09/04/2026
Petanque heavy weekend in Winston-Salem. Open play Friday 5pm & Sunday 1pm. Ice Cream Petanque Tournament Saturday starting 8:30 am
Maybe we should change the name to "Petanque Day Weekend" from "Labor Day Weekend". There will be a whole lotta petanque going on in Miller Park over the next few days. I am going to use this email for double duty. As our normal weekly email (to local group, Facebook & MeetUp folks) and as the tournament email (so it will be sent to all tournament players too). The tournament info will be at the bottom.
Regular Petaqnue Play
Courts will be set up with rings and pegs by 5 pm Friday. Ive been informed some of the out of town tournament players will be joining us Friday to practice a bit. The court are always open for any early arrivers though the equipment may not be out. I may be restringing the courts a little between 4 pm and 5 pm by the way. There will still be plenty of courts available. Anyone can play... regular players, new players, and tournament players. Come on out.
Jumping ahead to Sunday, normal play starts at 1 pm. Everyone is welcome. There are extra boules and the more the merrier. Games start about every hour between 1 and 4 pm. We usually go eat afterward. Last Sunday had a big crew go out to Applebees. New folks and MeetUp members please join us. Walk right up and say hello even if we are already playing a game.
Also... its another forecasted hot weekend. Bring plenty of water, your favorite beverage, sunscreen, a cooling towel, a hat, and anything else that will help you stay comfortable during the day. Being prepared for the heat can make the difference between a long day and a really enjoyable day of pétanque.
Ice Cream Petanque Tournament
For a short notice tournament, I am pleasantly surprised, We have 24 teams and its looking like 52 to 53 players. Outstanding! Non-players are absolutely welcome to come out and watch! If you are local and have never been to a pétanque tournament before, this is a great opportunity to see how a tournament works, watch some good pétanque, and get a feel for what tournament play is all about. Come out, watch the games, meet the players, and enjoy the atmosphere. And because this is the Ice Cream Pétanque Open, spectators are welcome to enjoy some ice cream with us at lunch too — FREE!
Details for Saturday's Tournament
Date: Saturday, September 5, 2026
Location: Miller Park
2500 Queen St.
Winston-Salem, NC
Google Maps:https://share.google/Ah8abwcxM6wdMWpO5
SCHEDULE Saturday Sept. 5th
8:30 AM — Check-in deadline. Make sure to sign in and draw your team number. If a member of your team is not a FPUSA member, then they will need to sign the waiver at check in.
8:40 AM — Announcements and group picture
9:00 AM — First game begins
Morning games will be 60 minutes with no plus one. Single elimination games will be timed except the finals games will be untimed. The Swiss Hotel system will be used for qualifying. I will be attempting to start a new game every 75 minutes. Please hit the bathrooms, hydrate, and be ready for the following game soon after the previous one ends. We will be using our normal 8 courts and also the 4 bocce courts nearest to the bathroom. The bocce courts will be numbered 9 nearest the bathroom then,10, 11, and court 12 going toward the road away from the bathroom. There will be a number of folks for whom this will be their first tournament. This is a social tournament and a great time to show and teach them tournament rules and etiquette. Please help them get a foot up and become regulars tournament participants with us in the future.
TIE-BREAKER
If a game is tied at the end of the 60-minute time limit, the winner will be determined by a sudden-death toss. An official will set the pig approximately 7 to 9 meters away. Each team will toss one boule, and the team whose boule finishes closest to the pig wins.
LUNCH
Lunch will be after game 3 completes. Hoping to start lunch approximately 12:30 PM. Grilled lunch will be served to those who picked the option. Free ice cream will be available during lunch for everyone. Including spectators. I am planning on an hour lunch but if you are leaving the park to get food then ask me directly the start time. I will not be able to set the Single elimination games start time until all the third round games are finished. Remember to bring your beverage of choice for lunch too.
AFTERNOON PLAY
After lunch, we will begin the single-elimination portion of the tournament.
