NYPC News

The 1st NYPC International Open: Total Success!

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:59:00 -0400

Several nations participated to the tournament: France, Spain, Belgium, Canada but also St. Barth and some american states such as Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California Washington DC and of course, New York.
Friday
As soon as Friday afternoon, several teams met at the Paul Ricard/NYPC terrains for an intensive practice session. We saw the Spanish, New Yorkers who were in company of Dédé Lozano and one lone Californian!
Most of these players met later on at the Restaurant Flea Market where the drawing took place. The approved format was based on the World Pétanque Championship, which is 4 groups of 6 teams with 3 teams seeded in each group.
Saturday
All the teams were present with a very high level roster, because we had the pleasure to see the skill of André Lozano, ex-French Champion and World Champion in 2000 with Belgium. We also saw Corporative French Champions: Rémi Galleau, Richard Trani and Christophe Fassetta, great players from Spain, Carlos Matta, Juan Guerrero, Diego Puerta Conejero and Claude Bezzat, and also our usual team from St Barth: Eric Chevalier and Carlos Natario. Our friends from Canada also came in force, with champions like Ludwig Vinches, Eric Turcotte, Michael Drouhin and the great champion: Maryse Bergeron. From New York, former US champions such as Richard “Ti” Meas and the new ones: Xavier Thibaud, Eric Bertin and Jean-Pierre Subrenat were also at the rendez-vous.
With an afternoon rich in emotion and a Ricard well deserved at the end, only 8 teams were in the competition for the next day. All the favorites were still there except two of the French champions, Richard and Christophe, Eric Bertin associated to Peter Crowley and our buddy’s from St Barth. Several teams met again for dinner that night at the restaurant Le P’Tit Paris, in Brooklyn.
Sunday

Things started to get serious around 10:00 AM. Left was two pools of 4 teams where the top 2 will be qualified.
Pool A  Jean-Pierre Subrenat (NYPC) and Rémy Galleau (France)
Ernesto Santos and Ti Mias (LBNY)
Eric Turcotte and Alain Gagnant (Canada)
Ludwig Vinches and Alex Bendi (Canada)
Pool B
Gilles Ray and Malek Hfaiedh (NYPC)
Emile Boujeke and Ibrahim Adiho (LBNY)
Xavier Thibaud (NYPC) and André Lozano (Belgique)
Carlos Matta and Juan Guerrero (Espagne)  Early in the afternoon, the semi final had the teams Subrenat-Galleau playing against Lozano-Thibaud. The other semi final was Ludwig Vinches against Carlos Matta.
In the first semi final, to the general surprise, JP Subrenat’s team eliminated the one from Lozano with a very serious game, shooting as well as pointing. A logical victory on the score of 13 to 7.
In the second one, despite a no fault tournament until then, our Canadian friends had a bit of fatigue which helped the Spanish team to join JPS for the final, on a score of 13 - 2.
While Jeannot was taking a little nap, everyone met on the Carré d’Honneur to watch a final which seemed well balanced. Because of an average level of play from the team Galleau-Subrenat, the Spanish didn’t let the occasion go away and took the title on the score of 13-8.
We would like to acknowledge the good and well deserving performance of our president and friend Jean-Pierre Subrenat.
The entire tournament was played with a very nice spirit despite the high level of competition.  The organizers did a very good job, especially Christophe Chambers and the « non-playing » referee, Yngve Bilsted. They both were excellent in all their decisions.
It was time for the rewards, around an aperitif offered by NYPC and its sponsor Ricard, represented by its “New York Ambassador”, Clémence Natta.
We were a bit disappointed with the number of teams because only 24 had registered but we have to realize that the price to come and play in New York (plane, hotel, meals and registration) is a real handicap. But the quality and performance of all these players made us smile again. The FPUSA Sport Director, Ed Porto, noticed it was the first time in the history of pétanque in the USA that a tournament was at such high level and we are proud of this.
We would like to thank all the players and spectators for their presence and also all the members of NYPC for being there when needed and provide a no fault organization.
A special thanks to our buddy’s from Brooklyn who, despite the fact that they didn’t play, came to encourage their friends and help when it was time. It’s really appreciated.
Closing dinner was for a last time at the P’Tit Paris.
We hope to see all these players again next year but we are also expecting many more for the second edition, which will be at the same date.  And now, here are all the results:
 NYPC Open
Winners: Carlos Matta and Juan Guerrero
Finalists: Jean-Pierre Subrenat and Rémy Galleau
Consolante A
Winners: Richard Trani and Christophe Fassetta
Finalists: Maryse Bergeron and Marco Pellerin
Consolante B
Winners: Thierry Julliard and Ed Porto
Finalists: Eric Bertin and Peter Crowley
Shooting Competition
Charlie Kossi

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Le 1er NYPC International Open: Opération Réussie!

