2004
Northeast Regional Doubles & Triplet Tournaments
held at Green Hill Park
Worcester, MA
July 31/Aug. 1, 2004
Over the course of 2 long and arduous days that saw temperatures approaching 90F, humidity readings over 70%, blistering sunshine, occasional thunder and one brief but plentiful downpouring of rain, over 20 players from Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York battled the elements and each other for the Northeast Regional Doubles & Triplet Championships.
The qualifying matches on both days took longer than usual, as players were obliged to pace themselves in the sizzling heat.
Rest periods in the shade between matches were essential, and ample cold beverages were on hand for the players to maintain hydration.
Triplet Tournament Summary:
After the qualifying round matches, 2 teams each from Le Mistral
Club in Massachusetts and La Boule New Yorkaise emerged through to the
semi-finals. Slugging it out point-for-point through one particularly hard
fought semi-final which lasted for over 1 3/4 hours was the New York team
captained by Yngve Biltsted with Christophe Chambers, Ernesto Santos against Le
Mistral team captained by Mark Copeland with Bernie Loraditch and Brian
Walsh. With Le Mistral team leading 12-10, the New Yorkers successfully
shot away their opponents 13th point with their very last boule on 3
successive ends, until they eventually took the match 13-12. Drained
from their arduous semi-final match, Bilsted's team subsequently lost 13-1 to
the other New York team, led by the steady pointing of Hans Jepson, with Ti Meas
putting on a demonstration clinic with his ever precise shooting, and Hery
showing his superb all around skills as milieu, shooting as necessary or
landing his plombe tosses astride the cochonet time and time again.
Copeland's team eventually won 13-10 to take the Bronze Medal over the other Le
Mistral team consisting of long-time club members Mando Bogosian, Rosemarie
Bogosian and Tony Kapoyan.
Triplet Final results:
1st Place: Hery Rakotoarivony, Hans Jepson,
Ti Meas; club: La Boule New
Yorkaise
2nd Place: Ernesto Santos, Christophe Chambers,
Yngve Biltsted; club: La Boule New Yorkaise
[PHOTO COMING] 3rd Place: Mark Copeland,
Bernie Loraditch,
Brian Walsh; club: Le Mistral Club de
Petanque - Massachusetts
Double Tournament Summary:
Day 2 saw a variety of weather conditions, from early morning drizzles, grey and
overcast skies, later some thunder, then the deluge of rain we all knew
was eventually coming, followed by some hot & steamy humidity, and by the
end of the day, clear blue skies.
The kind of New England weather Mark Twain joked about: "if you don't like the weather in New England, just wait a minute". The last qualifying match was played with the aid of volunteer umbrella holders, to enable the players to focus on the game at hand while keeping out of the rain as much as possible.
Eventually the skies cleared, and so did the competition as 13 teams were reduced to the Final Four: 3 from New York and 1 sole surviving team from Le Mistral Club of Massachusetts. Longtime Le Mistral Club members Albert Kallanian and Charlie Testa, though the club's best pointeurs, could not hold a single point under the onslaught of Ti Meas' shooting, their odds decreased by his having a third boule in his dangerous hands for the doubles!
Ti and partner Hans Jepson took on Yngve Biltsted and Hery Rakotoarivony in the finals in what many observers felt as one of the finest matches played in Green Hill Park. Over nearly 2 hours of hard won points, the near surgical shooting was only eclipsed by truly precision pointing - clearly pointeurs Hans and Ynvge had quickly gained mastery over the gravier of the Green Hill Park terrain. In the end, Yngve and Hery prevailed 13-10 to take the Gold. Eric Bertin with his young daughter Sandra took the 3rd place match 13-4 to win the Bronze medal to make the tournament a clean sweep for New York!
Doubles Final results:
1st Place: Hery Rakotoarivony, Yngve Biltsted;
club: La Boule New Yorkaise
2nd Place: Ti Meas, Hans Jepson;
club: La Boule New Yorkaise
3rd Place: Sandra Bertin, Eric Bertin;
club: La Boule New Yorkaise
4th Place: Charlie Testa, Albert Kallanian;
club: Le Mistral Club de Petanque - Massachusetts
The main newspaper of Worcester, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, published an article about Le Mistral Club de Petanque as well as reported on the 2004 NE Regional Doubles & Triplet Championships. See the complete article here.