HOT NEWS! NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Hello everyone and welcome!

Dan Page is a talented magician.  Sweet one more  to the club . He was born in New Hampshire, raised in the Rio Grande Valley, and has lived in Austin for the last thirty-five years.

He was introduced to the game of petanque recently and was immediately taken with it.  He  likes the way the tactics of the game changes for different court surfaces, the random way teams are selected, and the camaraderie of the players. He  also appreciates the sense of community and tradition that is inherent to the game.

He told me that his beginners’ luck seems to have run its course and he  can see that it will take some time to build himself into a better player. He appreciates the way that the more advanced players help him understand the nuances and techniques of playing the game. And the surprise of seeing people on the court that I know from other social circles is always a delight.

He looks forward to getting to know the other members of the club and one day participating in an official competition. We are very happy to have you in the club. Welcome Dan

HOT NEWS! CHEF JEAN LAFONT, R.I.P.

Hello everyone and welcome!

Sad new a good friend of HOT  one of the finest and most influential chefs in Dallas, Jean LaFont, passed away late this afternoon. He was 72. According to his good friend and former student Mercury Chef Chris Ward, LaFont died from cancer which was detected around Christmas.

Jean was a gentle, caring, immensely talented man who influenced many people during his 35 years in Dallas. There are many chefs and restaurateurs in Dallas who owe their careers to LaFont. He also of course was a great Petanque player.  Several times he came to Austin to compete.  His jovial aspect of the game will  be miss. What a pleasure to play with him or against him. We love you Jean

You will be in our heart

Jean is standing on the right in the picture.

A + LOVE Arsene

HOT NEWS! MORE INFORMATIONS ABOUT THE HOT TOURNAMENT ON SUNDAY APRIL FIRST 2012

Hello everyone and welcome!
I am proud to announce on behalf of The heart of Texas Petanque Club that we will be hosting our fourth annual Petanque tournament  on Sunday April First 2012

 in Austin Texas at the French Legation Museum 802 San Marcos Street Austin, TX 78702.

 The  tournament is open to all petanque players it is a doublette style tournament (meaning team of two with 3 balls each).  You can play with any metal petanque balls, as long as they’re within the normal size (70.5 to 80 mm).

Registration fee is $20 by person $15 by person for club members. The main trophy as always will remain in the club.  The names of the team winner will be added to it.  But cash prizes and individual trophies will be awarded to First, Second and Third place teams. Public is free.  Please bring your own lunch and beverages.

Please have your team appoints a captain, who is responsible for registration, payment and communication. Registration will start at 8:45 AM  Tournament will start at 9:30 AM  sharp.   Registration dateline is Friday March 23 2012 

Please email arsene.dupin@gmail.com or call 512 468 0957 for registering or if you have any questions.

 

PS, we are in need of financial sponsorship to help pay for the coming up event.  Nothing is too little.  If you have any ideas or connections with company that will love to be  represented at the tournament and helping us in the process let me know.  Thank you

A + LOVE Arsene

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HOT NEWS! NEW SECRETARY IN HOT

Hello everyone and welcome!

We would  like to welcome Ed Priest as the new club secretary to replace Leah Paulo.  Leah is an original member of the club and will still be on the board.

Ed Priest has been trying to figure out the game of petanque for years. He told me that on a walking tour of Provence France  in 2002, Kay, his wife  and he witnessed this mysterious game being played.  They were not able to figure out how the game was played, but knew it was a fun event that was enjoyed by all ages.  So on  the same trip he purchased his  first set of boules in a flea market in Paris.  After he returned to Austin, he had to find a group to start playing the game.  He first found the Alliance Francaise d’ Austin, and was informed that the boules he  had purchased were for la Boule  Lyonnaise (Bocce) and not Petanque (ha ha).  Through his connection with the AF he found The Heart of Texas Petanque Club  and now has been getting more than his share of “fannies”.  He still enjoys the game and enjoys the company of the club members.    Ed we are happy to have you on board. Welcome.

