It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Reg Brice.
A long-term member of Wenvoe Petanque Club, and former club Vice-President, Reg had been ill for some time and was admitted to Llandough Hospital just before Christmas.
He passed-away peacefully in hospital on Saturday 4th January 2020 – his wife was with him.
Our sympathies and thoughts are with Reg’s widow and family at this time.
Reg’s Funeral will be held at 11:00 on Friday 31st January at Barry Crematorium.
As announced in the Notice of AGM, the positions of National Secretary & Director of Development are open for election at the 2020 AGM.
In line with the Constitution, I am writing to inform members that neither of the incumbent officers intend to re-stand for their current roles.
As a reminder to any member seeking nomination for these roles, they have a 2-year tenure.
Please also note that there is still a vacancy for the Director of Public Relations, but as this is mid-way through it’s tenure, anyone seeking nomination for this role would only be in position for 1 year.
Preliminary Notice of the Welsh Petanque Association – AGM
This will be held at: Caerleon Petanque Club
Caerleon RFC Broadway, Caerleon, Gwent, NP18 1AY
on Wednesday, 15th January 2020
Commencing at 7:30 p.m.
Any WPA Registered Clubs wishing to submit resolutions and/or nominations to be considered for the AGM must submit them in writing on the appropriate forms.
All nomination forms and resolutions are to be received no later than 23rd December 2019.
The positions on the WPA Executive that are open for nominations are: National Secretary and Director of Development.
Documentation is on the WPA website in information/documents/procedures
The 2019 Award Winners will be presented with their trophies at the Presentation Evening, Friday 10th January 2020, at Dinas Powys Rugby Club, starting at 7:30pm.
*Maesteg PC also entered, but were forced to pull out after Round 1.
As there were 3 Clubs that tied on 9 points in the overall results then, as the EuroCup rules criteria state, in the event of a draw on points then to determine the winning Club it will be the results of the tied Clubs, and only the tied Clubs’ matches, played against each other.
In the event that there is a draw on points, then the next criteria is match points between the tied Clubs, This scoring process was clarified with the CEP President before being published on the WPA Website and being emailed to all members on 16th October, prior to the final Round being played.
Tied-Clubs Results: FINAL STANDINGS
20/10/2019
Club
P
W
L
Match Pts F
Match Pts A
Match Pts Dif
F
A
Dif
Pts
1
Caerleon PC
2
1
1
34
28
6
204
237
-33
3
2
Monkstone PC
2
1
1
32
30
2
224
222
2
3
3
Pontyclun PC
2
1
1
27
35
-8
247
216
31
3
Therefore it is congratulations to Caerleon RFC PC who are the 2020 Welsh Cup for Clubs champions and will be invited to compete in the EuroCup 2020.
To clarify this result, the CEP introduced the awarding of “Match Points”, awarding 3 for a “Win”, to overcome the situation where a Club narrowly lost 3 Matches 15-16 (thus gaining a total of 45 “Game-Points”, but ended up beating a Club that narrowly won 2 Matches 16-15 but lost heavily in their 3rd Match 10-21 (thus only gaining a total of 42 “Game-Points”). The WPA has used this process previously.
The CEP EuroCup Qualifying Rules, Arts. 8.9, 8.10, 8.11 & 8.12 outline the criteria used to award points and decide the results.
In order to prevent any confusion about this in future, the EC has begun the process of updating our own Welsh Cup for Clubs Rules to provide better clarity.
Thanks to all Clubs and players who took part and also thanks to Abegavenny PC for hosting the event.
On completion of the selection process used by the WPA to decide the teams that would represent Wales in both the Veterans and Men’s European championships in Bulgaria, the Welsh squad was formed of the following:
• The Veterans Team was comprised Peter Westall (Maesteg PC), Len Field (Maesteg PC), Derek Jones (Pontyclun PC) and Stewart Spencer (Pontyclun PC); the selected Coach was Jean-Yves Robic (Penarth PC). • The Men’s Team comprised largely of the same players for the Veteran’s but with Stewart Spencer giving way to Peter Beresford (Pontyclun PC).
During the months immediately before the European Championships, the squad attended weekly training sessions and took part in a number of WPA and Club events, culminating in the Men’s team winning the Welsh National Triples title.
Venue for the 5th European Triples Veterans and 9th Triples Men Championships.
The news of the sudden passing of Peter Westall only a few days before the start of the Veterans European Championships left the squad in a state of shock, but resolute to play the best they could to honour his memory.
The squad also decided that Wales would not take part in the EC Precision Shooting Championship as it was to be Peter’s individual event.
With the agreement of the CEP, Wales was able to register Peter Beresford in the Veterans team to replace Peter. The support of the CEP extended again at the start of the Veterans Championship, when a minute silence was held by all the countries present in respect of Peter and other pétanque players that had died recently.
EC Triples: Veterans
The first phase of the championship was the qualification, which comprised a 5 round Swiss System that saw Wales drawn against Finland, always a difficult opponent. Finland took a 2 points lead in the first end, but Wales came back and a tight game developed until the end of normal time where the teams were even at 10-10. The first extra end was enough for Wales to clinch their first victory 13-10.
