Vice President’s Report
As I sit down to
write I am very involved in the
travel arrangements for the New
Zealand team to the World
Championships in Monaco. I feel
very privileged to be manager
and am enjoying the challenge of
making sure the team is well
equipped to do their best for us
on the world stage.
My job is not
only to ensure the travel,
accommodation and funding come
together, I also have some extra
tasks to perform in Monaco. I
will be attending the meeting of
delegates (along with Christian)
where I will be making contact
with delegates from other
participating countries and will
endeavour to continue the
rapport that Christian has built
up over the last few years and
create a database of contacts
that will be helpful to New
Zealand petanque.
My other tasks
are to gain knowledge of the
selection policy/process used by
other countries and to observe
and talk to arbitres so I can
bring back information on
techniques and equipment used at
this level. This will help Terry
Holt who is developing a
programme for umpiring (in
association with the British
Petanque Association).
Some people ask
why are we competing at this
level at all? Why don’t we
compete in the Pacific Region
until we improve our standard of
play in our own backyard?
I support both
arenas of competition. Although
we finished third at the last
Oceania Championships (a very
creditable result) we are the
voice of the Pacific at world
level. Australia competes at the
World Championships and attends
the meeting of delegates, but it
is to New Zealand that Oceania
countries look to carry the
‘Pacific Flag’. New Caledonia,
Tahiti and Vanuatu are not
invited to the World
Championships.
Competition at
the Oceania Championships gives
more of our top players the
opportunity to play at the
international level. If we don’t
have this international exposure
we won’t grow our sport to the
best level possible. The skills
and knowledge gained at
international level filters
through all levels of petanque
in our country
One of the great
things about our sport (apart
from the friendships we make) is
the fact that we can all find
our competitive level. For the
top ranked players it is to
represent New Zealand, win a
national championship or just to
move up the seeding list. For
others it may be to win the
plate or bowl at one of the
national championships and
defeat a higher ranked team
along the way. The delight on
the faces of the team that wins
the plate or the bowl is just
great to see.
For me, I love
the challenge of the skills
involved in the game, the
tactics, the rivalry and above
all the wonderful friends I have
made through the sport I love.
Graeme Morris
Personality Profiles
For this issue of
Petanque New Zealand, the Editor
was sent a profile from Cockle
Bay featuring their oldest
player. The question arose “is
he the oldest active player in
the country?” A search went out
and the following article
features what are believed to be
the 3 oldest active club players
in the country If your club can
beat this let me know.
-
Ken Hamilton
Cockle Bay
(Auckland) is honoured to
have as a member, Ken Hall
who celebrated his 90th
birthday on July 24th. 2001.
Ken joined the Club about
five years ago and is still
playing on a regular basis.
Provided the weather is
reasonable, Ken can be seen
on the piste on most club
days.
He enjoys the
company, the people, and the
friendly, competitive
atmosphere. It is always a
pleasure to play in the same
team as Ken, he is a real
gentleman a competent
player, and he has a good
sense of humour.
He looks much
younger than his years, and
the way in which he makes
light of his health
problems, and continues to
live alone, caring for both
his house and garden, is an
inspiration to us all. As
well as Petanque he plays
indoor short tennis twice a
week at the Pakuranga
Community Centre.
Beverley
Emson
-
Jean Melville
Although she
may not know it,
Khandallah’s Jean is quite
famous. At a 2 day Petanque
NZ committee meeting back in
August 1999, members sat
around the table discussing
the meaty issues, glad the
weather outside was quite
miserable when right on one
o’clock Jean and her friend
Marg Sellars arrived for
their regular games. Now
whenever the committee meet
they look out for one of the
most dedicated players in
Wellington.
As you might
have guessed Jean is of good
southern stock and a little
bit of freezing weather
isn’t going to keep her from
the piste.
Until last
season she divided her time
between lawn bowls, indoor
bowls and petanque. The long
days involved in playing
lawn bowls have meant Jean
has finally had to give up
that game and she can now
devote her time to the other
2 sports she enjoys. Even a
fall and a broken arm
earlier this year hasn’t
slowed her down too much.
Jean turned
90 in June and was awarded
the President’s Trophy for
the clubs most valuable
player.
Brenda Dykes
-
Dot Judkins
Every Tuesday
a group of friends meet. No,
not to have a coffee but to
do battle on the petanque
terrain. Not unusual you may
think but this group is very
special. Where else could
you find a sporting group
totalling between 350 - 400
years between them?
Christchurch
Petanque welcomes many
players of all ages to ‘the
friendliest game in town’
and some 3 years ago a
feisty ‘young’ lady joined
and has played twice weekly
ever since then. Dot Judkins
is the epitome of the active
mature generation of players
and her natural guile (some
would say native cunning) is
very evident in her play.
She loves the fresh air,
gentle exercise and
companionship she finds with
her friends.
Dot was born
and raised in Cromwell and
retired to Christchurch some
35 years ago. She has many
interests including petanque,
chiefly reading, attending
to her garden and she plays
both petanque and bridge on
a regular basis although she
is experiencing some
eyesight difficulties
lately. That could of course
be contributed to her other
major interest - rugby.
