Surprises aplenty at inaugural HSPC Awards

The prestigious HSPC Awards extravaganza was held at the posh setting of the Dubliners Shinjuku on Dec. 29 and a gala mix of "athletes" and celebrities came out to support one of the premiere events on the Tokyo social calendar ... er, not quite, but we had a great night.



The first prize up for grabs was the "Fashion Statement of the Year Award." The "Man in Black" was a hot favorite to scoop the prize over the models sporting their latest HSPC T-shirt designs but late entries by "Rodeo Raj" and "Rob DJ Wokmer" added interest to the event and in a photo finish Rob stole the award with a toe-tapping version of "We Will Wok You" which stirred up the Dubliners crowd.

The "Appreciation Award" was next up on the agenda and there were two nominees. Kawamura san from MPC for his endless generosity -- designing the logo for our T-shirts, supplying photos of our team in action and, best of all, the supplier of countless cans of Sapporo beer of late due to his poor performances on the piste!

The other contender was Brother Don of sandbag boule fame who's selflessness extended to supplying every member of the team with his own set of cushonettes, color coordinated for any occasion. The Don got the nod for the prize and we hope to see him at Myoshoji in the near future. Thanks again guys.


The "Party of the Year Award" was a hotly contested affair with many memorable performances including the all night BBQ at Greg's following our win over Aoyama in the league (Anyone need any chicken???). But the standout live performance by "The Seahawks" with Charlie on bass and Bob on guest harp got the boys groovin’ and was one of the most memorable nights of the year.

The final prize on offer was the "Man of the Year Award." This prize, not strictly limited to HSPC members, is given to a player whose actions go beyond the call of duty, a player who puts the game and the team ahead of anything else. There were many honorable efforts ranging from Bob bringing extra boules to the park every week to Albert regularly making the trek across Tokyo for a game with the boys. But one player topped these acts when he checked himself out of hospital to play in the league decider. This great competitor also refused to sit on the sidelines when he broke his ankle and played with a crutch in one hand, boules in the other.


The HSP Man of the Year is Charlie!

Well done mate, drinks on us on Sunday!

Happy New Year to all!

Keep 'em in front!

OBA defeats HSPC to set up playoff for league title

After HSPC had gone undefeated in the Tokyo Petanque League, Okubo Boules Association (OBA) dealt our team its first loss of the season on Dec. 16 to force a playoff for the title.

Behind from the first frame, our boys could never really find their rhythm and loss all 6 games.

The wild piste -- a fast terrain mixed with "rocks of death" and blankets of leaves -- proved untamable for us visitors, though we look forward to a future challenge.

The games were played in a good spirit and HSPC would like to thank OBA for their hospitality.

The two teams will clash for the trophy in a playoff at neutral Aoyama in January in a best of seven series.

HSPC stays undefeated in Tokyo Petanque League

HSPC resumed action in the Tokyo Petanque League on Saturday Nov. 3 and defeated Aoyama Petanque five games to one to remain undefeated.

Despite a threat of early rain at our beloved Myoshoji Park, the clouds cleared and after a hearty buffet washed down with champagne (or honey in one case! Sorry guys!) play commenced around 1 p.m. HSPC won all three games in the first round and sealed two of the remaining three matches to clinch the points to stay atop the league.

A few "revenge" friendlies followed in the "Swiss Alps" before players from both teams retired to the local izakaya for some seafood and suds.




Thanks to all players for making the day a success.

Full league results and standings

HSPC defeats OBA in Tokyo Petanque League

After an initial away draw against Aoyama in the Tokyo Petanque League, HSPC took on Okubo Boules Association (OBA) on Saturday, Sept. 22, on our home piste at Myoshoji Park.

The blistering weather made the ground crusty and inconsistent but a few cold ales smoothed the most important surface and HSPC fared well, with the teams of Bob and Raj and Steve and Greg winning all eight games.

The full results were:

Harrell-Mettam 13-4 Di Pietro-Hagans
Witmer-Shastri 13-5 Di Dunnam-Yoshikawa
Harrell-Mettam 13-8 Dunnam-Yoshikawa
Witmer-Shastri 13-0 Di Pietro-Hagans
Harrell-Mettam 13-12 Di Pietro-Yoshikawa
Witmer-Shastri 13-2 Dunnam-Hagans
Harrell-Mettam 13-9 Dunnam-Hagans
Witmer-Shastri 13-10 Di Pietro-Yoshikawa

After the dust settled, HSPC retreated to the tranquil setting of Greg's backyard for an impromptu celebratory BBQ, with the beers and snores (of one member!) lasting till well into the morning hours.







Well done guys.

For further details on the league see Tokyo Petanque League

Raj, Steve and Bernard win Tokyo Midtown Cup

It was an early rise and late shine on Sunday, September 16th, for HSPC members Steve and Rajan and guest Bernard.

