First play at Griffith Park since February

We had six Carolina Petanque members at Griffith Park / Georgia Taylor Recreation Center yesterday for Wednesday morning play. In addition to Rom, Bob, Shirley, and myself, Tom Cearley and Ronnie Rierson surprised us with a visit. As the weather gets nicer in Carolina, we hope to play frequently at Griffith Park. The management has been very welcoming and receptive to our group and we'd like to show them a little appreciation.

Last Weekend

On Saturday we played at Nevin Park in Charlotte. We had one of our best turnouts of the year. Take a look here at some of the play:

Then, on Sunday, we had our regular weekly session at Miller Park in Winston-Salem, NC.

 

Burnsville, NC

 

 

Thursday evening play in Burnsville...thanks for coming out Kera Yonker! — with Kera Yonker andKirk Edwards.

--Bo Edwards

Crowds are picking up!

As the weather gets nicer, the crowds get larger for Sunday afternoon petanque at Miller Park, 2500 Queen Street, Winston-Salem, NC. Even though Shirley was not there (she's visiting the grandkids in Texas), and thus I have no pictures to share except by "borrowing" some that Bo Edwards posted to Facebook, I think I can name today's group from memory.

We had two returning players who were newcomers last week , Charles and Cherri. In addition, Robert ("Stump") made it out for the first time in quite a long while. The Edwards family, Kirk, Bo, and Parker, drove down from Spruce Pine to play. Kaye was there from Raleigh. Bob was back after his recent trip to The Big Easy. Gail, Fred, Rom, and Kerry were regulars who also played this week. And then there was me. Not a bad crowd for so early in the spring/summer season.

I announced today that our friends Terry and Sue Wien will be moving from North Carolina to Florida later in the summer. We sure will miss them and hate to see them leave. They asked me to tell the group (I'll be sending out an email) that they want to have a petanque party at their place on High Rock Lake on April 23rd, so mark your calendars. It will either be social play or perhaps a fun panache if there's enough interest. More details to follow.

Speaking of upcoming events, don't forget that Denyse is hosting Charlotte play at Nevin Park this coming Saturday, 16th of April at 1:00 PM. That's in keeping with her plans to try establishing regular third-Saturday-of-each-month play at Nevin throughout the spring/summer season.

Then there's the upcoming Men's and Women's Select Doubles (Mid-America Inter-regional FPUSA title play) the first weekend in May in Zanesfield, Ohio. Carolina Petanque hopes to have at least ten to twelve members attending.

As you can see, there's a lot going on, so don't miss out on any of the fun!

Five New Players!

Betsy and Charles

Cherri, Jo, and Andy

We had five new players on Sunday at Miller Park in Winston-Salem. Betsy and Charles, Cherri, and Andy and Jo all played with us for the first time.

It was our first time back in the Carolinas since mid-February, so it was very encouraging to return to so many new faces.

Of course, we also enjoyed seeing some familiar faces for the first time in a while!

--Gary and Shirley

(Thanks to Tom for the photos since Shirley forgot her camera.)

Tournament Day

Carolina Petanque had four teams participating in FPUSA Select Doubles in Sanford, Florida.

Terry/Sue, Parker/Bo, and Danny/Sue all played in the Consolante (Consolation) Bracket based upon the results of their three morning qualifying games. Parker/Bo finished fourth. Danny/Sue finished second.

Shirley/Gary qualified for the Concours (Championship) Bracket and finished third after barely squeaking out a final 13-12 win over Gina Dejoy and Shannon Hodge, two members of the current USA women's team.


Results:
 

Concours: 
Gold:Jon Claessens ,Phillippe Tripoul (both Oh la la Orlando) 13/2
Silver: Gilles Lachance (Miami), Michel Boisvert (Canadian)
Bronze: Gary Jones ,Shirley Jones (both Carolina Petanque) 13/12

Consolante:
1st place: Ed Mciver , Steve Osiecki (both Oh la la Orlando) 13/4
2nd place: Sue Daniels , Danny Daniels (both Carolina Petanque)
3rd place: Dan Houser , Jud Rogers (both Oh la la Orlando) 13/11