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Kids & Family

Valley of the Moon to Host U.S. Pétanque Championships This Weekend

Pétanque, the French court game that has found its way into the fabric of Sonoma Valley culture, will have its day in the sun locally from Friday through Sunday, May 17-19.

This is the first time in 10 years that the Valley of the Moon Pétanque Club, based in Sonoma with 112 members, has hosted a national competition. A total of 175 pétanque players from around the country -- coming as far away as Maine, New York and Florida --  will gather for competition that features doubles teams of men and women playing the century-old sport of pétanque.

There are about 1,800 players registered with the Federation of Petanque U.S.A. and many of them play for clubs in Sonoma, Petaluma, Napa, Marin, Willits and Fort Bragg.

Pétanque is one of the several “boule” games that are found throughout Europe – bocce, lawn bowling, or just plain “boule” are others. Boule players from the Valley of the Moon were introduced to pétanque through Sonoma's Sister City relationship with the French wine village of Chambolle-Musigny in the Côte-d'Or .

In 1998, local players organized the Valley of the Moon Pétanque Club, and for the past 25 years the VOMPC has maintained the courts in Depot Park.

The schedule is as follows:
 

  • On Friday, May 17, players from around the country will be on hand to participate in warm-up events from Noon to 5:00 p.m.
  • On Saturday, May 18, competition in the mixed doubles event gets underway, with a tournament from 9 a.m. to about 6:30 p.m.
  • On Sunday, May 19, a total of 60 teams will participate in separate men’s doubles and women’s doubles events from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

For more information on the championships and the VOMPC, visit their website at vompc.org.      


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