Last night, in the gardens of Cimiez, the first toss and the first games made their appearance during the opening evening and the VIP tournament. This morning, the serious things begin with the first round of the Europétanque.
And, for the fans of the small ball, there will be beautiful games along the Promenade des Anglais and the Esplanade Delattre de Tassigny in front of Nice’s exhibition center.
512 teams of three at the start for only one to arrive next Monday, in the newly refurbished honor square for the pleasure of the many spectators. Quintais, Suchaud, Bettoni, Lakhal, Le Boursicaud… the pétanque stars will all be there starting at 8:30 AM to begin this long journey that will lead them to the famous final four.
But this year, another initiative is to be praised with the association “Tous avec Hugo” which will be present throughout the Europétanque with a donation box placed at the registration table (Esplanade Delattre de Tassigny) to receive donations from players and spectators. The entire collection will be donated, through the association, to the services of the Lenval Hospital. Hugo, his parents, and the patron of the association, José Cobos, were there last night to launch the operation and thank all the participants.
A team of three will even play under the colors of the Association, but less fortunate for the Nice amateurs as their path crosses, right from the first round, that of a former winner of the Europétanque, Jean-Yves Bettoni and his team from Saint-Tropez. “Might as well play Brazil at the start…” jokes Patrick Agostini, Daniel Morello, and Franck Viano, the former director of publication at Nice Premium.
An operation that will undoubtedly enjoy great success when you know the passion that pétanque players put into their work, which is to say the good kind!
