Interclub Competition Round 5 Gawler 29 April

Posted on by

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→

State Singles Championship

Posted on by

This year’s State Singles Championships were held in unseasonably warm conditions which proved quite taxing in the morning session, but an afternoon wind shift offered some relief later in the day.
The most notable thing about this year’s Open was the evenness of the competition. It was a strong and larger than average field, but a few players who have dominated proceedings in the past were absent this time around. The result was a day full of epic battles and close results. The stats tell the story…
Of the fifty games played in the morning session, half of them went to a score of 13|9 or higher. Across all games after lunch, this ratio was again exactly 50%. Historically, we would normally expect it to be more like 25-30%. Breaking it down further, about a quarter of all games had scores of 13|12 or 13|11 — three times the number of games less than 13|3.
Unfortunately, one consequence of so many close games was that the competition proceeded more slowly than expected. It made for a long day, with the final played under lights and finishing more than two hours later than other occasions where the same format has been used.
The new State Open Singles Champion is Lionel Pujol, who peaked at the right time and lasted the distance when others around him were flagging. In particular, his victory over Alexi Alexi in the final bucked the day’s trend towards close games.Continue reading→

ESP Players excel at the Australian Nationals Easter Championships

Posted on by

Congratulations

Wendy Bensen Deb Rodda & Selina Dally runners up ladies Triples at the Australian Nationals Easter Championships in Melbourne. And double congratulations to Deb, runner up ladies doubles with Cathy Ayre. Go girls!

Well done from the SA Pétanque community

Wendy Bensen Deb Rodda & Selina Dally

Deb Rodda & Cathy Ayre

Interclub Results Round 4 – Adelaide Hills 25 February

Posted on by

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→

2017/18 SA State Triples Championship

Posted on by

This year’s State Triples Championship was held in fine and dry conditions, with the fierce February sun tempered by mild air temperatures.

In the preliminary rounds, reigning champions Dom and Rada Pierre (this time playing with Wayne Twigden) looked on track to repeat their heroics of the previous year. In fact, it took until the fourth round before any opponent managed to score a point against them! However, their run came to an end in an epic semi-final against the Adelaide Hills trio of Greg Anderson, Brian Tuckfield & Anthony Pietsch, in which the score was tied five times and the lead changed on each of the last three ends.

The other finalists were Selina Dally, Craig Stewart and Alexi Alexi, from the Eastern Suburbs club. This team, playing together for the first time, had reached the final with comfortable wins in all but one of their earlier games. The exception was one prelim round in which they had to claw their way back from a 0-6 deficit to win 8-7. That game was against the same team they were now facing in the final. But the result second time around was more decisive and the ESP team finished the day undefeated and holding the trophy. This is Alexi’s third State Triples title, the second for Craig and a first for Selina.Continue reading→