The rules of the game stipulated that in this event, one of the partners should be over 65 years old and the other one under that age.
Well, easier said than done!
With only 10% of our club membership under the age of retirement, the pickings were extremely slim and some people struggled (and bitched) to find a partner.
Tamara (one of the young chicks) was naturally in great demand, and for a fleeting moment I considered auctioning her off, but sanity prevailed and I opted to use her services instead.
Eighteen (18) geezers/youngsters “doublettes” registered to play. Some formations looked formidable but Lady Luck is notoriously capricious and unpredictable.
You never know what her passing fancy will be.
As it turned out, the winners were not those most of the people picked to succeed.
The competing teams were as follows:
- Alain Efron and Tamara Efron
- Mike Cooper and Narin Garret
- Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons
- Pierre Bremont and Marie-Anne Curley
- Bill Miller and Barbara Hall
- Peter Mathis and Simone Furlan
- Henry Wessel and Calvert Barron
- Jean-Claude Etallaz and Colette Van Der Meulen
- Ed Porto and Carolina Jones
- Mickey Coughlin and Antonia Paulsen
- Carlos Couto and Minette Etallaz
- Joe La Torre and Susan Holbert
- Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn Falkenberg
- Etienne Rijkheer and Dolores Austin
- Jean-Michel Poulnot and Claudie Chourré
- Steve Jones and Christine Jones
- Jean-Claude Bunand and Mireille Di Maio
- Luc Pouget and Sabine Mattei
Coffee and croissants were available.
The weather was cool in the morning and a little windy in the afternoon.
Antoine Lofaro was the official umpire.
Three timed 13 points games were played before lunch to separate the top dogs from the mutts.
My teammate and I did fairly well:
We won our first game (13/9) against Joe La Torre and Susan Holbert
We lost our second game (8/13) against Luc Pouget & Sabine Mattei
We won our 3rd game (13/10) against Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons
We therefore qualified for the Concours, which for dilettantes like us is a mixed blessing.
It is flattering to qualify but most of the time it is more like a death warrant, with very little chance of reprieve from the governor.
The good part of it is that it allows me to indulge in one of my other passion: catching people on film in the act of being themselves.
Sol Food, a local restaurant specializing in Puerto Rican cuisine, graciously donated the lunch.
In the afternoon we met Patrick Vaslet and Holly Sammons in the arena again and lost 7/13.
We were out of the game.
Caution: Patrick and Holly are cool customers never to be taken lightly.
In the Concours semi-finals Patrick and Holly defeated Peter Mathis and Simone Furlan 13/8
J-C Etallaz and Colette beat Mike Cooper and Narin Garrett.
In the finals Patrick and Holly defeated the gritty team of Jean-Claude and Colette 13/10.
I told you that Patrick was a cool dude!
In the Consolante finals, Le Facteur (probably weakened by love) did not complete his round and was sent packing by Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn Falkenberg with a final score of 13/9
Final results:
Concours
1st place: Patrick Vaslet & Holly Sammons: $72.00 each
2nd place: Jean-Claude Etallaz & Colette Van Der Meulen: $60.00 each
3rd place: Mike Cooper & Narin Garrett: $37.00 each
Consolante
1st place: Eldon Moilanen and Alwyn Falkenberg: $37.00 each
2nd place: Jean-Michel Poulnot & Claudie Chourré: $24.00 each
3rd place: Steve Jones & Christine Jones: $15.00 each
And that was the way I saw it on August 10, 2014.
Alain (aka La Foudre)
PS: To look at pictures of this event and listen to accompanying background music, turn your computer’s sound on, and click on “My Photos“.