Hello, sports fans! Here is a quick account of what happened yesterday in Sonoma-by-the-Sea.
Forty-six people (23 doublettes) responded to the invitation of the Valley of the Moon Petanque Club to participate in a little event dubbed “Pétanque Vite (quick) Tournament”. Supposedly a half-day tournament, but which eventually proved equally grueling as a full-day tournament.
The games started around 12:30 pm in a format that I never experienced before. Six 30 minutes “mènes” were to be played at the beginning of the event, with elimination games following later in the afternoon. To be honest, it was a little confusing, but nevertheless, everything worked according to plan.
In this mêlée, I was paired with Jean-Claude Etallaz who was the designated shooter, and I seconded him as a pointer. The early phase of the game did not work well for us, but later in the afternoon, we managed to “reprendre du poil de la bête” (I cannot come up with a better English expression) and finish with some “dinero” in our pockets.
Before starting the elimination games, I felt a little weary and was hoping for a quick, merciful death in the first bout. But fate would not have it this way. We won one game, darn… another one, double darn… and a third one, alleluia!
This of course didn’t leave me much time to memorialize this event, but I managed to take a few shots “à la sauvette” (on the sly). To those who wonder why they are not in my offering, just remember that I prefer shooting with the sun on your face (in my back). If at the time of the shooting, you are not positioned in this setting, you probably won’t be in my collection.
Included in these photos, you might notice an interesting portrait of little old me by Carlos Chavez.
That’s the way I saw it yesterday in Sonoma.
Concours C:
1st place: Jean-Claude Etallaz & Alain Efron
2nd place: Stephanie Wilkinson & Ashlee Dencklau
Concours B:
1st place: Evan Falcone & Dick K ?
2nd place: Lynda Evans & Adair Hastings
Concours A:
1st place: Marco Illario & Ron Rohlfes
2nd place: Kevin Evoy & Michael H ?
3rd place: Casey Franklin & Monique Bricca
Alain
PS: I am not quite sure about the ranking order of all the winners. If you notice some errors, please let me know.
Additional pictures by Tamara.