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!

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

Pétanque in Laos

Pétanque is one of the most popular sports in Laos. The game is very easy to play, and is one of the most cherished pastimes of the Laotian people. Click here to take a closer look at Soulasith Khamvongsa, the nation's petanque hero.

Pétanque is a sport played by all ages and both sexes the only sport in which Laos has made any sort of impact on the international stage.

Soulasith Khamvongsa has won medals at the South-East Asian Games, the Asian Pétanque Championships and is considered to be amongst the top 40 players in the world. He is arguably Laos' most successful sportsman. At the age of 17, he was chosen to represent Laos at the 2001 South-East Asian Games in Malaysia. It was the first time that Pétanque had been included in the Games and Soulasith led his nation to gold in the Doubles event.

Soulasith Khamvongsa, Pétanque player said "Pétanque has been popular in Laos for a long time, ever since the French brought the game over. But Pétanque's popularity really took off after we won that gold medal. When we got back I travelled around the country and played lots of exhibition matches in various villages. That was great fun."

Soulasith's success has been phenomenal. It was only the second time in 42 years that Laos had won a gold medal at the Games. Still at the age of just 24, he believes that he has yet to reach his peak in the sport. There are still lots of potential medals to win, starting in front of his home crowd at next year's South-East Asian Games.

In order to locate more talented players, the Laos Pétanque Federation is using local competitions to spot people that could make it onto the national team. The hope more Laotian petanque heroes will make their way onto the international stage.

Women's World Champions

VOMPC'S Chavez, McTaggart help USA take impressive Women's World 3rd Sonoma's Antonia Chavez (r), and Erin McTaggart (l), are members of the Valley of the Moon Pétanque Club who, playing for the United States women's team, recently competed against 35 international teams at the 2008 Women's World Pétanque Championships in Samsun, Turkey.
Click here to read the full article.

Happy Holidays 2008

Christmas and it's traditions don't always bring visions of joy and happiness to everyone, so keep in mind that when you are out looking for that perfect gift...that love is the easiest gift to give. It's simple...it's elegant...and it lasts a long time. It's always brand new...and if it's returned, it brings more joy. At this time of the year, let us reach out and forget all of our bitterness toward our fellow man, extending to him or her our true hand of love and friendship...because love brings hope, and hope removes doubt, and without doubt, there is no uncertainty.

La Pétanque Marinière would like to wish all of you, wherever you may be, and however you may choose to celebrate it, the most joyous holiday season filled with family, friends, laughter and good health.

Remembering old times...

Here's a great foto, taken a few years ago, of some LPM members enjoying a nice game of pétanque on what appears to be a sunny winter's day, sent in by our own Monique Bricca.


If you have any old fotos or print nostalgia you would like to share, please contact us at: petanque.marin@gmail.com

Fresno Pétanque

Hello Boulistes,

Fresno, California Petanque Club's monthly newsletter is now online. To view our NOVEMBER edition click here.

Come to Fresno and play petanque with us soon. See you on the piste!

Happy Holidays

Tim Channell, President
Fresno Petanque Club
559/352-4142

Greetings Marin Members

On Saturday, at the last Board Meeting of 2008, we welcomed our new 2009 Board Members - David Render, Emily Etcheverry and Roger Mattei. The meeting was a little over an hour and a half long - good ideas were presented and several decisions were made.

I am happy to announce that we now have a Director of Sport - Roger Mattei and an Assistant Director of Sport - David Render. Thank You! - to both gentlemen for accepting these positions.

One of the issues that the Board has been discussing is how to better represent the interests of the general membership. Two changes will be made in our 2009 format.

1) The Board Meetings that take place during good weather are held at our courts. These meetings will be open to the general membership. I will send, by email, an announcement of the date and time before each month's meeting. All members are welcome to observe these meetings and there will be a time for 'member comment' near the end of the agenda. Because of time constraints, the comments made during the 'member comment' section of the meeting will not necessarily be discussed that day. If not discussed at that meeting, they will be noted for discussion at future meetings. If you have an issue that you would like to see on the agenda simply reply to my date-and-time-announcement email, telling me what it is you would like to have the Board address. We will do what we can to fit it into that meeting's agenda.

2) It has been decided to make the minutes from each Board Meeting available - by email - to any member wishing to have a copy. Alain Efron has sent a notice regarding this decision. If you wish to receive a copy, simply reply to Alain's announcement stating that you would like to be on that email list. If you would like a copy and do not have email, please ask a member, who does, to print a copy for you.