EC Triples; Veterans Round 2: Wales v Netherlands
The second game was more complicated for the 3-man Welsh team as they were facing the Netherlands, the current European Champions. The Netherlands built a rapid 0-10 lead after 5 ends but Wales started to fight back and reduced the score to 02-10. Unfortunately, the Netherlands had regrouped and secured a 13-3 victory in the 10th end.
The 3rd round draw was again not easy one for Wales against Poland. The game started the same away as the encounter against the Netherlands, with Poland racing ahead 10-0 after the 6th end. But, after a swap in play position between Derek and Stewart, Wales scored 4 points in the 7th end then 3 points in the next, reducing the score to 10-7. Again, this would not be enough and Poland extended their lead to 11-7 and then sealed their victory 13-7 in the 10th end.
EC Triples: Veterans 4th Round Wales v Jersey.
Jersey was Wales next opponent in the 4th round and this was to be an interesting contest as Jersey was keen to take the fight to the Welsh. The game was tight and at the end of normal time, Wales was only leading 10-8 with two extra ends to play. Wales, helped by good pointing by Derek and Stewart, took the game to its conclusion in the 1st extra end winning 13-8.
With 2 wins and 2 losses Wales sat in the middle of the ranking table before the last round. The final draw was eagerly awaited and it was Denmark, who had just lost to England. Denmark has always been a tough opponent and the game proved to be another difficult one. Wales, helped again by good shooting from Len (including a couple of welcome carreaux) found themselves 4-4 after three ends and therefore still in contention. Denmark upped their game and started to pull away rapidly to finish the game worthy winners 13-4.
EC Triples: Veterans 5th Round Wales v Denmark.
Wales finished the qualification round with 2 wins and 3 losses, but having played strong teams (Inflicting the only defeat to Finland) had a chance to be one of the top 16 teams. The final ranking was produced and Wales (16th) had succeeded to be one of the top 16 teams for the first time using this Championship format.
The drawback of finishing 16th was that Wales would be in the same pool as the team ranked 1st. This year it was France with their first participation in the Championship. France’s 2019 squad included two legends of the sport FIPJP Player of the 20th century Christian Fazzino and other Marco Foyot. France had topped the ranking table with a perfect 5 wins out of 5.
Along with France and Wales in Poule A was England, ranked 8th and the Netherlands, ranked 9th. The first game of the pool was against France and the players thought that it was a fitting tribute to Peter to have to play the top pétanque playing nation in the world. Wales was expected out-classed by the French who had a near perfect game, shooting 5 carreaux out of 7 shots and not missing a single point, they only needed 3 ends to inflict a 13-0 defeat.
EC Triples: Veterans Group Match Wales v France.
Wales was now waiting for the outcome of the game between England and the Netherlands, who proved to be too strong for England, convincingly winning 13-4 and setting-up a Wales-England confrontation for the second pool game. Facing an England team lead by Simon Bird seemed like another daunting task for Wales, but the arrival of Peter Beresford provided the team a welcome boost. Despite some early apprehensions, the game was balanced and after 7 ends the score was level at 7-7. England took a 2 points lead over the next couples of ends but accurate pointing by Peter Beresford kept Wales in the game and after the 12th end Wales had a 2 points advantage leading 11-9. Two excellent points by Peter put the England shooters under pressure and gave the final 13-9 victory to Wales. This win eliminated England from the Championship and sent Wales in to the barrage against the Netherlands, who had lost 13-9 against France.
EC Triples: Veterans Wales v England
This game was a must win for Wales if they wanted to progress to the quarter-finals, but again the Netherlands proved to be too strong and inflicted another severe defeat 13-2 to the Welsh team. Despite losing this last game, the general atmosphere in the team was good, having achieved a 13th place overall; the best of any of the Home Nations teams and having played against some of the best teams in Europe. France went on to beat Sweden 13-4 in the Final and win their first Veterans European Championship title.
After a colour full and entertaining gala dinner on the Wednesday evening, Thursday was the start of the Men’s European Championship. Having decided not to field a competitor in the European Precision Shooting Championship, the team used the day to practice on the numerous outdoor pistes close to the hotel and prepared for the start of the qualifying rounds on the Friday morning.
EC Triples: Men
EC Triples: Men Round 2 Wales v Ukraine
The draw for the 1st round of the Swiss System had been made and Wales was facing the Ukraine. Despite building an 8-5 lead after 5 ends, Wales could not keep up the momentum and allowed a skill full Ukrainian team to come back and take a 11-8 lead in the 8th end. Wales could not stop Ukraine achieving a 13-10 win.
The second game for Wales was against another of the rapidly improving Eastern European teams, Hungary. The start of the game was similar to the previous game with Wales ahead 6-2 after 5 ends. Again, Wales’ momentum was stopped and Hungary made up their deficit by the 7th end and were leading 11-8 in the 8th end. By the end of normal time, the teams were tied at 11-11, but the Welsh team had found their form again and won the game 13-11.
