First Tournament a Success!

The inaugural CarolinaPetanque Open, sponsored by Petanque America, was held on May 16-18, 2008. The first tournament has drawn rave reviews. There is considerable coverage available on Petanque America's blog. And a favorable mention from the FPUSA blog as well.

http://petanqueamericaopen.blogspot.com/
http://fpusa.blogspot.com/2008/05/carolina-open-success.html

There were 18 teams from various states up and down the east coast. Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and Michigan were all represented, as well as teams from throughout North Carolina.

Pictured here are the Champions and Runners-up. They are (from left to right) Danny Daniels, Shirley Jones, Sue Daniels, and Gary Jones. Danny and Sue (from Rockwell, NC) were the Runners-up with a qualifying record of Won 5 & Lost 1 and a hard-fought victory over Joe Drago and Jacques Paraskevas ( from Maryland and Virginia, respectively) in the semi-finals. Joe and Jacques Won 6 and Lost 0 in the qualifying rounds.

Gary and Shirley (from Lexington, NC) were 5 & 1 in the qualifying rounds. They defeated Mark and Karen Rankin ( from the Virginia Boulefrogs delegation; also 5 & 1 in the qualifiers) in their semi-final match. They then went on to defeat Danny and Sue in what turned out to be an all-Carolina finals.

All the participants in the Consolation playoffs finished the qualifying rounds with records of 4 & 2. The Runners-up in the Consolation playoffs were Khalid Mesbah (now from Charlotte, NC, and formerly from New York) and Carol Cearley (from Lincolnton, NC). They defeated Bob Moyer and his son Josh Moyer (both from Winston-Salem, NC) in the semi-finals.

The Winners of the Consolation playoffs were Richard Taranto and Nora Lich from the Virginia Boulefrogs. They defeated Mamary Coulibaly ( from Philadelphia, PA, and recent winner of the National Doubles Tournament in Sarasota, FL) and Gisele Lich from the Boulefrogs in their semi-final. They then went on to defeat Khalid and Carol in the finals.

Also noteworthy was the team of John and Benedicte Whitworth. They were one of the other fine teams from the Virginia Boulefrogs. They finished the qualifying rounds with a 4 & 2 record, but failed to make the playoffs because their margins of victory were not quite as great as the playoff teams.

A job well done by all. Many more pictures and comments to come in the next few days.