If you have any questions, I can be reached by email: petanque.marin@gmail.com or phone: 415-302-5069.

Regards,
Christine Cragg
President, LPM

Ancient arena in central Paris

By Matt Luna/IHT Paris

While walking down rue Monge in the 5th arrondissement, an old stone entrance caught my attention. Of course, Paris is a historical city, but this structure seemed out of place among the storefronts and apartment building doors. Passing through the entrance I found myself in an old Gallo-Roman arena that quickly removes one from the 21st century. MAP
Les Arènes de Lutèce was built around the end of the first century A.D., and was the site of gladiator contests, comedies and drama presentations. The old stone structures, which once could accommodate about 17,000 people, were partially destroyed by barbaric invaders in the 3rd century, then rediscovered in the mid-19th century during the building of rue Monge.
Click here to read the full article.

44th world champions

Champions du Monde 2008: FRANCE B
Thierry Grandet-Bruno Leboursicaud-Henri Lacroix-Philippe Suchaud Foto: Claude Stirmel

click here to see more on the final games of the 44th World Pétanque Championship

click here to see more of the final games of the Nations Cup where Spain came away the winner beating Sweden 13-10

LPM 2009 Board

La Pétanque Marinière would like to announce and welcome, three new members to the board for 2009. They are (l-r) David Render, Emily Etcheverry and Roger Mattei. Sadly we say goodbye to our Sport Director, Gilles Karpowicz and Assistant Sport Director Jimmy Flour. We thank them for their invaluable contributions to the club and extend them our best wishes for all of their future endeavors.

44th world pétanque championships

The games are underway in Dakar, Senegal. For more information and to follow the action, click here to enter the official event website

vietnam pétanque

Viet Nam clinch silver medal for Asian Pétanque in Kaohsiung

Huynh Cong Tam and Tran Van Be took home the men’s doubles silver medal at the Asian Pétanque (iron ball) Tournament in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Vietnamese players also grabbed seven bronze medals in the championship.
Thailand dominated the championship with a total of six gold medals.
It is expected that pétanque will be added to the event line-ups at the Asian Indoor Games in Viet Nam and the Southeast Asian Games in Laos next year.

Lamorinda red beans & rice

Today in Lafayette, pétanque players were "transported" to the south of France and the southern state of Louisiana, at the same time, for Lamorinda Pétanque Club's annual red beans and rice festivities. There was a triplette panaché with the prizes being awarded by raffle tickets, two awarded to the winners of each game, and one to the losers of each game. As is evident in the slide show, Lamorinda's courts are not laid out in the standard 15 x 5 meter rectangles but rather a provençal style terrain casually wrapping around trees, stones, benches and picnic tables. La Pétanque Marinière would like to thank all of the Lamorinda members for all of their hard work in putting on such a nice event.

Click here to watch the slideshow

november 2008 tournament

The last tournament of 2008 took place Saturday. There were 12 players who took part in the doublettes panaché. The weather looked upon the precedings with favor, as only a slight drizzle was apparent for a short time. The talent was fairly closely matched as several teams battled throughout extended games. All in all, it was a quite a convivial way to end the 2008 competetive season. Click here to watch the slideshow.

st. mark's school

Sally and the children from St. Mark's School came by for their annual visit on Friday. About thirty children showed up to play pétanque, to learn about the history of the game and receive pointers from our resident experts, Louis Toulon and René Di Maio, among others from La Pétanque Marinière. LPM hopes that everyone had a good time and looks forward to seeing them soon at the courts. Who knows, perhaps there are some future pétanque champions in the making. Click here to watch the slideshow.

LPM Tournament

Join us for the last tournament of the year.

