On Sunday, 26th March, the first main event of the season took place at Monkstone Pétanque Club. It was great to see so many returning players alongside new players that have taken up pétanque over the last 12 months. While it was competitive in nature, it also showcased how welcoming the pétanque community can be with everyone before the morning welcome, spending time catching up with fellow players from other clubs.

Entries represented the following clubs Monkstone PC (MPC), Pontyclun RFC PC (PRPC), SWBRC PS (Sully) and the City of Llandaff PC (CLPC).

The morning qualification comprised three untimed games based on a seven-round snake using only rounds 2, 4 and 6. Upon the competition of three rounds, the fourteen teams were then ranked in order of wins and points difference.

The top eight teams went to the President’s Cup, and the bottom six participated in the Plate.

President’s Cup

The quarter-finals of the President’s Cup saw the top two teams captained by J-Y Robic (Sully) & D Hardwicke (CLPC), respectively, easily qualify for the semi-finals. However, the last two places were hard-fought matches and saw the teams captained by S Smith (MPC) overcome D Jones (PRPC), and a home derby saw G Greenwell overcome A Seth (MPC).

The semi-final saw old rivals J Y Robic (Sully) against S Smith (MCP) and a new entry D Hardwicke team (CLPC) against the team captained by G Greenwell (MCP).

Smith’s team started well by taking an early lead, but Robic’s team started to pull back, dominate play, and finally took the game 13/6. The second semi-final saw the team captained by Hardwicke, who had won all their games and looked good to be there in the final, losing to Greenwell’s team 7/13. This is an outstanding achievement for Greenwell and her team.

The final between the teams captained by Robic and Greenwell was nip and tuck, but as with previous games, Robic’s team’s experience shone through to take the title 13/7.

President’s Cup Winners: Jake Caston, Jean-Yves Robic & Len Field. SWBRC PC. Prize £100

President’s Cup Runners Up: Mike Wigg, Mike Jones, Gill Greenwell & Tony Martin. Monkstone Pétanque Club. Prize £60

Plate

The remaining six teams competed for the Plate; the top two teams had a bye straight into the semi-final. The remaining four teams had to compete for the last two places. The quarter-finals saw the teams captained by R Ralf (MCP) and M Jones (PRPC) playoff, with Ralf’s team winning 13/3 and P McCarthy’s team (Sully) versus P Kensett’s team (MCP) who lost 11/13.

The semi-finals saw two home derbies, the first between two teams from the MCP and the second from Sully. The MCP derby was between the teams captained by B Adshead and R Ralf, with Adshead’s team winning 13/4 and a grudge match between team captains P McCarthy and S Ford, a very close encounter with Ford’s team winning 13/12.

The final was between Adshead and Ford, with Adshead’s team winning the Plate Competition 13/7.

Winning Plate Team: Roger Griffin, Jayne Dunn, Vickie Adshead & Bernard Adshead. Monkstone Pétanque Club. Prize £60

Plate Runners up: Carl Davies, Simone Ballett & Sonia Ford SWBRC PC. Prize £40

The WPA Executive would like to thank the Monkstone Pétanque Club for hosting the event, especially all the players who participated in making it a very enjoyable day.

Remember, you do not have to be a member of the WPA to enter open competitions.

The next open competition is the Peter Wetall and Novice Cup in June. Check out the WPA calendar on the website.