Pattaya - 43rd Petanque World Championships

[dirtydog]

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Wednesday 16th May 2007

43rd Petanque World Championships coming to Pattaya in September.
This Wednesday Morning meeting held at Pattaya City Hall was chaired by Khun Watanna, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, which discussed a forthcoming major international Petanque Championships which will take place between 19th and 23rd September at the Recreation Ground just outside the Pattaya Indoor Stadium in Jomtien. Pétanque is a form of boules where the goal is to throw metal balls as close as possible to a small wooden ball called the jack. The game is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, but can also be played on grass or other surfaces. Pattaya has been chosen to host the 43rd World Petanque Championships. Athletes from more than 60 countries will attend this 5 day event which last year was held in France. City Hall confirmed their full cooperation for this major international event which will no doubt lead to further meetings in the coming months.

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[DrAndy]

so, a load of guys throwing their balls around in Pattaya

anything new?

[Gerbil]

^No, just in this case it will require a large number of committees, meetings, lunches & soap.

[Gerbil]

Athletes from more than 60 countries will attend this 5 day event which last year was held in France.

'Athletes'?

[Spin]

Now if we are sober enough to still be able to stand up, Rigger and Bondy and me can be found playing with our shiny balls up in Isaan at Bondy's gaff.

[dirtydog]

Our News is Always New

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Thursday 28th June 2007

Petanque World Championships coming to Pattaya in September.
This important press conference comes from Pattaya City Hall and announced a major International Sporting event which will come to Pattaya in September. Khun Thamnoon, the President of the Organizing Committee of the 43rd Petanque World Championships announced that this year’s event will be held at the Pattaya Indoor Stadium between 18th and 23rd September. It is expected that competitors from 60 countries will participate in the event which is expected to bring over 10,000 additional tourists to Pattaya who will either be taking part or supporting the event. The event will commemorate the 80th Birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand and as a precursor to this major event, a Pattaya Petanque Open will be held at Pattaya School Number 2 between 29th and 30th of this month which will help to publicize the sport to the people of Pattaya.

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[sabang]

^ Oy, don't forget that some of it will be played at Petanque Restaurant on the dark side of Sukhumvit!
Joestin's (Justin) courts are playable now, but he's still not entirely happy with them.

[Whiteshiva]

Athletes from more than 60 countries will attend this 5 day event which last year was held in France.

'Athletes'?

Well they claim golf is a sport, so why not? At least the petanque guys will be carrying their own gear.

[dirtydog]

Our News is Always New

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Friday 29th June 2007

Pattaya Petanque Open begins at Pattaya School Number 2.
As we reported earlier in the week, the 43rd Petanque World Championships is coming to Pattaya in September and as a way of promoting the sport before this major international event takes place, a Pattaya Petanque Open was organized and began on Friday Morning at Pattaya School Number 2. The event featured 5 divisions depending on the age of the competitors and as you can see from our pictures, the event was enjoyed by all who attended. Khun Watanna, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya, opened this two day event which concludes on Saturday Afternoon.

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[Marmite the Dog]

The event will commemorate.....

*Yawn* Another commemoration?

[Wallalai]

At least "petanque" is a nice sport that can be played when barbecuing and drinking in the forest with friends. And it's allways a nice pastime, the ball in a hand and Pastis in the other one.

[ILoveDogs]

A good excuse for some more Frenchmen to come here, and have a good time, outside the eyesight of their wives.

[dirtydog]

Problems with the forthcoming Petanque Championships discussed.

At a meeting at Pattaya City Hall, discussions took place to discuss problems relating to the 43rd Petanque World Championships 2007 which are due to take place at the Pattaya Indoor Stadium in Jomtien between 18th and 23rd September. Khun Niran, the Mayor of Pattaya chaired the meeting and was told that the park which needs to be constructed in the grounds of the Indoor Stadium to accommodate the games of Petanque has not yet been constructed with only three weeks to go until the Championships begin. The Mayor, who is far from happy that the Petanque Park has not been constructed, told officials from the Technical Services Department to begin construction right away. He also wants the National Flags of each competing Country to be placed outside the Stadium and provisions made for International Media Organizations including Internet Access and a specific area for journalists to compile their stories. It was also mentioned that Pattaya Police will be responsible for traffic control and Banglamung Police will take care of security inside the Stadium.

