Detroit Petanque Club as Viewed from the River

Detroit Petanque Club member, Captain Wade Streeter pilots the tug boat MAGNETIC - and participated in the 30th International Tug Boat Race on the Detroit River this past Saturday.

As a special treat, Captain Streeter steered his craft right up to where the Detroit Petanque Club was playing their Saturday games (the day before the Midwest Petanque Challenge) and tooted a very loud hello to the players.

Now we know, when we have to escape to Canada in a hurry, who to call.

Allan, another member of the DPC, was aboard the magnetic and took these wonderful photos.

Let's do it again soon!

A huge thank-you to the Michigan and Detroit clubs for hosting the June Midwest Petanque Tournament. A beautiful day, in an excellent location, organized by a smooth-running tournament commitee. The "petanque people" here in Chicago had a fun time. We're all looking forward to our next meet.

Thanks again,
Chicago Petanque Club

Congrats to MPA from Chicago

Congrats to MPA from CPC

Chicago P.C. loved tournament

Midwest Petanque Boule - Singles Tournament

Only the best player can come home with the Golden Boule. Will you be the one?

We will announce (in the near future) when this tournament will be held. As to it's location, the pistes along the Detroit river, alongside the GM Renaissance towers.

The format? Individual players will compete in direct elimination, untimed games.

If you have what it takes to make it to the top, then strongly consider entering.

There will be a small entry fee for this open tournament.

More Photos from Midwest Petanque Challenge

Boules Boules Boules

Boules Boules Boules

Lots to See and Learn Along the Sidelines

Thank you to all of you who brought food for us to enjoy at the tournament. I know James & Cheryl brought their award winning Pasta Salad (just ask Gene!) and Cyrille brought some great items from Le Petit Prince (his family's patisserie)

There's plenty to learn from watching others in heated competition. Petanque is a lifelong sport, and it can take a lifetime to master...

Britain verses U.S.A.

The Midwest Petanque Challenge was fortunate to count among the participants, two teams from Britain. Triplettes from Les Amities Boules Club and from the Adur Petanque Club played extremely well. Here we see the ladies of the Triplettes Dangeous soundly beating TonyT, Gene, and Sharon. Better luck next year U.S.A.!

The Tournament Results

It was a long, but enjoyable day of petanque. We began with all teams playing three matches (against random opponents). Then, the 12 teams were ranked, with the top 6 playing each other (3 matches) in the Victor's round; whilst the remaining 6 played in the Consolante.

At the conclusion of those three games, the teams were ranked - and the top 2 Victor Teams played a final, as well as the top 2 Consolante Teams.

I do not have the photos (YET) of the winning Victor's Team (Michel; Jeannette; and Camille) but here are the Consolante winners... Lindsey; Ken and Joe.

Setting Up the Tournament

The day began with the different teams assembling at the Royal Oak piste. Some came from Chicago, others, flew in from Britain, still others were shuttled in from Detroit by other members.

We put together 12 triplette teams - and with six courts to play we even utilized space on the adjoining baseball field.

Cyrille composed the match ordering, score number crunching, while Dawid (Chicago Petanque Club) lent some useful advice on the ranking system.

Arrive Early so you can participate...

Since there is no pre-registration, we will crunch the teams and team play just before the tournament begins.

That said, we need all participants at the piste in Royal Oak BEFORE 1pm on Sunday.

Those that need a lift to the piste can get a car ride there via Campus Martius Park. Joe & Jeff will be there at 11:00am (and wait no longer than 11:15am for the ride up there!)

Tools for Timed Tournament Matches - Acquired

In order to run a timed tournament (Triplettes timed at 45 minutes) you must have the right tools. For this, we've acquired a dual-event timer and a megaphone. The Dual-Event timer is very cool, allowing us to set and run the 45 minute and 30 minute time-spans at the same time (when 30 minutes runs out, we know 15 minutes are left - we sound that out via the megaphone, then at 45 minutes - end the match). The ultimate in Geekdom efficiency.

BLOG Traffic is UP!!

BLOG traffic is still increasing... Just about breaking the 200 visits per day border! ...of course we love to see this many visitors, but more so, we'd love to hear from those fellow petanquers... Please drop us a line if you happen to stop by the site... and also, to our BLOG contributors, remember to keep up the pace in your posts, it helps keep the petanque community together, thanks for your help!...