The third round provided another Home Nation encounter with Jersey. This was was to be a difficult game for Wales, as the Jersey team had shown their qualities at the Home Nations held in Wales during the summer. As expected Jersey took an early lead 4-0 after 3 ends, but Wales took the initiative and levelled the game 5-5 after the 5th end. Wales played well and were leading 11-6 after the 9th end. However, Jersey scored 5 points in the next end and were then level with Wales at 11-11. Normal time was called during the 11th end and Wales was left with 4 boules in hand to win the game. After a taking the wrong tactical decision, Wales gave the game to Jersey.
With only 1 win out of 3 games, the fourth round was a must win for Wales to stay in the top half of the ranking table. The 4th round provided another Home Nations contest against Ireland. Wales had recovered from their disappointing loss against Jersey and were keen to change their fortunes. The game was one-sided and after 5 ends Wales was winning 12-0 and very quickly took the game 13-0. Wales was back on track, winning the last game of the Swiss System was crucial if Wales wanted to finish in the Top 16, which would be the first time in the history of the Championship.
EC Triples: Men 5th Round Wales v Russia
The last opponent for Wales was Russia, this turned out to be a slow and frustrating game. Wales built-up a healthy 6-2 lead after the 5th end, and at the end of normal time were 11-3 in front. Wales was controlling the game and its tactical play only allowed Russia to score two more points in the extra ends, finally securing a 11-5 win, the 3rd for Wales.
With the 3 wins Wales had a chance of finishing in the top 16. After a long nervous wait the final ranking was confirmed and Wales had indeed finished in 16th place just ahead of England and Scotland, who were both relegated to the Nations Cup. The 16th place for Wales gave them an automatic qualification to the 49th World Championships that will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland, in July 2020.
EC Triples: Men 1st match group Wales v France
The next phase of the competition saw Wales in the same pool as France, the current European and World champions, along with Sweden and Poland. The first game against France was another short encounter, but this time it took France 5 ends to beat Wales 13-1 in just over 20 minutes.
The second game was against Sweden, a surprising loser against Poland. Again, the opposition proved to be too strong for Wales who were outplayed in all departments and Sweden recorded a convincing 13-1 win in 7 ends. The loss against Sweden ended Wales’ Championship, but the direct qualification for the next World Championship was a superb result and credit needs to be given to all the members of the Welsh Squad who have, in extremely difficult circumstances, always wore their Welsh shirts with pride and played to the best of their ability. I think Peter Westall would have been proud of them and their achievements in both European Championships.
The 2019 WPA League Cup/Plate Finals were held on 29 September at Ystradowen PC. The competing teams were Maesteg, Monkstone Minotaurs, Monkstone Monarchs & Penarth Panthers.
Before the competition commenced a period of silence was observed in memory of our good friend Peter Westall who died recently and was a member of Maesteg PC.
The semi- finals featured Maesteg v Minotaurs and Monarchs v Panthers. Moments after play started the rain started and continued for the whole of the semi-finals, with only a couple of short breaks, until lunchtime.
The Minotaurs got off to a poor start when Bernard Adshead & Peredur John never really got into the game and lost 3 -13 in very short order against Jeremy Clare and Len Field. In the other game Vickie Adshead and Peter Kensett kept the Minotaurs in the tie with a 13–7 win against Kevin Edwards and Matthew Clare. In the reverse games, Bernard & Pred came good and ran out comfortable winners by 13-2. This meant that Vickie & Peter needed only 6 points to draw the tie and 7 to win. After a poor start and then a slight recovery by the Minotaurs, Jeremy & Len regrouped and Maesteg finally secured the win to 5 and won the tie on countback by 35-34.
In the other semi-final, represented by Rogers Griffin & Green, Sean Smith & Mike Jones, the Monarchs ran out comfortable winners 4-0 and 52-31 against Penarth, represented by Valérie & Rob Falconer, Celia Scott & Pat McCarthy, although the Monarchs were pushed to concede 9 points in 2 of the games by the 2nd Division team.
After the lunch break, the weather cleared and only a couple of light showers spoiled the fine weather. In the Cup final, the Monarchs struggled against Maesteg. In their best game they took 11 points but eventually went down 0-4 and 37-52.
The Minotaurs went into the Plate final knowing that the pistes suited Penarth who generally play a pointing game. In the event the Minotaurs prove too strong for their opponents and ran out winners by 3-1 and 47-28.
So congratulations to Maesteg and Monkstone Minotaurs who took the Cup and Plate respectively.
All the teams agreed that new club Ystradowen had developed a superb facility and their hospitality was second to none – bacon rolls will always win over a petanquer! Seriously. on behalf of the WPA many thanks to Ystradowen who were hosting their first WPA competition in their first season.
CUP WINNERS – MAESTEG PC
Kevin Edwards, Jeremy Clare, Len Field & Matthew Clare
PLATE WINNERS – MONKSTONE MINOTAURS
Peter Kensett, Vickie Adshead, Bernard Adshead & Peredur John
