Petanque New Zealand

Petanque New Zealand Magazine, Issue 5, Spring 2006

2006 Singapore International Petanque Championship

This is the second year a New Zealand team has attended the Singapore International Petanque Championship and the first time a female team was also selected to compete in the event.

The two selected teams comprised of:

Women: Roberta Campbell, Joanne Lippard, Claire Wilson

Men: Andrew Joe, David Lippard, Andre Noel

The preparatory build up to the trip comprised the usual work, work, work and as much practice as we could manage. Despite the weather and cold dark evenings, Joanne, David and Andre practiced under the harbour bridge with the other Auckland based members who were going to the world championships in France later the same month.

Claire would meet Barbara and together they would practice during their lunch break and at the weekend. Roberta teamed up with Maurice and AJ formed a practice team with Dirk and Michael in Wellington.

On the Tuesday evening before our departure, the non Auckland players flew to Auckland and were treated to one of David's petanque evenings, comprising various petanque videos, petanque converstation and good wine.

Whilst the male team lamented about how good the players were and how they could beat France - if the sun was shining in the right direction, the moons were aligned, all the players didn't miss a boule etc.etc.etc., the girls were thinking about the next Tui Ad, yeah right, enjoying a few wines and getting to know each other.

The next day courtesy of Lorraine Brock's organisation the teams were sponsored a shuttle trip to the airport and away we went.

We arrived at Singapore at 6.30pm in a temperature of approximately 28 degrees. The ride to the hotel was very interesting thanks to our Indian immigrant driver. The first question on everyone's mind and asked immediately by Andre was "So bro, what does it take to get yourself in prison here?" He proceeded to explain to the group that in Singapore you can do just about anything as long as you do not get caught!

Following check in and freshen up; we took to the streets for our first adventure in Singapore. We soon found a local food court selling all sorts of live and well, I'm not too sure what type of produce. Andre soon decided what he wanted and away he went to order.

The more hesitant amongst us had a wander round the place and eventually all came back to Andre's eatery. As the single order from Andre turned into a six man order, Andre's money was returned to him by the owner, as commission.

The next day we all hopped on a bus to find the terrain for a practice session. Not realising there were three community centres within approximately one kilometre of each other, we became somewhat confused. Andre came to the rescue by asking a lady on the bus for directions.

He chatted away to her and the next thing we know, she is getting off the bus with us and escorting us to the location. We were like little ducklings in Andre's wake as he marched along with our escort to the destination.

Finally we arrived to the terrains. New Zealand was the first overseas team to arrive and as the Singapore teams were either at school or work, we enjoyed a few hours practice alone, except for the Singapore Coach Eddie Lim.

The pistes are prepared with very compacted hard base and no topping. Instead of a topping such as shell or the shingle stones, typical of New Zealand terrains, a couple of spades of loose stones of various sizes and dust would be scattered over the top at the end of each day. Therefore, the pistes were different everyday. There were ten pistes in total and all quite different.

In the afternoon we all enjoyed some shopping time. Andre was again on form and bought some rather nice trainers. He was very pleased with himself because they were a lot cheaper than any he could get in New Zealand. In fact Andre was so impressed with the prices in Singapore that he decided to import a car back to New Zealand!

On the Friday evening the team officials and available players met in the hotel conference room to do the draw for Round (1). David, Andre and Roberta attended the draw whilst AJ, Joanne and Claire experienced a wild taxi ride to the night safari by a driver who thought he was a cross between a rally and super car driver in rush hour!

We didn’t get to enjoy the full safari as AJ assured me that my camera would not flash (something we had been sternly warned against). When I took my first photograph of the hyena, the flash lit up the whole train – we were very embarrassed for a while!

Play format

A total of 16 teams had entered the tournament but Pakistan had had to withdraw at the last minute. The teams were allocated into four pools of four teams. The first round was a barrage format with the top two qualifying teams from each pool progressing to the main (Trophy) competition in round two, resulting in the top eight.

The top eight qualifying teams were placed into two pools of four. The remaining non-qualifying teams were placed in the Coup de Nations and were joined by the four teams that did not qualify for the main in the second round.