With 24 teams, we will have three brackets: Concours, Concours B, and Consolante. The 24-teams means no byes.
PRIZES
There will be medals for first, second, and third places in each of the three brackets.
The first-, second-, and third-place teams in the Concours (Championship bracket) will also receive handmade ice cream bowls created by Rodney Plachy. Our own Asheville Potter.
Additionally, the Concours will have a cash prize for the First Place Concours: $160 for the team and the Second Place Concours: $60 for the team
With prizes going to the top three teams in all three brackets, approximately one-third of the teams will go home with a prize.
COME PREPARED FOR A SUMMER DAY
Again, I can not say it enough, remember that it is still summer in North Carolina, and tournament day could be a long day outside. Plenty of water, your favorite beverage, sunscreen, a cooling towel, a hat, and anything else that will help you stay comfortable during the day. Being prepared for the heat can make the difference between a long day and a really enjoyable day of pétanque.
CURRENT TEAMS for Saturday...
1 - Dan Dolan- Mourhite Louali ****
2 - Maggie Sweeney- Rick Sweeney - Natanna Wright
3 - Stephane Brico- Mica Gadhia -
4 - Logan Means- Stephan E Karlsson
5 - Fred Marchant- Johnnie Rosato
6 - Seth Kennedy- Mike Owens
7 - Shirley Jones- Linda Benton
8 - Chris Paccione- Doug Boes (Preston subbing Game 3 for Chris to cook)
9 - Songmi Keating- Jaemi Keating
10 - Mary Jo Wilson- Pat Ptaszynski
11 - Cherri Sutphin - Mark Woitkiewicz
12 - Keith Gise- Mike Livings
13 - Max Sewell- Edward Gildea
14 - Scott Seifer- Rom Sills - John Wilson
15- Hank Mauldin-Renee Barrett-Michaelann “Mike” Dimitrijevich ****
16 - Jim Clapper- James Clapper (Jr) - Sebastian Paccione
17 - Juan Hernandez- Heidi Davison
18 - Al Davison- Monica Moczek
19 - Frank Bocce- Janet Torrico
20 - Scott Harleman- Averitt Hunt
21 - Ken Lommel - JoAnn Lommel
22- Rodney Plachy - Jesse Israel
23- Emmanuel “Manny” Fargeon – Possible Patrick or Gail ****
24 -Jim Clapper III (yes, there are 3 of them) - Andrew Clapper.
If there is a star beside your team, then please see me at sign in before the games start. There is some minor issue to settle. Also, any player who has not previously signed a FPUSA waiver, then please do so at the sign in table. Most of the first time tournament players will need to complete the waiver. Thank you in advance. Also, team captain need to make sure there team mates are on time. Please forward this schedule to any of your players who did not furnish an email address wit entry.
Lastly, Tournament T-shirts and other gear are still available. I will leave site up for a few weeks after tournament too. https://camel-city-petanque-gear.printify.me/collection/ice-cream-petanque-open-tournament-2026-gear . All profits from the sales go toward supporting our Meetup group and Winston-Salem pétanque events. If you would like to support the group, consider getting a great-looking tournament shirt and wearing it proudly.
Looking forward to seeing all my "petanque cousins" this weekend. Lets have a memorable holiday weekend. Call or text me with any questions. Meet you on the courts.
Preston
336-486-1284
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/1098289450033461/
Winston-Salem MeetUp https://www.meetup.com/petanque-winston-salem/
Please join. The more members we have on MeetUp, the more MeetUp highlights it in web results, and the more comfortable people are deciding to come out and try our sport..
Winston-Salem WhatsApp
Petanque Social Play Winston-Salem (Miller Park): https://chat.whatsapp.com/LbsEXzfUQU29VKTvwWrAl6
Carolina Petanque Blog
(Gary and Shirley put a lot of great pictures up weekly and it goes back years) https://carolina-petanque.blogspot.com/
Carolina Petanque Website https://carolinapetanque.com/
