Welsh Petanque Association

On Saturday 11th July from 5pm onwards at the Wheatsheaf Inn, the Wheatsheaf Petanque Club is hosting their annual Summer BBQ Fundraiser.

The aim is to make as much money as possible, whilst having some fun, and we usually split the total between two local charities. This year, the money raised will be split between one charity and the WPA Ladies Grand Prix Winners to support them in their trip to Thailand to represent Wales in the World Championships.

The qualifying team to represent Wales are Gemma Foster (Wheatsheaf PC), Jill Brace (Wheatsheaf PC) and Berengere Demay (Abergavenny PC).

During the day, there will be a few games - bingo, carreau for a tenner - a raffle, a bottle prize stall, a cake stall, not to mention some live music from Luke and his partner Rhiannon (The Barn PC) to entertain you all. Don't forget there will be the BBQ to keep you fed!

Please support this event in aid of the local charity and the girls!!

On the weekend of 24th to 26th July, Wales 1, comprising Matthew Franks, Phil Bradshaw, Neil Dobbins and Cyril Royer, all members of the Monkstone Petanque Club will be representing Wales in Nice to qualify Wales for the 2010 World Championships.

This is the first time that the European Championships have been used as a qualifying event to the World Championships and has overnight become a very important competition.

Neil Dobbins will have an extra duty during the competition as he will also represent Wales in the qualifying rounds of the Shooting Competition, which will be held prior to the main triples competition on the Friday morning, the finals will be held on the Sunday.

During the competition the CEP Congress is also held and Tony Smith will be attending the Congress to involve Wales in the decision making process and continue to create links with other Federations.

We wish them every success in the European Championships.

12 Members of ABERGVENNY PETANQUE CLUB on their 3rd visit to Beaupreau seen here pictured with members of  SMS CLUB de PETANQUE Beaupreau, Main et Loire, France, during their visit to the Town as part of the 20th Anniversary visit of the Abergavenny/Beaupreau Twinning Association.

APC’s members were hosted by their counterparts for the visit which included an afternoon Melee at SMS indoor Boulodrome and lots of “hospitality”

During the visit plans were made to extend contact between the Clubs which included an invitation for APC members to attend one of the French National Championships in Cholet in February 2010 and a possible meeting for a full weekend’s Petanque for the three clubs at the St Cieux Club de Petanque near St Malo.

29 wins - 28 wins - 27 wins

For the third successive year Wales has won the Celtic Challenge Trophy, this year the competion was extremly close, as any one of the three countries could of won. For more information on the competition, follow this link.

The 9th Home Nations is being hosted by the WPA, initially, the competition was set for the weekend of the 8th/9th August, however, due to the clash with the first leg of the European Cup for Clubs and at the request of both the SPA and EPA, we have had to move the competition to the following weekend of 15th/16th August.

The Executive have reviewed three potential venues, Tredegar House, Newport, Caerleon University Campus and The Premier Inn, Swansea.

After careful consideration of the cost and the facilities on offer, the Executive have decided upon Swansea as this years venue.

More details about the competition and venue can be found on the WPA Competition Page of this website, which can be accessed by following this link.

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The WPA has formally received an invitation from the President of the EPA, Mike Pegg to play in the Inter-Regional Championship and Challenge Tournament on the weekend of 19th and 20th September 2009.

As with previous years their tournament is being held at Pontins Holiday Centre, Brean Sands, Burnham on Sea, Somerset. Accommodation is available from Friday the 18th to Monday the 21st as required.

Please be aware that year all participants must be registered with Pontins and resident on the site.

The Teams that will be representing Wales in the Challenge Tournament have been decided after the round 4 of the 2009 Grand Prix Series. The Teams that have qualified to play in the Championship have also been identified, but their final positions will be decided after the Top 8 play off's, which are to be held on 10th May.

To download a copy of the poster, either double left click on the image to the left or follow this link.

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Just to let members know that if you are in the hunt for white trousers, Marks & Spencer's are currently selling them at £25.00, together with three quarter length shorts at £18.00.

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Prior to the renewal of the insurance policy for the 2009/10 season the Executive asked the following questions of our insurers Perkin Slade Ltd to clarify the extent of the insurance cover. Here are the questions asked and their responses.

After the last general meeting confirmation was sought from the insurers regarding a new issue, question 9 and further clarification regarding question 7, here there is a change in that only the WPA can recognise/approve competitions, WPA Affiliated Clubs cannot undertake process.

Insurance Questions and Answers

Are WPA members insured when?

Playing in English events such as the Hereford Open.

Cover will apply if the Hereford Open is a WPA recognised event  or the members are representing the WPA.

A player with an EPA licence plays for a WPA affiliated club in the WPA League.

Cover will apply if this EPA licensee is affiliated to the WPA club they are playing for.

Individual WPA members playing abroad, but not officially representing the WPA.

There is no cover for individual WPA members playing abroad when not officially representing the WPA.

New players trying out the sport in a WPA affiliated club.

