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Personality Profile: Dirk Winnie
Winning the 1999
Singles Championship in
Christchurch last Labour Weekend
has been the highlight of Dirk’s
petanque career to date. A
highlight and a surprise,
beating off the talented and
experienced Niau Ruta for the
title.
Dirk took up
petanque after seeing it played
on the beach at Whangamata about
6 years ago. Not long after that
the Upper Hutt Club held an open
day and Dirk decided this was
the game for all the family.
Wife Bunny and teenage daughters
Nikki and Sam are now very keen
and competitive players.
As Avalon School
Principle and with a school
tournament under his belt, Dirk
was the obvious choice for Kiwi
Pétanque Coordinator for the
Wellington Region.
Dirk has been
President of the Wellington
Petanque Association for the
past 2 years and has a certain
knack of rallying the troops at
the beginning of the days play
at the Regions tournaments.
Fostering
relations between Wellington and
Auckland players is also an area
in which he has some measured
success, billeting the visiting
players to the National Doubles
made him an instant hit with the
Auckland contingent last
November. And thanks goes to
both Dirk and Bunny for opening
their home to all players for an
impromptu BBQ on the Saturday
night.
A passionate and
dedicated petanque enthusiast,
Dirk will be a hard man to beat
at the National Singles this
year in
Wellington.
Greetings from the South
The Caversham
Club has been at the forefront
of petanque in the deep south
and the number of clubs in that
area has burgeoned over the past
two years. Christchurch is also
proceeding on this front with
three new groups playing
regularly, hopefully to develop
into clubs in the future.
Halswell Quarry
has entered teams in
Christchurch events and although
the group is small their
standard is quite comparable to
most Christchurch Petanque Club
players.
The petanque
section of Beckenham Bowling
Club has their opening day on
Sunday 19 March. The formation
of this section was a direct
result of the NZ Singles
Tournament being held last
Labour Weekend in Christchurch.
A new social club
has also been formed at Mount
Pleasant.
Christchurch
Petanque will host the South
Island Triples and already has
five entries from Caversham with
expressions of interest from
Milton, Waikouaiti, Timaru and
Oamaru. Coincidentally that
weekend the Crusaders play the
Highlanders at Jade Stadium so
the high light of the weekend
will undoubtedly be the friendly
rivalry between the two groups
of supporters.
Caversham hosts
the South Island Winter
Challenge at Queens Birthday
weekend and southern clubs are
invited to attend for this
highlight of the southern
petanque calendar. The convoy
tootles down the Main South Road
with colours flying, visiting
the various petanque clubs on
the way for a friendly chat and
have even to have a game or two.
Diane Findlay
Club Profile: Taranaki
Petanque Club
Established
in September 1995 in the
grounds of the then Egmont
Hotel at Bell Block, New
Plymouth by a group of 15
keen players. Through their
efforts and cooperation with
the then Hotel manager, an
area for 5 pistes was
constructed with finance
from Paul Dicke and Alistair
Smith, two of the founding
members.
However, the
future development of a
by-pass road at Bell Block
(in 2000) would have
eventually channeled the
main road traffic directly
pass the piste in the Hotel
grounds. The Club opted to
look for another location
that offered room for
expansion, while still
retaining the expansive view
of beautiful Mt Taranaki.
Fortunately
after various offers,
negotiations were entered
into with the New Plymouth
Bowling Club and an
invitation was made to make
use of extra land they had
available.
A petanque
section was already catered
for in their Club
constitution and so the club
was readily accepted. The
club was able to maintain
its identity and affairs
while becoming an integral
part of bowling club
complex, with full use of
all their facilities.
This major
change in location was
effected in April 1999.
After several months of hard
work constructing the
terrain of crushed lime, the
club now has 8 pistes (15m x
24m) and 22 members.
The entrance
to the N.P.B.C. and the
Taranaki Petanque Club is
from Bideford Street, with
the main car park entrance
from the corner of
Upjohn Street
and Brooklands Road.
The Club
meets socially on Wednesday
and Sunday afternoons at
1:00pm. The major Club event
of the year is running the
Taranaki Masters Games for
the WestpacTrust Sport
Taranaki.
