Fresno Petanque on a roll

Only 3 months old, but very alive and kicking.
And whenever they travel they come back with medals & prizes!

Have a look at their October newsletter (pdf)

Also, they are talking to their Parks Department about public courts and got kudos for the proposal they submitted. A good source of inspiration for other groups. Thanks to Tim & Co for sharing it!

Fresno Parks Dept Proposal (pdf - 6.6 Mb)

Vanity plates drive

After driving around for years with our bumper sticker, I thought it was time for something more original....



Most likely the DMV people looked it up to make sure it wasn't a bad word.

Coincidence, the same day I received it there were a lot articles in the press about the vanity plate phenomenon. 9.3 mio cars now have vanity plates, or 3.83 % of a total fleet of 243 mio.
Virginia (where they cost only $10) ranks first in the nation, followed by New Hampshire and Illinois.

How about getting the first (and de facto only) "petanque" plate in your state?
To offset the DMV charge, and to help explain to your significant other or neighbors that you have not become deranged, we will give you a $ 75 discount on your next order (of min. $75). And of course your plate will appear on this blog as - why not - another salute to Petanque 100.

AAMVA - Press release
Cool licence plates!
AP article about personalized plates
Wikipedia on vanity plates

UPDATE
Bad luck -- apparently most states allow only 7 letters. In those cases, how about "PETANQE"?

Balls in pairs

For the growing number of folks who always play in teams of 3 or 4 players, and never need more than 2 boules, we now have Match competition boules available in pairs.

In 180 different combinations! That's right: five diameters (72-73-74-75), eleven weights (from 700 to 800 grams) and four patterns (1, 2, 3 & 4).


A nightmare from an inventory point of view, but we have already made many people happy, from Yuma, Arizona to Zephyrhills, Florida. And that's what counts.
If you want to feel what it's like to play with heavy boules, without paying the out-of-range extra, this is your chance.

Match2 - $ 54.00

Carolina Petanque

And ... speaking of North Carolina, some more news!
On October 21, nine of us decided to start Carolina Petanque, a club that will have multiple "home" bases throughout the Carolinas and sponsor gatherings at each location on a rotating basis.

Incidentally, Super Mario was visiting from Florida and witnessed the founding meeting, which took around 5 minutes. But the idea had been brewing for months so there was no need for lengthy discussions. There was however need for brew and for another game, in which Mario got his butt kicked for the first time on Carolina soil.

Whether it was his sudden appointment as president, or the tension of the last game, Bob - whom many of you met at the NY Open - had to have his arteries urgently checked the next day (as in "stent") . And Gary left the same day, so our flying start slowed down a bit.
But since then Bob is playing again, the blog is up thanks to Gary, and François of Chapel Hill became member # 10! And next week I will be in Charleston to meet with Louis and his die-hard players.

Carolina Petanque Blog

Petanque in Texas

Speaking of Texas, our dear North Carolina friends Gary & Shirley are over there right now visiting family and - needless to add - petanque locations!
Gary is known for making sure he finds petanque terrains anywhere they travel.
It so happens that their friend Jeanne, near Spicewood in Texas Hill Country just added a second terrain and they were there for the inauguration.
Thanks a lot for the pictures, and looking forward to more reports of games and petanque spots in & around Austin.

First Nexius have arrived

Even before we had them up on our site - for the lack of good pictures -, our friend Bill in Texas was on the phone to get the very first Nexius set rushed to Dallas.
So now you can all see what it looks like up close.
I must say the hype is justified. They look very nice, and the presentation is A1. Obviously I couldn't try them out.

Bill did get them today and promptly addressed this hilarious note to our Customer Service department, which as most of you know, is the same as the Accounts, Purchasing, Marketing, Maintenance and Cleaning department. At first I freaked out, then cracked up, and hàve to share it with you!


Dear Sir,
I have received a package from your company which contains 3 metal balls of some mysterious metal of an antique bronze color which may be made of some type of steel alloy possibly of stainless origin. These balls are housed in an attractive leather bag of blue suede and natural leather.
My problem is that to the best of my memory I had ordered a set of Bocce balls from your company these being made of poly-urethane plastic or in some instances of bronze and not of this mysterious metal. Also, Bocce balls tend to be of a larger diameter than the balls I received. Please note that the pallino is smaller than the standard size of 35 - 50 mm. Again, as I have said, my memory is not what it used to be so maybe I didn't order Bocce balls and indeed did order these balls which after doing some research I have determined to be used in a game of French origin called Pétanque. I will report to you the results of my endeavors in trying this new French game. Furthermore, thank you for your prompt attention and for accepting payment in Lira and exchanging them for Belgian Francs and then doing the further calculations and conversion into Rubles to US dollars (please note that the word "dollar" is in lower case due to its present low value against other Major Currencies such as the Ecuadorian Sucre or the Icelandic Krona).

