Personality Profile – Steve
Thwaites
Unfortunately due
to a computer ‘meltdown’ over
Xmas the Editor lost her
carefully compiled story on
Steve. Needing to get the mag
out on time I asked him to send
me some details of the
conversation, we had over Labour
Weekend last year. I have
decided to print the story he
kindly sent me - Steve’s story
in his own words…….
It all started in
the summer of early ‘98. Neil
Satherley and I got second in
our first tournament ever (we
learnt how to play during our
first game). It was a fun
tournament out near Sumner
organised by a Frenchman, Niko.
He had sent out fliers in the
mail and Neil received one in
his mailbox. So we popped in on
our way home from the beach to
have a look.
We beat a
Swiss(?) guy and his partner in
the semi final, the guy was
coaching petanque around NZ at
the time and was a pretty good
shooter. We were the local
heroes for beating this guy
because he had won the event the
previous few years and was much
too serious. (Well after winning
the event the following 2 years
Neil and I became the one’s they
didn’t like).
We found out that
there was a club in Hagley Park
so we bowled along to check it
out. We joined and entered the
club triples (Neil, ‘Oose’
(Craig) McKenzie and myself).
Our first game was against the
top seeds, Andrew and Diane
Findlay and David Direen.
We won the game
to everybody’s surprise and went
on to the semi finals where we
were narrowly beaten. We had our
revenge when we beat the same
team in the final of the South
Island Triples a month later.
We saw the
National Triples advertised in
‘The Bouletin’ which were to be
held in Napier. Nobody else from
the club was going, we thought
well we’re the South Island
champs let’s go represent the
South Island, (it basically was
a good excuse for a piss up). So
off we went and what a weekend
it turned out to be.
I think our goal
was to make the championship,
which we did on the first day. (Oose
by the way borrowed Noel Hunts
boules to be able to play, Neil
had his boules in his pillow
case). At the end of the day we
played one game in the next
round, which we lost. So
figuring that was the end of us
we went out and had one hell of
a night on the booze.
We arrived the
next morning half an hour late
(because the tournament had
started early without us
knowing). We were boozed to the
eye balls, Oose fell over in the
gutter as we arrived. Our first
game took something like 2 hours
which we eventually won (it took
Christian a couple of years, to
get aver that one).
We continued
beating much better players and
next thing we knew we were in
the semi-finals. We even
outlasted the sun as we played
the final half of the semi under
car lights. We won the semi but
it was decided that the final
couldn’t be played that night
due to the lack of light and the
fact that there was so much at
stake (a trip to the
Canary Islands
to represent NZ in the World
Champs).
This presented a
problem for us as we had to
drive a rental car back to
Wellington and catch a flight
that night. Disappointed we
offered to default the final,
the response was probably the
most overwhelming experience of
my life. I can remember Cam
Calder starting a collection,
there was no way he was going to
see us default the final. Enough
money was collected to cover our
added cost to fly home Monday.
That night we
didn’t get any sleep (not from
boozing this time but because we
were so nervous).
The final wasn’t
the greatest display of petanque
as all players were so nervous,
but it was certainly a tight
match. Louis, Chris and Jorg
were winning 12 - 9, Neil had
played 1 boule and we were still
holding after they had played
all 6. Neil pointed his 2nd
which was too long, Oose pointed
his first too long and his
second too short. I pointed both
of my boules right on the
cochonnet which gave us 3
points, we measured for the 4th
for the game but were 74mm out.
The score was 12
- 12. The next end Neil pointed
the first boule right in front
of the cochonnet. Jorg played
his 1st which was about 1 - 2
metres wide. At this point Neil,
Oose and I thought we had won,
however Jorg’s next boule was
our downfall, it curled around
Neil’s boule to sit between
Neil’s boule and the cochonnet.
I tried shooting but only took
Neil’s boule, it took a number
of shots to get rid of Jorg’s
boule and that was the game.
Our presence at
the nationals opened the doorway
for South Island petanque, up
till then I don’t think the
North Island knew people played
down south.