Inexpensive Banners are EASY and EFFECTIVE

One of the main ingredients to club recognition and growth is marketing. The Michigan and Detroit Petanque Clubs have been using banners at every event/meet. This not only offers a professional look to your club, but it also helps people to remember the word petanque and/or your club name.

Purchasing a banner can run into a couple of hundred dollars - and that may be in your club's budget. But we spent less than $25 per banner by easily making them ourselves.

All you need is a few yards of cotton duck cloth (Jo-Ann Fabrics has a nice selection); some acrylic paint (something that contrasts well with the cloth color); some grommets (and grommet pliers) and patience.

I was able to make 4 banners over a few day's time - which always comes in handy for specialized events as well as general club activities. One: "Petanque Tournament" is always handy for impromptu tournaments; while the club's regular "Detroit Petanque Club" has become expected at every club meet.

Another good habit is to make up business cards (whether they're printed on card-stock and cut-out, or the Kinko's variety...) as well as having "How to Play Petanque" cards (template is available from our website) for the curious.

If you do complete a banner, I'd love to see the result, send me an e-mail.

Club Petanque Article on THEDETROITER.COM

LINK TO ARTICLE

Last Saturday Leyland Devito, reporter for THEDETROITER.COM joined the club at Campus Martius Park to play a series of boule games and learn about the sport and its nuances. Today his wonderful article has been posted on thedetroiter.com

Let's Share Food at Sunday's Tournament

Midwest Petanque Challenge - Time Table

Participants must show up at around 12:30pm in order to register for triplette teams. Then each team will determine a captain who will draw a number chit (random) in order to place them on the Who-Plays-Whom tables.

Each of the three games played in the first half will have a 45 minute maximum. This means that at 30 minutes there will be a 15-minutes left signal, and play shall cease at 45 minutes. If teams are still playing an end, that end will be permitted to be completed, if teams are tied, then teams may play another end to determine winner. Games concluding with a non-13 score (i.e. 10/8 and 45 minutes played) will have their scores bumped to make 13 (i.e. 10 becomes 13 and 8 becomes (8+3) 11.

There will be a short break for Victor/Consolante determination, then the top ranked half of the teams shall play in the Victor's rounds while the bottom ranked shall play in the Consolante rounds. These will consist of 3 games (also with 45 minute maximums).

After these games are played, the Top Ranked 2 Victor's Teams play 1 game to determine 1st & 2nd Places; and the Top Ranked 2 Consolante Teams play 1 game to determine 1st & 2nd Places. 1st & 2nd Places are determined by the winners/losers of these games, not by ranking and point difference stats throughout the tournament.

Trophies; Medals and other Assorted Prizes to these 1st & 2nd Place Teams.

Minneapolis Petanque Club's Great Pistes

The Minneapolis Petanque Club is indeed up and running, and their terrain makes some of our area players envious! (Not to mention the sunny weather.)




Don (President of Minneapolis PC), I have to say thanks so much for sending us out these great pictures... I have to say your men look quite ominous, but this girl doesn't look too scared to be on the piste with you guys with that great form of hers! -- I won't ask what the results were... ;-)




Thanks again Don for the pics... we're going to miss you guys at the tournament next week. Since they're your closest neighbors, you can vote for your west-side Chicago club (but don't hold your breath! ;-)

Temperature Rose to the 90's on Saturday

Lots of Sun and fun at Campus Martius Park. It was Women verses Men in this particular match (no word on the outcome!)

Leyland from THEDETROITER.com Joins Us

TheDetroiter.com is the top place & the only place you can/should go to find out the latest scoop on fun things to do in and around Detroit. We were fortunate in having Nick Sousanis creator of TheDetroiter ask one of his top reporters, Leyland DeVito to cover a story on what the club is all about.

Leyland received hands-on knowledge about the ins and outs of petanque (literally) and became quite good player by the day's end.

Hope to see you and your friends soon Leyland!

Dorian's Folks Visit the Club

Dorian and Wade had a visit from Dorian's Mom and Dad today. And where better than to bring them down to Campus Martius Park for a little Petanque playing...

