In the Circle
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ALL THETHE TALK TALK OF THE OF THE IN TERRAIN TERRAIN THE CIRCLE Follow us on This newsletter is also Edition No 3 available on our website September 2016 @ JsyPetanque www.thejpa.co.uk Inter Insular to go ahead in October th The inter-insular match standing fixtures. However applications is September 5 between Jersey and JPA chairman Derek Hart Names should be forwarded Guernsey is now scheduled and the Guernsey Club to … for the weekend of 22nd-23rd captain, John Cuthbertson, [email protected]). October. The annual fixture have agreed to try and play The team of 26 players will was under threat because the event over a weekend. It be selected soon afterwards. Condor’s ferry schedules will of course mean the The JPA has indicated that a made it impossible for the extra expense of an over- small subsidy may be made Jersey squad to travel to night stay and the risk that to support travel and Guernsey and return on the some players won’t be accommodation. The same day. It’s a problem available to take part. The Guernsey Club de Pétanque that other clubs and JPA is now asking members has several indoor terrains, associations have had to who are willing to play to so if the weather is poor the grapple with and in some put their names for ward. Inter Insular could still be cases forced to cancel long- The closing date for played under cover. standing fixtures. However JPA chairman Derek Hart and Home Nations to be INSIDE THE CIRCLE held in Jersey in 2018? THIS QUARTER A great year for the sport in Jersey has surely been capped by the island’s first appearance in the Home Nations Championship. Not only that, but Jersey has been sounded out about holding the event the year after next, a reward perhaps for putting up a great show on the island’s debut in the competition. The 31 players taking part certainly gave a good account of themselves, ending up tied with the host nation. Top honours went to the Liberation foursome of Andrew Bellamy-Burt, Alan Oliveira, Callum Stewart and Matt Pinel who won seven of their 12 games. Close behind were the quartet of Steve Leathem, Andy Limbrick, Matt Scholefield and Alan Lahiffe who won six. Top team were England by a distance with 80 matches won, with Wales second on 48 and Derek Hart gets his hands on the Scotland and Jersey winning 32 each. Meet Steve the Seagull, Home Nations trophy – albeit briefly Continued on centre pages Neil Selby’s secret weapon The ground rules Bird brainwave A regular series in which Elaine Meet SteveAt leastthe Seagull, there was no argument about which way to headPaisnel from looks the Vic at in some the Valley of the car park, At least there was no (aka Stevenargument Seagal, ad ventureabout which way to head from the Vic in the Valley car park, actor and stunt artist). Neil laws of the game that can lead to Selby, a teacher at Warthog’s misunderstandings School of Magic, has trained him to pull of incredible tricks On occasions when it is particularly windy, I expect most of us like the one he demonstrated in have thought of marking the position of the cochonnet before it a crucial inter-club match moves (or indeed after it has). There are however many more between Carrefour and times when players should be marking cochonnets and boules; Liberation. He’s also an expert lots of the rules of petanque are worthless in situations where this has not been done. with the magic rings. Neil was poised with the last Right from the start of a game this can apply. Team A throws the boule of the end. A miss would cochonnet and then their first boule. Team B still has the right to cost Carrefour the match and challenge if the length of the thrown cochonnet was valid (i.e. end the five year run of more than 6 and less than 10 metres). However, if the boule representing the island in the already played has moved the cochonnet, this option is lost as an European club competition. As umpire can only measure to the cochonnet’s original position he took aim suddenly Steve which would only be possible if it had been marked. swooped out of the sky and Carrefour Pétanque Club but snatched the cochonnet in its luckily Neil had another trick And so forward with the game. Should a boule from another game move your cochonnet it will have to stay where it finished beak and disappeared. up his sleeve. His team were Competition rules meant the losing 8-4 in the final and as he unless marked, in which case it can be replaced. If a cochonnet is end had to be declared ‘dead’ left the circle on one end, hit by a boule and stopped by a player in the area, the opposition and they had to start all over having played his boule, Neil have the option to either leave it in the new position or replace it again. It didn’t make any inadvertently caught the ring or move it to any point on a line between these two points - again, difference to the result of the with his foot, moving it a long only if it’s position was marked (article 14). game though because way. The circle was un-marked Liberation went on to win the and with no way of knowing And so to marking boules. Any boule thrown contrary to the rules match … and the big prize. exactly where it should be is dead and anything it moves can be replaced if the opponent replaced the umpire was forced wishes but only if it has been marked (article 23). I could go on Steve wasn’t available for the to declare a dead end. Neil’s with many more examples and I would not like to spoil play by JPA triples competition at team went on to win the match expecting players to stop and mark every single thing, though they are quite within their rights to do so. But I would like to finish with one example when it is certainly worth marking boules and cochonnet. For the pétanque player who If the cochonnet is close to the edges of the playing area and a really does have everything player is going to fire, everything vulnerable should be marked. If the shooter’s boule hits an end board or anything outside the playing area and rebounds on to the terrain it is of course dead and taken off the terrain. BUT you can only replace any boule/s or the cochonnet which it hit, if their positions were marked. Having lost a game on such an occurrence, believe me, I now mark things just in case! St Mary win the island’s first primary Not many shopping days left until Christmas … have you started thinking about what to buy the special person in your school life? That new yacht? A Caribbean island? A trip in the Space boules Shuttle? Done all those? Well here’s an idea … a set of competition diamond and gold encrusted boules! Almost 13 carats of diamonds have been crimped and 180g of gold adorn the three balls," said the artistic director of jewellers, Tournaire, “the St Mary's School were the winners of the island’s first Primary cochonnet is also in gold and diamonds.” The set was designed Schools Petanque Championship in Jersey. After drawing the by French boules manufacturers Obut. The price? A cool away leg with Les Landes School they won the return match leg 100,000 euros. by ten games to lift the new trophy. It's hoped that next year at least one more school, St Martin, will enter the competition. At least there was no argument about which way to Euro 2016 Cup “The old horse heads in the bed trick didn’t seem to work. I may need to think of something far more drastic to gee them up next time. I might have to threaten them with cutting off their Peronis.” Don Tony (Editor’s note: Peronis is an Italian beer brand, not their word for cochonets) They came. They saw. came close against Poland They concurred eventually losing 3-2, despite … Michel Morel, Keith Boleat The Italian Job that taking pétanque in Jersey and Chris Romeril recording a to the next level is always fanny in the first triples. The latter pair also won their going to be an uphill struggle when it comes to European doubles. The Jersey contingent opposition. For the fifth year then went down five-nil to the in a row Carrefour qualified to favourites Italy and picked up represent the island in the only one game in the match EuroCup club competition but against Sweden, Alan Lahiffe yet again they weren’t quite and Steve Leathem winning a good enough to qualify for the doubles. Then came the finals which, this year, will be highlight as the team beat held in Sweden in December. Slovakia 3-2. Alan and Steve The Carrefour squad finished again won their doubles, as well as Keith and Chris, while sixth out of seven in their group, with the Italian and Michel, Keith and Helene Dutch teams going through. Retrosi recorded a convincing The event took place in the 13-3 success in one of the Italian town of Dronero, triples. The final game southwest of Turin, quite near resulted in a disappointing 4-1 the French border.