Petanque 100 in Portland, OR

Portland Petanque Club combined the Petanque 100 celebration with their annual Webfoot tournament.
25 players of which some played for 8 hours into the finals.

By the way, PPC is one of the very few clubs in the country that has a real clubhouse, with cooking facilities and an outdoor terrace!

Portland Petanque Club in action

Portland Petanque Club is gearing up full steam for the World Championship Qualifier Tournament on July 21 & 22.
First they topped up part of their terrain with fresh crushed rock and grit. With lots of input from club members.


Then they had a tree planting day, with tremendous help from the Portland Parks & Recreations Bureau. There will be shade at PPC in the future.
By the way, the lawn bowling facilities which PPC partially shares with the Portland Lawn Bowling Club were originally constructed in 1945!
PPC was founded only in 2001, but they're developing very fast, with now around 60 members.

Sonoma, CA - Newcomer Tournament

Yesterday was the doubles tournament for "newcomers": a club member + a beginner who has followed the weekly training sessions.
On the left, the senior team - Byron (86) & Vaughn (91) - taking a break, and on the right the winners:
Antonia (who was on the US Team in Grenoble last year) and newcomer Jan (you didn't think you'd get their ages as well - did you?).

Once again: open clinics for newcomers, a great idea.
See our post of May 2nd.

Tuesdays in Westchester, NY

Our friends in Westchester started their weekly petanque meets on Tuesday May 1st.
That first day was a bit drizzly, but May 8 was perfect, with 24 players.

If you're N of NY, and want to unwind on a Tuesday evening, go to Peter Pratts Inn for a few games of petanque. May 15 will be "merguez" night!
Ah... pastis, merguez & boules...
When is the next flight?

More details

King Tenaya Tournament

Oakhurst Petanque Club is about petanque, but also about having fun and maintaining traditions.
Witness their annual King of the Mountains tournament on May 19.

Read all about it here.

Their respect for culture is international so they also hold an annual Oktoberfest Tournament!

Petanque in Richmond, VA

Les Boulefrogs of Church Hill Petanque Club was formed in the spring of 2005 with an initial membership of twelve enthusiastic members.
They now number twenty-five and keep growing.
At first they played on local gravel-covered alleys until Richmond Parks and Recreation supported them in building two temporary courts in Chimborazo Playground in the fall of 2006. The Playground is scheduled for a complete renovation in the near future and they plan to have at least four new courts as the centerpiece of the playground.

Playing times: Saturday at 1:00pm & Thursday at 6:00pm

Chimborazo Playground on Google maps

For more information contact Richard Taranto, President at rktaranto@earthlink.net , or call 804-648-3939.

Petanque in Brooklyn

There's a new group of players in McCarren Park!

Tristram and his friends get together regularly for play under the oak trees, and are warming up for the Bastille Day tournament on July 16.

The spot looks great: central location, with plenty shade and space and a natural terrain.

Go visit their blog , with pictures, video clips and a map.

San Francisco - La Boule d'Or

North California has the highest concentration of clubs in the country, so last weekend I was able to visit three within 24 hrs.

La Boule d'Or, the oldest formal club in the US, was founded in 1959 by Jean Bontemps, an importer from Provence, with a 'boulodrome' in famous Golden Gate Park.

An absolutely idyllic location. Their only problem is that dense fog sometimes makes it difficult to play.

John Krauer has been the active president for many years, and I arrived at the right time for a quick drink game with him, René, Alain, Raymond and - always joking - Jacques.

Beginner training in Sonoma

For the last couple of years VOMPC in Sonoma has been giving free initiation classes to beginners, in the spring. At the end of the cycle, a tournament is held where each team consists of a club member and a pupil.
An excellent initiative. Obviously some of the beginners join the club, and those who don't have at least had a good time, now know the game, and who knows will take it up later.
Here you see instructors John Bouldt and John Byrne. And they bring out a video camera to study the players' swing and position and correct where necessary.
Any club who doesn't do this as yet should talk to Dwayne Reed at VOMPC, the man behind the scenes (and the camera!).

PS: The gentleman with the white cap below (left pic) joined VOMPC on his 91st birthday!!

Aiken Tournament

Blogging has been light due to traveling, but we'll catch up!

Sat April 21:
Citizens Park in Aiken, a beautiful town NE of Augusta, GA.
A few less teams than the Atomic Boule Club had expected (due to the fact that some of their French members had to go and vote at the French Consulate in Atlanta) but the playing level of the 11 teams was very good, and we had fun.
The littles ones played on the side, and later on made nice drawings for the winners.
Thanks to Pierre & Co for their warm welcome!

The club is talking to the City and it would seem they will soon get permanent courts in Odell Weeks Park, to be used both by the bocce club and the petanque club. Thumbs up!

A few souvenirs:

Petanque in Detroit

Revamped Cadillac Park downtown Detroit is almost finished and - GOOD NEWS - there's lots of crushed stone between the paved walkways!
Jeff & Joe and their friends tried them out today and they work great.

Their report: Midwest Petanque Blog

And also Detroit Petanque Club has a brand new website. Spring is in the air all around.