活動
Activities

2023 Friendly Petanque Tournament Funabashi

Aoyama Petanque Team 1 in 1st Place
2023/7/2

Aoyama Petanque players Adrian, Ayu and Bob (on the photo from left to right) won the 26th Friendly Petanque Tournament in Funabashi undefeated and with strong match results. A lot of credit goes to Bob's very convincing pointing performance and to Ayu's super shoots for scoring multiple points and finishing the matches in just a few ends. With this it was a smooth day for the team's shooter managing an average success ratio through out the tournament.

Great win! Congrats!

2023 Sainokuni Saitama Open

Aoyama Petanque Team in 2nd Place
2023/6/25

Same as last year, the Aoyama Petanque player team of (on the photo from left to right) Naoki, Ayu and Takatori-san made it to the final and finished in the 2nd place at the 2023 Sainokuni Saitama Open. And also the same as last year, the tournament was held at the hottest location in Japan on one of the hottest and most humid days so far this year.

Well done! Congrats!

2023 14th CPC Petanque Tournament in Narashino

3rd Place for Aoyama Petanque team!
2023/4/29

Aoyama Petanque players Shimotori, Ogawa and Rajesh (from left to right) finished in a strong 3rd place at the local tournament held in Narashino, Chiba-ken. The three players usual do not team-up together in tournaments, but here the combination worked very well!
Congrats!

2023 National Selection 1st Stage

Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayumi Goma in First Place!
2023/3/19

The national selection was held on 18/19 March in Kumagaya to decide on the men's and women's 12 each selected players, and also select four players each for the Asian Championship to be held in Malaysia this coming August. Ayumi ranked in 1st place and is again selected to play in the national team this year.
Congrats!
And all the best in the international matches!

2023年初投げ

As always, our Hatsunage (first boule throw of the year) was blessed with perfect sunny and calm winter weather. And as always, too, a large number of petanque players made their way down to our home ground at Aoyama Park and celebrate with lots of good food and fine drinks.
Happy New Year to everybody!

The traditional Aoyama Petanque New Year’s Tournament was won by the team of Shimotori-san, Steve Harrell and Adrian Buehler. Congrats!

And as every year, too, Shimotori-san and Ogawa-san performed the sake spilling to appease the petanque gods and hope for a safe and trouble-free year at this ground.
By the way, our two senior friends represented Tokyo at last year's Nenlympic event!

2022 年末シングルス

Our Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayumi Goma scored a big victory at the Year End singles tournament.
The final match is on Youtube. Click on the picture.

2022 Chiba Wakashio Petanque Tournament

Aoyama Petanque's Ayu and Nabeshima in 2nd place, Buehler and Takatori in 3rd place!
2022/11/20

The 2022 Chiba Wakashio Petanque Tournament was the venue of a strong Aoyama Petanque presence. We could not win, but all three teams made it into the final rounds, and the good results were a 2nd and 3rd place.

It was less than a week ago when Ayumi Goma played at the 2022 Asian Petanque Championship, and already in great shape playing back home. Nabeshima is keeping up his high shooting performance, too, and the result is a respectful 2nd place!

The team with Takatori and Buehler finished in 3rd place, unfortunately loosing in the half final match against the later winners.

2022 Suigo Misato Petanque Open

Aoyama Petanque 1 finishes in 3rd Place
2022/10/23

The players of team Aoyama Petanque 1, Takatori, N. Goma and A. Buehler, achieved a 3rd place in the 2022 Suigo Misato Open. The play performance was an up-and-down most of the day, but at critical points all three players performed very well. Unfortunately, in the first round of the final rounds both Aoyama Petanque teams were drawn together, which means that one of them got eliminated.
Congrats!

2022 Tokyo Doublet

The Aoyama Petanque 3 Team finished in 4th Place!
2022/9/25

Aoyama Petanque players Kento and Nabeshima achieved a very nice tournament performance at the 2022 Tokyo Doublet held on the Fukagawa ground. Kento started to play petanque only about 4 months ago and steadily improved his skills to a surprising level, especially the high lob shot! The team leader Nabeshima performed a solid shooting ratio and foremost was able to lead the young teammate to this respectable result! Congrats!