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 10:46:29 -0400

Plusieurs nations ont participées à ce tournoi : France, Espagne, Belgique, Canada mais aussi St Barth et quelques participants venant de différents états Américains tel que la Virginie, Massachusetts, Pennsylvanie, Californie, Washington DC et bien sûr New York.
Vendredi
Des le Vendredi après midi, plusieurs équipes se sont retrouvées sur les terrains Paul Ricard/NYPC pour un entrainement intensif. Nous y avons vu les joueurs Espagnols, New Yorkais, accompagnés par Dédé Lozano. La plupart des joueurs se sont ensuite retrouvés au restaurant Flea Market où a eu lieu de le tirage au sort. Le format adopté était basé sur la formule des championnats du Monde, c’est à dire 4 groupes de 6 équipes avec 3 têtes de séries dans chaque groupe.
Samedi
Toutes les équipes ont répondu présentes avec un plateau de haute qualité puisque nous avons eu le plaisir de voir a l'œuvre André Lozano ancien champion de France et champion du Monde en 2000 avec la Belgique, des champions de France corporatifs : Rémi Galleau, Richard Trani et Christophe Fassetta, de grands joueurs d’Espagne, Carlos Matta, Juan Guerrero, Diego Puerta Conejero et Claude Bezzat et aussi notre équipe maintenant habituelle de St Barth : Eric Chevalier et Carlos Natario. Nos amis du Canada sont aussi venus en Force, avec des champions tel que Ludwig Vinches, Eric Turcotte, Michael Drouhin et la grande championne, Maryse Bergeron. De New York, d’anciens Champions tel Richard « Ti » Meas et les nouveaux, Xavier Thibaud, Eric Bertin et Jean-Pierre Subrenat étaient aussi au rendez-vous.
Avec un temps exceptionnel, et sur des courts plus que jamais sélectifs, chaque équipe allait rencontrer les 5 autres de son groupe et les 2 meilleures de chaque groupe seraient qualifiées  Après une après- midi riche en émotion et un pastis bien mérité seulement 8 équipes étaient en compétition pour le lendemain, tous les favoris étaient toujours en lice le dimanche a l'exception de nos champions de France, Richard et Christophe, d'Eric Bertin et Peter Crowley et de nos copains de St Barth, Eric Chevalier et Carlos Natario. Plusieurs équipes se sont retrouvées pour diner au restaurant le P’Tit Paris, à Brooklyn.
Dimanche
Les choses sérieuses ont débutées vers 10:00 du matin.
2 poules de 4 équipes ou les deux premières seraient qualifiées.  Poule A  Jean-Pierre Subrenat (NYPC) et Rémy Galleau (France)
Ernesto Santos et Ti Mias (LBNY)
Eric Turcotte et Alain Gagnant (Canada)
Ludwig Vinches et Alex Bendi (Canada)
Poule B
Gilles Ray et Malek Hfaiedh (NYPC)
Emile Boujeke et Ibrahim Adiho (LBNY)
Xavier Thibaud (NYPC) et André Lozano (Belgique)
Carlos Matta et Juan Guerrero (Espagne)  En début d'après midi, les 1/2 finale voyaient les équipes Subrenat - Galleau opposées à celle de Lozano - Thibaud
L’autre demi finale opposait Ludwig Vinches à l’équipe de Carlos Matta.  Dans la première 1/2 finale, et un peu à la surprise générale, l'équipe de J.P. Subrenat éliminait celle de DéDé Lozano avec une partie sérieuse aussi bien au tir qu'au point. Une victoire tout a fait logique sur le score de 13 a 7.  Dans la seconde alors qu'ils avaient fait un concours sans faute, un petit coup de fatigue de la part de nos amis canadiens permit a l'équipe espagnole de rejoindre JPS en finale. Score 13- 2.  Alors que notre ami Jeannot en profitait pour faire une petite sieste, tout le monde s’est retrouvé sur le Carré d'Honneur pour assister à une finale qui s'annonçait très équilibrée.  A cause d’une partie de qualité moyenne de la part de la formation Galleau et Subrenat, les Espagnols ne laissaient pas l'occasion rêvée de s'emparer du titre, sur le score de 13 à 8.
Nous tenons à signaler le bon parcours et très méritant de notre président et ami J.P. Subrenat.  Tout le concours s'est déroulé dans un état d'esprit très sympathique malgré le côté compétitif de l'événement.  Les organisateurs ont fait un très bon travail en particulier Christophe Chambers et l'arbitre Yngve Bilsted, excellents dans toutes leurs décisions.  L'heure était aux récompenses autour d'un bon apéro offert par NYPC et son sponsor Ricard autour de son ambassadrice Clémence Natta.  Nous étions un peu déçu du nombre d'équipes puisque seulement 24 équipes avaient répondu présent, même s’il faut bien se rendre à l'évidence que le prix d'un déplacement à New York (avion, hôtel, repas, inscriptions) est un vrai handicap.  La qualité et la performance de ces joueurs nous ont rendu rapidement le sourire. Le Directeur Sportif de la FPUSA, Ed Porto, nous a fait remarquer qu’il n’y a jamais eu un concours d’un tel haut niveau dans l’histoire de la pétanque aux USA, et nous en sommes fiers.  Nous tenons a remercier tous les joueurs et spectateurs pour leur présence mais également tous les membres de NYPC pour avoir constamment donné un coup de main afin que l'organisation soit sans reproche.
Un clin d'oeil particulier à nos pôtes de Brooklynn qui malgré le fait qu’ils ne jouaient pas sont venus nous encourager et mettre la main à la pâte lorsqu’il en fut temps.  Le diner de clôture allait nous réunir une dernière fois au P’tit Paris.  Nous espérons bien sur revoir tous ces joueurs ainsi que beaucoup d’autres l'année prochaine pour la deuxième édition qui aura lieu à la même date.  Voici tous les résultats ci-dessous.
  NYPC Open
Vainqueurs: Carlos Matta et Juan Guerrero
Finalistes : Jean-Pierre Subrenat et Rémy Galleau
Consolante A
Vainqueurs : Richard Trani et Christophe Fassetta
Finalistes : Maryse Bergeron et Marco Pellerin
Consolante B
Vainqueurs : Thierry Julliard et Ed Porto
Finalistes : Eric Bertin et Peter Crowley
Tir de Précision
Charlie Kossi