New Zealand Masters Games, Dunedin, 9
- 12
February 2000
Eleven pistes at
Caversham, dictated the number
of entries for petanque at the N
Z Masters Games in Dunedin in
February. When entries exceeded
the 88 quota, organisers were
quick to instigate a 2 night
‘Twilight Tournament’ to cater
for the overflow. What a joyous
event it became.
Two blokes,
Russel Lewthwaite and Dave
Yardley set the scene. Dressed
in berets, striped shirts,
knickerbockers and painted curly
moustaches, they looked the
part. Accompanied by an
entourage of tricolour waving
mademoiselles called ‘The Taieri
Kerplonkers’ they generated a
jovial atmosphere.
There were other
colourful characters also
including a bevy of Waikouaiti
petanquers dressed in green
berets and shirts with yellow
scarves. Looking like a troop of
Aussie scouts they were equally
boisterous. With the wine
flowing freely between games, it
was a happy affair.
Unfortunately,
the top duo of Ian Baker
(Auckland) and ‘Southern Man’
Ewi Mihaka, one of Caversham’s
top players, missed the cut off
due to their late entry and
ended up in the twilight. They
were untested in winning the
event.
The serious
petanque too had it’s colourful
characters. Local dignitaries
Eion Edgar and Warwick Grimmer
‘Le Grande Tiosseurs’ suitably
attired in their French outfits
were shocked with real petanque
where their good pointers were
shot out. ‘LGT’ were fannied in
their opening game by eventual
winners, Mark Richardson and
Barrie Kendall but rallied
enough to win a few games.
Shirley and Ray
Macnee of Milton were also
dressed in the French style and
‘Hodgkins Heroes’, staff of
Frances Hodgkins Rest Home,
dressed in purple shirts
contrasted with the Waikouaiti
PC greenery.
There were 4
pools on the first day. The top
4 in each pool going through in
the top grouping. On the second
day there were 4 pools of 4,
with only the top team in each
pool going through to the medal
play offs.
Richardson &
Kendall (Dunedin) won the gold,
Dianne and Andrew Findlay
(Christchurch) won the silver. A
consolation bronze went to Ian
Baker (who was able to fill in)
partnered by Ann Wright
(Dunedin). The other bronze
winners were Lorraine and Bob
Watson (Dunedin).
There were other
divisions too, a second tier of
16 Doubles and a plate play off.
The tournament was well run
under the control of Terry Holt
and went through with barely a
hiccup.
With four
enjoyable days of petanque here
in Dunedin the awareness now of
the sport is beginning to stir.
What does it hold for Masters
Games 2 years hence?
Barrie
Kendall
A Footnote from
the Organisers
The fantastic
weather and the wonderful
friendships forged will ensure
another busy February in 2 years
time. The 1996 Petanque Masters
had 18 competitors, the 1998
event had 84 competitors and the
2000 event hosted 152, any
arguments on the growth of the
sport?
The success of
the tournaments was undoubtedly
due to the support of Club
members, both bowling and
petanque who carried out their
prescribed tasks efficiently and
without any fuss, they made the
organisers jobs so much easier.
Those who have
not witnessed the comradeship
and fun of a Masters Games
village will have to start
planning for 2002 it is an
experience with out equal. See
you at Caversham in February
2002.
Anne Sinclair &
Terry Holt, NZ Masters Games
Delegates
2000 New Zealand
Open Doubles
Its true. The NZ
Open Petanque Tournament is the
best petanque tournament in the
country. Spectacular venue, live
band music both days, free food,
great competition and drama. The
drama we could have done
without.
The whole of NZ
who watched the Sunday 6.00pm
news lead story knew about this
tournament. All 160 of us there
witnessed the horrific accident
where a 4wd crashed off the
motorway viaduct, just 75m from
the terrain. We sadly learned
later that two died. Our people,
first on the scene helped to
pull clear the sole survivor, a
teenage girl. It did tend to
place a dampener on subsequent
happenings.
Early Saturday
morning all 64 teams were
greeted to the traditional Maori
welcome by the local Iwi.
Fifteen teams from
Tahiti
had especially flown across for
this tournament. Splendidly
decked out in white tee-shirts
and matching caps, they were an
awesome sight. We learnt that
their club, celebrating its 20th
anniversary, subsidised the 22
men and 10 women to travel to
tournament.
