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Air New Zealand
Open A Thriller
At 0700 hours
Saturday 15th April the Victoria
Park Petanque terrain could
almost have been the venue for a
model yacht regatta. The marquee
of the other major sponsors of
the event, Peugeot, was a very
welcome sight as it took shape
before our eyes and provided a
dry haven as the rain continued
steadily until just before
midday.
Play eventually got
underway about then. Chris
Priestley selflessly elected not
to play himself and ensured the
smooth operation of the draw.
Play on the
second day proceeded from the
Quarter Final stage. The
semi-finals saw the departure of
Plate Winners in last years
National Championships Bev and
Buster Emson and National
Championship finalists Cam
Calder and Andrew Tyson.
The final was a
tense, gripping affair between
1994 National Championship
winner Jorg Schulze and 1995
North Harbour Masters Games
winner Clem Boer and Ross
Malcolm and June Parker. This
hard fought encounter was
decided finally by the throw of
the last boule!
A superb display
- thank you to both teams and
congratulations to Ross Malcolm
and June Parker on being the
winners of the first Air New
Zealand Open Petanque
Championship. Ross and June will
fly to Queenstown courtesy of
Air New Zealand and thence by
Peugeot to Olivers Lodge, Clyde,
for a sybaritic weekend.
Bronze trophy a
work of art
Their names will
be the first on the Air New
Zealand Open Trophy, a
magnificent bronze made by New
Zealand’s most eminent sculptor
in the medium, Terry Stringer.
Cam Calder had the pleasure of
discussing the project with
Terry Stringer from its
inception and it was fascinating
to see it take shape. It will be
an object of beauty and a worthy
trophy for decades to come.
Thank you Air New
Zealand for funding the work The
winner also received a fine set
of competition boules each,
courtesy Integrale.
Plate competition
fiercely contested
The Plate
competition was no less fiercely
contested, Ian McCullough and
Nick Whittington edging out
Grant Webster and Oli
Christianson. Ian and Nick were
the proud winners of the Peugeot
NZ Trophy - a hand some silver
cup in the classical vernacular.
The trophies will
be engraved and displayed in the
clubrooms of the respective
winners. We were pleased to see
teams from all over the North
Island and as far south as
Christchurch. The committee
chose Easter to allow time for
teams from outside of Auckland
to take part.
We are however
reviewing the date. Many
Auckland
based players were away from
Auckland over the Easter period
and the weather may be a little
less inclement in February/early
March.
At the suggestion
of Graeme Millard, Southern
North Island rep on the NZPA
Committee, and Brian Smith,
founder President of Petanque
Upper Hutt, a round-robin format
is being considered. Total
number of entries may well
dictate the structure of future
events.
A big thank you
to all sponsors and those NZPA
members who helped in preparing
for, and running the tournament.
AGM elects 1995
Committee
At the AGM the
following were elected or
re-elected to the committee:
Zac Rees, Laurel Priestley, Jorg Schulze, Christian Fouquet, Buster Emson, Chris Priestley, Keith Barker, Cam Calder
The Southern
North Island chose Graeme
Millard to represent them. The
Christchurch Club elected
Neville Mines. The area
representatives will help ensure
the NZPA is 'au fait' with needs
of players throughout New
Zealand.
The committee
elected the following office
holders:
President: Jorg
Schulze
Vice President:
Christian Fouquet
Secretary: Cam
Calder
Treasurer: Zac
Rees
Invitation to
International Tournament
The NZPA has
received an invitation from the
Singapore Petanque Federation
for 2 teams of three from the
Association to enter the Pesta Sukan International Championship
in Singapore 2 & 3 September.
Any club teams who wish to go
please contact the Secretary NZPA. Teams will be liable for
all expenses save accommodation
which will be provided for 3
nights at the hosts expense. If
more than two teams are
interested - the names will be
drawn from a hat. This is a
great opportunity to meet
petanque players from around the
world.
1995 NZ National Championships
These will take place at
Victoria Park, Auckland,
Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th
November 1995. The finalists
will comprise the NZ
representative team to the World
Championships in 1996.
The
team to the 31st World
Championships to be held this
year in Brussels will be:
Mick Sharpe, Cam Calder,
Christian Fouquet
News from the Clubs
Petanque under the Palms
Tahiti trip, 21st July - 31st
July. Chris, Mick and Jorg are
off to play in Tahiti. Anyone
wishing to go and play in the
tournament also, may do so.
Escape the winter - airfares and
accommodation only $1,539. For
further details phone Christian.
Last Word
It
was great to see players from
all over NZ at the Open, equally
it is good to get news of club
activities. We reiterate leisure
boule are acceptable in all NZPA
competitions.
Remember to join the NZPA. Send
name, address, date of birth,
phone number, nationality,
passport photo and $10 for your
licence to the Secretary, NZPA.
NZPA membership entitles you to
enter the NZ National and NZ
Open Championships as well as to
receive the Boules Gazette which
is sent out on an irregular
basis when there is some news to
report.
Renewals were due March 31st
1995. If you haven't renewed
your subscription "adieu", if
you have or are about to do so
"au revoir".
Cam Calder
Secretary, NZPA
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