2015 Interclub Cup

As you probably know, last Sunday’s Interclub Cup held in Marin County was organized and run by the Petaluma Valley Pétanque club.
They did an excellent job with Ed Porto assisted by Nancy and Christine Jones as scorekeepers.
The temperate weather that day proved ideal for a tournament, especially after a succession of hot and muggy days.

Sixty (60) players from 6 regional clubs (Petaluma, Marin, VOMPC, Lamorinda, REBC and Noyos) registered to play.
Coffee and pastries were offered and the games started shortly after 9:00 a.m.

It was a well-run event that started (almost) on time and ended reasonably early.
My only quibble with this affair was that there were fairly complicated rules that many people (including myself) failed to fully understand.
As a result, some people were surprised and disappointed to be kept from playing in the Consolante.
I understand that this was done to end the tournament at a reasonable time, but it still annoyed some players.

Three (3) qualifying panaché-style “doublettes”, were played in the morning. Concours and Consolante were played after lunch.

Ultimately 24 players entered the Concours in triplette formations and 12 players competed in the Consolante also in triplette formations.

Having been dropped out early of the tournament, I spent the rest of the afternoon taking pictures and playing a few hands in the company of “Uli” a touring pétanque player from Munich, Germany.
Uli is a friendly, trilingual pétanque player who could teach some of us a few things, and he did it, shooting in a spectacular manner.

When taking pictures I usually use two different cameras, Sneaky Pete and Big Bertha.
Sneaky Pete is a small, unobtrusive (S120) Canon camera that easily fit in a pocket. It is easy to carry and takes excellent pictures.
For more serious business I use Big Bertha, a much larger (and heavier) Canon EOS Rebel T2i camera with an excellent zoom capability.
This time I used Sneaky Pete.

Back to the tournament

In the Concours semi finals, Antoine, Calvert and Dave defeated Eva, JC and Christine C. by a score of 13/4.
Carlos, Philippe and Etienne eliminated Mickey, Eldon and Brian by a score of 13/10

In the finals, The Marin team ably represented by Antoine Lofaro, Dave Riffo and Calvert Barron defeated the Lamorinda formation by a final score of 13/9.
It was a good balanced game cheered by a large by-partisan audience.
Calvert Barron especially shone as a pointer, reminding everybody that shooters alone cannot win a game without the assistance of a good pointer (and vice-versa).

In the Consolante, the Sonoma team (Frosty, Steve and Brendan) overcame the Marin team (Brigitte, Monique and Verena) and won by a very tight score of 13/11

When all is said and done, the Cup is back to where it belongs: at La Pétanque Marinière of Marin County.

Alain

PS: The Petaluma Valley Pétanque Club graciously donated $100.00 from its proceeds to La Pétanque Marinière. A very classy gesture.

To look at photos of this event and listen to the accompanying background music, turn your computer’s sound on, and click on the link “My Photos” located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go “Full Screen”.