To ease costs,
billets were provided by the
Auckland petanque community. The
lesser skilled Tahitian teams
would have played to a level
most good club players would be
proud of in NZ. But the top
teams are world class, simply
awesome to watch. Indeed we
learned the Tahitians, to their
annoyance, are not permitted to
represent Tahiti at the World
Champs.
Whenever they do
play the World Champs winning
French teams, the Tahitians
generally are victorious. Two
teams from New Caledonia and one
from Australia also entered, a
first from these countries since
the event started in 1995.
A live band
provided the entertainment all
day, both days. Three guitars, a
beat box, fantastic vocals and a
wondrous array of mostly music
from the Pacific region,
enchanted players and spectators
alike.
Free croissants
and French pasty delights were
available thanks to Christian’s
French bakery connections, and
Auckland’s
famous Victoria market only a
quick walk away if hunger
beckoned.
The competition
was intense with most of the
Tahitians teams clearly enjoying
the boundless opportunities to
be had to shoot boule.
A vigilant
catcher at the far end of the
terrain was absolutely vital.
Even with every precaution,
wayward boule often caused
mayhem. Some became temporary
lost. Panic! I’d wished I’d
learned French for “Wait, I
can’t find my other boule”?
Fortunately
others had the same problem. In
fact on one end, I played an
identical boule that wasn’t
mine, without realising it. The
Tahitian women rarely spoke. The
old schoolboy French needed to
be dusted off.
At the quarter
final on Sunday, only one NZ
team remained, the other seven
all Tahitians. To watch the
final was a special delight for
us petanque players keen to
learn new skills. Not for them
timid 6 - 7 metre ends, the
cochonnet being thrown out to 9
- 10 metres every time.
We all witnessed
effortless high lobs, landing a
quarter metre in front of the
target. All shooting shots were
on the full, in fact the bouncy
terrain most unsympathetic to
any shot landing short.
Two thirds of
tiers attempted achieved
results. All agreed the standard
of play, was equal to that seen
at the World Champs, in deed
anywhere in the world
To wind down from
the events of the day, Heme Bay
Pétanque Club played host on the
Sunday evening at their club.
The semi-tropical setting and
newly laid piste surface proved
irreistible to a few players
despite the amassed gallery of
petanqued out spectators.
Those brave
enough to venture piste bound,
were rewarded to an impromptu
coaching from none other than
the charismatic, guitar playing
Raphael, the tournament winner.
As if he hadn’t had enough. A
lack of French speaking ability
didn’t appear to hinder the
trainees appreciation of the
moment.
Auckland, with
its abundance of musical and
dancing talent, allowed our
hosts the ability to honour us
later with a real Pacific Island
treat. The hypnotic drum rhythms
and swinging hips of the 5 young
dancers even impressed the
Tahitians, whom we guessed would
be used to such things.
It was a
magnificent end to a wonderful
event. Thank you Christian, the
Herne Bay Petanque Club, and the
many Aucklanders who worked long
and hard to make this happen.
Neil Dykes
NZPA News: Summary of Committee
Meeting 27 November 1999
-
Agreed that
the Whanau Trophy should be
awarded to the family team
that progresses
furthest at
the National Doubles
Championships; husband/wife
teams are eligible as well
as parent/child.
NB: the
Whanau Trophy is currently
held by Geoff Greer & Denise
Bavidge.
-
Endorsed
petanque’s participation in
the NZ Secondary School’s
Festival 2000. This event is
being held in Hamilton in
December 2000, to build on
the enthusiasm generated by
the Sydney Olympics.
-
Discussed
various matters to do with
the conduct and running of
tournaments.
Guidelines
are being drafted to apply
to all NZPA run tournaments.
They will clarify the
relationship between the
NZPA and the local
organising body with respect
to responsibilities for
publicity, sponsorship,
entries, etc, and will also
cover such things as
allocation of venues, NZPA
expectations of the standard
of the piste, cancellation
or postponement policy,
disciplinary and judicial
processes.
-
Established a
policy on repayment of entry
fees when teams withdraw
from tournaments - that fees
will not be repaid if
withdrawals occur after the
dosing date for entries. It
was acknowledged that
withdrawals may occur for
reasons beyond the entrant’s
control. However, late
withdrawals involve
administrative costs such as
having to do re-draws.