2022 Sainokuni Saitama Open

Aoyama Petanque Team in 2nd Place
2022/6/26

Aoyama Petanque players Ayu and Naoki teamed up with Takatori-san at the 2022 Sainokuni Saitama Open. The tournament was held at the hottest location in Japan on the hottest day so far this year.

Fighting the competition and the heat, the team made it up into the final to end the tournament in second place. Congrats!

2022年初投げ

This year too, our first petanque gathering of the year was blessed with perfect sunny winter weather. A large number of petanque enthusiasts made their way down to our home ground at Aoyama Park for the First Boule Throw of the Year and celebrate with lots of good food and fine drinks. A Happy New Year to everybody!

The traditional Aoyama Petanque New Year’s Tournament was won by the team of Hori, Satchi and Kawabata-san. Congrats!

2021 Aoyama Petanque Xmas Mini Tournament

Winner is Setagaya A team
2021/12/18

Eight teams, including one team from as far as Kyoto!, participated in this year's Christmas Mini Tournament at Aoyama Petanque. The winner is Setagaya A team with players Akamatsu, Olivier and Yoshida. Congratulation!

Teams:
Bonnou: H. Katata, K. Katata, Kosaka
Companies: Doshida, Mayumi, Yoshimatsu
Setagaya A: Yoshida, Olivier, Akamatsu
Setagaya B: Ohara, Sudo, Kawakami
Aoyama 1: Ayu, Kazu, Ayane
Aoyama 2: Albert, Rajesh, N. Goma
Aoyama 3: Daichi, Takahiro, Masa, Nabeshima
Aoyama 4: Bob, Adrian, Rajan

2021 Tokyo Triplet

Aoyama Petanque 1 in 2nd place
2021/11/28

The Aoyama Petanque 1 team, with A. Buehler, Ayumi Goma and Naoki Goma, finished in the 2nd place at this year's Tokyo Triplet petanque tournament held at Furukawa Park. The Aoyama Petanque 3 team, with Y. Nabeshima, D. Sasayama and T. Omata, also made a good run into the best 8 where they got stopped by the tournament winning Saitama KIK team.

2021 第15回川本夫婦杯ペタンク大会

Aoyama Petanque team wins the 2021 Husband and Wife Tournament
2021/11/21

Adrian & Kazuko Buehler battled other husband and wife teams to win the 15th edition of this unique event in Kawamoto, Saitama-ken. The difficult terrain in Kawamoto suited the team well, and the only match lost was against their club mates Naoki & Ayumi Goma team, which after winning this tournament two years ago, finished this year tied in 4th place.
Congrats to both Aoyama Petanque teams!

2021 Aoyama Petanque Mini Tournament

Monsoleil teams at the top
2021/11/13

After more than one year without any tournament actives, Aoyama Petanque had the pleasure to welcome eleven teams from the Kanto region for a small scale tournament with a five round "Swiss" system applied for the first time. The 45 minutes time limit produced many close games, but unfortunately with the darkness closing in fast at this time of the year, the time limit had to be in place. Congrats to the Monsoleil teams!

Teams:
Aoyama 2: Ayu, Kazu, Ayane
Aoyama 3: Higaki, Shimotori, Ogawa
Aoyama 4: Buehler, Witmer, Goma N.
Aoyama 5: Yutaka, Rajesh, Nabeshima
Aoyama 6: Rajan, Albert, Hiro
Aoyama 7: Daichi, Takahiro, Kimura
Monsoleil 1: Hosoda, Konari, Mizoguchi, Kato Jr.
Monsoleil 2: Kato Sr., Ito, Hattori, Mizumoto
Setagaya: Akamatsu, Olivier, Yoshida
Companies 1: Yamakami, Onuki, Yoshimatsu
Companies 2: Kato, Matsumoto, Doshida

2020 ワールドマスターズゲームズ2021関西リハーサル大会ペタンク交流大会

2nd place for Ayumi Goma with the National Team
2020/11/1

National Team captain Ayumi Goma together with her National Team players Akemi Kinoshita and Shoko Ishigami finished in second place at a preparation event for the World Masters Games held in Takarazuka, Hyogo-ken.