Saturday

After our third morning of rice and noodles for breakfast the teams got onto the coach with all the other countries and off to the terrains. Once we arrived all the teams were practicing hard and boules were flying in every direction.

We were allocated a helper and had to assemble in a line behind the New Zealand sign. All the countries then had to walk into the stadium for the opening ceremony. I say stadium but it was more like Herne Bay really.

We were treated to some pre tournament entertainment and each country had to participate in a keep fit/exercise warm up for 15 minutes. Joanne, Claire and Roberta were very compliant, David and AJ were getting impatient after the second song and Andre was break dancing to his own warrior theme!

Day One

New Zealand(1) (Women)

The first game against Singapore(3) (male team) went pretty smoothly for NZ(1). In this game the pointing was of a high level and more consistent than the oppositions shooting which led to the final result NZ(1) 13 - 8 Singapore.

The next game against Japan (male team) was an excellent game for NZ(1) and a good victory at

13 - 7. Again the consistent pointing on our part kept Japan under pressure.

The last game for NZ(1) in pool one was against Singapore(1). This game was a real challenge and we battled hard to come back from being 10 - 2 down to eventually lose 9 - 13.

The second round was a pool of death for NZ(1). Our first game was against Seychelles(1) and although we had a couple of magical moments, like the end where Roberta made a carreau removing two joining boules to give us five points; we were not a match for this team and lost 5 - 13.

The next game was against Malaysia(1), a team with an average age of about 17 years. They had a beautiful technique and effortlessly shot our holding boule time and time again. We did not play very well in this game and we lost 4 - 13.

New Zealand(2) (Men)

The first game for NZ(2) was against Port Authority of Thailand. This team comprised a coach and his two female students (17 and 19 years), of seven years duration. They won the toss and played the cochonnet at six metres.

At this distance, they were deadly and with most shots made a perfect carreau. NZ(2) played reasonably well and certainly were strongest in their shooting performance in this game. The result doesn't reflect the good level of play in this game from NZ(2) who lost 2 - 13.

The next game was a real nail biter against Seychelles. From being 7 - 0 down, NZ(2) fought back shooting 3 in one end and 4 in another taking the scores to 7 - 7 then 10 - 10. They also displayed some good defensive pointing in the second half of the game. Seychelles eventually triumphed and NZ(2) lost 10 – 13.

Due to Pakistan's absence NZ(2) had a bye. NZ(2) did not qualify for the main and progressed to the Coup de Nations.

The shooting competition came after a long day of play but before Round 2 play. David gathered Roberta and Andre for a practice session and to explain the process. By this time Roberta was pretty exhausted.

She had played three long games in the 40 degree heat and did not want to continue. However, following a team talk that involved us explaining to her that she had no choice as Claire and Joanne were not going to volunteer to do it, so away she went.

With the entire crowd watching and Roberta very nervous, she threw her first boule nicely to hit the boule square on. That was it, the New Zealand Team cheered, the crowd cheered and Roberta went wild! She went on to gain 17 points overall which although was not sufficient to qualify at 20 points, was a very commendable effort for her first time and under such circumstances.

We were very proud of her and she certainly set the benchmark for any subsequent New Zealand female competing in similar events.

Poor Andre was the last competitor to do the shooting competition. Due to the withdrawal of Pakistan, Andre had to do the shooting competition alone. This made his first experience even more intimidating. His final score was 15 which does not reflect the number of boules that he missed only by millimetres.

At the end of play on day one we were all very keen to catch the coach back to the hotel for a shower and more rice and noodles! But if we thought the night would be quiet and boring before bed, we were very much mistaken………

After dinner, we all assembled in mine and David's room for a drink and debrief. With a glass of Baileys in our hand, the girls were sufficiently relaxed and pleased with themselves. The boys however were slightly anxious about performing the Haka at the presentation dinner on Sunday.

As Claire and I were watching the boys being tutored by Roberta, we could not help but to wonder how an Englishman, South African and Asian could possible perform such a warrior dance. However after a few more whiskeys, the hybrid version looked to be getting better - or was it more an illusion, thanks to the Baileys?

James, one of the Australian players, joined us as we watched Roberta patiently recite the words and actions over and over again. AJ had it sussed pretty much straight away so he departed to catch up with his Aunty, who lives in Singapore.

