The first round of the new season was well attended despite the threat of showers, which fortunately did not materialise. Conditions were cool, but pleasant enough.

Last year, in the 2017/18 championship, the pecking order was fairly well established after Round 1 and barely changed for the rest of the season. This time around, the early indications are that the season to come may be a bit more interesting than that.

The dominant club on the day was Eastern Suburbs, with their three teams all finishing in the top five. Congratulations to the gold medal winners — Alexi, Arwed & Lionel. The resultant points haul puts ESP well ahead of the rest of the pack, at this early stage.

Reigning champion Adelaide sits in second place, on the back of a silver medal performance by Dominique, Rada & Alain. However, with a depleted squad and only one team in the points, they only just got their noses in front of the next three clubs who are all tied for third ‑‑ Adelaide Hills, Gawler and Prospect. Rounding out this tight pack are FAB, who, in sixth place, are a mere 6 points shy of second!

Such a tight contest is good for the competition and leaves us eagerly anticipating the next round. Thanks to the Prospect club and all their volunteers for doing a great job as hosts.

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Round 5 was held in ideal conditions. In the picturesque green surrounds of the Gawler Petanue Club, the weather was absolutely perfect — sunny and mild from start to finish. It’s just a shame there weren’t more players there to appreciate it.

Stars of the day were a local team comprising two seasoned veterans and a rookie: John Gejas, Glenis Head & Belinda Kopania.

Undefeated, they finished with a classic victory over this season’s dominant team, Messieurs Bouyer, Rousse & Oltarczy. The latter had to be content with third place on this occasion. Congratulations in particular to Belinda, taking home a gold medal in just her second outing, and to Glenis for her first Interclub gold. Well done also to Adrian Clements, Wayne Twigden & Ernie Palmer, in the silver medal position.Continue reading→

It just wouldn’t be League at Stirling without some precipitation, no matter what time of year it’s scheduled. Fortunately, this year the misty rain was so light that it was easily ignored and soon cleared to make way for a lovely sunny and mild afternoon. The varying condition of the playing surface as the pistes dried throughout the day presented an extra challenge to players.

After three rounds dominated by Club d’Adelaide, Round 4 was Prospect’s time to shine. Emulating Adelaide’s efforts in Round 2, Prospect has now become the second club to have ever achieved a clean sweep of the gold, silver and bronze medals. Congratulations to Dave Ward, Lionel Pujol & Tory McBride, winners on the day, and to Brett Williams, Martin Verdonk & Richard Voskamp and Heike & John Whitehorn & Alan Matthews respectively.Continue reading→

Round 3 came at a time of year when people have many other demands on their time (e.g., test cricket at Adelaide Oval), resulting in a rather disappointing turnout of just fifteen teams. The weather was variable, with players repeatedly exchanging sunglasses for raincoats. But, fortunately, by the end of the day, the former were required far more than the latter.
In terms of the competition, Club d’Adelaide were vulnerable here because they were only fielding one and two-thirds of a team. However, it’s all about quality, not quantity, and they still managed to score more championship points than any of the other clubs and increase their huge lead at the top of the table. In fact, the rewards reaped by all the clubs were fairly reflective of where they stood on the ladder already after the first two rounds. The only change is that Prospect gained a few points on ESP and have now caught up to be equal second.
Stars of the day were Louis Oltarczy, Jean-Paul Bouyer & Adrian Clements, three veterans of the game who have been consistent performers throughout the history of the competition. For Louis and J-P, this was their second gold medal and third top-two finish in the three rounds so far this season — a very impressive effort.
Also on the podium were a few newer players and potential stars of the future. In the second-placed team from Prospect, Melissa Scott collected her first league medal while her partner Gavin backed up his silver from Round 1 with another. In third, Ross Coleman from Adelaide Hills also picked up his first medal.
Thanks to the Gawler club for doing a great job of hosting and to all who participated.Continue reading→