Lamorinda 30th anniversary

Yesterday, the Bay Area pétanque fraternity was invited to celebrate Lamorinda 30^th anniversary and many devotees eagerly responded to the invite.

Fifty-two players (52) accompanied by family and well-wishers came running… and I am also happy to report that for once, at least 12 members of La Pétanque Marinière found the vigor to attend.

Pascal Gravier (Lamonrida’s president) outdid himself to make this event memorable. He even invited Mike Anderson (Lafayette’s mayor) to throw the first boule of the tournament and the mayor obligingly complied.

“La pièce de résistance” of the event was a giant astonishing birthday cake crafted by “maître-pâtissier” Jean-Claude Etallaz. I hate to use this superlative, but damn, it was awesome! Don’t tell anybody but I had two servings of it.

Tidbits: Daniel Genini completed his 90^th parachute jump. Saperlipopette!
Met Julie Hackett: who introduced herself. Extremely nice and charming young lady.

Now about the tournament!
It was well organized and well-run with the First and Last Names of all participants properly spelled, printed and posted for all to see.

We started playing around 9:30 am and completed 3 timed games before lunch. In the afternoon, as usual, we started to compete for the Concours and Consolante. Tamara and I barely managed to win a single game and were sent packing after our 5^th game.

But this was part of my strategy. After leaving the competition, I put away my boules and unsheathed my camera.

Some people believe that I have the gift of ubiquity, but this not quite accurate. I can only be at one place at a time and you will normally find me where the light conditions are most favorable for photography. If you don’t see yourself in my new photo album, it is probably because you played in a shaded area.

The tournament attracted a bunch of very good players and the competition was fierce. Not being able (yet) to be at two places at the same time, I opted to pay closer attention to the Concours than to the Consolante.

In the semifinals, Peter Mathis and Holly Sammons faced Mickey Coughlin and Barbara Hall. It started very badly for Mickey and Barbara. At one point they were led 3 to 8 by Peter and Holly. It did not look good, but they did not give up. Little by little, they came back to reach 10/11.
At this moment, anybody could have won, but finally, Mathis/Sammons prevailed and won the match 13/10.
One of the most interesting game of the tournament, with all the players, playing extremely well.

In the Concours finals, Peter and Holly came against Fue Vang and Mae Her Vang, the same people who trounced us in the morning.

Fue has an unorthodox style of shooting but can be very accurate; Mae points very well. But against Peter and Holly, they seemed to freeze and were unable to score a single point. Needless to say that Peter shot extremely well and Holly kept her usual steady cool.
The game ended sadly by a Fanny: 13/0.

On the Consolante side, Serge Hanne and Dolzee Austin battled Carlos Couto and Beth Lysten, the same miscreants who beat us 13/4 earlier.

Concours
1^st place: Peter Mathis and Holly Sammons – $ 120.00 for each
2^nd place: Fue Vang and Mae Her Vang – $80.00 each
3^rd place: Mickey Coughlin and Barbara Hall – $60.00 each

Consolante
1^st place: Carlos Couto and Beth Lysten – $48.00 each
2^nd place: Serge Hanne and Dolzee Austin – $32.00 each
3rd place: Jean-Claude Bunand and Liliane Sebban – $20.00 each

Alain

 Enjoy the pictures!