Since then we
have had 2 national tournaments
in Christchurch and the level of
petanque has improved vastly
through other South Islanders
travelling and competing in
other national tournaments.
Since then we have managed to
defend our South Island Triples
crown for the past 2 years.
Neil and I won
the Winter Doubles ‘98 (a three
month tournament) and have
defended the title 2 years
following. We were runners up in
the Club Doubles ‘98 and then
won it the following 2 years. In
the Club Triples ‘99 we were
beaten in the semi finals again,
and won it in 2000.
We won the Plate
final at the ‘99 National
Triples. Neil and I won the
inaugural Caversham Festival
Doubles (a biannual event) and
defended our title this year. I
won the Club Singles in 2000,
giving me every South Island
title that I could obtain at the
time.
I made the
quarter finals of the National
Singles 2000. Neil and I came
3rd in the National Doubles
2000. I have been on the Club
committee for 3 years. My
partner Sarah calls herself a
“petanque widow” because I’m
always either playing petanque
or organising petanque.
Steve Thwaites
Reminiscences of the Peugeot
National Doubles - 2000
“Have you entered
the National Doubles, Bernie?” I
asked. “No,” he replied “I’m not
good enough!”
As Bernie had
reached our Club Singles final,
I felt decidedly stupid for
having the temerity to enter.
Nevertheless, Michael and I had
paid our monies and in what
other sport can you contest a
national title without
pre-qualifying!
We had a practice
session with Terry and Art on
the preceding Wednesday - and
were soundly beaten. So we
turned up on Saturday morning
with low expectations but
determined to enjoy the
experience. We met John and Gary
from Hawke’s Bay first up and
although we got our nose in
front on the 7th end, they
finished us off with a 5 in the
9th to win 13 - 7. We had a chat
and remembered Andrew’s lesson
about damage control when the
opposition have plenty of boules
in hand!
Bill and Wayne
“from the
Hibiscus
Coast and
Warkworth” said Bill, were next.
They were ranked tenth so what
have we got to lose, we thought.
Michael commenced to point like
the champion he is and Wayne was
having an off day - lo and
behold we were 8 -0 up by the
4th end!
Bill and Wayne
scored 1 on the 5th and 2 on the
7th end before we went to 12 - 3
on the 9th. Then they got 2 on
the 10th end, 3 on the 11th and
4 on the 12th.
We had a pow-wow
and invoking our Germanic
ancestors, we squeezed out that
vital 13th point on the 13th
end. Who said that 13 is an
unlucky number? The world was
looking a better place.
Louis and Cam
from Auckland were next. They
scored 4 before we got our first
point on the 4th end. We got 2
on the 6th end and 4 on the 9th
but that was all; we were given
a good lesson by 13 - 7.
Ian and Jean from
Park Ave, Wellington scored 7
points before we got on the
board with 5 on the 5th end. We
clawed our way to 7 - 9 on the
9th before Ian and Jean got 3 on
the 10th and were down 7 - 12.
We scored 4 somehow on the 11th
and 2 on the 12th to scrape in
(again) at 13 - 12.
Toni and Kay of
Dunedin were next. Kay won the
toss and drew a circle with a
happy face inside it. We lost
that end by 3 and Michael
scrubbed out the happy face at
the other end - and it was all
on for young and old. Repartee
was more important that pointing
- or bombing! We got our nose in
front 6 - 5 on the 5th and
although we got 3 on the 6th and
8th, Toni and Kay fought back
with a 3. We scrapped 1 on the
10th to win 13 - 10 on the
scoreboard, but I’m sure we lost
on the verbal exchanges.
So we had made it
through to championship Round 2
by virtue of our 3 wins.
Our first 2nd
round match was against Brian
Smith and Dirk Winnie. We didn’t
check their ranking before the
game and I can remember
wondering where you could buy
the New Zealand shirts they were
wearing.
While measuring
with his trusty radio aerial on
the first end, Michael moved the
cochonnet and Dirk said, “This
boule is out!” “Smarmy
Wellington-ites” we thought. So
I said to Michael “they want to
play hard boule - 2 can play at
that game!”