La Pétanque Marinière will hold a doublette panaché tournament on

Saturday November 8, 2008

Registration closes at 10:00 am sharp. Games begin at 10:30

Tournament entry fee: $7.00 per person

Bring your own lunch

soft pétanque

A perfect reason to have your own set of

La Moule indoor pétanque boules

A revolution in pétanque
from PetanqueMolle

LAMORINDA PÉTANQUE

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

Lamorinda Annual Red Beans and Rice Tournament

Mixed Triples
Sunday, November 9th
Registration at 10:00 Games Begin at 11:00
Lunch 12:00 – 1:00
Tournament Fee $5.00
Lunch $8.00
New Orleans Style Red Beans & Rice, Corn Bread, Cole
Slaw, and Southern Pie
Bring Your Own Beverage
Lunch By Reservation. Please Call:
Mary @ 925-283-2682
Brian @ 925-689-0293
Mimma @ 925-370-9358
Y’all come and let a good time be had by all !!!
Coffee before and an aperitif after the games
Prizes By Drawings

A Letter from our President

Greetings Members and Friends of La Pétanque Marinière ,

As 2008 draws to an end I can not help but reflect on the months that have so quickly flown by.

We sadly bid farewell to our dear friends and valued club members,
Armand Squitieri and Bob Winkley. They remain with us, in our memories of the gentlemen that they were and in their family members who continue to play with us.

The future of our terrain is still unknown. The County is committed to moving forward with the building and there is nothing definite on a site for relocation of our courts. The petition for protective rezoning of the parcel failed after too many signatures were disqualified for a variety of reasons. A committee of Board members remains in ongoing communications with county officials and we will give updates as agreements are made.

I would like to thank the LPM Board for the many hours of hard work they have so generously given to the club. Also, many thanks to those members who are not on the Board but willingly help with cleaning of the courts before tournaments or with preparation of the food during the tournaments. Your contributions are greatly appreciated.

The annual Business Meeting will be held Nov 15th, 6 PM, at Villa Marin in San Rafael. The event is free to members and $5.00 for non-members. Reservations must be made by Nov. 13. Contact Alain Efron 415-479-5820 or aefron3@comcast.net.

LPM 2009 dues are as follow: $30.00 adult / $10.00 junior (under 18) / $20.00 associate member. Dues must be received by Jan. 15th or a $5.00 late fee will apply. Make your check payable to LPM and send to Alain Efron, 23 Windstone DR., San Rafael, CA 94903. Or you could save the cost of a stamp and avoid the possible late fee by paying your dues at the Business Meeting. I hope to see you there.

Regards,


Christine Cragg
LPM President

Interclub Tournament '08

The 2008 Interclub Tournament was hosted by our Sacramento friends yesterday at their home courts at Mather Field. Teams from Willits, Sonoma, San Rafael, San Francisco as well as Sacramento showed up to compete. In all, approximately 4o players competed for the honor of holding the cup for the year to come. In the morning, players from one's own team competed against those of the other four to determine those who would qualify for the afternoon's final games. After the dust had settled, Sonoma came away with the Interclub Trophy.
Watch the slideshow here

World Championships

By Los Angeles Pétanque Club Reporter, Diana Jacobs

The excitement is building as the National Women’s Pétanque team warms up for a weekend in Samsun, Turkey. Sandra Bonneville (LAPC), Antonia Chavez (VOMPC), Diana Jacobs (LAPC) and Erin McTaggart (VOMPC) will be representing the United States in the World Championship. Our own Sandra will be competing in the shooting competition as well. Mary Albright is the Chief of the Delegation. Click here to see streaming video and updates on the event. We hope to get a glimpse of our ladies doing their all out best in the beautiful port city of Samsun on the Black Sea.
The Men’s National Pétanque team; Christian Triay (LAPC), Thuan Nguyen (LAPC), Pascal Corchia (LBDD) and Mai Nguyen will be representing the United States in Dakar, Senegal in November. Robert Pierre (LAPC) is the Chief of the Delegation accompanying them to the World Championship.
Click here to read more about the 44th World Championship in Dakar, Senegal.

For the complete edition of the latest L.A. Pétanque Reporter, click here.

The Kent Pétanque Championships

Kent County Showground plays host to 78 teams of European boules players all battling for top honours on the pétanque pistes above Detling.

suddenly, balls in every court

The following is not the most recent news story about pétanque, yet still a very good one and worthy of being repeated.

By ELIZABETH MAKER
June 1, 2003

DURING the week, the life of Morley Safer is a whir of interviews, writing, filming, editing and rushing around New York or traveling the globe preparing reports for the television program ''60 Minutes.''
But come Saturdays, at least in the summertime, Mr. Safer is usually at his Chester home doing the one thing he credits most for keeping him calm: playing petanque.
Jacques Pepin, a chef and author, spends his weekdays working on his public television cooking programs and jetting around the world to whip up recipes or speak for various causes.
But as soon as the snow has melted in springtime, Mr. Pepin can be found almost every weekend, from early afternoon often late through the night, indulging in his passion for petanque on the court he had built at his home in Madison.