David needed to understand the annunciation of every word and with a fit of hysterics, coupled with a couple of whiskeys was failing hopelessly. Andre, the cool dude as ever, devised a Zulu warrior version and was sorted.

The noise was deafening as they all started off well enough but like churchgoers at a Sunday service, the voices faded to a mumble when they forgot the words. Finally, after numerous practices the audience suggested that Roberta lead the Haka at the farewell dinner.

With everyone happily exhausted but relaxed we were in bed by 10.30. The next day we were very surprised that no one had complained about the noise coming from room 705 the previous evening.

Day Two

Women

At the start of day two we finished the second round by playing Thailand. This game was an experience that we felt privileged to have. We didn't play particularly well but this didn't really matter because at our very best, we would have been no match whatsoever for this level of play. We played a few good boules but lost 4 - 13, in five ends. Despite our performance we gained the most points against them in our pool.

We were the last qualifiers in our pool and therefore were relegated to the Coup de Nations. At this stage, our level of play had begun to deteriorate. Claire's pointing (as first pointer) had been excellent and consistent on day one. However, by day two, our shooting was not good enough which meant, against the better teams, we were asking her to perform miracles with her boule (sitting on boule, pointing to the cochonnet etc.).

Expecting this level of play on the gnarly terrains was unreasonable and often Joanne, as the millieur could not nail the point either. We tried various combinations to change the dynamic in an attempt to be more effective but by this point, the heat and general exhaustion had set in for some players and we lost our magic.

We played the next round of the Coup de Nations. First game was against Australia (mens team) and one which we lost miserably 4 - 13. Our last game was against Japan. Having played this team on day one, we knew their level of play was not very good. Joanne shot really well in this game only missing one boule. However the Japanese shooter pulled something out of his bag (previously unseen) and hit every boule we put up we lost 8 - 13.

Overall we were happy with our play in the first round. But we soon realised that the shooting power amongst us was not a match for some of the teams but we managed to hold our own with our pointing.

In reality we only matched the more developing teams with our pointing and this should not be considered by New Zealand teams to be a possible strategy to win games at this level. By day two we were no match for the better teams.

Their shooting power means they hit boule regardless of distance and position. We placed our holding boule on boule to prevent teams from shooting but to no avail as they have the skill to simply clip the boule out and often with a carreau. Despite this, as a team we were very pleased with our conduct and application to the game.

The Mens Team

The first game on day two was against Singapore(4) (youth team). The team looked very flat and this was probably the worst game for NZ(2). The luck was not on their side and they did not perform well as a team always appearing to be on the back foot which resulted in them losing 10 – 13. NZ(2) had another bye.

The next game was against Singapore(4) again and was a much better game for NZ(2) with a four end victory of 13 – 2. NZ(2) was eventually knocked out of the competition by Malaysia(2), losing 4-13.

The semi final between Thailand and Port Authority was an excellent display of petanque played at a level not seen in New Zealand. Each end was boule for boule and rarely did a shooter miss. Thailand went on to win 13 - 7.

The final was also an excellent match between Mauritius and Thailand. The Mauritius milieur was a very strong, confident player and took some amazing shots under immense pressure. Again this game was almost boule for boule and the final result was 15 - 13 to Thailand.

If only we could play to one quarter of their capability!!

The shooting competition final was also a real nail biter between Mauritius and Thailand. At the start of the cochonnet shots Thailand was 35 and Mauritius 24. In order for Mauritius to be able to win it meant Thailand would have to miss three cochonnet shots and Mauritius would need to hit every one.

6.5 metres Thailand first: Hits cochonnet cleanly out of the circle = 40 points. Mauritius: Hits cochonnet cleanly out of the circle = 29 points Pressure is now on for Thailand.

7.5, 8.5 and 9.5 metres both players hit every cochonnet cleanly out of the circle. The final result is Thailand 55 and Mauritius 44.

Overall Results

The first five ranked teams at the completion of the tournament are ranked accordingly. The remaining teams overall rankings are based on each team's finishing place after the first round of pool play on day one and therefore does not factor in any subsequent results from round two or the Coup de Nations.

