2010 La Marseillaise Starts
Alec being interviewed by RTL with Victor Nataf of the international federation looking on.
LA MARSEILLAISE (Mondial la Marseillaise à Pétanque Marseille), the biggest petanque tournament in the world starts this Sunday. If it is anything like the past few years, you can expect nearly 5,000 triples teams (around 15,000 players). It’s a grueling, single-elimination tournament played in the heat and sun of Marseille. I should know. Last year Yngve, Raja, and I got knocked out in our second game, playing in a parking lot.
You never know where you will end up playing on the first day. Special buses shuttle players all over Marseille to play in makeshift terrains. It is not uncommon to play on concrete with a thin dusting of gravel. That’s how it is–and can be worse–in Parc Borely, the main venue after the first day. Afterwards the semifinals and finals are played completely different surface in the Old Port.
It takes about 12 consecutive victories to win it all. But even the losers are winners. Besides the usual swag–tshirt, cap, carry bag–everyone gets a free bottle of Ricard upon losing. The further you go, the bigger the bottle. And after losing, you can follow the best players in the world and see them sweat from a few feet away. It’s a great spectacle. And if you can’t be there, you can follow along on the internet via streaming video from France 3.
http://mediterranee.france3.fr/mondial-petanque/
(Macintosh owners, you will need to download the Silverlight plugin and restart your browser.)
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/26623/silverlight
Our own club member Alec Stone Sweet (team 2905) will once again try to outdo his best showing from past few years, twice making it to the 1/16 finals. You can read Alec’s report on the Marseillaise on our website.
http://labouleny.com/2005/10/la-marseillaise/
Update
Alec won all his game on the first and second days before losing on the 7th game in the 3rd day by the score of 10-13.
