Légation Boules Club (LBC) of Austin formed in July 2014 to provide a forum for its members and the public to learn, practice and play the game of pétanque. The LBC normally plays on the picturesque grounds of the historical French Legation Museum, located in downtown Austin, but due to preversion work are currently playing at the Muller Hangar, check out our Play Boule page. LBC's president, Ed Priest, began playing pétanque informally at the French Legation in 2000 where Alliance Française members congregate the second and fourth Sundays of the month, share conversation, food and wine. The concept for LBC began over a beer at Angie's Mexican Restaurant in June 2014 when Ed and John Luther, talked about the need for a socially-geared pétanque club in Austin.
“I wanted to focus on the fun and enjoyment of the game, where one could play pétanque in a relaxed environment without pressure or expectations and still participate in competitive tournaments,” says Ed. “If you enjoy pétanque, good
fun and fellowship, you will fit right in.”
“I wanted to focus on the fun and enjoyment of the game, where one could play pétanque in a relaxed environment without pressure or expectations and still participate in competitive tournaments,” says Ed. “If you enjoy pétanque, good
fun and fellowship, you will fit right in.”
Newest Members On The Courts!
2019 La Chandeleur is Scheduled for Feb. 3rd
It is La Chandeleur time once again! Nelson Ranch Péranque Club is joining LBC once again and helping us host La Chandeleur. This year the event will be held at Nelson Ranch Park, 901 Nelson Ranch Rd in Cedar Park. We will be playing pétanque from 1:00 to 5:00, breaking at 2:30 for La Chandeleur!!
If you are not familiar with La Chandeleur, it is a French holiday where people traditionally eat crépes and drink hard apple cider. Nothing better than another celebration with food & drink!
This is another example of a Christian holiday that stems from pagan traditions. La Chandeleur is often associated with the Catholic holiday of Candlemas, it actually stems from pagan traditions. While some say Chandeleur celebrates the return of sunny days (crêpes symbolize the sun), others say that making crêpes using flour left over from the harvest ensures prosperity in the coming year. And, of course, there is the traditional coin ritual: if you can flip a crêpe while holding a coin in your other hand, you and your family will not have to worry about financial problems.” Believe what you may, it is a good reason to get together, eat some crépes, drink some cider, and throw some boules. Mark Sunday, February 3rd on your calendar! Let’s hope the La Chandeleur gods bring us good weather!
2018 Holiday Party
LBC held our Holiday Party at Carolyn Cornell's apartments party room. A special thanks goes out to Carolyn for Thanks you Carolyn for making it available. The pot was the best ever, and if you Jacques Richards made another one of his prize winning buche de noel! Fun was had by all, and the LBC trophy was presented to Carolyn for the Oct tournament that she and , that she and Christophe Chambers won. We were sorry that Christophe could not be at the Holiday Party! LBC hopes all have a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!!
De Los Muertos Tournament
LBC had our last tournament of the year on Sunday Oct 28th. We had 14 doublet teams fighting to get their names on our tournament trophy!. We even had some special surprise guest that we found played quite well. These included Mr. Spock, Rosie the riveter, the wicked witch, Gilligan, and Hot Kitty! A big hit was Kelly & Mikes Witched Brew!!! It was a great tournament and fun was had by all! The winners were:
1st Place Christophe Chambers & Carolyn Cornell
2nd Place Mike Plemons & Don Jansky
3rd Place Felipe Cardona & Kelly Brown
4th Place Anthony Alejandro & Joel Longstreth
Sunday at the French Legation was the place to be, great weather, fun, and pétanque! Who could ask for more?
1st Place Christophe Chambers & Carolyn Cornell
2nd Place Mike Plemons & Don Jansky
3rd Place Felipe Cardona & Kelly Brown
4th Place Anthony Alejandro & Joel Longstreth
Sunday at the French Legation was the place to be, great weather, fun, and pétanque! Who could ask for more?
PRESERVATION CAMP AT THE LEGATION
On June 12, 2018 LBC helped the Texas Historical Commission with Preservation Day Camp. LBC instructed the attendees in the game of pétanque. Everyone enjoyed being outside and we found some potential future players!