So when they
asked how many boules we had
left on the second end, I told
them to “count the boules on the
carpet.” So Dirk and Brian
realised we were upset and
explained the finer points of
measuring and politely suggest
to Michael that he should
dispense with the aerial.
We settled down
to play and the points started
mounting up - to us. Michael was
on the spot with pointing and I
was shooting Dirks boules every
time. We were enjoying the
experience, expecting the wheels
to fall off any minute - but
they didn’t and amazingly, we
won 13 - 0! Louis said “tres
bon” or something similar as we
returned to the score table and
Diane said “Did you realise they
are ranked 3rd?” My knees went
weak and we thanked our lucky
stars we didn’t.
Laural Priestley
and Jorge Schulze from Auckland
brought us back to earth next
game, beating us 13 - 6 but we
snuck in 13 - 11 on our 3rd game
against Stuart and Lenore
Buchanan - to scrape through
into the 3rd round.
So, as the oldest
pair through to the 3rd round,
did we go home to rest up? Not
likely! We had adrenalins
running and there was no
stopping us.
We enjoyed the
dinner and entertainment at the
Club. However, next morning was
a different matter. Michael’s
alarm clock took pity on him and
reduced me to a nervous wreck
before he arrived at 7.58am!!
Christian and
Niau had been practicing since
5.00am and had no intention of
letting us psyche them out. I
thought our gift of 5 points on
the first end was a little too
much encouragement. And when we
had 5 shots on them soon after,
I was slightly greedy going for
a 6th - finishing with 3 - the
writing was on the wall. It felt
like we had only started when we
were finished 13 - 4.
Trevor and Sue
Neilson from Rotorua were our
next opponents and we had our
chances but couldn’t take them.
Sue was very steady under
pressure and they deservedly won
13 - 9.
Our final
opponents were Eric Herbert and
Matt Bradbury from the Hot Air
Capital. We definitely felt like
“Dad’s Army” against this
efficient pair - when they got
out the tape to measure our 3rd
throw of the cochonnet - which
incidentally was 5.88m. We went
down 13 - 6.
What a wonderful
experience we had! What
characters there were; from the
cheery Bill Peachy, farmer from
the Hibiscus Coast, to
dentist/doctor/petanque
equipment importer, Cam Calder,
Gallic Louis and Christian, fun
loving Toni and Kaye of Dunedin
and the extraordinary skills of
Charles, Georgio and Niau.
A special thanks
to Andrew and Diane who not only
planned and coordinated the
tournament but also were on site
at 7.00am each day doing
necessary chores.
All in all, a
wonderful experience, never to
be forgotten.
Malcolm Pfahlert
- Christchurch
Kapiti’s First Open Event
Kapiti Club’s
first open event, a Doubles
Championship, proved a magnet
for leading national players.
Eight of the
top-ranked 16 players competed
in the 28 team field, which
included players from Auckland,
Wanganui, Hawkes Bay and the
Wellington region.
The 2 day
championship held in January
followed Kapiti’s successful
hosting of national and regional
events.
Championship
winners were Dirk Winnie and
Brian Smith -
Wellington,
who beat Denise Bavidge and
Geoff Greer - Hawkes Bay, in the
final. Third place went to
Murray Porter - Hawkes Bay, and
Ian Baker - Auckland.
The Plate was won
by Gordon Dykes and
Evan Green - Wellington, and the
Bowl by Patrick Smith and Bruce
McLauchlan - Wellington.
Kapiti club
President, Fay Doyle, was
delighted with the success of
the event.
“The success of
Kapiti’s first Open Doubles
ensures that the event will
become an annual fixture
alongside other important North
Island contests,” she said.
Fay said it was
pleasing that local businesses
had been generous with their
support. This sponsorship
included the winner’s trophy
provided by Kapiti club members
Fran and Robin Pennell, of the
Lindale Olive Shop.