The ladies lost in the final against the team from Bonnou with Hiroshi Katata at the lead. Congrats to both teams!

2020 Yamakita Mikan Petanque Tournament

AKB (Aoyama Kochi Bonnou) in 1st Place!
2020/2/9

Aoyama Petanque player Ayumi joined Misa from Kochi and Keiko from Bonnou for a tournament in Konan, Shikoku. The three women players, all of them with national team experience, mastered the unusual and difficult terrain very well. Nice win! Congrats to you, girls!

The team also took the occasion to show a collection of great uniform design, all creations by the "Ayumade" brand from our teammate Ayu.

2020年初投げ

Again our first petanque gathering of the year has been blessed with perfect sunny winter weather. A large number of petanque enthusiasts made their way down to our home ground at Aoyama Park for the First Boule Throw of the Year and celebrate the new decade with lots of good food and fine drinks. A Happy New Year to everybody!

The traditional Aoyama Petanque New Year’s Tournament was won by the team of Gareth and Adrian. Congrats!

2019 Tokyo Triplet

Aoyama Petanque in 4th Place
2019/11/24

Aoyama Petanque competed with two teams in this tournament. Aoyama Petanque 1 (photo from left to right: Takatori, Buehler, Nabeshima) finished in the 4th place. Heavy rain in the morning made the terrains almost unplayable, but later in the day the conditions slightly improved and the tournament ended on a reasonable note. Aoyama Petanque 2, with N. Goma, Nakamura and Sasayama also made it to the final rounds, a first time for our young teammates!

2019 Tokyo Petanque Meeting Tournament

Aoyama Petanque in 2nd Place
2019/10/27

Aoyama Petanque competed with five teams in this year's TPM club competition. Each club's best three teams counted towards the final ranking. Unfortunately we missed the 1st place, which went to the Monsolei club, by just one point. The team of Buehler/Witmer finished with the best point score of the competition. Also, the team with Ogawa/Shimotori performed very well with a high point score, too. Many thanks to all our players!

2019 Misato Ladies&Dandies Petanque Tournament

Goma Naoki in 1st Place!
2019/10/20

The team with Aoyama Petanque player Naoki (right side in the photo) placed first in the Dandies at the tournament in Misato. Congrats!

Friendly International Matches

French petanque players visit our club!
2019/9/28

Karim and Yohann (father & son), from France made a visit to our terrains last Saturday for an afternoon full of high-level, friendly petanque matches.

Both players play competitive in tournaments at the regional and national level in France. Thank you for making the trip to Aoyama Petanque and we hope to see you both again!

2019 Akasakapeco Petanque Tournament

Aoyama Petanque team in second place!
2019/9/22

The Aoyama Petanque players Ogawa and Shimotori teamed up with guest player Ito-san for the Akasakapeco Petanque Tournament held at the new location close to our home terrain. Nice 2nd place. Congrats!

2019 Tani Cup Petanque Tournament

Aoyama Petanque Team 1 in first place!
2019/9/8

The Aoyama Petanque team with N. Takatori, A. Buehler and N. Goma (Photo from left to right) finished in 1st place at the Tani Cup Petanque Tournament in Narita. Player Takatori made a first guest appearance on the Aoyama Petanque team and his excellent performance at the shooter's position was vital for the win.

The first price was a 10 kg bag (one per player!) of rice grown in the Narita region. A very tasty brand of rice!

This was also the first tournament where the Aoyama Petanque team played with sets of La Franc SB petanque boules provided by our club's sponsor La Franc. The boules worked very well on the special terrain set up at the Tani Cup!

The second Aoyama Petanque team with S. Nakamura, D. Sasayama and Y. Nabeshima (Photo from left to right) failed to reach the final rounds, but finished in the top place at the secondary tournament. Well done for Nabe-chan and our young players with a great future!

2019 Kawasaki Petanque Tournament

Kevin, Ogawa and Rajesh on top!
2019/9/1

The Aoyama Petanque team with Kevin, Ogawa and Rajesh finished on top by winning all six matches in the tournament held at Kawasaki. This is the first time for our teammate Rajesh to make the podium at a petanque tournament! Well done, and congrats!