Maybe being a one eyed
Cantabrian will place less
strain on her eye!
Dot has
recently returned from a 4
week overseas trip visiting
with her London based
daughter and holidaying in
the South of France. She
spent time in both Paris and
Cannes and although
available for the French
petanque team did not
receive the expected call
up.
So just how
old is Dot? She admits to 21
+ but 91 1/2 is closer to
the mark!
Diane Findlay
Queens Birthday Weekend 2001
-
Caversham
Petanque Club
The ‘clans’
gathered to do battle at
Culloden - oops - I meant to
say Caversham at Queens
Birthday weekend for the
inaugural South Island
Doubles Championship and the
annual Winter Club
Challenge.
The northern
invaders were confident but
those devilish Southerners
had news for them. Not only
had they re-surfaced the
terrain but also in a
cunning ploy they even
arranged for fine weather.
This somewhat unsettled
those who have been known in
the past to have commented
unfavourably about ‘weather
for ducks’, ‘liquid
sunshine’ ‘puddles’ and
other such derogatory
phrases when playing in
Dunedin.
Battle
commenced with the South
Island Doubles which waxed
and waned over two days
until only 2 doubles teams
were standing. It will come
as no surprise that one
team, Mark Richardson and
Billie Sepsy were from
Caversham and the other,
Steve
Thwaites and Ivan Hansen
from Christchurch. The final
was held under lights and in
bracing (OK freezing)
conditions. Steve and Ivan
were the victors on this
occasion after a stirring
match and good-natured
parochial support for both
teams.
Monday dawned
clear again. The Club teams
went into their prematch
huddle - not for moral
support - it was simply
warmer! Competition was
fierce and as the air warmed
so did the camaraderie
culminating in a mid terrain
impromptu waltz between Ian
H. from Timaru (who shall
remain anonymous) and a well
known former NZPA committee
member when both
overbalanced and fell into
each other’s arms.
Ian H. was
further to the fore when a
boule was accidentally
dropped in an unfortunate
place. The next end they
were measuring from a
crouched position and he
kept asking for boules to be
remeasured. When the non-plussed
opponent asked why he was
told - well its more
comfortable crouched like
this and I just need an
excuse to stay like this.
Such is the stuff of
legends!
The final
results had Caversham
winning (some would argue
rightfully) the Winter
Challenge Trophy from
Christchurch with Waikouaiti
third. They were warned to
keep the trophy polished and
handy ready for Winter 2002.
Wewill be back!
Diane Findlay
-
Mid Winter
Madness - Masterton Petanque
Club
I learnt a
lot from this tournament.
Did you know the popular
plant Mexican Orange blossom
can withstand a 5 degree
frost? From this remark you
can guess the A & P show
buildings at Clareville were
the coldest in the country
last Queens Birthday
weekend.
Neil, Gordon
and I travelled over the
Rimutukas on Friday night
and stayed in Masterton,
preparing ourselves for the
next 2 days intensive play.
This proved a very wise
decision. Not only were we
treated to the magnificent
site of the Tararuas covered
in snow but we also missed
the ice on the road drivers
had to contend with coming
over the ranges early on
Saturday morning. You get
the picture, it was cold!
Players
arrived at the venue to be
greeted with the early
morning sun streaming
through the building, more
than a dozen braziers
burning and the hospitality
of the friendly Masterton
players.
And arrive
they did from all over the
North Island and even as far
away as Germany for this
event. Some will remember
Rhinehart Mueller from the
triples in Rotorua this
year. Seems he had trouble
finding a partner for the
Mid Winter event and asked a
friend in Germany to come
over for a couple of weeks
holiday and partner him in a
tournament.
The final was
one of the best I’ve seen
between ‘Le Carreau’
(Christian Fouquet & Georgio
Vakauta) and ‘The
Thrillseekers’ (Dirk
Winnie
& Brian Smith). A large
crowd of spectators stayed
on late into the freezing
night to watch a magnificent
game.
The wine
flowed keeping everyone warm
when the firewood ran out.
Of course copious volumes of
wine makes everyone petanque
champions and the players
were given support, advice
and criticism throughout the
game. Christian and Georgio
kept their cool and took the
title with a well deserved
13 – 11 win.
Plate
winners: ‘Double Trouble’
(Joan Miller and Gary Craig
- Masterton)
Bowl winners:
‘Little Feet’ (John Maxwell
and Kevin Rouse Hawkes Bay)
Brenda Dykes
Petanque New Zealand News
Your Committee
held a 2 day meeting in
Wellington over the weekend of
7th and 8th July 2001. The
following is a summary of the
issues discussed and decisions
made:
-
Name change.
We agreed that our
organisation should be known
as ‘Petanque New Zealand’,
rather than ‘The New Zealand
Petanque Association’. The
latter name conveys a rather
stodgy; old fashioned image,
and the initials NZPA can
get (and have been!)
confused with the NZ Press
Association and NZ Police
Association. The ‘new’ name
will be for publicity
purposes; legally we are
still the NZPA. We can look
at an official name change
in conjunction with the
revision of our
Constitution.