Harl Stevens
Peugeot New Zealand Open,
Victoria Park – January 2001
Auckland
petanque clubs are to be
congratulated for hosting the
2001 NZ Open. This years
tournament surprised the
organisers with 33 teams making
the trip from Tahiti and New
Caledonia.
The logistics of
accommodating and transporting
this number of mainly French
speaking participants, not to
mention the fantastic party put
on for us on Sunday night, is a
tribute to a huge ‘behind the
scenes’ effort. Well done
Auckland for being a great
ambassador for NZ petanque.
Our overseas
visitors must have wondered if
petanque was only played in
Auckland, for besides the 26
teams from the Auckland region,
only 5 came from the rest of the
country. This event has to be
the best way to see the top
teams in action, and to attempt
to play against them. We know
the top Tahitian teams are the
world’s best.
The Belgium 2000
World Champion winners toured
Oceania late last year and were
regularly beaten by these guys.
French politics prevents Tahiti
being represented in the World
Champs, a great pity.
The two rounds of
pool play where spread between
Victoria Park and Herne Bay.
Most of the NZ players were well
represented in the eventual bowl
and plate rounds. The highest
placed NZ team to make it
through were Tiki Ruta and John
Pettit.
The game to watch
was a gripping semi final match
between the last of the Moorea
teams and the eventual winners
from
Tahiti.
The intense rivalry was evident,
rumour had it, the wager on this
game considerably surpassed the
NZ prize money on offer.
All pointing was
within 50cm of the cochonnet.
All but two tiers shot the
target off the piste, but
delivered with such velocity
that very few shots would be
identified as perfect carraeu.
Of course the
highlight is the Sunday night
party, petanque all night for
those who hadn’t had enough,
live music, one big happy
petanque family, fantastic Cook
Island drum band, gyrating
dancers, grass skirts, coconut
bikini tops - wow steady - too
much!
Neil Dykes
Club Profile
-
Rotorua
Petanque Club
The club was
initiated in June 1996 from
a steering committee
initiated by the Rotorua
Bowling Club. Original
members included Malcolm
Ballard and Trevor Neilson.
The Bowling
Club offered their practice
green and worked with the
Rotorua District Council to
include the establishment of
a suitable petanque terrain
into the already begun multi
million dollar upgrade of
the Government Gardens.
Following
much research by the
petanque club the steering
committee devised the best
method for laying the
terrain. The lawn was
removed and reused around
the Croquet lawns. The
topsoil dug out and
stockpiled by the Council.
Thirteen
truckloads of pumice were
purchased and dumped onto
the site. First a heavier
grade for the base and then
a finer grade was
distributed over the surface
by bobcat. A paving company
was then employed to level
the whole surface consisting
of a 37 x 37 metre
rectangle.
Earth works
in Rotorua come with a
unique set of problems. A
water tanker and roller were
used to dampen and roll the
terrain. A vibrator was not
used as this may have
resulted in the heavier
sub-base breaking down. Due
to the underground thermal
activity sump holes could
not be drilled to allow for
proper drainage. It was
hoped the sub base would
absorb excess water and
drain away naturally.
This theory
proved inadequate following
the 1999 marathon storm,
which allowed play on only 3
of the 24 courts. The laying
of suitable drainage has now
eliminated this problem and
you now longer need a pair
of gumboots to play in heavy
rain!
By October of
the same year 40 members
were signed up at a public
meeting and the Rotorua
Petanque Club was born. Subs
were set at $75, quite high
but designed to attract only
those members who were truly
keen and included a
capitation fee of $35 to the
Bowling Club. This allowed
the Club it’s own identity
without being controlled by
a parent Club but the use of
their facilities.
The total
cost of the terrain was born
by the Bowling Club and the
fees would repay them over
the long term. A reduced fee
of $20 was eventually agreed
on.
The inaugural
ANZAC Doubles was held in
1997 with a prize pool of
$800, which attracted
players from around the
country. For many players
this was their first
opportunity to play in a
major open tournament and 60
entered for what has become
an annual event.