-
Agreed to
have T-shirts made for all
NZ teams and NZPA tournament
winners, commemorating the
specific tournament/event
(name and date). These will
be retrospective, ie given
to all winners of NZPA
tournaments to date. It was
also agreed that only the
actual members of NZ teams
going to overseas
tournaments should wear the
official T-shirts, so that
they are differentiated from
supporters.
-
Agreed to
establish a central record
of all past tournament
winners, and office holders,
(Presidents and Committees)
in cluding photos. This is
to ensure that we don’t lose
track of where we’ve come
from, and also in
anticipation of the day when
we have our own central
facility in which to display
this information.
-
Discussed a
Drugs Policy, which the
Hillary Commission requires
us to have in our
constitution. Christian
reported that this is being
discussed by the
International Petanque
Committee, so it was agreed
to hold any action until we
receive their decision.
(Random testing of petanque
players for
performance-enhancing
drugs?!)
-
Catch 22
One of the
main items of business for
most AGMs is the setting of
the annual membership fee.
However, the NZPA has a bit
of a problem which has been
complicated by the change of
date for the end of the
financial year.
In order to
enter the National Triples
at Easter, players must be
financial. The plan to send
out the renewal forms has
been thwarted - as it was
last year - by the need for
members to set the fee at
the AGM. The NZPA realises
petanque players are a
reasonable bunch and common
sense will prevail.
Therefore the Committee
recommends:
-
That fees
paid on or before 31
December 1999 be valid
to 31 March 2000
-
That fees
paid on or after 1
January 2000 be valid to
31 December 2000
-
That the
fee for the financial
year January 1 to 31
December2000 be set at
$10
-
That the
fee for the financial
year to 31 December 2001
remain at $10.
The
membership renewal forms for
the year 1/1/01 to 3 1/12/01
will be sent with the
September mail out and
members will be asked to
renew their membership by
1/2/01.
-
Continuing
Benefits
Membership to
the NZPA will lapse if the
subscription is not renewed
by April 30, this year.
Remember, in
order to continue receiving
this magazine and to play in
National Tournaments,
members must be financial.
All members
are encouraged to keep up
their membership - $10 is a
very reasonable amount
compared to affiliation to
other national sporting
bodies.
-
Future
National Tournaments
Graeme Morris
has been working on a set of
procedures for clubs hosting
national tournaments. These
will clearly outline all the
requirements and ensure
there is consistency in
events. The new procedures
will be available at the
AGM.
It is also
hoped that more Open
Tournaments will be used for
national, seeding purposes.
Shortly after the AGM it is
hoped to have a set of
procedures available for
clubs to follow in order to
have their tournaments NZPA
approved.
-
Upcoming
Tournaments
This year the
NZPA has been invited to
send teams to a number of
international tournaments
(see below). Some important
policy changes have been
made by the Executive
regarding NZ representative
teams:
-
for the
year 2000,
representatives other
than at the World
Championships, will be
chosen, taking seeding
into consideration, by a
selection committee
comprising members of
the NZPA Executive and
the National Seeding
Co-ordinator. This will
be the last year the
winners of National
Triples Championship
will be representing the
country at the World
Championships
-
from the
year 2001, all teams
representing NZ in
overseas competition
will be chosen by the
selection committee.
This includes the
national triples team to
represent the country at
the World Championships
-
financial
arrangements, including
fundraising, will be the
responsibility of the
team(s) concerned. While
the NZPA will offer no
guarantee of finance,
every assistance will be
given.
-
a World
Championship Coordinator
will be appointed and
together with a
nominated member of the
executive, assist the
national team with their
preparations.
The early
selection of the national
team means players and
organisers will have longer
to prepare for the World
Champs. Instead of having to
wait for the Easter Triples,
selection can take place
very early in the year,
giving the team possibly 3
months extra preparation
time.
-
Peugeot
National Triples - Easter
2000 Victoria Park –
Auckland, 22 &23 April
The winners
of this year’s tournament
will be invited to represent
New Zealand at the World
Championships in Portugal in
September. If for any reason
member/s of the winning team
will not be able to
represent NZ overseas, a
player/s will be chosen by
the team, with the approval
of the Selection Committee.
-
The Inaugural
National Shooting Competition
In
conjunction with the Peugeot
National Triples, a
competition - similar to
those held overseas - will
be held to find the National
Shooting Champion. While
players are waiting for
their next game - either the
team has a bye or it’s
likely that the next game
will be some way off -
players can take part in
this competition. An annual
trophy will be awarded at
the prize giving dinner.