At the end of the tournament the overall ranking (based on pool one results) placed NZ(1) in eighth position and NZ(2) in twelfth position. However, if all pool rounds and games are considered, NZ(2) actually finished further than NZ(1) by progressing to the quarter finals of the Coup de Nations. NZ(1) bowed out in the barrage round.

Final overall rankings:

Thailand, Mauritius, Port Authority of Thailand, Malaysia(1), Singapore(1), Seychelles(1),

Seychelle(2), New Zealand(1) (Women)

As we expected the final did not finish until 7.30pm which made everyone late for the farewell dinner. Singapore ruled that we all hop on the coach and go straight to the restaurant to eat thus bypassing showers.

By this time we had all swapped tops and had been in the sun since 7.30am so we weren't the cleanest of specimens and had hat hair! So, we were ready for a revolt. But Eddie, being such a nice guy, relented and allowed everyone exactly 30 minutes to shower and change and get back on the coach. We did it no problem!

An Indian buffet dinner was held at a nice restaurant (can't recall the name) where we shared a table with our neighbours, the Aussies and Arjan Singh, the secretary of Sports Boules Singapore. The girls were supplied with adequate bottles of red and white wine courtesy of Arjan.

After dinner and presentations it was New Zealand's time to be in the spotlight and Roberta's second time. She proudly walked onto the stage and after introducing herself, explained to the audience that she will sing for them a New Zealand song. Her version of Pokarekare ana brought tears to everyone's eyes. It was beautiful and made the team very proud. Just as she finished the last note she launched into the introductory chant of the Haka....

OK boys this is it....

Good on Roberta as she didn't give them the opportunity to chicken out of it. They all hopped on stage and Andre announced that the boys were his warriors. And off to a great start. Roberta led them in and they gave a synchronized performance ....until the second verse... again the church goers mumbling in the pews came to mind. But once again our hero Roberta kept them going and off they went again on track and their pride restored.

Claire and I were very impressed and thought this was the highlight of the evening....but oh how wrong we were. The next entertainment from New Zealand came in the form of Andre's C walk. With his brand new white trainers on, he performed a fantastic three minute break dancing C walk.

The audience were amazed with his legs, body and arms all going in alternate directions whilst he remained upright, they were in awe of such a performance. The New Zealand and Australian teams were speechless. At the conclusion of this act, Andre received a standing ovation and achieved exactly what he came to Singapore to do - be remembered!

I won't reveal the bedtimes or alcohol consumption of each player, after the farewell dinner. Suffice to say we were asked to leave the hotel lobby as we looked an untidy bunch and one of the Singapore people found an all night cafe round the corner where we could continue. Mauritius, Seychelles, Australia (of course) Singapore and good old New Zealand made some new friends long into the night.

I wonder if anyone can guess the main topic of conversation?

The girls (8th) enjoyed a few hours of smugness as technically we had finished higher than the New Zealand (12th) and Australian (11th) male teams, we simply addressed both teams as 11 and 12 from hereon!

On Monday, after our final breakfast of rice and noodles we bid our farewells to teams, swapped more tops, exchanged email addresses and promised to keep in touch. We had the whole day to do some sight seeing and the team trundled off in small groups.

Roberta was very exhausted and opted to stay at the hotel until we left for the airport. Claire caught up with Joan and Graeme, AJ with his family and David, Joanne and Andre went off to the Raffles Hotel and shopping mall and to Arab Street.

Singapore was very different from my expectations. It shows a very British influence and is a neat, clean and green city despite an abundance of high rise apartments and skyscrapers.

General comments

The general level of play from the other teams was of a much higher standard than the NZ teams, as evidenced by the results. These teams have been playing together for a number of years and all possess the same basic technique.

Each team of three players had a similar style and technique which is attributable to the teaching methods of their coach. All teams bar the two from NZ had a coach on the sideline to assist the team when called upon in making shot selections etc. These coaches are fully funded.

We spoke to the coaches from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia and the key comments they all made were:

• The importance of developing a youth squad.

• Individual commitment contributes to 95% of a player's success

• Physical fitness is vital (some teams have one hour cardio exercise before every training session)

• Agility to be able to play any shot (i.e. from a crouch or standing position)

• Correct/good technique is fundamental to consistent and sustained performance.