OBUT Nexius - $ 295.00 Delivery time 2-3 weeks.

An American Salute to Pétanque

Here are the original pictures from the Petanque 100 Album.

American pétanque can really be proud. As far as I know - from looking at other blogs and federation websites - we were the only country outside France where a concerted effort took place to celebrate and bring folks together. Especially new players or those who had simply forgotten about petanque.

Some of the Alliance Française chapters were super creative: cakes, posters, and even T-shirts with the "100" logo were prepared for the occasion.

"Chapeau bas aux boulistes Américains !"


Slideshow (3:45 min - with truly American music ;-)
Make sure to look in the top left corner to see the locations.

Philadelphia petanque

Marie-Laure and her friends of JAAF did it again, as in June:
get together a bunch of young folks, mix in a few experienced players, and have a petanque party downtown. Where Locust meets 40th Street.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it this time, but I heard they had a ball, and Loi sent us the pictures.

Slideshow

An indoor court in Iowa

Bob & Donna are passionate players in Joice, IA -- who like to play whatever the atmospheric conditions may be.
So they converted a barn into an indoor court with all the accoutrements.
Ever since he mentioned there would be hula girls, I have been bugging Bob for pictures, so here they are - although he says there are still some things to be finished. I bet we can find volunteers to come and help!

Nice artwork! May it be an inspiration to many folks up north who want to play year-round

Boca Raton Tournament

Last week the Boca club had a little tournament, which was also a good occasion to celebrate the ...th birthday of John Rolland, FPUSA's president.

Thanks to Juan for the photo's!

Slideshow

Boca Petanque 2000 is holding an "open to anyone" tournament on Sat November 17, at the occasion of the visit of their sister club from France, Pétanque Club Fitounais. That will be an interesting event.
Details here

Big Boules of Dry Creek Finals

Peggy sent us an update on the activities in Healdsburg, CA.
First some pics of the opening party of yet another petanque terrain, this time at Dieter & Ursula Thurow's residence, surrounded by vines, and next to the pitching green. What an exotic location.
There are now close to 20 home courts in the area.

Followed by photos of the season finals on September 30, between Marcia and Bob Fosberg (last year's champions) and Steve Weiss and Mary Caldwell, who won this time.
As always, good food, drinks and cheer galore!

We put all the pictures in the blender and here's the result:
Big Boules of Dry Creek Slideshow (with music)
(photos by Peggy & Tania)

Petanque in Charlotte, NC

The Alliance Francaise of Charlotte, NC organized a big, delicious mechoui party today.
Notwithstanding the unusual heat, around 24 folks played on & off.

We discovered 'hidden' players, all the way from Hickory, and several new ones got hooked.

Many thanks to Paul & Janice for their gracious welcome.

As usual, teaching & taking pictures doesn't go well together, but you'll get an impression of the good time had by all.

Slideshow, with sound (1:30 min)
(music in honor of Raymond, "Mr Tactique"!)

NY Open - a success

What a dream: to play in bright sunshine, in the heart of Manhattan, two days in a row.

High level play it was, followed by an excellent dinner at Meli-Melo, where Isabelle Zuber (who flew in for the weekend from France) entertained us with a Piaf song and the Petanque 100 song that she composed and sang in La Ciotat.

The usual medals were complemented by an array of nice prizes from several generous donors.
Hats off to La Boule NY for the organization.


The 4 top teams:
1. Hery & Xavier (New York)
2. Mo & Juan (Philadelphia & Miami)
3. Yacob & Loi (Montreal & Philadelphia)
4. Mark & Mia (Blue Hill, Maine)

Slideshow (3 min with sound)

More results on LabouleNY.com
More photos on the FPUSA blog
Brooklyn Boule movie!

Players can drink again!

Doping Agency Lifts Alcohol Ban for Pétanque

"Devotees of the French sport of pétanque will now be able to enjoy a glass of pastis before a match again: The World Anti-Doping Agency is to remove alcohol from its list of prohibited substances for competitions."
Full story in Spiegel

For the record: the caption of the photo states that one "can now enjoy a glass of pastis even during competition". In my humble opinion that's incorrect. It means one can have had a drink before.

Petanque on Sportsnet NY

If you were at the Bar Tabac tournament in Brooklyn on July 15, you must have seen the camera crew that stuck around all day, and interviewed several players.

SNY will broadcast a 15 min. report on Thu October 4 at 10pm in their Street Games feature.