After an initial setback in the opening game, the lads focused or getting through to the afternoon. An 11-3 defeat of the Samurais got things back on track, and with confidence restored, HSPC dominated NDB-5 11-1 in their third morning game to advance.

With 90 minutes for lunch on a sizzling day, the boys made the wise decision to replenish vital fluids and were joined by Ale-bert and Mike.


A few swigs of medicinal ale at trendy Tokyo Midtown recharged the tanks and HSPC soared through the afternoon competition, blanking NPD-4 11-0 in the final to seal a well-deserved victory.

Congratulations guys!

HSPC, Aoyama share spoils as Tokyo Petanque League gets underway

HSPC traveled to Aoyama on Saturday for the opening round of the Tokyo Petanque League. With many players away, working or on the injured list HSPC could only field one team but Bob and Greg earned a valuable draw for the club.

The rocky terrain was difficult to adjust to and getting close to the bit proved a real challenge. HSPC trailed in most games but rallied well and managed to salvage three important wins.

Full results can be seen at http://tokyoleague.petanque.cc/

Next up HSPC plays Okubo at home in September after the teams agreed to delay August's scheduled game.

Charlie back on his feet, sort of ...

After slipping and breaking his ankle, Charlie made a welcome return to Myoshoji Park on Sunday following a five-day stay in hospital to have his leg operated on.

With one hand on his crutches, and his foot wrapped in a bag, Charlie joined Bob and Greg for a game of three-way killer and performed very admirably, making several trademark clutch throws to earn the point.

His effort has earned him a nomination for HSPC Man of the Year!

We wish him a speedy recovery.

A big hello to Don in San Diego

Don, thanks for the feedback on our site. More regular updates to follow after a brief lull. Humble apologies.

Greg

PS The "sand bags" are all polished and await your return!

Mixed success at the Tokyo Midtown Cup

HSPC fielded one team (Bob, Rajan and Steve) at the Tokyo Midtown Cup on Sunday, April 15.

In the morning session, Bob played all 3 singles matches winning one, and Rajan and Steve played the 3 doubles matches winning two.

In the afternoon two matches of triples HSPC won both games which placed us tied for 3rd. Thus we had to have a one round play-off between us and the other tied team, which they won with the very last ball leaving us to place 4th out of 27 teams in all.

First thru third received trophies and some other small prize items.

Not a bad performance considering we were 5 wins and 3 losses match wise.

One of the 3 teams from Myoshoji Park (MPC) took 2nd.

Congratulations MPC. We'll toast your success down the park.

2-to-1

The park has been very crowded of late with hanami lovers enjoying the blooming cherry trees.

After a school fundraiser on Saturday, Mike and I managed to stagger (literally) down to the park and Raj and I teamed up for a game of doubles against Bob and Mike. We jumped out to an early 8-1 lead and this is when it got interesting, so to speak.

Bob challenged us to a 2-beers-to-1 bet that they would beat us. "You're on," we replied and despite getting it to 9-1 we fell in a huge hole and choked.

We eventually lost 13-9, I believe, but don't quote me; it was all a bad dream...

'Ya gotta go 3-0 in the morning boys'

HSPC put together two teams for the 9th Kanto Petanque League Cup, held under stinging sunshine at the Akasaka Junior High School ground on Sunday March 6.

The event marked the debut of our team T-shirts, which initially were a good omen as both teams -- HSPC-A (Bob, Raj and Bill) and HSPC-B (Steve, Greg and Francis) -- went through the morning with impressive 3-0 records.

Prior to the big day, Albert from Aoyama Petanque had kindly reminded us of the need to go undefeated in the morning if we wanted to advance to the championship round in the afternoon, a sharp reminder of a previous hiccup when our team failed to advance despite having a solid 2-1 record.

Ironically, this time Albert's team (Aoyama Petanque 2, comprising of Adrian, Albert and Bernard) lost one morning match (6-5, called game) and were crossing their fingers that they would go through to the finals.

Surprise, surprise, they advanced with a superior point differential than their opponents.

The Aoyama Petanque guys made the most of their opportunity and went on to win the event convincingly after HSPC's two teams lost their first afternoon games to different clubs, albeit by the narrowest of margins.

Congratulations Aoyama Petanque.

MPC win 'Champions League' final

A very healthy turnout at the park on Saturday, including many friends from MPC.

After a few mixed rounds within the clubs we played a "Champions League" format with two teams facing off from MPC and two from HSPC. The respective winners advanced to meet in the final.

Bob, Raj and Yutaka took on Steve, Michael and Greg and in a well-fought game Bob's team emerged victorious (11-10) after he threw a superb long-distance knockout to get the winning point with his team's last ball.

In the final against MPC, the HSPC guys led early but MPC rallied for the win.

Congratulations MPC.