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FPUSA Regional Doubles & Singles Sum-Up

Sat, 22 May 2010 10:07:57 -0400

On a nice spring weather weekend members from Pétanque clubs of the North East region got together on the Boulodrome Paul Ricard to compete for the annual FPUSA Regional Doubles and Singles tournaments.

No matter the distance, players from Maine Boules Club, Le Mistral Pétanque Club, La Boule Larchmontaise, La Boule New Yorkaise and New York Pétanque Club were ready to roll up their sleeves and bring medals home.

Thanks to more than 60 people that showed up during these two days, we had a wonderful high-level pétanque competition time.

In the end, the New York Pétanque Club kept the Doubles and Singles Gold Medals home but new players had to wear them.

Here is the Prizes Recap

Saturday Doubles

-Concours

1) Jean Pierre Subrenat & Eric Bertin (NYPC) North East Regional Champions
2) Xavier Thibaud & Gilles Ray (NYPC)
3) Ernesto Santos & Ti (LBNY)

-Consolante

1) Lorissa Rinehart & Mia Kanazawa (LBNY)
2) Lucien Rakotojaona & Chris Artis (LBNY)
3) Pierre Benjamin & Amadou Thiam (LBNY)

Sunday Single

-Concours

1) Malek Hfaiedh (NYPC) 0-1, 0-2, 1-2, 1-5, 1-8, 2-8, 2-11, 2-13 North East Regional Champion
2) Joseph Hassoune (LBNY)
3) Thierry Reti (NYPC)

-Consolante;

1) Brad Mattes
2) Phillipe Riand (LMPC)
3) Mike Guinosso

Ricard Open Tournament Recap

Sat, 8 May 2010 19:13:04 -0400

Dears Pétanqueurs,

This past weekend Ricard Open Tournament was terrific!
More than 22 Triplettes showed up on Sunday May 2 under great summer weather.

