The State Triples which were cancelled on the 24th of February have been rescheduled for the 30th June at Prospect
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2018/19 SA State Doubles Championship – ESP 19 August
The 2018/19 State Doubles Championship was held at Eastern Suburbs in cool but fine conditions. Twenty pairs took part in this open competition including male, female and mixed-gender teams.
There were plenty of strong contenders and most of the pre-tournament favourites made it to the pointy end of the day. But, with so much talent on show, it was no great surprise that nearly every team suffered at least two losses throughout the course of the day. There was just one exception, who stood head and shoulders above the rest of the pack…
The exceptional team was Raja Jamaleddine & David Lefer, undefeatedand never really threatened from beginning to end. They arrived with intent, talked the talk and then walked the walk, culminating in an awesome display in a one-sided final. Their very worthy opponents, Louis Oltarczy & Jean-Paul Bouyer, could find no way to halt the onslaught.
This is David’s first state title since his win in the inaugural State Triples Championship in 2007. After something of a mid-life hiatus in his petanque career, he is back to his best. For Raja, meanwhile, his second State Doubles title completes his second full set of singles, doubles and triples crowns. Raja becomes the first player in the history of SAPL state championships to win twice in all three formats — an outstanding achievement.
There was no separate women’s competition this year due to low numbers. However, as the highest finishing women’s team, Selina Dally & Deb Rodda retained the title they won last year. To prove that they thoroughly deserved this honour, they put on an outstanding display in the Open competition, finishing top of their pool in the morning session and going as far as the semi-finals in the afternoon. This extends Selina’s reign as women’s doubles champion into its fifth year.
Finally, it is interesting to note that the first two teams to register for this event turned out to be the two finalists. What does that tell you?
State Doubles Champions Raja Jamaleddine & David Lefer (L & R)
with Anthony Pietsch
State Women’s Doubles Champions Deb Rodda & Selina Dally
South Australian Doubles Championships – ESP – 19 August
South Australian Doubles Championships will be held at Eastern Suburbs Pétanque Club (8 Northgate Street, Unley Park) on Sunday 19th August, 2018
For more details see the brochure here.
Interclub Competition Round 6 Eastern Suburbs 24 June
Conditions were cool but fine for the final round of the 2017/18 season at ESP. The turnout was good for this time of year, when so many of our number head north to warmer climes.
In terms of the premiership table, this season has been somewhat lacking in drama. Indeed, apart from one switch between second and third, the top five positions established in Round 1did not change throughout the entire season. Coming into Round 6, the margins between each position were so wide that it would take something quite extraordinary for any of them to change. (Little did we know how close it would come.) The only spot still in close contention was sixth, with Port Noarlunga holding a three point advantage over Novar Gardens. Yet, even this small battle became anticlimactic when the sole PNP team was a late withdrawal due to injury, whereas NGP maximised their chances by fielding five teams.
But the SuperNovars did a bit more than just take sixth place in the championship. In a breakout performance for this fledgling club, Kenny May, Sue Lefevre & Toivo Kangur defeated several strong opponents to put themselves in a position where they were assured of bringing home the club’s first League medals. They had to settle for bronze in the end, at the hands of Alexi Alexi, Wendy Bensen & Nick Armstrong, but it was an admirable performance nonetheless.Continue reading
South Aussie Players chosen to represent Australia
Congratulations to the following SA players:
Lionel Chazal, Deb Rodda and Selina Dally
The three players have been selected to represent Australia at an International level, Lionel at the Men’s World Championship in Canada in September and Deb and Selena in the Asian Championships in Kuala Lumpur in July.
Men’s World Championship ( Australian Team)
- Lionel Chazal (SA)
- Harold Dercy (NSW)
- Frederic Vencatasamy (VIC)
- Laurent Fossaert(VIC)
The following players have been named as emergencies in case of a withdrawal
- Pierrot Lubin
- Francois Hitie
- Tim Stevenson
- Dennis Masson
Patrick Dufresne was appointed coach of the team.
Women’s Team for Asian Championship
- Deb Rodda (SA)
- Selina Dally (SA)
- Cathy Ayre (NSW)
- Christine Caseris (WA)
Coach & Delegate-Jim Ayre to be approached by Neil to see if he is available.