There is an allowance of 3 taster sessions for new players trying out the sport in a WPA affiliated club. This is subject to the Club keeping a record of the players’ details and when they have taken part.

WPA affiliated clubs have members who are not affiliated to the WPA.

There is no cover for WPA club members not affiliated to the WPA.

An individual WPA member from a WPA affiliated club plays in a league/event that is not affiliated to the WPA and is not recognised by the WPA.

There would be no cover for an individual WPA member from a WPA affiliated club playing in a league/event not affiliated to the WPA or recognised by the WPA i.e. WPA members entering leagues/events on their own accord.  Individual actions are not covered.

A WPA affiliated Club/Team (comprising individual WPA affiliated members) playing regularly in a non-affiliated league with or without insurance cover.

Cover will apply to a WPA affiliated Club/Team (comprising individual WPA affiliated members) participating in a non-affiliated league. Individual members of a WPA affiliated club who are not affiliated to the WPA will not be covered as per point 5 above. Provided that the non-affilated league has been recognised by the WPA.

WPA members whose address is not in Wales.

There is no cover for WPA members living abroad e.g. mainland Europe and beyond.

A WPA affiliated Club/Team (comprising individual WPA affiliated members) receiving an invitation to play on mainland Europe and beyond.

Cover will apply to a WPA affiliated Club/Team (comprising individual WPA affiliated members) receiving an invitation to play on mainland Europe and beyond. Individual members of a WPA affiliated club who are not affiliated to the WPA will not be covered as per point 5 above. The WPA must be informed in writing of the details of the invitation and the WPA must recognise the event.

An updated copy of the Q&A (Version 1.3) can be downloaded in pdf format by following this link.

Follow this link to download a Notification of Attendance/Entry to a Competition or League for Insurance Purposes form, this must be completed prior to the event, failure to do so may invalidate your insurance.

With respect to the BIG League, because the BIG League is a long running league competition that our members have regularly played in, the insurers and WPA have agreed to let the insurance cover continue. All new Leagues must be formally recognised by the WPA for insurance purposes.

Please also note that all communications with the insurers must be directed through the WPA, the insurers will not communicate directly with affiliated clubs. Until further notice, all communications regarding insurance should be directed to the WPA National President.

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Information from the recent FIPJP meeting has been passed on to the WPA by Mike Pegg, the following information concerning the this years programmed World Championships and future events are as follows:

• The 2009 Women's World Championship will now be held in Supanburi, Thailand from the 13th to the 15th November 2009.
• The Open World Championship, this will now be called the 'World Triples Championship', dropping the term Open.
• We have been informed that from 2010 nations will need to qualify through the continents for the World Triples Championship, in our case this is through the CEP European Championship.
• The list of qualified nations is to be with the FIPJP in March 2010 for the World Triples Championship later that year.
• There will not be any need for qualification for the Women or Junior World Championships because of the current number of nations competing.
• The allocation of 48 qualifying nations for the World Triples Championship are:
  • Europe - 24 nations
  • Africa - 10 nations
  • Americas - 2 nations (Canada/USA)
  • Asia - 7 nations
  • Oceanic - 3 nations
• The Men's European Championship is to be used to decide the top 24 European Nations, which will include Israel. How the top 24 European Teams is to be decided, is by taking the ranking order after the qualifying rounds, that is before the nations are split into the Nations Cup and Championship.
  
• As it is the Nation that qualifies for the World Triples Championship, it will be up to each CEP Nation to decide how they select or qualify their teams.
  
• The FIPJP are making plans to introduce an Espoirs World Championship - this is why the CEP is making it an "every other" year European Championship.

Future FIPJP Dates:

2009 - Women: Thailand
2009 - Juniors: Tunisia
2010 - Triples: Taipei

Tony Smith
National President

Information regarding the European Championships to be held later this year are beginning to emerge after the recent meeting of the CEP Executive. Mike Pegg our CEP Representative has forwarded the following information.

Regarding accommodation, the cost of rooms will be between 70 - 90 Euros per day, the WPA are waiting for more information, but at this moment in time it is believed that each room will accommodate 2 people.

Currently, there is no information available concerning the costs of meals, however, the congress will be on Thursday 23rd July with the competition starting on Friday 24th July - again this is subject to final confirmation from the CEP Executive.

The following dates and venues have been set for the European Championships:

2009
Men's:      France
Espoirs:  Germany
2010
Juniors:    France
Women's: Slovenia
2011
Men's:      Sweden
Espoirs:  Denmark
2012
Juniors:   Belgium
Women:   Belgium

We have been informed that England is pencilled in as a possible host for Juniors/Women's European Championships in 2014.

Tony Smith
National President

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On Monday Graham Attfield was interviewed by Darren Devine a reporter for the Western Mail, the title above says it all. The article was published in The Western Mail on Tuesday 7th March, page 14. If you have a copy have a read, if not follow the link below.

The full article published by the Western Mail can be read by following this link.