FRENCH LEGATION BENEFIT TOURNAMENT
SUNDAY JUNE 3RD
SUNDAY JUNE 3RD
We survive a extremely hot tournament day, temperatures in the high 90's, high humidity, and almost no wind, but it didn't dampen our spirits. The level of play matched the temperatures. We raised $1,250 through entry fees and contributions to support the French Légation.
The results are as follows:
Concurs
1st Place Felipe Cardona & Katie Murphy
2nd Place Al Favela & Thierry Amisse
3rd Place Edward Vaissiere & Jasques Richards
Consolante
1st Place Patrick Irvin & Steven Johns
2nd Place Arthur Laquette & Mike Klein
3rd Place Amadeus Alejandro & Michael Kaufman
The results are as follows:
Concurs
1st Place Felipe Cardona & Katie Murphy
2nd Place Al Favela & Thierry Amisse
3rd Place Edward Vaissiere & Jasques Richards
Consolante
1st Place Patrick Irvin & Steven Johns
2nd Place Arthur Laquette & Mike Klein
3rd Place Amadeus Alejandro & Michael Kaufman
Concours
Alliance Francaise May 19th Tournament
LBC helped Alliance Francise hold a carousel tournament on Sat May 19th. We had twenty eight players, of which ten were new to tournament play. These players came from Austin, Houston, and San Antonio. It was a beautiful day at the French Legation. Everyone had a wonderful day and enjoyed a great potluck.
The winners were:
1st Place Carolyn Cornell & Earl Lovell
2nd Place Juliette Laroche & Thierry Ammise
3rd place Bridget Laroche & Jeff Brown
April 7, 2018 Sunday HOT Tournament
I case you have not heard, LBC & NRPC were well represented in last Sunday's HOT Pétanque Tournament.
1st Place Christophe Champers LBC & NRPC & Jeanne Marie Browing (Dallas)
2nd Place Jacques Richards LBC & NRPC & Thierry Amisse LBC & NRPC
3rd Place Michel (SA) & Richard (Dallas)
4th Place Anrhony Alejandro NRPC & Rudy Vallie LBC & NRPC
Congratulation to all!
1st Place Christophe Champers LBC & NRPC & Jeanne Marie Browing (Dallas)
2nd Place Jacques Richards LBC & NRPC & Thierry Amisse LBC & NRPC
3rd Place Michel (SA) & Richard (Dallas)
4th Place Anrhony Alejandro NRPC & Rudy Vallie LBC & NRPC
Congratulation to all!
La Chandeleur was celebrated at the Muller Hangar Sunday Feb 25th!
The La Chandeleur gods were with us, the sun came out and we had a special day for crepes and petanque. Some where between 40 to 50 helped celebrated the event. A special thanks goes out to Alain, Bert, Jacques, Kay, Kathy, Marion, and Rudy for bringing some very special crepes. Chief Rudy won the prize, he prepared over 80 crepes, if you didn't get one you really missed out! Thanks to all that brought crepes, fillings, other food and drinks. You all made it special.
LBC Helps Clear out the attic at the French Légation
Some LBC members helped Ellen Busch from the Texas Historical Commission (THC), remove items from the attic of the French Légation for storage. On Decenber 15th,, five members of LBC: Gary, Peter, Mike, Jim, and myself helped the THC. Ellen is in the process of clearing out the Légation to ready the site for reconstruction. After the scope of work is defined, THC will be selecting an architectural firm and going out for construction bids. Work on the Légation is projected to start in either May or June of 2018.
We are hoping to return to the Légation for a special day of pétanque on February 11th.
We are hoping to return to the Légation for a special day of pétanque on February 11th.
Texas Historical Commission opens the French Légation for pétanque on Dec. 10th
Ellen Cone Busch opened the grounds of the French Légation on Sunday, December 10th. Forty-four people showed up with their boules and some great food. Ellen is the Director of Historic Sites Operations for The Texas Historical Commission (THC). She spoke about the THC plans for the Légation and requested questions and thoughts about the project. She also helped present the champion trophy for the October 27th tournament to Peter Gray. Regrettably, his partner Tommy Woods was not able to be there for the presentation. We hope that Ellen will be able to open the grounds again before the major modifications begin at the Légation..