-
Oceania -
Papeete - October 2000
New Zealand
is invited to send 6 men and
3 women to this event for 4
days of competition.
-
Women’s World
Triples Championships -
France - October 2000
New Zealand
has been invited to send a
team to this event.
Barbara
Whittington - Secretary
1999 World Championships,
Reunion Island
The Reunion Island Experience
We (Geoff,
Denise and Murray) would like to
acknowledge those who helped us
prepare for and get to the World
Championships.
Thanks to:
-
Gary and
Karen Tayler and Joanne
Porter for all their fund
raising efforts and support
before and during the World
Championships.
-
Christian
for organising the travel
and all of the support at
Reunion. Having a French
speaker was essential there
and we are not sure how we
would have managed without
him.
-
Bay View
Petanque Club members and
other Hawke’s Bay players
who got in behind us and
participated in fund raising
events.
-
The
Rotorua Club, Le Coq and
Boule (Noel Hunt’s club from
Taradale) and the Wellington
Petanque Association. The
Wellington players who came
out on a very cold weekend
to give us some competition
practice should also be
mentioned.
-
Christian
and Rolinka, Chris Priestley
and Ian Baker and other
Auckland players for a very
enjoyable weekend in
Auckland. They also gave up
their time to play and help
and advise.
-
Last but
not least thank you goes to
all of the other petanque
players who supported us
through the raffle.
Snap shot
comments:
-
In an
indoor stadium; 2000 - 3000
seats; ten hard bouncy red
volcanic soil terrains, hot
and very humid
-
Around 40
national teams
-
International styles very
different from New Zealand
-
At times
players practicing on
concrete
-
New
Zealand in local paper as
‘non academy’
-
New
Zealand won one game from 7
-
The team
and supporters received a
lot of attention
-
An
incredible learning
experience
-
Supporters benefited as much
as players
Before the
Competition at Reunion
We arrived at
Reunion Island after about 30
hours either in transit or
flying and knowing we had about
three days to settle in before
the tournament. After some
initial hassles acquiring a hire
car, we headed down the coast to
a resort area.
We discovered
later that we were lucky in that
our original booking fell
through and our new
accommodation was among coconut
palms adjacent to a lovely white
sandy beach, a nice place to
relax and get some practice.
We practised
in the car park beneath the
trees, which was mainly concrete
with some sand and pine needles.
The Dutch team was also staying
at our resort and they practiced
along side us at times. We soon
got an idea of what was to come,
as they pointed very high with
lots of backspin. The boules
only moved a few inches on the
concrete when it landed. Carreau
after carreau was also very
impressive to watch.
A day or so
later we went into the stadium
to check out registering, photos
etc. After all of the talk of
the previous years rocky
surfaces we were eager to find
out what the terrain was going
to be like.
The ten
terrains in an inside stadium
were a volcanic red, very hard
and bouncy with a light loose
surface of scoria and grey metal
chips. We were relieved. It
appeared to be OK for pointing
but shooting was difficult as a
player couldn’t even drop the
boule an inch in front of the
target without it bouncing over
the top.
We were
somewhat surprised to find that
we, as well as the supporters
were allowed to practice on it.
While practicing we were
approached by a local team made
up of some of the officials
organising the tournament, for a
game. We were rewarded with a
win, which gave us some
confidence for the competition.
They had what is called an
‘academy’ style as opposed to us
being described in the local
paper the next day as
‘non-academy’. The headline was
a ‘Frenchie with the All
Blacks’. The article was mainly
a biography about Christian and
his path to New Zealand,
returning to Reunion as
delegate.
The black
uniform was starting to get
attention due to the All Blacks
and we were noticed more than
our play deserved. Having all
the supporters in black also
helped create an impression. It
also helped them move about the
stadium, as some areas were
closed off to the public.
The
registration process required
presenting our NZPA licences.
There was some panic as Murray
had not thought to bring his.
After several faxes back and
forth to New Zealand by
Christian and a fax from Cam
Calder verifying it, we all
managed to get registered. This
meant getting photo ID cards and
tickets for meals at the Players
and Officials restaurant for the
length of the competition.