Thank you the Welsh Football Team.

Tony Smith
National President

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Couple of items reported as lost and found:

Gay Evans reported her blue tape had gone 'walk about' any one who picked it up accidentally or found it orphaned and is waiting to reunite it with it's owner, please let Gay know.

I also have a cardigan in my procession, again anybody missing one, please let me know.

Tony Smith
National President

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The WPA Executive contacted the EPA Management Committee via Mike Pegg to ask if our Juniors could take part in their Junior qualifiers, I am pleased to say that we were informed on 10th March that our juniors could take part in the three qualifiers which are due to take place in April, June and July.

The three qualifiers are going to be held at the following venues:

Adur PC, West Sussex on Sunday 19th April.
Lordswood PC, Chatham, Medway on Sunday 14th June and
British Sugar PC, Bury St Edmunds on Sunday 12th July

The following format will used for a team of 4 players:.

The main format is a triple (3 players) will play the first round and at the same time the 4th player will play a singles game. The second round will be 2 doubles games.

It is understood that each team should have six matches to play during the day each comprising triples/singles and doubles. This will result in a very busy day of petanque but the EPA are keen to adopt this format to encourage the team (4 players) to work and support each other.

The parents/guardians of all our Juniors have already been informed of the generous invitation from the EPA.

I am sure that many of the adults who play regularly would find this a challenge!

Follow this link to download the entry form for the 1st Junior Qualifier.

Tony Smith
National President

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A one day web design course will be held on Monday 30th March, there are three places remaining. If any WPA member is interested in attending to learn the basics of web page design/maintenance then please contact me before Friday 27th March. The course will start at 10:00 and finish around 15:00, other details will be given upon registration.

Tony Smith
National President

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A potential venue for the 2009 Home Nations has been identified adjacent to the Premier Inn, Upper Forest Way, Morriston, Swansea, SA6 8WB, members of the executive will be visiting the potential venue on Sunday 15th at 10:00, any member wishing to look at the venue and offer their views are also welcome to attend.

The executive are considering venues outside the normal venue area to endeavour to expand the sport to other areas.

Tony Smith
National President

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Hi all

We will be commencing the weekly Monkstone melee evening from Thursday 12th March from 7pm. I think it's a great way to see the players you are striving to beat this coming season ( I will be there...), and hopefully the juniors can turn out for some valuable game time.

Regards

Matt Franks
Club Secretary

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The following potential funding streams have been notified to the association. Follow this link to download the funding information.

The WPA has received information from Flemming Jensin the President of the CEP concerning the European and World Championships from 2009.

World Championships:

• Senior World Championship, the next competition will be in 2010, 2012, 2014 etc.
• Senior Female World Championship, the next competition will be in 2009, 2011, 2013 etc.
• Junior World Championship. the next competition will be in 2009, 2011, 2013 etc.

European Championships:

• Male European Championship, next competition will be in 2009, 2011, 2013 etc.
• Espoirs Championship, next competition is due to be held in 2009, thereafter upon clarification from the CEP. This competition is divided in to two categories Male/Female.
• Senior Female European Championship, next competition will be in 2010, 2012, 2014 etc.
• Junior European Championship, next competition will be in 2010, 2012, 2014 etc.

Members between the age of 18 to 22 years (under 23 years of age) qualify as Espoirs, anybody wishing to create espoirs teams please contact myself or John Legge as soon as possible to clarify if you are eligible.

Tony Smith
National President

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In readiness for the 2008 Presentation Evening the Executive would like to receive nominations for the Senior Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. This process worked very well year so we have decided to repeat the same format, therefore all you have to do is down load the appropriate forms and send them back to Graham Attfield as soon as possible.

The Executive will review the nominations and add their votes to obtain an overall winner.

Follow this link to down load the Senior Player of the Year form.

Follow this link to down load the Most Improved Player of the Year form.

We look forward in reading your nominations.

The 2008 Presentation Evening will be held at the Monkstone Inn on Saturday 24th January starting at 07:30 pm. The cost per ticket is £6.50 which will include a "Curry Supper", this will be two types of curry (meat and vegetable) and a chille.

The venue will hold 70 people, so get your tickets quickly.

Any club wish to donate a raffle prize, please contact me.

Tony Smith

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2009 membership renewal forms have now been produced and will be sent out by Graham Attfield to each Club Secretary for dispersal to their members.

Please could all members check the details printed on the membership forms, especially the email address and contact telephone numbers. If we have the correct information then when can ensure that you receive the circulated information.

Don't forget that your membership renewal date is 1st March 2009.

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During the EPA Inter-Regional and the recent World Championships I undertook an analysis of play on all the matches that took place during each event. I have analysed the results and produced two reports which are available for downloading in pdf format.

Anybody wishing details on how these reports were derived, then please contact me for further information.

Analysis Report - Junior Play, EPA Inter-Regional Competition.
Analysis Report - Senior Play, World Championship, Dakar, Senegal.

Tony Smith
National President

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