LBC Holiday Party held Dec 2nd
On a Sad Note:
Gerald Lankes A Founding Member of LBC has passed away.
Gerald Lankes A Founding Member of LBC has passed away.
What's New At LBC?
THC the new custodians of the French Légation will be opening the grounds of the French Légation for the first time Sunday Dec 10th from 1 to 500 pm. We are hoping for good weather and a good turnout to show our support for the Légation.
LBC Pétanque has moved to the Hangar at Mueller
As I am sure you are aware, the Texas Historical Commission, THC, will be taking over the operations of the French Légation from the Daughters. After six decades of managing this property, the Legation has been removed from their management by the passing of House Bill 3810. This change happened on September 1. What effect this will have on our playing at the Légation is not known at this time. Money has been appropriated for restoring the building, but we have no knowledge of when that will occur. We will be getting some clarification on the THC plan September 8th, and how it will affect LBC. When we become aware of how this will affect LBC, we will let you know.
Our Sunday play will continue at the Hangar at Mueller, To avoid a conflict with the Farmer’s Market, we will start at 2:30 pm. Our midweek pétanque will continue at the Hangar on Wednesday at 10:00am.
Our Sunday play will continue at the Hangar at Mueller, To avoid a conflict with the Farmer’s Market, we will start at 2:30 pm. Our midweek pétanque will continue at the Hangar on Wednesday at 10:00am.
Amelia Island Petanque Open Nov. 10-12 2017
A few notes about the tournament:
On the first day, Saturday, each team plays five games against randomly selected teams including all the great French teams. Your team’s performance in those five games determines your ranking at the start of day two, Sunday.
The Plemons team (Terry and son) had three wins, two easy and one tough. The two losses were against a very good Vietnam team and against the French team of Messonnier & Leboursdicaud.
On Sunday morning four of the Austin teams were ranked 74, 77, 82, and 91, out of a total 0f 176 teams. The first three were in the Consolante A bracket. The best performance of the Austin teams was the Thierry/Jacques team who made it to the semifinals and lost 9-8 to a very good team (the same team that knocked out the Plemons team in the first round).
The Kathy/Gary Ragan team in the Consolante D bracket got to the finals and was beaten by an apparent “ringer” team with an outstanding shooter and excellent pointer who should have been in a much higher bracket. Suspicious? Yeah.
During the awards ceremony the Thierry/Jacques and the Kathy/Gary teams were recognized and each team member won $50.
Another proud moment for Texas: Michelle Healey (San Antonio), Jean Marie Browning (Dallas) and their third partner (?) on Friday won the Women’s National title game and will represent the United States next year.
We watched some really great quarter finals, semifinals and finals matches. Outstanding seats right next to the courts. Sometimes you are just a few feet from the cochonnet or the players themselves. Does not get any better. On Friday we saw an exhibition triplets match with the team that beat the Walt/Amine team in New York. You may remember that team included Jean Pierre and the father-son combo (13 year old kid).
On the first day, Saturday, each team plays five games against randomly selected teams including all the great French teams. Your team’s performance in those five games determines your ranking at the start of day two, Sunday.
The Plemons team (Terry and son) had three wins, two easy and one tough. The two losses were against a very good Vietnam team and against the French team of Messonnier & Leboursdicaud.
On Sunday morning four of the Austin teams were ranked 74, 77, 82, and 91, out of a total 0f 176 teams. The first three were in the Consolante A bracket. The best performance of the Austin teams was the Thierry/Jacques team who made it to the semifinals and lost 9-8 to a very good team (the same team that knocked out the Plemons team in the first round).
The Kathy/Gary Ragan team in the Consolante D bracket got to the finals and was beaten by an apparent “ringer” team with an outstanding shooter and excellent pointer who should have been in a much higher bracket. Suspicious? Yeah.
During the awards ceremony the Thierry/Jacques and the Kathy/Gary teams were recognized and each team member won $50.
Another proud moment for Texas: Michelle Healey (San Antonio), Jean Marie Browning (Dallas) and their third partner (?) on Friday won the Women’s National title game and will represent the United States next year.