• Investment in a consistent team, over several years, is the only way to yield success

The tournament was an excellent experience for the team. We had a great team spirit and dynamics and despite our results, we believe that next time we have the ability (in New Zealand) to finish in the quarter finals of this tournament.

In order to improve, we need to consider the following:

• We need to make the terrains in NZ far more challenging. It is the view of the team that in NZ the terrains allow players to be 'lazy' in their technique and thus we do not develop a style that is effective on the international circuit.

   

• Selected teams need to play in a number of tournaments in NZ together before being subjected to the intense pressures of international competition.

   

• Players must possess a range of skills and have a good basic technique. Ideally players should be capable of playing in more than one position to ensure that when a player'goes off the boil' fellow players can swap and continue to effectively perform as a team.

   

• Each team member needs to demonstrate a competitive and committed attitude. It is also vital that players are fit. This fitness needs to include the ability to be able to perform a range of shots from a crouching or standing position as this allows for greater boule control at different cochonnet lengths.

   

• Players need to commit to training. The team recognizes that it is simply not good enough for players to attend tournaments in NZ and expect to be selected solely on this basis. The top teams at this event explained to us that they practice at least twice a week for several hours.

Finally, the team would like to express their appreciation to all fellow Petanque players who have expressed their support to the team. Special thanks to our local clubs and regional associations who have generously contributed funding to the team.

To the Singapore Boules Federation for their warm hospitality and enormous effort in making the tournament such a success, to Graeme Bernard and Joan Miller from Masterton for their sideline support in intense heat, and finally to the selectors for giving us the opportunity to experience this level of international play and for making such a magnificent choice!

Joanne Lippard

A South Island Safari

I have been playing petanque now for about ten years, not that you would think so if you saw some of my tournament results. On the other hand I have been skiing for about sixty years and perform rather better I believe. Recently I undertook a bit of both and traveled around the mainland visiting skifield pistes and petanque pistes - yes they are called the same.

I departed from Wellington per a delayed ferry on july 20th into a very strong south easterly gale, arriving in Picton at around 1.00pm.I was traveling in my trusty VW Transporter Campervan, known to many of you. On board were forty sets of assorted boules etc so it was not likely that I was going to blow over in the gale, which I might add continued to buffer me all the way to Christchurch.

On the way I managed to land a police infringement notice for traveling too slow at 80 to 90km/hr down the winding and narrow stretch of road approaching the Kaikoura coast. So much for traveling to the conditions, the officer must have been short on his quota that day.

The next day was wet in Christchurch so playing petanque was out but the Ascot Club in New Brighton arranged a gathering of people from their club as well as members of the Papanui and Mt Pleasant Clubs to come and check out my boules and other gear that I had for sale. They made me feel very welcome and as a bonus I made a few sales.

Afterwards I drove to the ski town of Methven and booked a site at the local motor camp. Next day dawned fine and sunny so I enjoyed great skiing at Mt Hutt prior to traveling on to Lake Tekapo camp. Friday saw me skiing the slopes of the Ohau field before continuing on to Wanaka, joining friends there for four days of skiing in perfect weather and snow.

Leaving Wanaka (or rather dragging myself away) on the Friday on another perfect day I headed into the lovely Central Otago countryside and onto the Alexandra Club to throw a few boules. Their President and several members were waiting at the club for me and yes some business was done. They are a small club but what they lack in numbers they make up in enthusiasm.

Late afternoon saw me arrive in Dunedin and following up on an earlier kind invitation, I parked my van in the driveway of Neil and Margaret Roberts home. Saturday and it was off to the Caversham Club to toss a few boules with Neil and an old Park Avenue Club friend, now living in Dunedin. I was impressed with the Clubs facilities and enjoyed some close games. In the afternoon I went to catch up on my knowledge of Otago history at the rather fine Settlers Museum.

On Sunday the St Hilda Club was my next port of call where I had some more enjoyable games before I headed back to the Caversham Club once again. There was a great interest shown towards my petanque gear that I was offering for sale as the South Island players tend to have few opportunities to view and handle such a wide range at any one time.

Any profit made from petanque gear sales was lost when on departing Dunedin on the Monday morning in my van; I did the clutch in. A tow back to the VW agent and another unscheduled night spent with my hosts, and I was off again.