Midwest Petanque Challenge 2006

Some of the trophies and medals arrived today. These trophies are a nice size: tall and with nice heft (you can certainly bean a burglar on the head with one of these babies) - and it will look GREAT on your mantle (or TV).

The medals are from France and can be worn as bragging Bling-Bling at sophisticated garden parties.

Join in on the fun, June 25th. If you need a lift up to Royal Oak, let us know in advance. I have 4 going in my car, and I'm sure there's seats available in others.

Mike and Cathy Find "Petanque" courts in Pennsylvania

Michigan Petanque Club members, Mike and Cathy were visiting their grandkids in Pennsylvania recently. Their son, Craig, knew their passion for petanque and was excited to bring them to a local park to show them the bocce courts - which - easily could be used for petanque. (Bocce courts are typically 85 feet long, whereas petanque courts are about 47 feet long)

Hilarious Petanque Ad - Sobering but Funny

HILARIOUS BUT SOBERING PETANQUE AD CLICK HERE

(turn on your SOUND)

The Right Equipment is Essential!

Jeff and I both feel strongly in having the appropriate equipment for all of your club's needs... Extra boules are obviously the most important for your curious visitors, but I have to recommend this 20 meter tape! It's from Spencer (a logger's tape company on the west coast). The entire assembly is quality, and well worth the price... It settles all the 6-10 meter disputes quickly, and we love to have them on hand for our tournaments.

Two New Promising Players!

Yarden and Bat-shava both proved themselves more than worthy during their first petanque game!! I'd love to say that I did a good job coaching, but they both pointed extremely well... And it showed in the end, we won 13-8!!! I have 0 through 13 memorized in Spanish, French, and Italian, and now I've started on Hebrew... With Yarden's patience, coming all the way from Israel, hopefully I'll learn them all in Hebrew too... Very nice playing with you ladies today!, I wonder if you'd consider playing on my team in our upcoming tournament on the 25th???

Royal Oak Pistes Becoming Busier!

Not only was the Royal Oak piste filled with players, we saw many new faces for this season!! It was great to see Jennifer and Michael, Thierry, Kitty and Ken made another rare but steadfast appearance for the summer season... even some DPC members, Gene and Sharon came by to enjoy the great day!

Whose Feet are Whose?

Choose Your Weapon

Sonoma's Gold, Silver, Bronze, and... Red.

Congratulations to all of the FPUSA 2006 World Championship Qualifier Tournament participants...

(Big Thanks to Juan for the photos!)

Midwest FPUSA Region Re-Established

After a positive vote this past weekend; the re-emergence of the Michigan PC, along with the newly formed Detroit PC and Minneapolis PC, the Board of FPUSA deemed it appropriate to reinstate the Midwest Region. Joe, from the Michigan PC was voted in as the regional counselor, and he's happy to help any new petanquers in any of the new regional states. Just pass him along an email and we'll do what we can to get a fully functional club up and running in your state!

From Michigan Petanque Club’s on-the-piste correspondent, Ken Chance, comes the results of the FPUSA 2006 World Cup Championship Qualifier Tournament held on June 3rd & 4th in beautiful Sonoma, California. La Boule New Yorkaise came in First Place with Hans Jepson; Richard (Ti) Meas; and Khalid Mesbah . These winners go on to play at the 42nd World Championship in Grenoble, France on September 20-24, 2006.

La Boule New Yorkaise covered all contingencies by having another of their triplette teams come in Second place as well! Bon Chance in Grenoble!

Nerf Petanque ?!

.......The label says: "play everywhere it's impossible with iron boules"

and so here we have it, the epitome of Nerf Petanque...

Petanque VERY popular in Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam

Here we see photos of petanque players (Soldiers and Tuk-Tuk drivers (kind of open air bus)) enjoying our favorite sport in Laos.

I'm not sure if that guy's throwing style (1 foot clearly raised) would be accepted in the U.S. but it'd be fun to try our skill against them to see how we'd do.

Rain Doesn't Scare Away True Petanquers

Despite the downpours of rain throughout the afternoon (we ducked beneath the many large umbrellas at Campus Martius Park and chatted until the rain subsided) - we had a marvelous time. New players, Doug from Detroit; and Jessica from Wyandotte, joined us, along with Marcus and his younger brother Brandon. All played very well - the ground drained quickly from the water - and we had a full afternoon of boule.