2019 Japan National Team Selection

Ayumi Goma to lead National Team again!
2019/5/26

Aoyama Petanque player Ayu Goma's team passed the national selection in 1st place and secured the participation right for the Women Petanque World Championships to be held later this year in Cambodia. Ayumi will also retain the captain function with the new team.

On the photograph from left to right: Akemi Kinoshita, Ayumi Goma, Kotomi Katata, Shoko Ishigami

Congrats and good luck!!!

2019 Sakado Cup

Aoyama Petanque team in 1st Place
2019/5/6

The Aoyama Petanque team with players Matthias and Toshida win the mens doubles competition at this year's Sakado Cup.
Toshi-san and Matthias! Great performance, and congrats!

2019 Japan Open Shooting Competition

Ayumi Goma in 1st Place
2019/5/5

Aoyama Petanque player Ayumi Goma put on a strong performance at the 2019 Japan Open Shooting Competition. Placed 1st in the qualification round, she went on to the knock-out final rounds to win the competition.

Congrats! Ayu!

2019 National Selection Qualifying Meeting 1st Stage East

Aoyama Petanque players did well at the 1st stage East Meeting
2019/4/14

On the Men's Selection the team with Aoyama Petanque players Buehler and Nabeshima plus players Misumoto and Kato qualified in 1st place.

On the Women's Selection the team with Aoyama Petanque player Ayumi Goma also qualified in 1st place.

Well done! And the best of luck to all in the 2nd stage meeting next month!

Thailand Trip

Petanque, fun and food in Bangkok
2019/2/25

A few members of Aoyama Petanque went on a short trip to Bangkok to participate in a tournament hosted by our good friend and petanque coach Dumrong-san (right). Although we were beaten by the strong Thai petanque teams, the trip was a great success thanks to our host and also thanks to our member Bas-kun (left), who did a great job as a guide!

The tournament was held at a great facility especially made for petanque with a roof and with a terrain set up to favor an aggressive shooting style. And in this department the Thai teams just out-classed the Japanese teams.

Below a few shots from our petanque, fun and food trip in Bangkok. Thank you so much Dumrong-san! And see you again!

2019年初投げ

As long as I can remember, our first petanque gathering of the year has always been a perfect sunny winter day. This year, too, and it brought out a large number of petanque enthusiasts to our home ground at Aoyama Park for the First Boule Throw of the Year and celebrate with lots of good food and fine drinks. A Happy New Year to everybody!

The Aoyama Petanque New Year’s Tournament, with eleven double teams participating, was won by the team of Steve and Tod in an exiting final where they won over the second placed team of Kawabata-san and Hiro. Congrats!

2018 Yumenoshima Singles Tournament

Aoyama Petanque players all in the top-eight
2018/12/22

Aoyama Petanque's Buehler, Nabeshima and Ayumi Goma participated in this year's last tournament, the famous singles competition held at the Yumenoshima ground, infamous for its mean gravel terrain condition. All of them made it to the final rounds with Buehler finishing in the 3rd place, Nabeshima in the 4th and Ayumi Goma in 5th (tie) place. However, it was Ayu who played the best match of the tournament in the first round of the finals, where she beat the favorite player Konari in a very exiting match. Great way to finish the year!

Aoyama Petanque, nice team effort! Kanpai!

2018 Tokyo Triplet Tournament

Matthias and two friends reach 4th place
2018/11/25

Aoyama Petanque's Matthias teamed up with two friends and reached the 4th place at the Tokyo Triplet Tournament. In the semi-final they gave a good run and almost kicked out the later winners. Another nice Aoyama/Bonnou achievement. Well done guys!

2018 Kawamoto Married Couple Cup

Aoyama Petanque team with Ayu and Naoki in 1st Place
2018/11/23

Forty-eight teams, ehm.. couples, competed in this year's Kawamoto Married Couple Cup for the honor of best petanque wife and husband combination. Aoyama Petanque's Ayu and Naoki Goma put on a great show of skills and love in winning this tournament, which by the way only allows legally married couples to compete. Congrats to the Goma couple!

2018 Hachikou Cup

Aoyama Petanque team with Matthias, Ogawa-san and Shimotori-san in 1st Place
2018/10/27

Back in Japan after a two years break, Matthias joined the Aoyama Petanque team of Ogawa-san and Shimotori-san in the "faithful dog Hachikou" Cup, and the three Aoyama players finished in the top spot with a great comeback victory in the final. Congrats to you gents!