Pattaya City News

[Mid]

Sport of Pétanque, A French Passion, Anoints a New King

Le Boursicaud Wows Fans But Faces Thai Challenge; Signature Line of G-Strings

By MAX COLCHESTER
August 30, 2007

MILLAU, France -- In the gritty world of French lawn bowling, nobody is bigger than Bruno Le Boursicaud.
The burly 29-year-old enjoys a string of endorsements and gets mobbed by fans on gravel lots all around the country. He even sells a line of T-shirts, shorts and G-strings with the logo "Bruno L.B."
"The man is a phenomenon," says Lionel Zanet, creator of a Web site devoted to the sport, known locally as pétanque. "He has one of the most natural techniques in the game. It's impressive to watch."
WSJ's Max Colchester shows how petanque is played, challenging a junior world champion, only to discover that this French ball game isn't as easy as it looks
Next month, much of France will be watching him to see whether he can uphold the honor of the game that was invented here, in the world championship pétanque tournament in Thailand.
Founded a century ago in southern France, the sport has always been dominated by the French. But as pétanque becomes more popular abroad -- both at recreational and club level -- the number of club players in France is shrinking as young people turn to other sports.
Pétanque is played by two teams, made up of between one and three players, who take turns standing in a circle and throwing metal balls, called boules, at a small wooden ball, called a jack, that sits between 19 and 32 feet away. The team that gets its boules closest to the jack wins points. The team that's first to reach 13 points wins the match. The game is traditionally played on dirt pitches 39 to 49 feet long and 10 to 13 feet wide.
Since the first annual pétanque world championship in 1959, France has taken home 23 titles, and all of the last six. Lately, however, foreigners have stepped up their games, giving the French a wake-up call.
Partly because of France's efforts to export pétanque in the hope of making it an Olympic sport (a bid denied for next year's Beijing Games), pétanque has caught on in other countries, particularly in Asia. The number of recreational pétanque players globally has tripled in the past 20 years, to around 40 million, according to the International Pétanque Federation in Marseilles.
In China, legions of pétanque instructors scour the country's schools looking for young talented players who can train after school a few days a week. In Thailand, top pétanque players are recruited into the army where they practice as part of their military training and are paid government wages. The big Thai hope for the world championships starting Sept. 18, for example, is a 31-year-old army sniper.
In France, and elsewhere in Europe where pétanque has taken root, most players don't even have a serious training regime. Mr. Le Boursicaud says he usually prepares for big matches by playing pétanque on the beach, sleeping a lot and relaxing by the pool.

"We should train, we should have coaches, but we don't," says Claudie Weibel, a Belgian used-car salesman and pétanque star who plays for a club in Paris. "Foreign teams will beat us because of this."
The number of licensed pétanque players in France has dwindled as clubs have a hard time recruiting young people to a sport associated in this country with old men and pastis, the aniseed liqueur drunk by players and spectators alike.
Recent violence during matches hasn't helped the sport's image, either. A pétanque club in Burgundy halted matches recently after players who had been drinking started throwing their metal balls weighing between 1.5 and 1.7 pounds -- at each other. Three years ago, the mayor of Montpellier canceled a tournament when fans of rival teams flashed knives.
"Yeah, we've had some problems," says Mr. Le Boursicaud, who says he believes pétanque and pastis don't mix. "Do professional football players go and have a beer at half time?" he asks.
Mr. Le Boursicaud is trying to lure young people to the game, giving lessons to hundreds of children in Corsica, where he lives. He's an idol among pétanque fans on the French island where restaurants and bars eagerly sponsor him in matches.
"He really encourages the youngsters to join in, and the children love him," says Angelo Allegrini, president of the Corsican pétanque club where Mr. Le Boursicaud plays. "The fact that he is young himself naturally helps."