To find your local SNY channel

New York Open - 29 & 30 Sept

In exactly one month La Boule NY will hold their annual New York Open Tournament.
Open to all players, from beginners to champions.
"Select doubles" means teams of two players.
Registration fee is $40 per team.
Total purse min. $2500.

Update:
All 32 slots are filled, but do come and watch some of the best players in the country.
Bryant Park is beautiful and we will organize some fun pick up games for anyone interested as from Sunday at 11am.

For further info visit La Boule NY.

Open tournament in Dallas, TX

Good news from Bill in Texas!

The Dallas Pétanque Group is holding its 4th annual “End of Summer Pétanque Tournament and Pique-nique"
Sunday, 23 September 2007 at Churchill Park, Field # 2.
Doublettes tournament (teams of 2).
Entry fee $10 per team.
Registration from 12:00 to 12:45 PM.
Play begins promptly at 1:00 PM.
Every team will play 4 games in the first round, followed by “Knockout - Lose and Out” until the champions are crowned.
Awards will be for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places, plus a drawing for other various prizes.
Feel free to bring food and drink for you and to share.
Come and join us for a fun day.
Further information: F. William Baker at 214-460-0209 or provencial@aol.com

Labyrinth boules

Not all the boules we ship end up on a 'boulodrome'.


We all remember the labyrinth:
a challenge for your hand-eye coordination. In a way the predecessor of numerous video games, without the need for electricity.


Kerry Veenstra, always looking for novel creations, wanted to make a table size version of this old favorite, to be displayed at the annual Burning Man Festival in Nevada. And thus needed big balls. Hollow, obviously, if not they would be way too heavy. And well calibrated, so they would roll straight.


So we supplied him stainless steel Obut pétanque boules, without any markings, that look exactly like a big brother of the originals.

Here's the result:

Anyone wants to make a big pinball machine? Call us!

Lakeway, TX Open Tournament

A message from our friend Geo in Texas:

The Lakeway Petanque Players are hosting their Autumn Tournament in Lakeway City Park on Sept. 30, 2007.
This will be a doubles match.
The Dallas petanque players group will be participating for the first time. About 12 teams are expected to compete. Competition begins at 10 AM.
Registration is $20 per team.
Winners will be awarded trophies and medals.
Poor Fanny, she has yet to find a partner...

Petanque in S. Florida

South Florida's Sun Sentinel reports about Joan Soilleux' performance at the National Singles in Boston.

Boca Raton woman wins silver at petanque tournament - Sep 9

Wall Street Journal pétanque

After a.o. the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune here's the Wall Street Journal with an elaborate article with video clip about pétanque!
Kudos and thanks to Max Colchester for the accurate research. Just a pity that on the video he sounds as if had a boule in his mouth ;-). Or is it my hearing?
I had the opportunity to chat with Bruno L.B. in La Ciotat. A cool and friendly dude and yes, he's very interested to cross the Atlantic for a tournament next year.




Sport of Pétanque, A French Passion, Anoints a New King
WSJ Online - Aug 30, 2007

Petanque in Motown

Jeff did an amazing job organizing the first Hard Rock Open in Detroit. Everything was prepared in minute detail for the 20 teams present, even multicolor target balls.
The few morning showers didn't spoil the fun, and were rapidly forgotten once the sun appeared after lunch.
The surprise of the day were Pat & Tim who work right at Cadillac Square, recently joined Jeff for his daily lunch petanque sessions and made it all the way to the finals where they did not lose too badly against powerhouse Mamary (Philly) and Ziggy (Chicago).

A special mention for Dan & his friends from Chicago who braved 11 hrs of heavy traffic ( instead of the usual 4!) to make it to Detroit. Hats off.

It was a great, fun day. As usual, cause for lots of new friendships.

Slideshow with sound (3:20 min)

Jeff's full album with detailed captions.

Hard Rock Open in Detroit

Update Aug 10
Date changed to Saturday Aug 25

An open doubles tournament on Sunday August 26 Saturday Aug 25, in Cadillac Square.
See y'all there!!

Tournament details and registration


Cadillac Square in downtown Detroit has been completely re-designed with crushed stone (as in "hard rock") walkways that double perfectly as pétanque terrains.
More pictures here

Hard Rock Café Detroit

Petanque in Salt Lake City

Michael & friends have now fully adopted the bocce courts of Utah's Bocce Association at Liberty Park. Play time Thursdays at 6:30pm.
Look on the Petanque in the USA Map for directions.

It's a similar setup to what we have in Winston-Salem, NC. Bocce courts on one side, horsehoes courts on the other. And what do you see? People playing pétanque... ;-)