2018 Raluy Cup

Aoyama Petanque player Ogawa and Shimotori-san make the podium
2018/9/16

Aoyama Petanque teams keep adding 3rd places to our yearly activities. This time players Ogawa and Shimotori battled 32 teams at the Akasaka Junior High School ground for the Raluy Cup. Congratulations!

2018 Tani Cup Petanque Tournament

3rd Place for N. Goma, A. Buehler and Nabeshima
2018/9/9

The Aoyama Petanque team again finished in a 3rd place, this time at the Tani Cup Petanque Tournament in Narita. Lately it seems we have a subscription for reaching or ending up in that place on the podium. But good job, Naoki-san, Nabe-chan and Adrian!

The team members changed a little, with Ayu's husband Naoki taking her place on the Aoyama team, as she made an appearance with the ladies team representing Tokyo at this year's Japan Championship. Unfortunately the two teams faced each other in the second match of the final rounds, which the ladies lost to Aoyama Petanque, but not without giving us a good fight and catching great attention showing off their new Tokyo Petanque Federation uniforms. By the way, the design is another nice creation by our teammate Ayu. Good luck to Hakoishi-san, Hosoda-san and Ayu for the championship later in the Autumn!

2018 Fresh Kashiwa Petanque Tournament

K. Katata, A. Goma, A. Buehler in 3rd place
2018/9/2

Keiko Katata joined Aoyama Petanque's Ayu and Adrian in a triplet team for the 2018 Fresh Kashiwa Petanque Tournament. The girls performed very well in both the shooting and middle position, and so the team made a nice 3rd place. Another great Aoyama/Bonnou collaboration!

2018 Salut Open Petanque Tournament

A. Goma and K. Katata in 3rd place
2018/8/26

Aoyama Petanque's Ayu and Keiko Katata from the Kyoto Bonnou team joined forces at the 2018 Salut Open Petanque Tournament in Ashiya, Kansai and made the podium with a good 3rd place. Congrats to you girls!

2018 Tokyo Celeb Tournament

A. Goma and A. Buehler in 3rd place
2018/7/22

Aoyama Petanque's A + A team has won this tournament twice in the last few years and was hoping for a third win, but at the end of the day it was a good 3rd place, achieved on the hottest day this year so far. It seems this team is doing well in severe weather conditions. Congrats!

2018 Akasaka Club Tournament

Aoyama Petanque players in 4th place
2018/7/15

Long-time Aoyama Petanque player Ogawa teamed up with Shimotori-san in the Club Tournament at Akasaka Junior-High School ground. The doubles team finished in a good 4th place and thus a return for Ogawa in the result list here. Congrats!

Aoyama Petanque players win 30th Sainokuni Saitama Open

Nabeshima and Claude with Yamaguchi-san in 1st Place
2018/6/24

Aoyama Petanque player Nabeshima teamed up with Claude and Yamaguchi-san to win the prestigious 30th edition of the Sainokuni Saitama Open played on one of the best petanque terrains in Japan. In the second match of the final rounds the Nabeshima team had to play against the other Aoyama Petanque team of Ayu, Adrian and Masami and won the match by one point ahead before the time up signal.

In the final they faced the team of former national players Konari, Oe and Yoshimoto. Some nervousness on both sides made for a game with a low winning points proceeding. As the 50 min. time limit approached, the Nabeshima team's shooter Yamaguchi hit a few crucial boules, while his opponent Konari missed the decisive shots which let to a 7-5 decision sealed with a last and successful boule by Nabeshima. Congrats to Claude, Yamaguchi-san and Nabe-chan for this great win!

Excellent Player Award

2018/6/4

This year again, the Japan Petanque and Boules Federation honored our teammate Ayumi Goma with the Excellent Player Award in recognition of the outstanding result in leading the Japan Petanque Women National Team to the tie 5th place at last year's World Championship in China. Congratulations, Ayu!