I spent some time with members of the Waikouaiti Club on the coast north of Dunedin before heading to Oamaru. Next day I was made welcome at the Excelsior Club in Oamaru but unfortunately the weather turned bad, only the second time since arriving in the South Island, so no play was to be had.

I did however leave behind some nice new boules etc to some happy customers before heading to Timaru and visiting one of the two clubs in that fair city. The Timaru Town & Country Club turned out in some numbers to meet me, and made the point that they feel somewhat isolated from the main stream of petanque, which is understandable. You cannot fault their enthusiasm for the game however and this I found with the folks from all the clubs I looked up.

Later on in the day I stopped at the Timaru RSA Club, who have a petanque group, and left them some info, and then it was time to be on my way home. A good few hours later the Kaikoura Coast was reached with darkness falling. A night in my van with the sea crashing on the nearby shore for company and then I was off to catch the ferry and arrived home the next day.

Ian Baine

A Founders' Row Flourishes In Western Park

Three men and three women are to be remembered in a picturesque stretch of Levin's Western Park, home of the Horowhenua Petanque Club.

On September 14th Club President, Carleen Fitzgerald presided over a tree planting ceremony which honoured the six PPC (Petanque Planning Committee) pioneers. Geoff Bentley, the club's Publicity Officer since its inception, described the events leading up to the planting to the 25 club members looking on.

Great endeavours were never completed without a good deal of friction, he said, and there were occasions in the last three years when a few olive branches would have been useful!

Bryan Wells, Nyra and Geoff Bentley. Shirley Peard and Carleen then each planted an olive tree and Nancy Simpson completed "Founders Row" with a tree to honour her late husband, Jack Simpson, who died late last year. A post-mounted plaque alongside the trees will commemorate the six founders for all time.

Long before this club existed these six people were meeting in private homes to discuss means whereby they could create a new petanque facility suitable for national or even international tournaments. All members of a petanque playing section of a local bowling club, they called themselves the Petanque Planning Committee.

Fortunately for the new club that was to eventuate they had experience in business know-how, management techniques and financial planning and were accustomed to risk taking and innovative thinking. They had a vision of a sporting complex in a green corner of Levin that other centres might envy and a determination to achieve their goal within a few years.

They called a meeting for April 4, 2004, which 32 persons attended and when the meeting came to a close the Horowhenua Petanque Club existed on paper with 27 fully paid-up foundation members from that date.

The spade work was already done to form an incorporated society, petition the Horowhenua District Council for land, apply for grants from Trust Funds and obtain sponsorship. The club lost no time in commencing construction of the playing areas with Bryan Wells shouldering the lion's share of the planning and physical work, including path laying, seat building and sowing lawns. All members took part in working bees which became a regular activity within the club and from the outset Carleen Fitzgerald acted as clerk of works.

Today, the Horowhenua Petanque Club has a membership close to 60, with four playing terrains of six three-metre pistes each. The clubhouse, leased from the Horowhenua District Council has had a new kitchen fitted and flooring and furniture supplied by the club. There is a large car parking area and a public toilet block. The facility is fully fenced. The club has had strong support from several gaming machine Trusts and major assistance from many Horowhenua business houses.

The Half Penny Trophy

The Half Penny Trophy came about because of three players each from Alexandra and the Timaru Town & Country Club Teams, decided to play a triples game to fill in time after they all had been knocked out, after lunch on the second day of play at the Christchurch South Island Masters in October 2003.

Play came to a halt when it started to rain so it was decided to call the game a draw. After the game a player from Alexandra gave a half penny to a TT & CC player. It was decided to have it mounted on wood and engraved as a trophy.

At the 2004 NZ Masters the Alexandra player was shown the trophy and it was decided that from then on the two Clubs should compete for it amongst each other. Play depends on how many teams each Club has at a tournament and is played after the days play.

In August 2005 Alexandra issued a challenge and that their team ‘The Alexandra Angels’ was made up of 3 Skinheads, 2 Silver Belles, Rita the Rocket, Nola the Shooter, John the Killer, Dead Eye Neill and Wally the Wimp. TT & CC replied accepting the challenge to play at Waikouaiti on the 3rd September.

