Nov 2019 Luncheon: Phillipe Boets, Amelia Island Boules Club

Petanque leader Philippe Boets

          Philippe Boets, who brought the bowling game of petanque to Amelia Island, will be guest speaker at the Men’s Newcomers Club’s monthly luncheon meeting, Thursday Nov. 21.  The meeting, held at the Fernandina Beach Golf Club on Bill Melton Road, begins at 11:30 a.m. with a social half-hour. 

          On a Provencal island in 1907 a group of Frenchmen played a popular bowling game called La Boule Lyonnaise while several old veterans watched from chairs.  A loose ball rolled to a crippled man, who picked it up and rolled the ball to its target from the chair.  The chair was moved to the bowling lane so the old man could play and to make the competition fair, all the other players were required to roll their balls while standing, feet together, in a small circle.

          As the Provencal phrase for “feet together on the ground” is “ped tanco” pétanque became the name of the new sport that has become popular around the world and here on Amelia Island.  Boets (pronounced boots), a native of Antwerp, Belgium, organized the Amelia Island Boules Club with the help of local residents and held his first pétanque tournament here in 2009.  Today the local club numbers more than 130 men and women and hosts an annual international tournament that brings the best players from as far as Australia.

          Reservations for the luncheon may be made by clicking the “Register” button below, by sending an email to bwesche6@gmail.com, or by calling him at 904-310-9055 by Saturday, Nov. 16. Cost is $15 when reservations are made in advance.  The cost of the luncheon will be $20 for those without reservations. The $15 lunch checks can be mailed to the MNC PO Box 16291 Fernandina Beach, FL 32035 to arrive by Nov. 16.  Non-members, attending a meeting for the first time, will be charged $15 and if they join the MNC that day, the $15 luncheon cost will be applied to the membership fee.  Registrations received after we reach the golf club's capacity will automatically be placed on our wait list and notified if space becomes available. Due to the golf club’s capacity, a seat at the luncheon cannot be guaranteed without a reservation.