In February
1998 the National Singles
was held at the terrain and
saw Niau Ruta defending his
title.
Amongst other
local promotions, the Club
played to an audience of 21
million Taiwanese on a TV
game show of which 2 teams
of stars from Taiwan played
a version of their game
throwing boules and water
bombs!
Rotorua
Petanque is also among a
growing number of clubs that
include the NZPA
subscription in with the
club subs, meaning all of
their members are licensed.
Rotorua hosts
the Peugeot National Triples
and the NZPA AGM this
Easter.
Deep South Report
Festival week in
Otago and many of the best
petanque players in the South
headed to Waikouaiti and Dunedin
for two major competitions.
Friday morning,
February 9 and 40 keen
‘boulists’ arrived at the
Walkouaiti piste for the South
Island Singles Championship.
After the first 2
games, the 2 top seeds had been
beaten. Top seed Steve Thwaites
(Chch) was defeated by an
ecstatic Doris Hammond (Waik)
then followed with a second loss
to club mate John Yellowlees.
Meanwhile the second seed,
Branko Cvetjan (Cav) went down
to Timaru stalwart Barbara
Parker. Apart from Mark Stewart
(Cav) the remaining seeds all
had tough qualifiers through to
the semi finals.
Branko and Mark (Cav)
defeated Bob Vernal (Chch) and
Mark Choveaux (Cav) respectively
to act out a repeat of their
club championship dash with Mark
prevailing 13 - 9 in an exciting
final. Both players exhibited
some excellent pointing however
Mark Stewart’s carreau paved the
way for a title win in the
inaugural South Island Singles.
The tournament
emphasised the sport’s growth
both in popularity and skills
and gives the smaller clubs
confidence in their ability to
both hold and play competitively
in major events.
Saturday morning
and on to Dunedin. By the end of
the day, 7 of the 8 seeds had
qualified with some excellent
displays of pointing on the
newly laid surface. Sunday
dawned with threatening weather
clouds however these gave way to
warm sunny conditions. Pools A &
C looked very interesting with
the former providing all the
drama.
Top seeds, Steve
Thwaites and Neil Satherley (Chch)
lost their first game to Daf
Smith and Ivan Hansen (Chch)
then won their other 2 games
convincingly after changing
Steve to pointer. The final game
in this round saw Dafyd and Ivan
playing the very strong
Harlequins, a composite team of
Andrew Findlay (Chch) and Barrie
Kendall (Cav).
Each of the three
teams could go through to the
semis but finally in a tense
game with the composite team
being successful.
Both semi finals
were an example of the wonderful
spirit in which the game is
played in the South Island with
Steve and Neil and Branko
Cvetjan & Mark Stewart winning
out and going on to meet each
other in the final. The final
was dominated by Steve’s
brilliant pointing with Neil
shooting in support. Branko and
Mark could not get any control
in the game and were defeated 13
- 0.
The final end of
the game was classic petanque at
its best. Steve and Neil were
ahead 8 - 0 and holding 2 shots
and fourth and fifth shots. Neil
shot out the third placed boule
with a fantastic carreau and the
pairing claimed five shots, the
match and the Festival Doubles
title.
The playoff for
third and fourth went to Mark
Choveaux and Warren McConnell
over Bev Kendall and Aileen
Simpson, the latter pairing
coming back to the form they
showed a year ago.
The Plate as
always is a bit more relaxed but
still very competitive with some
excellent skills on show. Billie
Sepsy and Robin Adamson winning
a tight game over Bob and
Lorraine Watson with Timaru
Master Games winners Reed and
Pat Jamieson equal third with
locals Bev Dickson and Ngaire
Todd.
The comradeship
over the three days was immense
and I am sure that the upset
wins by Doris over Steve and
Barbara over Branko and the
efforts of the so-called ‘lesser
lights’ will live long in their
memories.
As Tournament
Convenor for the events, I thank
all those who assisted Anne
Sinclair and myself in what I
think has been three days of
marvellous fellowship.
Television and the local paper
also covered both events.
Terry Holt |