They were warned to beware of our hand picked team of Sheriff Fastdraw Dave, Deputy Calamity June, Jailer John, Hangman Don, Basher Barbie, the Piano Man Ian and Hound Dog  Whoofie. TT & CC posted reward posters for information to find the Angels-Gold coin rewards (Choc of course) at the Hotel/Motel, the petanque terrain and the TT & CC wagon.

Alexandra won this time so it's now square: 1 draw and 2 wins each..... Til next time.....

Kariyln Murray

Neglect Warm Up Cool Down Exercises At Your Peril

That seems to be a message regular competitive players especially, would do well to heed. The physical demands made on a rugby player are fairly obvious, but petanque players also must not neglect simple warm up exercises prior to competition.

Soft tissue injuries e.g.: Tendonitis, Teno Synovitis and Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) are no strangers to the terrain - a simple routine before and after play will help reduce the incidence of these and other potentially debilitating injuries.

Warming Up

The aim of the warm up is to prepare the mind, heart muscles and joints for physical activities. There are three stages to a complete warm up:

1. Aerobic exercises 5 - 10 minutes of non-specific exercise e.g. light jogging to bring the body up to its optimum working temperature.

2. Mobility exercises - stretching taking the body through the full range of movement beginning with general stretches and ending with more specific stretches.

3. Specific exercises - practice the basic movements and skills of the sport.

We have all noticed how our ‘game’ often seems to improve as a tournament progresses or 'go off’ after a prolonged break. A warm up prior to starting competition or after a break will help optimise ones performance.

Cooling Down

1. The aim of the cool down is to aid recovery by gradually returning the body to its resting state. There are three stages to a complete cool down:

2. Generally 5 - 10 minutes of low intensity exercise is sufficient.

3. An active cool down will also help flush waste products such as lactic acid out of the muscles reducing stiffness.

4. Stretching of muscles during cool down is also important as cooling muscles shorten rapidly, partially reducing flexibility.

(Originally published in the ‘Boules Gazette’ 03 / 98, Newsletter of the NZPA)

Dr Cam Calder

2006 National Senior Doubles Championship

Senior Petanque (60+yrs) in New Zealand is about to take another significant step in its development with the hosting by the Kapiti Club, on December 9 - 10, of the inaugural National Senior Doubles Championship.

Not only is this a great opportunity for the over 60's to compete against their peers for a National title, but also strong performances by individuals / teams will enhance their likelihood of being selected in the National Senior Team to play Australia in the 2007 Trans Tasman Series, to be held in Australia. The qualifying age for both Senior Trans Tasman selection and entry to the Nationals is 60+ as of 08.12.06

The format will be similar to other PNZ National tournaments except on the first day of competition there will be five games to play rather than the standard six games.

Entry fee will be $30 per team. The Kapiti Club will make available a sausage sizzle for lunch on both days. Tea and coffee will be provided. On the Saturday night there will be an opportunity for players to socialise and have an $18 three course meal at Cookies Restaurant.

At the restaurant there will be a prize giving for performances of teams from the first days play and also the top sixteen teams will be announced to contest the Championship title.

A requirement of these Championships is that all teams have to be identifiable by playing in like coloured shirts.

Murray Porter

National Senior Selector

Auckland Seniors at Stanley Bay

Following on from the two successful tournaments last season, four tournaments have been organised for the present season. The first of these was a triples tournament held at the Stanley Bay Club terrain in Devonport on Thursday 27 September.

It was a lovely sunny day, the tide was in and with the later start of 10.00 for 10.30am, no one had trouble with the dreaded Auckland traffic. Tea, coffee, muffins and scones were provided for the players in the club-rooms, ten spot prizes were won by players and the terrain provided challenging and interesting games for all the teams.

Fourteen teams took part and we were very pleased to have four teams from Browns Bay along with teams from Cockle Bay, Kennedy Park, Northcote, Epsom and Stanley Bay. The format was four games in a random draw and we expected to get a clear result from that.

However, it was not to be, as two teams had 4 wins +35 points so there was a playoff between Ron Sandilands, Simon Faby and Charles Brock against Margaret Maher, Jean Parley and Leonora Carr.

