Yesterday 38 players showed up to compete in the One on One tournament taking place in Sonoma, but they were too numerous to be mentioned in this blog. Sorry!
It was cold but due to the lack of wind, not excessively chilly. Just in case, I came prepared with long johns and 5 layers of garments to protect my priceless body.
Three timed games, with 4 boules for each contestant, were played in the morning to determine who would qualify for the Concours and would play in the Consolante.
Yesterday seemed to be my lucky day, and the Gods allowed me to win my 3 morning games which put me in the Concours finals. As I keep saying “I’d rather be lucky than good” but smart aleck Patrick corrected me by saying “I’d rather be lucky and good” and he is damn right.
In any case I qualified for the Concours and I went ahead despite a painful back pain. Holly Sammons came to the rescue with 2 Tylenol pills and I went ahead with my ride. Thank you Holly, a good deed never goes unpunished.
On my 4th game I still managed another win but my lucky ride came to an end in my 5th game when I was thrown off of my horse by Ed Clay.
In the finals, played on a tricky gravelly court, David Lanter faced Delio Cuneo. Both excellent players. What followed was basically a game of “plumbing.”
What does it mean to “plomber” a boule? The player will throw his boule high in the air to give it more speed and more weight when it lands. This action minimizes the rolling of the boule when it touches the ground and allows it to stay closer to the cochonnet.
Both players were very familiar with this technique and used it almost exclusively. In my opinion Delio proved to be a better “plumber” and David a better “au fer” shooter with some spectacular shots.
Ultimately Delio prevails with a score of 13/7. A great match, evenly balanced.
Final results
Concours
1st place: Delio Cuneo
2nd place: David Lanter
3rd place: Jean-Michel Poulnot
Consolante A
1st place: Joe La Torre
2nd place: Steve Wolf
3rd place: Steve Paulsen
Consolante B
1st place: Antonia Paulsen
A great pétanque day!
Alain
As usual, you can look at photos of this event by clicking on the “My Photos” link located on the right side of this page. For best viewing, go Full Screen.
I am still trying to fix the “comment” section.