Good afternoon all,

Following Bob’s email to our membership yesterday he has also asked me to post it on the website.

Dear members,

I am writing to inform you of an important update to the arrangements for the 2019 Home Nations and to allay any rumours you may have heard.

I must inform you that:-

1. For internal reasons, the Monkstone Petanque Club have unfortunately decided to withdraw from hosting the 2019 Home Nations.

2. WPA Executive Committee are currently working hard to identify an alternative venue and we will keep you updated with our progress.

3. In-line with the Competitions Rules, the WPA Executive Committee is exploring the possibility of amending the team order within the Welsh Squad for the Home Nations. This decision has not been taken lightly and we are attempting to ensure the minimum disruption to the Welsh squad along with the smooth-running of the Competition. The new team order will be announced in the near future.

Finally, I am delighted to let you know that following her excellent work during the Celtic Challenge, Michelle Spencer has agreed to take on the role of Team Manager for the Welsh Squad and I hope you will respect her position and support her in this vital role.

Kind regards
Bob
Robert Pugh
National President

As your Exec. we will endeavour to keep everyone informed of developments as they happen and would appreciate the support and co-operation of you, our members.

Thanks

Gareth.

 

Today saw the start of the 2019 Celtic Challenge.

It opened with welcoming words from Cllr. Margret Griffiths, Rhondda Cynon Taff and her husband Cllr. Paul Griffiths, leader of Pontyclun Community Council, these were then followed by welcoming speeches from Bob Pugh, president of the WPA, Heads of delegations for Ireland and Scotland along with Gareth Jackson, President of the hosting club (Pontyclun PC) and Bob Parker from the English Pétanque Association, our guest umpire.

The competition started and all teams were up to the challenge, Wales A had to play their first games against Wales B which was a tough fought battle with Wales A finishing 8 – 4 ahead at the lunch break.

Similarly, Scotland were showing Ireland no quarter in their early rounds and they too finished 8 – 4 up at the break but Wales A were ahead on points.

The afternoon session started with Wales B taking games off Wales A, Scotland continued their strong play and by the close of play had held their nerve and continued to take games from all angles including those against the home nation.

The day finished at:-

Scotland – 15

Wales A – 13

Wales B – 13

Ireland – 7

Tomorrow brings a new day and more great games, there were a few nail biters there today and I am sure there will be many more tomorrow.

There will be more pics posted soon, don’t forget to watch out on the WPA facebook page for the games that are being live streamed.

It was brought to our attention at last night’s OGM that the names of the players who qualified to represent Wales were not published on the website, this was obviously an oversight and I would like to apologise on behalf of the Exec.

Following three rounds of assessments in various disciplines over several weeks the following players were selected to represent Wales at this year’s World Championships.

Players:

Gemma Foster
Tansy Mayfield
Matthew Howells
Richard Harris

Coaches:

Tony Smith and Peter Beresford

We would like to wish them all the best for a successful and a safe trip.