HOT NEWS! NEW MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Hello and welcome everyone. The Heart of Texas has a new member Christophe Chambers.  He is dedicated to the game of petanque.  He has been playing the game for 20 years.   We met a few years back.  We even had the opportunnity to team up together and win a couple of tournaments.  He was intrumental  in the process of teaching me  how to put  a club together.  We are very happy to have him on board.   He is originally from Austin and married to his wife Michelle.  He just came back home after spending 23 years in NY City. He is the  FPUSA National Sports Director (2012),  was the  former President of La Boule Newyorkaise Petanque Club,  also  Former Vice President  New York Petanque Club (Brooklyn), as well as a  FPUSA National Umpire.     We are  glad to have him back in Texas and been a member of HOT.  Welcome Christophe. A + Love Arsene

HOT NEWS! ANNUAL HOT OPEN DOUBLETTE TOURNAMENT SUNDAY APRIL FIRST 2012

Hello everyone and welcome.  It is official the annual open  HOT tournament is Sunday April First 2012 at the French Legation Museum French Legation Museum | Austin TX   It is a doublette style meaning two partners 3 balls each FPUSA rules.  More details will come up soon. Any questions email me at

arsene.dupin@gmail.com.  More details will come soon.  Please tell your friends, family and partners.   See you soon

A + Love  Arsene

HOT NEWS! PLAYING IN FRANCE AT SAINT GENEVIEVE DES BOIS PETANQUE CLUB

Hello and welcome everyone. I was just in France.  By the time I said hello to my family and went to do a private show in Paris  at the house where Toulouse Lautrec used to paint and leave near Le Moulin Rouge, it was time to go see my second family, the Saint Genevieve des Bois pétanque club. Let me tell you about this club they do have local champions as well as juniors, seniors state champions as well as France champions.   As soon as you walk into la buvette (little club house) you can see an impressive display of cups won by the club.   They do have an impressive set up as well regarding their courts.  They have a huge Carre d’honneur (section of courts reserve just to play the finals and semi finals).  This is  located in the middle of a huge natural park that has over 12 spotlights to be able to play at night.  So well lit that some of the pictures I took look like it was during the day.  Now lets talk about how to play humbly in this club  ? First you play with Thereze 78 years old who had played the game for over 70 years And could not play the game with her right hand any longer 2 years ago and decided to relearn the game with her left hand and still plays as well. Play with everyone over the age of 70 to 87 who  still come to play on a windy Monday afternoon with a windshield of 39 degrees.  And you can see  thirty-eight of them showed up no matter what. With canes, broken hips, hats, gloves and always a handshake before starting any games,   That’s how much they love the game.  This makes you cry.   One can sometimes get the chance to play with the young generation who is able to spin a ball right and left with a really high plombee. This club has a President Henri Garcia who is responsible for this well equipped and run Petanque club.  I am considering having them be our twin city.  Then . anyone could go and learn from playing with them and vise versa.  It was  inspirational and it is with great joy that I bring the spirit  back to Texas.

A+ Love Arsene

HOT NEWS! HAPPY THANKS GIVING.

Hello everyone and welcome.  For the last few years the Texas Renaissance Festival as being open on black Friday.  So we finish the season with a bang  by being open for 3 days.   That does give me the opportunity to spend Thank Giving among the Gypsies with a hearts of gold .   And of course to play Thank Giving Petanque with some talented individuals and we even had a Canadian goose as a referee.   Check them out.

Happy Thanks Giving to you all.

A+ Love Arsene

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HOT NEWS! AMELIA ISLAND

Hello everyone and welcome. My friend  Philippe Boets did it again Amelia Island the biggest  petanque  tournament in America.  Hundred of teams came from all over the world.  He even had a world champion from France Marco Foyot who gave a workshop and  with his partner Bernard Martin won the whole tournament.   We had a team of father and son  representing  HOT.    Earl and Trevor Lovel They did so great they won the Consolante AA.  It is just amazing regarding the fact that they pick up the game only a couple of years ago.  On behalf  of the Heart of Texas Petanque Club congratulation to both of you .    A+ Love Arsene

HOT NEWS! THE FIRST HOT SENIOR PANACHE TOURNAMENT

Hello everyone and welcome.   We just had our first annual Senior tournament.   The HOT Seniors Panache Tournament was held November 6th.  This was an inner club tournament, and contestants had to be at least 55 years old.  We had 18 members who admitted to meeting or exceeding the requirements.

The winners were as follows:
1st Place Michael Kaufman & Ed Priest
2nd Place Rick Armstrong & Bob Marshall
3rd Place Earl Lovell & John Luther

Fun was had by all–win or lose!

A+ Love Arsene