2018 Japan Women Petanque National Team Selection

Aoyama Petanque player Ayumi Goma on top
2018/5/20

Ayumi Goma strongly performed at the 2018 Japan Women Petanque National Team Selection. After qualifying in the first selection last month, she came in on top of the second selection with the best winning score in a two days long single competition. She also got appointed captain again to represent Japan at this year's Asian Petanque Championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Congrats, Ayu!

2018 Zama Open

Aoyama Petanque players win the Zama Open
2018/5/14

Ayumi Goma and Adrian Buehler teamed up at the Zama Open Doubles Tournament, one of the most popular tournaments in the Kanto Region, beating a strong field of 88 teams. Three complete wins in the morning qualification group (including two fanny wins) still was not enough to proceed directly to the final rounds, as by the bad luck of draw, they even had to go through an extra round.

In the final rounds it was not only fighting the opponents but also the bad weather conditions with a rain storm, which made play extremely difficult. Especially for the shooting on a soaked terrain, where only the most precise direct hit actually managed to move the target boule. The shooter Ayu did a great job in these demanding conditions! Congrats to the Aoyama Petanque team!

2018 Japan Open Petanque

Aoyama Petanque player Ayumi Goma in 4th place
2018/5/5

Our teammate Ayumi Goma, together with player Otsuka from Chiba-ken, finished in 4th place at the 2018 Japan Open Petanque tournament held in the town of Kurashiki, Okuyama-ken. This large tournament included 212 teams from all over Japan and the playing schedule extended over two days of very competitive matches. Congrats!

2018年初投げ

This year, too, a perfect sunny winter day brought out a large number of petanque enthusiasts to our home ground at Aoyama Park for the First Boule Throw of the Year. A Happy New Year to everybody!

The Aoyama Petanque New Year’s Tournament, this year with six teams participating was won by the team of Nabeshima, Hiro and Ace. Congrats!

In second place the team of Chieko, Matthias and Rajan. By the way, we welcomed back Matthias to Aoyama for his year end holidays in Japan! The winner's price, sponsored by Matthias, a draft beer machine!

2017 Women Petanque World Championship Kaihua China

The Japan Women team finished in joint 5th place
2017/11/17

Japan put on a great performance at the Women Petanque World Championship Kaihua China (8 – 12 November 2017), finishing among the best-8 in the world, the best result of a Japanese team ever in the World Championships.

Our Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayumi Goma competed in all matches either in the shooting or middle position. Two wins against three loses in the selection rounds was just enough to secure the last spot for the final rounds, but from there on the team went on a run to eliminate Switzerland and Germany and was then stopped by Cambodia in the quarter finals. Congrats! We are all very proud of you girls!

In the Shooting Competition Ayumi Goma produced a good 30 points in the first round and an entry into the second round which resulted with 21 points. The total was not enough for entry into the final rounds, but a good 13th place finish. By the way, her perfect 20 points in the atelier 1 was not matched by any other player!

And of course, on the next Saturday we celebrated Ayu's great performance with a little champagne toast at our Aoyama Petanque home ground.

2017 Pan Pacific Petanque Championship in Ho Chi Minh

Aoyama Petanque players competed in this year’s Pan Pacific Championship
2017/9/21

By winning the 22nd Koto-ku Petanque Tournament 2017 the Aoyama Petanque team was also invited to officially represent Japan at this year’s Pan Pacific Petanque Championship held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Teams from ten nations in the Pan Pacific region participated in the 11th edition of this tournament. Three teams from Japan managed to reach the final rounds, including the Japan 2 team with Aoyama Petanque players A. Buehler, F. Kawabata and A. Goma. In the final rounds the Aoyama players lost against the young women team from Ho Chi Minh City and ended the tournament among the best 16.

The Asian teams, mostly consisting of young players, put on a strong show of excellent petanque skills on a tricky terrain made of a soft earth base with large gravel on top, asking for the most accurate shooting ability. Laos dominated the tournament by winning the triple and shooting competition.

Kevin together with Masami-san and Claude make the podium

Strong 3rd place finish at JPBF Kanto Block Petanque Championship
2017/8/28

In his last petanque tournament in Japan, at least for now, Kevin finished in a strong 3rd place at the JPBF Kanto Block Petanque Championship 2017, teaming up with Masami-san and Claude. Our new club polo shirts work well! Congrats and merci for the good time! All the best and see you again, Kevin!

