World Championship Singles, Doubles, Mixed Doubles

In August of 2021 FPUSA World Championship Qualifiers were held in Portland Oregon at the Portland Petanque Club to determine what Men’s and Women’s teams would represent the US at the World Championships in Denmark this May. Tish Harris and Chia Vang were victorious for the women and Joseph Hassoune and Hourai Baba for the men.

The World Championships are composed of Men’s and Women’s Doubles, Mixed Doubles along with Men’s and Women’s Singles. Here are profiles of the four players competing this year.

Chia Vang

Just five short months ago, Chia Vang was in a resort area of Spain’s Costa Brava, there as a keystone member on the US women's triples petanque team. That team went all the way to the finals of the event’s prestigious Nation’s Cup. 

Although team USA lost to Morocco at the end, it had bested Canada, Finland and Latvia along the way, winning the event’s silver medal and going further in the competition than any previous USA women’s team. 

“Going all the way to the finals of the Nation’s Cup was a special achievement for the US women,” Chia says. “In this world doubles championship, I would like to repeat the same or do even better so we can give hope to the USA women petanque players, to show that we can measure up to some of the best in other countries.”

Chia, 49, credits her marriage to Paul Yang,  a national petanque team coach, with getting her involved in the game.

“He introduced me to petanque when I was about 40,” she recalls. “I became affiliated with the Fresno petanque club and played with them ever since. Now, my entire family plays petanque, my children were on the USA national juniors teams in the past and we play petanque in our backyard almost every day.”

Chia grew up in Fresno and has lived in the San Joaquin Valley town since about 1980.

Last year she won the gold medal in the US women's triples qualifier and picked up another gold in the US women's doubles qualifier, demonstrating her commitment to team competition.  

In the event hosted by the Danish Petanque Association, Chia will partner with Tish Harris in the women’s doubles competition and will try her hand in the women's singles tournament as well. With both active in the Fresno club, Tish and Chia are frequent partners, and sometimes competitors, in events on the West Coast.

Tish Harris 

Tish is no stranger to world class petanque competition. This will be her fourth time facing off with top level competitors on foreign soil. 

While her previous three forays were as a member of a USA women's triples team, this will be her first international doubles event.

“This is my 4th World, so I know what to expect,” says Tish. “This is my first Doubles World, so we get three boules each.  I'm looking forward to that.”

Tish has been playing petanque for almost two decades, becoming interested when she and husband John Harris were casting about for an activity that was social and as well as competitive.

“John (her husband) and I were looking for activities, and lucked into meeting old work friends who played petanque. We were hooked from the beginning!”

Tish, 60, grew up in San Diego, but since 1985 has lived in the tiny mountain town of Nipinnawasee, tucked in the Sierra Nevada range. That‘s her base for her business of restoring and flipping houses.

With only about 500 people in her town and precious few familiar with petanque, she and John travel the 15 miles to the Oakhurst club terrain where they play Saturdays and often make an hour’s drive to the Fresno club on Sundays.

“I think of Oakhurst as my home club. Besides the weekends, I practice  every other day of the week.”

“During practice, I am following my training, focusing on drills and working on consistency. My ultimate goal for this chance to play in a world doubles event is doing my best, and embracing and enjoying every aspect of the experience.”

Tish plans on arriving in Copenhagen several days ahead of the tournament in order to get adjusted to the 9-hour time difference from California.

Tish and Chia have established a GoFundMe site for receiving contributions as many expenses of their participation are not covered. Donations to their effort can be made at: https://gofund.me/a4281f18 ​

Joseph Hassoune and Houari Baba

Two of New York’s longtime petanque players are partnering for the world doubles championship event in mid-May in Denmark.

Joseph Hassoune and Houari Baba, veterans of the La Boule New Yorkaise club, picked up the sport during childhood and learned on the scrappy sand and gravel terrain common in the North African countries where they grew up.

“Since childhood, about seven or eight years old, we became interested,” Joseph says. “It was a neighborhood game.”

Joseph, born in Morocco, and Houari, born in Algeria, are familiar fixtures on New York courts like Manhattan’s Bryant Park and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park. Currently, both live in the borough of Queens.

Because New York’s weather sharply limits the petanque playing season, they don’t get to compete as often as they would like. 

“In the summertime, we play once or twice a week,” Joseph says. “In the winter time, almost never.”

They are setting their sights on a top level finish in Denmark.

“Our goal is to make it to the top eight, or hopefully the top four,” Houari says. “And we are always striving for the best.”

Although they aren’t using social media to raise funds for their campaign, Joseph says “we’ve got a few sponsorships and funding through word of mouth. If people are willing to help out and contribute they can contact our club.”

The website of the New York club is labouleny.com.