The opening
ceremony involved all teams
parading with their National
flags and lining up for speeches
- all in French. English was
rarely spoken throughout the
competition. We couldn’t have
got by without Christian to kept
things on track, interpreting
for us when necessary.
The opening
ceremony finished with a local
dance from the school children
that had led the teams in. Some
of the children had earlier
befriended the Kiwi troupe and
we found ourselves pulled out
into the middle to dance in
front of the crowd. It was a lot
of fun, trying to emulate their
National dance!
The opening
night finished with a buffet and
drinks and it was here that we
met the Irish. It appears that
the Kiwis and Irish teams have
had a bit to do with each in the
past at every world cup. This is
due to Cam Calder’s involvement
over the years. The three Irish
players had been competing at
the World Championships for
between 7 to 12 years, so they
knew the ropes and supported us
when we were playing and off the
piste.
The
competition structure:
The World
Championships
involves a number of qualifying
rounds to gain a place in the
final sixteen. The rest go into
the Nations Cup, which is the
equivalent of a plate.
We knew if we
performed to a similar standard
to previous years New Zealand
teams, over the length of the
competition we would get between
6 and 8 games. As it came out we
had 7.
We were
understandingly a bit nervous,
but thrilled to be competing at
such a wonderful event, amongst
the worlds best. The name
players who have dominated the
sport for years and who feature
on the international petanque
videos were walking past and
practicing on the pistes around
us.
Once we
started we felt OK. Being
watched was not an issue as
there were ten terrains and most
people were watching the name
teams, apart from our supporters
of course.
We were
hoping to draw some teams near
our level of experience and
skill. As it was, apart from
Singapore we drew teams who were
in the top 18 in the world.
Approximately 40 National teams
were competing.
The World
Championship
style of competition format is
quite different from the
competitions in New Zealand,
with it being over 4 days and
nights and involving only 10
terrains for 40 teams. At the
most teams only played 2 or 3
games a day.
There is
often a long wait between games.
So you have to find a rhythm and
get your skill levels up quickly
in every game. This is something
we struggled with during the
tournament.
The games we
played were as follows:
Preliminary
Rounds
Denmark: Lost
4 - 13
Comment:
This being
the first game both teams were
tense and were trying to find
their feet. The Denmark shooter
was not hitting many in this
game. However, in later games he
got his eye in and they
eventually made it through to
the final 16.
We had
difficulty shooting due to both
the bounciness of the terrain
and not being able to hit it
consistently on the full. Many
of the ends were also at 9 to 10
metres.
Great
Britain: 1st game lost 4 – 13;
2nd game lost 4 - 13
Comment:
We drew Great
Britain twice and in both games
we had our opportunities to
advance our points but were
unable to capitalise. They went
onto the final 16. They caused a
bit of an upset when they beat
Morocco 13 - 1 on the way.
Singapore:
Won 13 - 6
Comment:
Singapore was
the only team who played at a
similar level to us. We were
trailing 1 - 6 early in the
game, but with a concerted
effort, more accurate pointing
and successful shooting, we
accumulated 12 unanswered points
winning 13 - 6.
Morocco: Lost
0 -13
Comment:
This team was
placed 2nd at the World Champs
in the Canary Islands in 1998.
Their pointer is reputed to be
the best in the world. In this
game they played shorter ends of
7 to 8 metres. We pointed fairly
well but in the end they had too
much strike power for us. It was
quite amusing in hindsight, they
had to have a win against us to
get into the World Champs final 16
following their beating by Great
Britain.
(Note: We did
draw Madagascar, the eventual
new World Champions, but did not
have to play them as we lost
both of our first games)
Nations Cup
Germany: Lost
3 - 13
Comment:
This game
went away from us quickly. We
got the first points, as we were
pointing reasonably well in this
game. Germany got back into the
lead with 5 points and with a
lot of our boules close they
shot the cochonnet out by
mistake and picked up 4. They
did the same with the next end
and got another 4 and the game
was over.
Germany went
on to the final of the Nations
Cup winning against Sweden
Sweden: 4 -
13
Comment:
Again we felt
that some of our pointing was
quite competitive in this game.
More so than the score
indicates. They came second in
the Nations Cup to Germany.
(Note: We
would have had one more game but
drew a bye in this last round.)