Women Petanque World Championship 2017 Japanese Team

Ayumi Goma to lead national team
2017/8/6

Our Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayu was selected to represent Japan at this year’s Women Petanque World Championship in Kaihua, China from the 8th to 12th November. This year the selection process saw a big change in that the younger generation finally managed to prove their skills and take over from the old gard. However, it is also good to see that one of the most successful Japanese women players, Machiko Inoue, is continuing her career as the head coach of the National Team.

On the photograph from left to right: Head Coach: Machiko Inoue, Player: Shoko Ishigami, Player: Haruka Ishigami, Player Captain: Ayumi Goma, Player: Akemi Kinoshita

Good Luck, Girls!!!

24th Michinoku Kitakami Cup Petanque Tournament

2nd Place for Ayumi Goma and Keiko Katata
2017/7/2

Our Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayu together with Keiko-san from Kyoto finished in a good 2nd place at the Michinoku Kitakami Cup in Iwate-ken. With Keiko-san pointing and Ayu in the shooting position, the two women cruised through the 2-days long tournament all the way up to the final. Congrats to both, and have fun with the gorgeous price. Well done!

29th Sainokuni Saitama Open Petanque Tournament

Kevin Meniel in 2nd Place
2017/6/25

Aoyama’s new star player Kevin Meniel teamed up with Masami-san and Claude for the 29th edition of the Saitama Open Petanque Tournament and finished in the nice 2nd place. This tournament is played on a real tough petanque terrain, which of course suited Kevin’s extraordianry shooting skills very much. Congrats!

Excellent Player Award

2017/6/4

The Japan Petanque and Boules Federation honored our teammate Ayumi Goma with the Excellent Player Award in recognition of her outstanding results achieved at the Asian Beach Games and her contribution to the development of Petanque in Japan. Well done, Ayu!

22nd Koto-ku Petanque Tournament 2017

Aoyama Petanque in 1st Place
2017/5/22

From left: Adrian, Ayumi and Chris with the Koto-ku Mayor Cup.

For its 22nd edition the 2017 Koto-ku Petanque Tournament was held on Sunday, May 21, 2017 at the usual Kiba Park venue with a strong field of 46 teams battling for the title.

The Aoyama Petanque team was in control the whole day, never losing a game, although the rather short time limit for a game lead to a few very close decisions. For Chris this win is specially sweet as he was able to defend his title from last year!

Aoyama Petanque players in action: Pointeur: Chris Hurquin, Milieu: Ayumi Goma, Tireur: Adrian Buehler

Ayumi Goma wins Bronze medal in the Women’s Single Petanque at the Asian Beach Games 2016

郷間 亜由美選手はアジアビーチゲームズ2016でペタンク女子シングルの銅メダル
2016/9/29

Our Aoyama Petanque teammate Ayumi Goma put on a great performance at the Asian Beach Games 2016, Danang, Vietnam, in the Women’s Single Petanque with a joint 3rd place and winning a bronze medal. (official website)

The Asian Beach Games, held under the auspices of the Olympic Council of Asia, are strongly gaining popularity among the young Asian athletes for its diverse selection of sports otherwise not represented in the Olympic Games. Of course, Petanque is also one of these sports.

With many Asian countries ranking high in the Petanque discipline, the level of play at the Beach Games is very high. The terrain is sandy, but quite compact and heavy, making for a set up of strong pointing and shooting competitions.

Ayu was drawn into the tough 5 players group together with the local favorite from Vietnam. Her 3 win 1 loss record was the same as the Vietnamese player, but since Ayu beat her in the direct match, the first place in the group went to Ayu. The Thai player, another top favorite, surprisingly placed 2nd in the other group, which meant that Ayu had to face her in the semifinal, in which the Thai player put on a supreme show of petanque power. Although the 0-13 result might seem like a one-sided match, the end-by-end score shows that for over 10 ends Ayu managed stay in play. She just couldn’t get a point. Well, at 13 points, it’s over… But, joint 3rd place and a bronze medal!

A great performance from Ayumi Goma. Many congrats from all of us. Well done, Ayu!!!