The Commemorative Cup is a special tournament where people compete for glory instead of cash. The competitors fight for the privilege of having their names engraved on the cup… for eternity. Something worth fighting for.
Last Sunday turned out to be a sunny day with mild temperatures hovering around 74 degrees. It was an ideal weather for playing pétanque but inappropriate (because of the harsh light) for taking photographs.
Upon arriving on the field, I could not help but notice the yellow numbers identifying each playing areas. If you want to know, Mike O’Leary (a heck of a hard worker) did it.
The tournament was managed by Christine Cragg, and 20 mixed doublettes signed up to play.
As usual, 3 timed-games were played before lunch to determine who would compete in the Concours and who would play in the Consolante.
My partner (Tamara) and I did well in the morning, winning our 3 first games and qualifying (sigh…) for the Concours.
12 teams qualified for the Concours and 8 for the Consolante.
After lunch, things got a little stickier when we encountered Brendan and MaryAnn. I was secretly hoping to send him back to Machu Picchu, but it did not work that way. Brendan demolished us 13/5. Curse you, Red Baron!
After being eliminated from the Concours, I spent the rest of the day taking pictures with Sneaky Pete my small Canon camera. Unfortunately, my camera’s spare battery ran out of juice unexpectedly and I had to shoot the finals with my iPhone. It is not as convenient as a true camera, but I managed fairly well.
Sandra and Mark had a good run but were ultimately defeated 4/13 in the semi-finals by Brendan and MaryAnn.
In the finals, Brendan and MaryAnn faced Hans and Maggie. The game started well for Hans’ team with Maggie pointing well and Hans shooting extremely well.
But little by little the Great Brendini and Fair Maiden MaryAnn caught up with them, passed them and finally overpowered them 13/5.
I felt (a little) sorry for the losers but at the same time comforted by the fact that our team was eliminated by the same mighty ruffians who won the tournament.
The names that will be engraved on the Commemorative Cup are Brendan Cohen and MaryAnn Curley.
Concours:
1st place: Brendan Cohen and MaryAnn Curley
2nd place: Hans Kurz and Maggie lane
3rd place: Patrick Vaslet and Shannon Bowman
Consolante:
1st place: Erin McTaggart and Mike
2nd place: Peter Wellington and Lynda Evans
Alain
Enjoy the (so-so) pictures.
My own (excellent) portrait was taken by Carlos Chavez.