Read the entire article here.

mcinnis park master plan

Jennifer Upshaw
Oct 03, 2008

Planners are dusting off long-term blueprints for north San Rafael's John F. McInnis County Park, envisioning a future that includes a new dog park, all-weather playing fields, pétanque courts, a huge picnic area and a children's playground. Built in the 1970s at the end of Smith Ranch Road, the 358-acre park, of which 75 acres are developed, boasts a 25,000-square-foot skatepark, two softball fields, two soccer fields, a canoe launch, four tennis courts, a group picnic area and nature trails. It is the largest county park, although 283 acres are protected wetlands.
The park is home to the McInnis Park Golf Center, a nine-hole executive golf course with a driving range, miniature golf, batting cages, clubhouse, pro shop and restaurant.
"This is something we had kind of in the workings for awhile," said Steve Petterle, principal park planner, who said the project mostly amounts to "tweaking" a handful of specifics in the park's long-term planning document, last updated in 2001.
"I think it's always a bit of looking at where we are and where we're going," said Sharon McNamee, director of parks and open space. Possible changes to McInnis include relocating a planned dog park away from the creek, moving a future children's playground to a larger area away from the batting cages and planning for new petanque courts and the dog park, assuming a proposed public safety building at the Civic Center displaces existing facilities. A large group picnic area is planned as well.
Also examined will be the installation of environmentally friendly synthetic turf to allow year-round soccer and softball, sports that pack the park in the summer.
"We're looking at how people use the park and how we can improve interaction between different groups by providing facilities that meet everyone's needs from as basic as shade to as sophisticated as artificial turf," said Cordelia Hill, principal of the Mill Valley landscape architecture firm Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey, the group hired to help the county plan the project.
Sustainable features such as permeable pavements, bio-swales to clean storm runoff and protect water quality, alternative energy sources and building materials that reduce the park's "carbon footprint" all will be considered, Hill said. Designs will reflect social needs too, she said.
"Part of sustainability is creating spaces people want to be in and support their needs so that it works for the community," Hill said. Beyond broad concepts, details such as where the new additions would be located are open for discussion, planners said. After spending the summer meeting with community groups, homeowners, dog owners and sports leagues, county officials held a workshop last week to gain direction. A second meeting to exchange ideas is set for November. Final plans will go to the Parks and Open Space Commission in December. The Board of Supervisors is expected to review the changes in January.
No funding exists yet for the improvements, although the county hopes to build the dog park and pétanque courts in 2010.
Thursday's meeting, the first public workshop on the proposed ideas, drew dog lovers and sports enthusiasts, among others. Soccer field access for adults was on Alberto Godoy's mind.
"We've been playing here at McInnis for a number of years," said Godoy, assistant to the president of the soccer league Liga Latina. "Year round we're very limited in soccer fields in Marin," he said. "It's hard for adults - kids get priority."
Plans to build an enclosed dog park drew Santa Venetia resident Roger Kolodny to the workshop. He said he liked the idea, as long as the rest of the park stayed open to dogs as well.
"We need to make sure the regulations stay the same," he said. "There's a real need."
Bart Zachofsky, a signmaker and engraver from Mill Valley, and Verena Rytter of Novato, who is retired from a career in accounting, are avid petanque players. The two said the courts across from the Marin Civic Center are threatened by plans for a new public safety building, and should be saved. They said they didn't know if replacement facilities at McInnis would suffice.
"Will it be adequate? Will it be equal to what we have?" Zachofsky said. "We don't know yet - we have to negotiate."

A word from Joe Martin

Greetings,

The WCQT in Bryant Park, NYC, this past weekend produced a winning team to represent the FPUSA in the next World Championship, whenever it will be held. The winning team is the LBNY team of Jean-Pierre Subrenat, Xavier Thibaud, and Eric Bertin. It was a very well run event and we very much appreciate the efforts of LBNY that hosted it.
Read about the weekend's events here.

See you on the courts,

Joe Martin, President FPUSA

VOMPC Oktoberfest

The Valley of the Moon Pétanque Club is putting on an Oktoberfest beer and pétanque event. Sunday October 19 from 11 am - 4 pm. Click the following links for more and information and reservations.
Limited to the first 200, so reserve your spot today!