The tournament went very smoothly all day; players were able to enjoy a fresh Ricard or glass of Rosé from Jerome Selection along with a delicious choice of sandwiches made by Restaurant Le P’tit Paris Bistro. We saw familiar faces as well as new faces, such as a Team from D’Artagnan, lead by our friend Ariane Daguin.

At the end of the day every single player went back home with a Ricard prize, our main sponsor.

The most talented players that day went home with a multitude of gifts from Ricard and Jerome Selection. So many that they had to carry them in a (Ricard) bag! Most of the Ricard products (such as glasses, bottle openers, thermo bags, etc…) are impossible to find in the USA therefore giving them a Priceless value!

Here is the Winners List;

Main Concours;
 1) Lucien / Emile / Ibrahim (LBNY) 2) Xavier / Clémence / Bernard (NYPC) Please note that Clémence is the Ricard Brand Ambassador! And it was her first pétanque tournament! 3) Charlie / Joseph / Tiana (LBNY) 4) Ernesto / Mo (replacing Jo Petro) / Patrick (LBNY)  Consolante;
 1) Brad / Mike / Mark (LBNY) 2) Jeannot / Malek / Elizabeth (NYPC) 3) Freddy / Francois / Jerome (NYPC) 4) Francis / Jeff / Jacques (NYPC)

NYPC would like to thank you all for coming, especially players from LBNY and La Boule Larchmontaise (CT), our friends Supporters of Olympique de Marseille (OMNEWYORK) along with the main sponsors; Pernod Ricard USA, Jerome Selection, Restaurant Flea Market, Restaurant Robins des Bois and Le P’tit Paris Bistro.

We look forward to seeing you again very soon on The Paul Ricard Pétanque Courts in Brooklyn, starting with our Regional doubles on Saturday May 22nd, and the Regional Singles the next day. Gold medals are waiting for the winners!!

Ricard Open Tournament

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:08:44 -0400

Hello friends of New York Pétanque Club—

NYPC is happy to announce the first annual Ricard Open tournament. We hope that you will all join us this Sunday May 2, for a fun filled day
of boules, good spirits, and catching up with friends old and new.

What: NYPC / Ricard Open: click to view our flyer

Format: This will be a select triples tournament, so you need your own team. If you do not have a team, you can come to the courts and possibly
find a team there.

Entry Fee: $10 per player / $30 per team

Prizes: Trophies + prizes

Where: Paul Ricard pétanque courts 1054 Caton Ave. Brooklyn NY
map

When: Registration is at 9AM - play begins at 10AM

Hope to see you all there!
—Christophe

NYPC 2010 Kick Off Season

Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:38:22 -0400

SPRING IS HERE

It is time to get out of home and start throwing some balls.

New York Pétanque Club will throw the first tournament of the 2010 season this Sunday April 18th 2010 at 9 AM.

This opening carousel doublettes tournament that will give you a chance to catch up with friends and refresh your skills. You will change partner with each game, until the quarter final.

The entrance fee is $10 and numerous prizes will offered by our generous sponsors.

We are pleased to welcome you on our Paul Ricard Pétanque Courts for the second season.

Hope to see you all there!

Map Location

Time: 9:30 registration 10:00 Start of games.
Bring your lunch!

