Last Game Until Wed. July 11th

Great games this week friends, and that'll do it until I return from vacation on July 11.  In the meantime, if you have a hankering to play petanque, there's some great games being played over in Ann Arbor (Ann Arbor Petanque Club) which meets Sundays at around 2 p.m.

Until then...  May your boule always be the closest (except for mine!)

Paul B. Joins the Club - and His Pointing is Excellent

Plenty of good petanque at today's afternoon games.  I teamed up with Paul who played the game years ago in Montreal, and it shows in his excellent pointing.  We had a tight game against Abu & Maury, with plenty of close cochonnet pointings (and shots).  Nici is with us this week, then she's off until next year (we'll miss you).  Pat/Tim volunteered (thankfully) to take custody of the petanque equipment while I'm in Nantucket (July 1 through 10th) so everyone make sure that your games players and scores are noted for me to include in the spreadsheet.

Petanque Results as of June 26, 2012

Ping Pong and Petanque at Cadillac Square in Detroit

Abu giving Nici some pointers on throwing



Pat and Maury trying out the Ping Pong tables



Very Well-Planned Strategic Moves in the Detroit Petanque Games

Pat Seizes a Commanding Lead in Detroit Petanque Club

Summer in Detroit Looking Excellent for Petanque



Fred and Alpha - sporting matching sunglasses and mohawks

  Campus Martius Park announced its Summer Schedule of events, including concerts, Friday movie nights, and an assortment of outdoor games (including petanque - of course!).  The gala today had free ice cream, cupcakes, water, and coffee for any who attended.  I think my club consumed about 60% of the ice cream and cupcakes!


Mark B. laying in some nice points




Fred getting one of the perks of playing Petanque in Detroit, Courtside Coffee!



New Scoreboards and Campus Martius Park

The new club scoreboard (something I put together in the steampunk workshop)

The game score was again, 13/12.  This usually means that all of the players are playing at a very high level, such that the score never really takes off in a round.  That is a good thing.   We all had to adjust to the new ground surface which was a combination of bare patches and  thicker gravel patches.  Also a good thing, as I feel a player should know how to deal with different types of surfaces.



Playing at Campus Martius among the crowds



Boule Cloutee (Studded) from Petanque's Early Days



Long before the forged/poured boules there were the "nailed" boule cloutee.  This manufacturer says that they use "Racines Wood" a region in the center of France.



 In order to identify boules apart, the boule cloutee had patterns of numbers, letters, emblems and such of different types of metals.  The shapes of the nails also differed, some used the square nailheads, others, overlapping round nailheads to create a "fish-scale" effect.  I think they're quite beautiful looking.

A close game - 13/12 and... a not so close game: 13/1

When the Cochonnet Really Does Fly Away!

Turkey Vulture carried Sam away during the game.  Article 11 of the Rules of Petanque didn't cover this instance

Article 11 – Jack Obscured or Moved

If, during an end, the jack is accidentally masked by a leaf or a piece of paper, these objects are removed.

If the stationary jack is moved by the wind or slope of the terrain for example, it is put back in its place on condition that it had been marked.

The same applies if the jack is moved accidentally by the Umpire, a player, a spectator, a boule or jack from another game, an animal or any moving object.

If the jack is moved by a boule played in this game it is valid.

To avoid any argument, the players must mark the jack’s position. No claim can be accepted regarding boules or jack whose positions have not been marked.

----

During our game, in the initial toss of the cochonnet, a seagull swooped down and snatched up the cochonnet and flew off with it.  I told the players that if this had occurred during a round with boules on the ground, we'd need to consult Article-11, which would, in this instance, invalidate the round as the cochonnet was moved completely off the court (and probably into some nearby trees).

Pat and Abu Swing a Big Comeback

While Tom and I were playing against Tim and Alpha in the sunny side of the courts, I saw that Pat/Abu/Sam were having a heck of a time, down 2 to 12 against Nick and Maury.  Then a huge point swing as Abu &  Pat made 5 points in a round, bringing them to a more tenable position of 7 to 12.  A few more good rounds and they took the win 13/12.  So, you see, even games where you think you may have lost are never written in stone until the 13th boule is tallied.  You should have heard the shouting, and words of encouragement from Abu and Pat as they focused on taking back the game.  Very exciting.

...and so begins the Memorial Day Weekend

Sometimes it is best not to Point your Boule too Close

Two doublettes today at lunch time.  Pat and Abu had a close victory in the shady portion of Cadillac Square Park, while Alpha and I took two wins in the Sun.  Deric had a particularly good pair of shots today which resulted in four points that round. 

I would like to bring up a "strategy" in pointing that may result in your opponent using their shooting boules for pointing.  When you're confronted with an opposing team that has a strong shooter, you can trick them into expending more boules trying to win the point by not placing your boule obscenely close that it is a mandatory shot. 

By placing your boule about a foot and a half away from the cochonnet, you leave just enough hope in the opposition that they'll try to point rather than shoot - and in so doing, they'll use up more boules trying to win back the point.  They might in fact get the point, but I've seen plenty of times a bunch of boules used to get the point, and sometimes it still not won.  When the opposition has used up 3 boules - their shooter is forced into pointing (more for defense than anything) and so you've tricked them into sacrificing their shooter for the hope of beating that 1.5 footer.

Of course it all really depends upon how you size up the other team's players.  If their pointers can make easily to within 4 inches of the cochonnet, and you lack a shooter - you might want to shy away from this method.

Pat Pulls Two Wins and Maintains His Lead

The first game was a total rout, with our pointing (Jeff/Nick/Alpha/Abu) just beaten to heck.  Pat floated himself on the top of the averages and I started descending.  Tim took his 13/4 win and ran back to his office while we re-mixed (Pat/Fred/Nick vs. Jeff/Abu/Alpha) and played the second game.  This one turned out a bit more interesting, as we tailed 2 to 12 points.  It looked grim.  But then we flipped the switch and was getting a point each round (for eight rounds) sitting on 11 to 12!  Anyone's game at this venture and a great lesson to those of us who think all is lost when the spread is wide.   Though lucky streaks don't last forever, and Nick was able to smash his boule in for the thirteenth point.  A really fun game.  Pat was looking a tad nervous when his team was sitting on 12 points for 8 rounds.

Averages Tighten as Big Game Elevates Players in the Standings

Today's 13/2 win by newly returned Mark W., along with Tim and Tom really transformed the averages.  Pat, who until recently held a 2.11 average (a nice lead) - fell after a few unfortunate games, to a very attainable 1.97 

With Jeff, Nick, Fred, Tim and Deric not very far away - it could be anyone for the top rank. 

Pat has an interesting situation if he wants to keep his lead.  He needs to win games, but also, not allow his close competition to be on his winning team.  Their averages with fewer games would boost their scores above Pat's average.   That means he has to compete against those aforementioned players, and win with players of slightly lower averages. 

Of course, it's a no brainer if Mark W. maintains his high average, to rocket him to the top - but he still has 8 more games to go.



The Weekend Dampened Some of Our Playing



Eight players at once - next time we will break into doublettes

 My shooting was completely off - too relaxingof a weekend no doubt.  Alpha too wasn't doing his usual high energy moves.  I expect by tomorrow, we'll all be back to our normal bouleing selves.



Alpha was partying too much last night - he was barely awake