Interclub Tournament

Sunday October 12 - at Sacramento

Marin hosted the first-annual Interclub Tournament in 2007 with the goal being that the hosting duties would rotate to a different club every year. The following year’s host was to be chosen from the participating clubs by random method, at the end of the tournament day. Sacramento won the toss to host the 2008 tournament.

Bring your own Lunch / Aperitif will be served at the Awards Ceremony
Pre-registration through your club President is required.
Participants must play only with members from their ‘primary’ club.
On-site PRE-REGISTERED PLAYER CHECK IN ends: 9:30 / Games start: 10:00
Registration fee $3.00 per player

Details for Interclub Tournament Format and Club Eligibility

1) In order to be eligible to participate, a club has to present a MINIMUM of eight (8) players and has to present an EVEN number of players. This has to be coordinated by each club and the Host Club is to receive the list of enrolled players from the President or Director of Sports of each club by the Wednesday that precedes the tournament date. (All team members must play with their “primary” club. Associate members are not eligible.)

2) On-site PRE-REGISTERED PLAYER CHECK IN ends at 9:30 and games start at 10:00.

3) 3 qualification games played in doublettes with random pairing of the members of the same club .

4) Within each club, each of their players will be ranked according to number of wins and number of points.

5) The ranking of the clubs is determined by adding the number of wins and points of their 8 best ranked players.

6) Clubs ranking # 1 and 2 play a Finale championship round by opposing their 3 best ranking players in a triplette 15 point finale.

7) In case there are 2 clubs ranking equal for the second place (which allows this club to play in the finale), the club having the larger number of players enrolled in the tournament wins the second place and plays the finale.

8) In case there are 2 players of a given club which rank equal for third place (which allow them to be part of the finale game triplette), the sport director (of the host club) will choose randomly between these 2 players (by coin toss).

9) The hosting club offers aperitif at awards ceremony.

10) No Cash Prizes will be given. A minimal entry fee will be charged to offset the cost of trophy engraving and aperitif served.

11) The perpetual trophy was sponsored by Bank of the West (with their logo and the title of the tournament on the trophy) After each tournament, the year, name of wining club and winning triplette will be engraved at the cost of the hosting club.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:
Going East on I-50 towards South Lake Tahoe, after the Watt Ave exit, continue on and exit right on Mather Field Road. Stay right on Mather Field Road, past Rockingham, at the next light turn right unto Peter Mc Cuen Blvd. The courts are across the street from the water tower.

NW Regional Slideshow

La Pétanque Marinière hosted the northwest regional competition today. It was a fairly small, cozy competition with ten teams comprised of members from Sacramento, Lamorinda, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Sonoma and San Rafael. Click on the Obut icon to watch the slideshow.

23, September 2008

Hi All,

La Petanque Mariniere did a nice job of hosting the first NW Regional Mixed Triples on Sunday, September 21.

Ten teams registered. 3 qualifying games were played. 6 teams went to the concours, 4 to the consolante. Both brackets were seeded, with the top two qualifying teams getting a BYE in the quarterfinal round.

Gold:Raymond and Pim Nielsen (La Boule d'Or), and Alain Gusella (Club Francais de Sacramento)

Silver:Alain and Evelyn Marchand, and Jacques Gautier (all La Petanque Mariniere)

Bronze:Jacques Serafian and Claudie Chourré (La Petanque Mariniere), and Jacques Avedissian (La Boule Joyeuse)Of the silver and bronze medalists, all are senior citizens (and one is over 80 years old!).

So for those who say: "It's always the same people who win," not so. Those teams played well. It was great to see these folks take their prizes -- even if it was at my team's expense!

Cheers,
Ed Porto
FPUSA National Sport Director

lapc open select triples

The Los Angeles Pétanque Club is pleased to host the 2008 Los Angeles Open Select Triplette competition on Sunday, October 12, 2008 at their facilities in the Cheviot Hills Park and Recreation Center (Rancho Park). This tournament is open to all players, whether or not affiliated with FPUSA clubs. Cash prizes will be awarded to the first, second and third place teams in the Concours and to the winner of the Consolante. The size of the awards will depend upon the number of participants, with a minimum of $300 to the winners of the Concours. Registration for the tournament will be from 8:15-9:00 AM and play will begin at 9:30 AM. The entry fee will be $75 per team. Morning croissants and coffee, luncheon sandwiches and beverages will be provided at no additional cost.