Playing
Styles
As mentioned
earlier the ends were
predominantly long, 9 to 10
metres. The only deviation from
this was the team from the USA
who tried to throw it just on 6
metres each time.
There were a
variety of different styles. The
‘academy’ approach was the high
lob for pointing (either
crouching or standing) and on
the full carreau for shooting.
Having mentioned the ‘academy
style’, there was a wide variety
of approaches. There were some
expectations from the crowd as
to what was a good style. The
crowd booed the French team and
some of the other top players
when they pointed low on some
occasions.
For most
players though they used the
style they found most
successful. Many players pointed
low with success. Shooters
dropping short were always
punished. It was interesting to
observe the different rituals or
preparation before each point or
shoot. It was the same each time
to get the consistency.
The Rules
The main rule
enforced was the cochonnet
throwing at 6 to 10 metres. The
one-minute rule was also adhered
to when necessary, due to the
number of teams and limited
terrains.
The other
main requirement was to be very
still when any team around you
was shooting. That is whether in
your game or in the one next to
you.
The main
impression from the tournament
was that teams played in a good
competitive spirit. Minor
infringements such as feet over
the line were not bothered with.
The big plus
for the tournament was the
excellent sportsmanship
displayed. Even in the very
tense final matches it was very
businesslike with acknowledgment
of skill displayed by opposing
teams.
The one area
of rules we came into contact
with was the dress code. Shorts
(and jandels) were not allowed.
Apart from that, the dress code
was not onerous with teams only
required to wear matching shirts
and trousers.
Role of
Supporters
We were
fortunate to have our support
team of Gary and Karen Tayler,
Joanne Porter, Philippa McNiven,
and Don and Cathy Thompson. They
too were dressed in black and
were easily identifiable amongst
the spectators.
One of the
main benefits of the tournament
was having 10 people participate
and observe the level and styles
of play, bringing this back to
New Zealand. For those who
attended the sport of petanque
will not be the same again.
Concluding
Comments
We have been
asked to comment and give any
suggestions from our experience.
For both players and supporters
it was a wonderful experience.
Our view of petanque will never
be the same again. There has
been some debate about New
Zealand’s participation in
overseas tournaments. After
attending this one we are now
firm supporters of this in order
to develop the sport in NZ.
Some
observations:
-
If
players in New Zealand are
serious about developing
petanque into a real sport,
they need to look outside
New Zealand to raise skill
levels.
-
We
believe the NZPA should
encourage players to attend
any tournament which
involves exposure to
international styles and
skill levels.
-
The NZPA
should support, in a
meaningful way, New Zealand
attendance at the World Cup,
any Pacific and Asian based
competitions and the New
Zealand Open as our only
local International
Tournament.
There are
also a number of suggestions
about planning and supporting
any teams to the World Cup in
the future.
These
include:
-
Have an
NZPA policy detailing what
the team should expect,
before the Easter National
competition.
-
Including
specifically what support to
expect financially.
-
We
believe a financial
contribution is a useful
start for the team. It
should be pre-determined
before the Easter
Competition. It does not
have to be a large amount.
The fundraising does not
have to be rushed and
planning should be ongoing.
-
The
raffle is problematic. Other
ways should be investigated.
Although this year, there
were other benefits to NZPA
as well so from that point
of view NZPA may want to
retain it.
-
Work on
longer-term sponsorship for
NZPA activities including
international competitions
so that it isn’t a yearly
task.
-
Encourage
supporters to go. Supporters
tour perhaps, if there is
interest.
-
It is
essential that at least one
member of the group is a
French speaker.
From a
preparation point of view a
number of simple things are
suggested:
-
Contact
the winning team soon after
they have won to let them
know what happens next.
-
Link them
up with a team from previous
years as soon as possible.
-
Be clear
about what is expected from
the team before they go and
after they return. This
includes expectations of
club visits, reports and any
other activities.
If asked
“What is the one piece of advice
for next year’s team we wished
we had been given?” The answer
would be: Just play like you did
when you won the National
Triples.
The above
comments are not intended as a
criticism of the process this
year. New Zealand has only been
involved in this type of
competition for a short period
of time and NZPA appears to be
improving and developing its
approach over time.
We hope that
future teams enjoy the
experience as we did and would
be willing to discuss any issues
with them and the NZPA if they
wish.
Geoff
Greer, Denise Bavidge, Murray Porter |
