German Guests at the Inn

Sometimes it's fun to play petanque just for fun!  I know that sounds a little odd, but here's what I mean:

Francois Deprez, proprietor of The Inn at Bingham School, sent us an e-mail with some pictures and a note about a recent gathering they had which included some of his regular players from the community (Saxapahaw) and some guests from Germany who were staying at the inn.  His note reads:

Gary and Shirley,

We had a special round of play this week. A new player to Petanque had a great first game. Playing in teams of 5 Vs. 5 with One team having thrown all their balls, Our new player throws his ball hitting cochonnet out of bounds giving us a win with 7 points. Shows you how Petanque can be played by all.

So, if you're willing to suspend the normal rules that say you can never have more than three players on a team, and just let everyone play, people can start to learn the game and just have fun doing it without taking everything too seriously.

Thanks to CarolinaPetanque member, Francois, for the contribution to the blog.  Check out his inn if you ever find yourself down around Chapel Hill, NC.

 http://chapel-hill-inn.com/

Guess who?

Boules, beach, bathing beauties-- what's not to like?  CarolinaPetanque in Charleston, SC.

Day after the Tournament

Way to go, girl!

The day after the panache tournament in Lexington found us back at Miller Park in Winston-Salem.  We had ten players come out to enjoy the beautiful, though a little on the warm side at 87F and mostly sunny, Carolina June afternoon.  It was particularly nice to have our friends Rick and Maggie Sweeney stay for Sunday play before making the drive back to South Carolina.  We were also especially glad to see Daniel and Jennifer, two locals who played for the first time only a week ago, return this Sunday.

Gail was one of the best, most consistent pointers for the day.  That's becoming more and more common these days. 

More Pictures from Saturday's Tournament

Catherine and Joe

Rick

Cruz

Peggy

Khalid pointing

Philippe

Cruz pointing

Terry Wien

Georgie with Cruz

Jean

Sue Wien

Jocelyn and Phil

Shirley and Cruz

Joe (Mary Hazel in background)

Sue Daniels

Gary

Juan

Khalid

Congratulations!

Finalists with our hostess and host

Runners-up and Champions

Champions

Thanks to new CarolinaPetanque member, and our friend, Maggie Sweeney, for these additional pictures of the Saturday panache tournament at the home of Terry and Sue Wien of Lexington, NC.

Terry and Sue's Panache

Terry and Sue Wien invited CarolinaPetanque members and associates to their home on High Rock Lake in Lexington (NC) for a panache tournament on Saturday.  They had their place looking great and all their hard work in preparing the courts and surrounding areas was much appreciated and admired by those attending.  There were approximately forty people who gathered, twenty-four of whom played in the tournament.

We had players from Lexington, Winston-Salem, Boone, Charlotte, Wadesboro, Crossnore, Lincolnton, and Hickory, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina, in attendance.

After morning pastries, muffins, country-style ham, coffee, etc., there were two games for each player in the morning, followed by a lunch break for sandwiches, snacks, and desserts.  Players changed partners after each game, giving people a chance to play with others of different styles and experience.

Two more games for each player in the afternoon concluded the four qualifying rounds, after which the four players with the best won-lost records were paired into doubles teams for the tournament finals.  Khalid Mesbah, Sue Daniels, and Gary Jones had perfect 4 and 0 records in the qualifying games.  Rounding out the top four was Juan Hernandez who just edged Rick Sweeney for the fourth spot by posting a 3 and 1 record with a +30 point differential score over his opponents.  Rick was also 3 and 1, but his point differential of +20 fell just short.

Khalid and Juan played as a team against Gary and Sue in the finals.  The game was back and forth on each end, and the final score of 13 to 6 in favor of Gary/Sue doesn't reflect how difficult the win was.  Congratulations to the winners, runners-up, participants, and, most especially to our host and hostess, Terry and Sue Wien, for a wonderful venue and tournament.

The day concluded with a delicious meal of grilled chicken, baked beans, salads, fruits, mac&cheese, homemade breads, desserts, and other sides.  Fun play then continued on the beautifully-lighted courts into the evening, finally ending around ten o'clock!