-
Petanque NZ
will set up and run its own
website. Brenda Dykes and
Brian Smith were delegated
to go ahead with action
required.
-
World
Championships - update from
Team manager (Graeme Morris)
and delegate (Christian
Fouquet) on travel,
accommodation, uniform and
fundraising arrangements.
(Note that the team will
just about be on the point
of departure by the time you
read this.)
-
2001 National
Singles and Doubles
tournaments at Labour
Weekend - updates from
organiser on arrangements:
-
Singles
entry allocation method
altered to random draw
for non-priority entries
-
Format
for Singles will now be
8 pools of eight, but
only six games in each
pool
-
The
terrain will not be
strung into individual
pistes
-
Players
will be required to
start each end from
where the cochonnet
finished up on the
previous end.
-
A survey
will be held to assess
the success or otherwise
of the combined
Singles/Doubles format.
-
Rotorua
Triples - debrief from
organisers. Generally a very
well run and enjoyable
tournament. Did raise a few
matters:
-
Eligibility for playing
in National tournaments:
We agreed that as from 1
January 2002, players
will be required to hold
New Zealand residency
(as defined in the
Immigration laws) in
order to be a Registered
Player (and therefore
eligible to enter
Petanque NZ National
Championships).
-
The need
for a walkway down the
centre of the terrain
will be added to the
tournament protocols.
-
Need to
clarify rules and
conditions about
measuring
-
Need to
have food available for
purchase during events,
especially those over
long weekends.
-
2002
tournament allocation. The
2002 Easter Triples will be
held at Clareville,
Masterton. We decided to
leave the allocation of the
Singles and Doubles until we
see how the combined format
works this year.
-
Women’s
Tournament. A survey will be
done at Labour Weekend, to
see if there is any demand
for such a tournament.
-
Coaching/Umpiring
qualifications.
Terry Holt,
who is masterminding these
issues, gave us an update.
Our goal as a Committee is
to have the systems up and
running by the end of the
year, with regional coaching
co-ordinators established in
all regions, and at least
one umpire qualified to
regional level in each area.
Further information will be
coming direct to Clubs soon.
-
A Petanque NZ
calendar of all major local,
national and international
events will be compiled.
This will be published in
the magazine and posted on
the website. If you have
information on an event that
you think should be on this
calendar, please contact
Brian Smith or Steve
Thwaites.
-
A colour
brochure about petanque for
publicity and profile
raising purposes has been
designed and will be
available shortly. The idea
is to distribute it at
venues such as local
libraries and Information
Offices, and events such as
Masters Games, local Sports
Days. For supplies please
contact Brenda Dykes.
-
Petanque NZ
injury liability. This was
discussed in the light of
the recent motor sport case,
where officials, and
subsequently the national
body, were held responsible
for the deaths of two
spectators at an event.
While petanque may not be
quite as dangerous as motor
racing, we do need to think
about any potential hazards
(that may not be obvious and
covered by commonsense) and
warn participants,
spectators and even
bystanders.
-
World
Championships team selection
process. We agreed that this
needs to change from our
current basis. A sub
committee of Graeme Morris,
Christian Fouquet and Murray
Porter has been set up to
investigate options. If you
have any information or
suggestions, please feel
free to contact them.
Barbara
Whittington
Petanque New
Zealand News – Membership
Structure & Fees 2002
As from 1 January
2002, Petanque NZ will have the
following types of membership
and associated fees:
-
Club
membership
-
Must be a
financial member of a
petanque club.
-
Membership fee $5.00 per
year per member, paid
through the Clubs.
(Clubs will be invoiced
for this fee).
-
Each Club
will get 1 copy of the
magazine for every 3
members, plus all the
usual club information
and basic tournament
information (notices,
entry forms).
-
Club
members can upgrade to a
‘Registered Player’ to
participate in Petanque
NZ tournaments.
-
Registered
Players
-
Member of
a petanque club
Membership fee $5 per
year, paid through club
as above, plus
competitive registration
fee $10 p.a., paid by
individual. Total fees
$15.
-
Individual
Total
fees $15 (membership $5,
competitive registration
$10), paid by individual
Registered players
-
receive the
‘Petanque NZ’
magazine, on a one
per household basis.
-
are
registered to
participate in
Petanque NZ
tournaments.
-
will
be allocated a
registration/licence
number, but will not
have to pay the $5
licence fee (see
below), unless they
ask for an actual
licence.
The $10 fee is to
cover the printing and postage
costs of the magazine and
tournament information and entry
forms, the administrative costs
of handling entries, receipts
and confirmation of entries,
database maintenance etc.
Then there are
some other fees:
-
Magazine
subscription
$10.00 per
year within
New Zealand,
$15.00 overseas, for four
issues per year.
This allows
people who are ‘club’
members, but who wish to
receive their own magazine,
to do so.
-
Licence fee
$5.00. For
those people who want or
need an actual (hard copy)
licence, for example for
playing overseas.
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