Pétanque America Open 2009 Fernandina Beach, Florida

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 14:53:24 -0500

NEW YORK PÉTANQUE CLUB SHINES!
On November 14th and 15th Fernandina Beach became a microcosm of Europe. France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Holland, England, Ireland and more I am sure were represented at this fabulous tournament, of course in a company of many Americans.
The resident of Fernandina Beach had never seen such a thing….200 people clunking steel balls together before throwing them to get close to a brightly colored wooden jack! Before the Saturday morning, 95% of them had never heard of Pétanque et by Sunday evening, most of them were talking about putting courts in their backyards….after having purchased boules from Philippe Boetz!
Philippe succeeded in putting a great tournament, brilliantly orchestrated by his tournament Director Christophe Chambers (also known as “Le Grand Chichois”).
It was also a great weekend for all of us at New York Pétanque Club as all of our teams showed good results and great team spirit.
All the registered teams qualified for the Sunday single elimination round.
Sunday morning, some did better than others as Thierry and Laetitia could not pass the 16th of the final and Eric and JPS lost in the 8th against Gilles and Malik. But as soon as the game was over, the losers went on to support the NYPC members. Xavier was associated to his friend Claudie Weibel who is an exceptional player, and demonstrated it the entire weekend. But let’s not forget that Claudie would not be able to win with 3 boules only and that his partner Xavier played is usual game, which is excellent, making that team extremely difficult (if not impossible) to beat. It was a very honorable gesture for Claudie to wear NYPC colors the whole weekend, and we are very proud of this.
The other team whom we should be very proud of is the Gilles/Malik team. For the first time that they played together, they went all the way to the final, beating everyone on their way. Gilles played as he normally does…..glued to the cochonet, extremely focused, shooting and hitting when needed. Malik demonstrated a lot of experience, although he was the youngest player of the tournament (21 years old). His shooting was impeccable and his pointing very , accurate. The two of the made a terrific team, but had to face the “Belgian Monster and the Marseillais” in the final, which was quite a rude task! They tried their best, pointing and shooting well, but when your opponent (Claudie) shoots nine balls in 3 rounds and the results are 9 carreaux…there is not much to be done! Other than go and have a drink with him after the game is over! 
Which is what we all did of course and win or lose the party afterward was great!
As president of our newly formed club, I not only would like to congratulate the 4 players who played in the final, it was a great moment to see 4 NYPC shirts together, but congratulate all the other players who made the trip and participated. We need even more people next year.
Finally a special cheer for our own Xavier Thibaud who has demonstrated again and again that he is our number one player, if not the number one player in the USA. Xavier’s tournament record this year is fantastic, he won (almost) all the tournaments he entered and we are very proud of him.
So join me for a virtual round of applause to Xavier first and to the rest of the club for a great 2009 season, and hopefully an even better 2010.

Jean-Pierre Subrenat
President, New York Pétanque Club

A Thank You Note From Ernesto Santos, President of La Boule New Yorkaise

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:44:10 -0400

Dear NYPC members,

You may not be aware but due to a problem with the courts at Bryant Park, we allowed La Boule New Yorkaise to use the courts of Parade Ground for the Memorial Tournament.
Following, please find a very nice thank you note from their President:

"On behalf of La Boule New Yorkaise, I would like to thank you for allowing us to use your wonderful pétanque terrain in Prospect Park, Brooklyn to hold our Memorial Tournament this past Sunday. We had a wonderful day of pétanque with the weather cooperating, the setting only adding to the enjoyment.

Though I have not been to all the clubs in the U.S., I believe that this is the only World Championship-style pétanque terrain in America. The variety of surfaces certainly makes for interesting play and puts a premium on skill and technique. And I am sure the terrain is bound to get more interesting and even better.

We owe your club a debt of gratitude, and I hope this is the beginning of a great collaboration to make the pétanque scene in New York even better."

Regards,

Ernesto Santos
President, La Boule New Yorkaise

Sunday Tournament Cancelled

Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:59:22 -0400

Due to inclement weather, the Sunday tournament is cancelled.
We are very sorry for this change of plans, but “45 degrees, wind and rain” are not the best elements for a day of pétanque and fun.
Please inform all your friends about the cancellation as we would not want anyone to show up to the courts for nothing.
We will check the weather for future sunny weekends and will organize our last tournament of the season on the spur of the moment.
Stay warm and dry and see you soon!
NYPC