The former carpenter, who wears four gold rings and has a thick gold chain around his neck, is also trying to shape himself up. Since he doesn't have a full-time job, he's practicing three hours a day, getting massages and dieting. So far the 5-foot-7-inch player says he has lost about nine pounds and weighs in at 187 pounds.
The French Pétanque Federation is also trying to improve the image of the game, by increasing penalties for violent behavior on the pitch. Punching a referee, for example, will now get a player banned for 10 years from club matches in France. To boost the number of young people playing the game, instructors in France's 500 pétanque after-school clubs will be eligible, starting in January, for a government-paid stipend.
Victor Nataf, technical director at the French Federation of Pétanque, selects the French national team, whose players range in age from their mid-20s to 40. He says he's trying to cull older players and promote younger, more athletic-looking types to play this game, which in fact requires skill but neither youth nor particular physical fitness. Seven-time world champion Philippe Quintais, who is 39 and weighs 242 pounds, has been made a team coach, for example.
But some pétanque aficionados say efforts to clean up the sport go against its very nature and tradition. "I like the game the way it is," says José Cardoso, a 45-year-old mechanic who was playing pétanque just for the fun of it in Paris's Luxembourg Gardens this week. "There is no need to modernize."
Pétanque was born in 1907 near Marseille as a sport populaire, or sport for the masses, and has always had a rough side to it.
"Pétanque is full of lowlifes and hustlers," says Alec Stone Sweet, professor of law, politics, and international studies at Yale University, who plays pétanque for the four-man U.S. team. "Many people live off the game," he says. "If they don't win, they don't eat."
As he was warming up at last week's competition in Millau, Mr. Le Boursicaud suddenly stopped and pointed to a ball on the pitch before him. "How much do you bet I can hit that boule over there?" he said. "Fifty euros?"
Mr. Le Boursicaud lobbed his ball high into the air and then watched it plunge to the ground and smash the first ball out of the pitch. "Easy money," he grinned.
Mr. Le Boursicaud's bravado didn't last throughout the tournament, however. During the triples match, Mr. Le Boursicaud overthrew two crucial shots, losing the match for his team. "I feel so dispirited," said the French hero as he shuffled off the court.
Still, Mr. Le Boursicaud's fans have high hopes for the French team next month.
"The Thais are terrifying," says Mr. Zanet, the pétanque Web site creator. "But I am confident Bruno can take them on."

online.wsj.com

[chinthee]

I, for one, think Pattaya needs an influx of French culture. Especially by 50+ yr old French men. Try to even out the other nationalities.

[Mid]

try as I might , I haven't been able to track down said g-strings ,

pics anyone ??

[chinthee]

He even sells a line of T-shirts, shorts and G-strings with the logo "Bruno L.B."

Does Bruno L.B. stand for Bruno, LADY BOY?

[dirtydog]

Petanque World Championships to kick off next Tuesday
Thai teams hoping to win gold on home soil
Ariyawat Nuamsawat

The 43rd World Petanque Championships will get under way in a few days time in Pattaya and run from September 18 - 23. The organizers had a last minute race to finish the competition field at the Pattaya Indoor Stadium in time for the tournament, but it is now 100% complete. And in lieu of this, the French national team (former World Champions) will train on the competition field this coming Saturday.

Altogether there will be 54 teams representing 51 nations at this prestigious event: former world champions, including France and Thailand, are automatically granted the right to enter two teams instead of just the one for the other nations.
And the Thai national team has high aspirations for this coming event with the Thailand Team A being made up of two-time world champion Thaloengkiat Phoosa-Ard, Pakin Phookram, Supan Thongphoo, and rising star Seksan Pliachan being strongly fancied.
ACM Kamthon Sindhvananda (President of the Petanque Association of Thailand under Royal Sponsorship) said that the association has been preparing for this competition for more than 1 year and that the Thai players are ready for this championship.
“Hopefully the Thai sportsmen will be able to have good results, but they aren’t expected to be the winners, because it won’t be easy with over 50 teams from different countries in participation,” said ACM Kamthon. “If the team was only able to make it to the finals, that would be a great success. It is wished to see the sportsmen play their best for our Majesty the King. The reason why we organized this competition was to celebrate HM the King’s 80th anniversary”, he added.

Pattaya Mail

[Mid]

Updated: [September 20, 2007 ]
THE PETANGUE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN PATTAYA, FROM 18th – 23rd SEPTEMBER 07
The 43rd Petangue World Championship 2007 was officially opened at Pattaya Indoor Stadium amongst the athletes from 55 countries around the world.



On 19 September 2007, at Indoor Stadium, Pattaya, Privy Councillor Air Chief Marshal Kamthon Sindhvananda, President of thePetanque Association of Thailand, chaired the opening of The 43rd Petangue World Championship 2007, from 18th – 23rd September in Pattaya.

snip

pattayadailynews.com



no ones tracked down the g-strings ????