It was to be a Ladies Day, with Margaret, Jean and Leonora winning 13 - 4. Feedback from the players was that it had been a great day with good games, good food, good people, lots of laughs, tons of frustration (well the usual) and everyone is looking forward to the next one at Epsom.

The Stanley Bay Club would like to thank all the participants for making it so enjoyable and for helping with the putting away of gear at the end. We were thrilled that so many folk stayed to watch the final. But then, what else have we got to do!

Results

Winners: Margaret .Maher, Jean Parley and Leonora Carr

Runners up: Ron Sandilands, Simon Faby and Charles Brock

Third: Myrine Ferguson, Julie Leadbetter and Gordon Penney (3wins,  +23pts)

Fourth: Norma McLeod, Ron Telford and Warren Barrett (3wins,  +11 pts)

All the Auckland seniors' tournaments are open, so players from anywhere else are most welcome to play. Individual entries from each tournament accumulate and go into a draw for boules and accessories to the value of $250 from Cam Calder. The lucky winner will be drawn at the last tournament.

Jean Parley

Papanui Petanque Club

Papanui Petanque has, like everyone else, been suffering from the cold weather, but we still have the keen players who turn up in almost any weather.

A group of us went to Woolston Club at the start of July for the opening of their petanque pistes, and it was good to see so many people there from other clubs to give encouragement and advice, which was much appreciated.

Of course we are happy to see another Chartered Club start up a petanque section - not all of them have the space. It was a good day, from the weather to the organisation and the food. I hope we soon see some of their members at some of the other clubs, getting a bit of practice.

Our members who went to Bastille Day enjoyed their games-we were just annoyed that illness stopped Tony and I from being there, but Helen and Bruce did well for the Section by winning the Plate.

Hazel Styler, Club Secretary

Ascot Petanque Club

We appreciate the support given by the senior players from Christchurch Petanque with coaching of technique and tactical advice on the game. Andrew Findlay was also helpful giving up his time as umpire for our Drawn Triples Competition.

Players enjoyed the trip to Dunedin for the South Island Doubles, especially joining with the Christchurch Club for games in Timaru, Oamaru and Waikouaiti on the way to Dunedin. The entertainment provided by players was a great way to meet and relax with others, and to experience Southern hospitality.

Ascot welcomes players from other clubs on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Start time is 10.00am at our venue at the Ascot Community Hall, Ascot Avenue, Christchurch.

Chris Taylor

Excelsior Petanque Club Triples

Excelsior Petanque Club, Oamaru ran a Mixed Triple Tournament on 16 & 17 September 2006. We had about 60 folk playing, from Christchurch, Timaru, Oamaru, Waikouaiti and Dunedin, and it was very successful (including the weather).

Although the wind was a bit strong at times, everybody appeared to enjoy themselves, and with about 14 games of petanque over the two days, and why not. After all the motto of a tournament was enjoy yourselves, have fun.

The food and the company were good, and the Excelsior club was pleased to receive the many complementary remarks made by the visitors about our pistes and competitions.

Club members were thrilled to have the opportunity to play against some of the top ranked players from other South Island clubs, and were able to hear about tactics and skill level of these skilled competitive players.

Results of the tournament were:

• Championship

  1st: A Findlay, D Findlay, M Pfhalert (Christchurch Club)

  2nd: N Welsh, M Bunce, C Bunce (Alexandra Club)

   

• Plate

  1st: N Frost, S Frost, M Conwav (Caversham Club)

  2nd: J Goodin, N Goodin, J Brown (Caversham Club)

   

• Bowl

  1st:J Gibson, M Wilson, S. Cox (St Kilda Club)

  2nd:A Duncan, S Tonkin, M Baxter (Excelsior Club)

   

• Saucer

  1st: B WiIkin, P Wilkin, V Moon (Timaru Town & Country Club)

  2nd:D Hammond, J Grant, C Perry (Composite entry)

   

• Egg Cup

  1st: M Curren, K Stephen, K Murray (Timaru Town & Country Club)

  2nd: D McGregor, P Harrington, R Harrington (Excelsior Club)

Alister Duncan, Secretary

2006 Peugeot National Singles Championship, Kapiti Petanque Club, Paraparaumu

2006 Peugeot National Championships Results