Walt Elder and Team USA

Many of you may not have seen some of the pictures Carolina Petanque's Walt Elder posted on FACEBOOK documenting his trip to Antananarivo, Madagascar, as a proud member of the 2016 Men's Team USA. With petanque legend Marco Foyot as their coach, Walt, Juan Garcia (Miami P.C.), Pascal Corchia (La Boule du Desert), and P.J. Mallette (Lake Oswego P.C.) took on some of the world's best petanque players.

Though Pascal and coach Marco both suffered from what were most likely food-related illnesses during the trip, the team soldiered on; and, though unable to qualify for the championship rounds after winning only one of their five games on the first day, they started day two with high hopes of doing better in the Nations Cup play.

Sure enough, the team made a strong showing in the Nations Cup winning one game and losing one against Turkey. They actually did better then the WON-LOST record indicates. Though losing a squeaker 10-13 in the first game, they really hit their stride in game two, winning 13-3. Their W1-L1 record was good enough to get them into the round of sixteen where they faced a good China team. Though playing well the timed game ended with China getting the victory with a 10-9 win.

Congratulations to Team USA for representing us well on the world stage. USA petanque is in its infancy compared to many other countries of the world and no doubt has ever-improving prospects in the years to come. Good job, guys!