European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse Sunday March 18 2007 scene stars and stripes Page 9 participants View the game As a social event wrapped around a tradition one that brings Young and old resident and visitor together for one of the most unique pub crawls on the recreation menu a team celebrates As it is about to finish off a game by driving the Chylette into one of the 18 targets set up around town this Keg was in front of one of the taverns where the players went to rehash their last round of shots a local player proudly his signed Ball in a local tavern As he takes a break from the action to refresh himself members of an american team from the 39th signal battalion of chevres air base pose with their tools of the Trade before starting their game they Are from left David Conlan Steve Pratschler army capt Garrick minor Matt Tel and chief warrant officer Rob Braun in a match will guess How Many shots they think it will take for them to hit the target if the other team concurs the first team swings away if the second team bids lower than the first it gets the first hit the winning bidder gets three hits to drive the Cholette toward the target while the oppo nent gets a lower number of hits depend ing on the original bid to drive it away if the first team has not hit the target after the first round the hitting resumes although this time the opponent gets an additional hit it continues until one team hits the target or takes up All its shots Points Are then awarded if anyone cares there Are variations to How the game is played but at least in chevres the losing team buys a round of drinks for the winners after the mandatory pit Stop teams set out for the next Keg in their sequence in Golf parlance a Shotgun Start is used meaning everyone begins at a different Point the goal of the game is not necessarily to play Well its not about a Long drive Jessen said and i say its about the finesse of a Nice Long putt instead participants View the game As a social event wrapped around a tradition one that brings Young and old resident and visitor together for one of the most unique pub crawls on the recreation menu in Belgium tradition Mauro camilotto managed to say As his head pivoted from Side to Side constantly on the Lookout the French speaking 46yearold truck Driver from a Village named no kidding silly motioned to Nis right Eye then raised a hand to the top of his head the message pay attention Accident he said surprisingly what with All the Oval shaped Oak orbs flying around Only two injuries were reported according to Francis Cordier an organizer one Guy got hit hard twice while another took one on the Noggin camilotto called both men returned traction though i had one Bounce off of me Jessen said of a close encounter with a Cholette not a bad thing each of the 600 participants in chevres about 300 played in Vau Dinnies was required to pay the equivalent of for insurance some of that Money goes to Reim Bursing property owners for damages such As a broken window its Clear however that the residents were braced for the annual onslaught the streets that were part of the course were cleared of cars and most first floor windows and doors were covered from expensive Metal grids to torn cardboard boxes and while there were police stationed at entry Points to the Village none were seen in the Center of town there was horseplay among participants but no fighting or Vio Lence of any kind so no cops but no prob lems As the game progresses Conlan and his five teammates aim in the direction of a bar Down the Street Conlan yells Cholette you missed the Keg hit the Guy howled chief warrant officer 1 Rob Braun that ought to count for something con Lan implored not this time and As the group moves Forward several balls skip by you Start out with Good intentions con Lan said you plan to keep score and you kind of do but things break Down its just like Golf army capt Garrick minor a teammate chipped in email Kevin Dougherty at a player addresses the Ball Cross age has been described As a Cross Between Golf and croquet