We watched some really great quarter finals, semifinals and finals matches. Outstanding seats right next to the courts. Sometimes you are just a few feet from the cochonnet or the players themselves. Does not get any better. On Friday we saw an exhibition triplets match with the team that beat the Walt/Amine team in New York. You may remember that team included Jean Pierre and the father-son combo (13 year old kid).
New kids on the block!
LBC Doublet Mélêe Tournament held at the Hangar Oct 28, 2017
In the words of Gary Ragan:
“Twas on a frosty morn…the faithful gathered (including the witch, a millennial, a pregnant man (wow!), Rosie the Riveter, a ninja, and other mysterious creatures of the night) to perform the ancient ritual of Pétanque.”
On Saturday morning, Oct 28th, LBC held our last tournament of 2017. The morning was cold but the spirits were high. We had more drama than usual which was by a costume contest. Since some of our regular tournament organizers were called to other duties, other folks willingly volunteered to help. A special thanks goes to Evelyn Woods and David Bintiff who worked at the scoring table, as well as to all who helped to set up and clean up!
We had a field of 24 vying to get their names engraved on our tournament trophy. Teams were formed by a draw matching pointers and shooters. We had two players enter from San Antonio: Michelle Healy and Stephen Johns. One from Montpelier, France: George Pons. And three young beautiful French women visitors who presented the medals: Cloé, Eléa, and Louna.
Our tournament winners were:
1st Place: Peter Gray and Tommy Woods
2nd Place: Michael and Terry Plemons
3rd Place: Joel Kenty and Lucas McClure
4th Place: Kelly Brown and Thierry Amisse.
“Twas on a frosty morn…the faithful gathered (including the witch, a millennial, a pregnant man (wow!), Rosie the Riveter, a ninja, and other mysterious creatures of the night) to perform the ancient ritual of Pétanque.”
On Saturday morning, Oct 28th, LBC held our last tournament of 2017. The morning was cold but the spirits were high. We had more drama than usual which was by a costume contest. Since some of our regular tournament organizers were called to other duties, other folks willingly volunteered to help. A special thanks goes to Evelyn Woods and David Bintiff who worked at the scoring table, as well as to all who helped to set up and clean up!
We had a field of 24 vying to get their names engraved on our tournament trophy. Teams were formed by a draw matching pointers and shooters. We had two players enter from San Antonio: Michelle Healy and Stephen Johns. One from Montpelier, France: George Pons. And three young beautiful French women visitors who presented the medals: Cloé, Eléa, and Louna.
Our tournament winners were:
1st Place: Peter Gray and Tommy Woods
2nd Place: Michael and Terry Plemons
3rd Place: Joel Kenty and Lucas McClure
4th Place: Kelly Brown and Thierry Amisse.
Costume Contestants
Costume winner was the “Pétanque Witch” Kelly Brown who came flying in on her broom and swept away lots of competitors from the courts!
LBC Carousel Tournament held to benefit the French Légation
May 21, 2017
May 21, 2017
On Sunday May 21, LBC held its French Légation benefit tournament for 2017. Legation Boules raised and donated $600 to the Légation. We had a field of 24 playing for the honor of having their names engraved on our tournament trophy. We even had Rudy’s two friends from California join us, and they were winners in the Consolante division. The tournament was a Carousel tournament matching pointers and shooters each game, and everyone played with a different partner each game. All players played five games. The top three pointers and the top three shooters were our Concurs winners. The next three pointers and shooters were our Consolante winners. Three players from Mueller placed in the winners brackets. Fun was had by all. There was also a delicious pot luck lunch. A special thanks goes out to Kathy and Gary Ragan for developing the playing brackets.
Concurs winners were:
1st Place Alain Braux & Thierry Amisse
2nd Place Mary Stratton and Rudy Vallee
3rd Place Jovan Maksimovic and Hasu Patel
Concurs winners were:
1st Place Alain Braux & Thierry Amisse
2nd Place Mary Stratton and Rudy Vallee
3rd Place Jovan Maksimovic and Hasu Patel
Consolante Winners were:
1st Place Susan Beckman and Jacques Richards
2nd Place Jean Borno and Terry Plemons
3rd Place Bernard Merland and Christophe Chambers
1st Place Susan Beckman and Jacques Richards
2nd Place Jean Borno and Terry Plemons
3rd Place Bernard Merland and Christophe Chambers