NYPC Went to the 2009 New York Open

Sun, 4 Oct 2009 19:53:25 -0400

This great annual double tournament (hosted by La Boule New Yorkaise) started under threatening skies that eventually opened up after the lunch break, and transformed the alleys of Bryant Park into individual swimming pools! The cochonet didn’t float, but we came real close!
Many teams flocked to New York City for the occasion, from Maine, Boston, Philadelphia, Illinois, Oregon, Canada, North Carolina and even France as our friends from Leers came one more time to New York. Hat down to them as they played the whole weekend dressed alike in beautiful dark blue shirts and with some of their players even wearing a white tie!
The day started with a bang as our own Gilles Ray and Eric Bertin had to play against last year winner’s team of Alec Stone Sweet (LBNY) and Yacob Nour (Canada). Our players took the better of the game and won 13-4.
The rest of the day saw all the teams from New York Pétanque Club qualify without too many problems for the next day. The main problem each player had… was to remain dry!
Sunday morning brought back the sun and the top 16 teams out of the 32 that started.
During the 8th of final, some casualties occurred and we saw the early departure of the good team from Boston, formed of Peter Crowley and Philippe Riand who lost to Jeannot Ruperti and Jean-Pierre Hemery (12-13), although the reverse happened the day before! The last team from France was knocked out by Thierry Julliard and Robert Dunn and Gilles and Eric could not overcome Keita and Charles and lost 12-13. Ernesto Santos and partner Yngve Bilsted took also revenge from the day before on team Philippe Hemery and Richard “Ti” Mias as they won 13-12.
In the quarter final Team Xavier Thibaud and Jean-Pierre Subrenat played a strong game against Jeannot Ruperti and Jean-Pierre Hemery forcing them to retire earlier that they had planned. Alec and Yacob took Thierry and Robert out and the set up for the semi final was: Alec/Yacob against Keita and Charles on one side, and Ernesto/Yngve Vs JPS and Xavier on the other.
Most of the crowd went to see and support the local team of Keita/Charles as they played a great game against two experienced players such as Alec and Yacob, eventually winning by the score of 13-11 and taking one of the favorite team out of the tournament.
The other semi was a more methodical game, a slower game without any big theatrical play but a conservative one point at a time. Sometimes this is how pétanque is played! The two teams (Ernesto Santos and Yngve Bilsted vs. Jean-Pierre Subrenat and Xavier Thibaud) were evaluating themselves round after round and trying to outdo each other during each round. Eventually, Team JPS/Xavier took the best and won 13-8.
The final was set in the very nice “carré d’honneur” situated on the practice courts at 42nd and Avenue of the Americas, and, with a large size crowd watching, the game began.
Both teams showed their own individual, but very different, style of play. Team Keita/Charles, a bit more impulsive and quick to play than Team Xavier/JPS, was certainly all pumped up and ready to play. The crowd reacted to each player’s move making it even more exciting. As each tournament’s final is an important one, players were obviously more nervous than during their previous game on Saturday morning! Thus a couple of errors and miscalculations from both teams, but altogether, the level of play remained very enjoyable as the cheers went on until the end of the game, won by Team Xavier/JPS on the score of 13-5.
Other websites have reported very negative vibes about the final and also about previous games, therefore denying all the players involved their enjoyment of their performance after two good days of pétanque. We believe that Pétanque is like any other competition sport. Teams play better at certain times than others. Losing can sometimes bring bitterness and make you lose sight of the reality of the sport. Pétanque is not a fast pace sports, it is closer to chess than to go-cart racing. It is a game of observation among opponents, a game of skill and, most of the times, a mind game. But, then again, it’s a game about losing and winning, and, at the end of the day, there is only one winner and many losers. Writers who denigrate players and the way they played will not make their loss better, at the contrary. So, instead of judging the other players level of game, one should contemplate its own level of game and reflect…. Did I win that day?
The day ended at the restaurant Tout Va Bien (a sponsor of NYPC) for a nice dinner and award ceremony, where the top eight teams received prizes, as well as the consolante winners.
All our friends from France were there, and despite the fact that they did not have a great showing during these two days, they had the best time of all…which is the proof that results are just a state of mind and should not impair good spirit.
Our congratulations to all our players, with a special mention to Xavier Thibaud who is really on a winning streak this year because, after his great run at La Marseillaise (last 16 teams from more than 4,500), he came back to New York, won the North East regional Single and the Double the next day (associated to Gilles Ray), before the NY Open. Let’s not forget JPS who, last August, won the LBNY singles, got a silver medal for the Double Northeast Regional (with Eric Bertin) and the gold at the NY Open.
2009 was a good year for NYPC’s players, and I believe a prelude to 2010.
Article written collectively by Eric Bertin, Gilles Ray, Jean-Pierre Subrenat and Xavier Thibaud (Founders of New York Pétanque Club)