Petanque played on Patonga piste

The 2013 Patonga Petanque Club Championships were held at the Patonga Petanque piste on Eve Williams Memorial Oval on Monday, October 7.

"The French origins of the game were not lost on attendees, with Central Coast locals Aimee Paquette, Ray Laboyrie, Paul Guignard and Sylvie Carey treated as petanque royalty," said organiser Mr Stephen Ryan.

Thirty six competitors, which was more than any previous year, vied for the 2013 trophy, including eventual winners and number one seeds, Brad Petersen and Pete Segol, who are both local Patonga residents.

Petersen and Segol did not have it all their way, however.

Justin Sharples, who was moonlighting as a Frenchmen and competing under the alias of Justin Le Bouffant, teamed with Paquette as the number two seeds and proceeded to decimate the field, winning their first match 9-0, their second 9-1, and their quarter final 9-3 against the English-Kiwi seventh seed combination of Tru Goodman and Warren Pickering.

The next two quarter final matches also went as anticipated, with eighth seeds Pam and Pete Smith slightly off their game in their 0-9 loss to Petersen and Segol and fourth seeds Mick O'Connor and Paul Teunis recording a 9-2 win over fifth seed contenders Ray Laboyrie and David Rath.

"The last of the quarter finals was far from anticipated with sixth seeds Paul Guignard and Margie Carew-Reid beating the much fancied third seeds Dale Witchard and Tele Tubbee 9-7," said Mr Ryan.

"And the Guignard and Carew-Ried train did not stop there, eliminating the French team of le Bouffant and Paquette 9-4 in the first semi-final.

"Guignard lobbed his boules within millimetres of the cochonnet, Carew-Reid plundered the opposition boules with contempt and le Bouffant could only watch on in awe, occasionally throwing his hands in the air and exclaiming 'Oh, no, no, no...c'est impossible, ca!'

"In the other semi-final, Peterson and Segol dispatched O'Connor and Teunis 10-5 in a thrilling show of skill by both teams.

"Petersen and Segol's 9-2 win in the final was tighter than the score perhaps suggests, but their victory was well deserved.

"As runner-up, Margie Carew-Reid was the highest placed female competitor, and she and Guignard let the field know they will be significant foes this time around next year."

Email, 10 Oct 2013

Stephen Ryan, Patonga