southern California got a chance to play in a true international competition and make new friends.

Internationally, our US Women's team of Diana Jacobs and Sandra Bonneville from LA and Erin McTaggart and Antonia Chavez from Sonoma faired well in Samsun, Turkey last October, taking 3rd place in the Coup des Nations. Thanks go to Mary and Bill Albright for accompanying the team and especially to Mary for being our delegate and helping the team in so many ways. In November, our Team of Thuan Nguyen (LA), Christian Triay (LA), Pascal Corschis (Palm Desert) and Mai Ngyuen (LA), along with Coach Ly Ngyuen (LA), competed in Dakar, Senegal in the Senior World Championship. Robert Pierre, making the trip from his "post" in France, was our official delegate. Special thanks go to Robert, our International Events Coordinator, for his service as delegate and for his work in providing our members the information and contacts they need to compete in various international events.

As for the upcoming season (which has just begun in Florida over this past weekend), we have further expanded our Regionals to include Singles and, based on the popularity of the New Zealand competitions, a "60 and over" Mixed Doubles (or Mixed Triples). With the Regional melees, and "over 60's" events, the idea is to expand the pool of potential medal-winners beyond the top competitors and to give new players a chance to compete for a medal with the better players .

Our National program will be focused in Boca Raton, with the Singles/Mixed Triples weekend (Feb) and the Women's Qualifier (April) and in Lafayette, CA who will be hosting the Doubles weekend on their new courts in July. Unfortunately, there will be no Senior's Qualifier as the 2009 WC was postpones to 2010, therefore there is no need to qualify a team.

I look forward to seeing many of you this year - at your place or mine!

Best Wishes and Enjoy Petanque!

Ed Porto
FPUSA Nationa Sport Director