The links below will let you download the entry form for the tournament and a list of recommended hotels for out-of-town participants, as well as directions to their courts.
Registration Form

Directions

Hotels

fpusa southwest regional

Please note that the date for the FPUSA Southwest Regional Mixed Triples, to be held in Oakhurst, CA, has been changed to the 18th of October. Start thinking about putting your team together and support our friends of the Oakhurst Pétanque Club. Click here for entry form , and for directions to Oakhurst.

fresno pétanque

By Lewis Griswold 09/14/08


Crack of bat, clack of skateboard, woosh of in-line skates. Now there's a new sound emerging from Cary Park in Fresno: the clunk of boules.
A boule is a steel ball used in the outdoor bowling sport of pétanque, originally a French game that is now played by millions in Europe and is gaining adherents in the United States, especially Fresno.... more

FPUSA NW REGIONAL

2008 FPUSA NORTHWEST REGIONAL MIXED TRIPLES CHAMPIONSHIP

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21st, 2008. START TIME 9.00 AM
PIERRE JOSKE COURTS, SAN RAFAEL, CA click here for directions

ENTRY FEE PER TEAM: $60.00
Your check or money order and entry form must be received NO LATER than THURSDAY, SEPT.18TH. CASH ONLY will be accepted the day of the tournament, however, Christine MUST be notified of your team members by the FRIDAY the 19.
Please make check payable to La Pétanque Marinière and mail to:
Christine Cragg, 78 Madrone Ave., San Anselmo, CA 94960 Phone 415.302.5069

EVENT INFORMATION
Check in 8.00-8.30 a.m. Competition begins at 9.00 a.m.
- Coffee served in the morning. - Bring your own lunch
- Aperitif and snacks served at the awards ceremony
For more information –
Web site: cochonnetmarin.com
Blog site: petanque-marin.blogspot.com

Per FPUSA rules this event is open only to RENEWING members of the FPUSA whose dues for 2008 have been received by June 23, 2008. HOWEVER, New Members may join when submitting this entry form.
Players are reminded that they must have their FPUSA Membership Card on their person.
The International Rules of Petanque and the FPUSA Code of Conduct will be in force at this event. For your safety, closed-toes shoes are required.



HIGHLIGHT, PRINT AND SUBMIT THE LOWER PORTION WITH YOUR ENTRY

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

FPUSA N.W. REGIONAL MIXED TRIPLES CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM

CAPTAIN:___________________________________________________

PLAYER # 2:_________________________________________________

PLAYER # 3:_________________________________________________

PHONE #: (______)____________-___________________

E-MAIL:_____________________________________________________

CLUB:______________________________________________________

AMOUNT ENCLOSED: $_____________________

lamb picnic

La Pétanque Marinière's annual Leg of Lamb picnic was held yesterday under sunny skies and the shade of our beautiful plane trees. There was a large turnout enjoying grilled leg of lamb, done to perfection by our own Louis Toulon and Antoine Lofaro. Accompanying the succlulent lamb were white beans, a delicious salad vinaigrette, brie, and bread baked by another of our wonderful members, Jean-Claude Bunnand. It's pleasantly ironic that LOL both mean leg of lamb and laughing out loud, as there were a lot of people laughing and enjoying the meal, the weather and each others' company along with a few games of friendly pétanque. Click here to watch the slideshow.

Furlan Tournament 2008

The 2008 Emile Furlan Tournament took place this past weekend on the picturesque Furlan Ranch near Knight's Landing, Ca. There were twenty-six triplette teams competing convivially under sunny skies and the shade of thirty-five year old walnut trees. In addition to a nice selection of hotels in nearby Woodland, there was ample room for those who wanted to camp under the trees either in tents or in their trailers or motor homes. After the first days' competition, everyone went to the Knight's Landing Community Center for a nice dinner, prepared by a very talented crew, under the direction of the lovely Simone Furlan, along with members of the Club Français de Sacramento. It was quite evident that everyone in attendance had a wonderful time.
La Pétanque Marinière would like to extend a most gracious thank you to the Furlans, extended familes, members of the Club Français de Sacramento and everyone who gave of their time and energy to provide such a scenic venue and a very enjoyable event.
click here to watch the slideshow.