2010 OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Transcription

1 2010 Oceania Competition Report PETANQUE FEDERATION AUSTRALIA 2010 OCEANIA CHAMPIONSHIPS Pétanque Federation Australia Representative Team Report Prepared By: Warren Sowter, Head Coach PO Box 261, Warners Bay NSW 2282 Telephone: +61 (0) wsowter@wholebusiness.com.au

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3 Table Of Contents Introduction! 5 The Team! 5 Selection Process! 6 Individual Teams! 6 Tour Administration! 7 Communication! 7 Team Uniforms! 7 Travel! 7 Accommodation! 8 Gifts! 8 The Competition! 9 Format & Structure! 9 World Championship Qualification! 11 Recommendations! September 2010! Page 3 of 13

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5 Introduction This report is provided to the Board of the Pétanque Federation Australia. The report outlines the involvement of the Pétanque Federation Australia Representative Team in the 2010 Oceania Championships held in Noumea, New Caledonia from the 1st of September to the 4th of September It contains the personal observations of the Head Coach, Warren Sowter. The 2010 Representative Team is amongst the most successful team involved in the Oceania competitions. The team assembled in Noumea and participated in all events of the competition. This report will cover administrative, selection, competition and qualification issues that were experienced or emerged during the competition. The Team The team comprised 6 male players and six female players. These players were accompanied by a Head Coach and a delegate of the Pétanque Federation Australia Board. The team was as follows: TEAM MEMBER ROLE HOME STATE Marcel Philogene PFA Delegate/Selector NSW Warren Sowter Head Coach NSW MEN S SQUAD Pierre Boudan Team Captain (Men) NSW Jean-Luc Domergue Men s Team NSW Mico Charlot Men s Team QLD Arnaud Ernest Men s Team NSW Eric Leconte Men s Team VIC Stephane Langlois Men s Team VIC WOMEN S SQUAD Ariadne Ernest Team Captain (Women) NSW Libby Sowter Women s Team NSW Kate Mangan Women s Team VIC Genevieve Boudan Women s Team NSW Kim Threadgate Women s Team NSW Delys Brady Women s Team NSW 10 September 2010! Page 5 of 13

6 Selection Process The 2010 Representative Team was selected from a group of individual players who had been either nominated by their State League or who had self-nominated as an expression of interest directly to the PFA Secretary. Each nominee was required to submit a completed Form Australian Representation Acceptance Form that include a Representative s Personal Profile. The list of nominees was reviewed and those who did not meet the eligibility criteria were excluded. Three currently licensed players who held PFA endorsement as Coaches were invited to form a Selection Panel to submit their recommendations of a representative squad. The PFA Secretary was appointed as the Senior Selector and had the final selection of squad members. When the squad was announced, one player advised their inability to travel with the team and withdrew. The nominated First Reserve was invited to join the squad. The Head Coach and the PFA Delegate were appointed team selectors for the competition. The individual teams were nominated and submitted by PFA Secretary prior to commencement of the competition. Individual Teams PFA was required by the competition organisers to nominate specific team composition prior to the competition. The individual teams were: MEN S TRIPLES Pierre Boudan Jean-Luc Domergue Mico Charlot TRIPLES Arnaud Ernest Eric Leconte Stephane Langlois DOUBLES Pierre Boudan Jean-Luc Domergue DOUBLES Mico Charlot Arnaud Ernest DOUBLES Eric Leconte Stephane Langlois WOMEN S TRIPLES Ariadne Ernest Libby Sowter Kate Mangan TRIPLES Genevieve Boudan Kim Threadgate Delys Brady DOUBLES Ariadne Ernest Libby Sowter DOUBLES Kate Mangan Genevieve Boudan DOUBLES Kim Threadgate Delys Brady Page 6 of 13! 10 September 2010!

7 MEN S SINGLES Pierre Boudan Jean-Luc Domergue Mico Charlot Arnaud Ernest Eric Leconte Stephane Langlois WOMEN S SINGLES Ariadne Ernest Libby Sowter Kate Mangan Genevieve Boudan Kim Threadgate Delys Brady Tour Administration Communication Communication to the team prior to the competition was somewhat limited in terms of understanding competition process, structure and schedule. Despite regular requests from team members and the coach, PFA Secretary was unable to provide details about the format of the Pointing and Shooting Competitions. Little information was available about the qualification process for the FIPJP World Championships. The team members communicated regularly with each other through a distribution list or by personal telephone contact. Team members arranged regular practise by forming teams in state and club competitions. Most information about the competition and the qualification for the FIPJP World Championships was acquired at the pre-competition briefing on the night of the Tuesday the 31st August. The organising committee indicated that the details we sought had been provided earlier. Team Uniforms Team uniforms were arranged by PFA Board members. The PFA Secretary sought individual sizes from team members and arranged for the procurement of the required number of shirts. The shirts were acquired and distributed to those team members who attended the Lake Macquarie City Pétanque Club Open on Sunday the 22nd August Libby Sowter retained the shirts and caps for the players from Victoria; Eric Leconte, Stephane Langlois and Kate Mangan. Marcel Philogene was to provide the shirts for Mico Charlot. This arrangement was not ideal as those from Victoria were not able to check their sizes for fit and to make alterations where necessary. Due to illness, Marcel was unable to travel to Noumea as planned and Mico did not receive his shirts until the end of the first day s play. Fortunately, other players in the team were able to lend Mico a shirt. The team members were able to acquire the desired beige coloured pants/trousers/slacks and presented as an impressive group at the event. There are opportunities to reduce the anxieties that come with uncertainty about supply of uniforms and other administrative details. Travel All team members were responsible for their own travel to the host country. The organising committee provided the transfers from the airport to the hotels and the hotels to the competition. Travel was also provided to and from Noumea for shopping and a hosted barbecue. 10 September 2010! Page 7 of 13

8 The team members arranged their own travel through a variety of agencies and to suit their needs. All team members were in Noumea by Monday evening the 30th August, except for the PFA delegate. Marcel travelled to Noumea on Wednesday the 1st September. There may be opportunities to negotiate package or group rates for future team travel that could encourage additional supporters to travel with the team. Accommodation The host country was responsible for providing accommodation and meals for the team. It was discovered prior to leaving Australia that the committee was only responsible for 10 people. During the competition pre-briefing it was explained that the Confederation had agreed that the host country would be responsible for the accommodation and meals for 10 people: i.e; four female players, four male players and two delegates. Participating federations were responsible for the remaining squad members. The initial suggestion was that the additional costs would be distributed across the whole of the team. To assist with minimising player costs Libby, Kate, and Warren offered to pay for their own accommodation and meals. Kate was accompanied by her husband Peter who was responsible for his own costs anyway. This created another problem with team accommodation. As these team members were paying their own way, they negotiated packages that required up-front non-refundable payment. On arrival in Noumea, it was discovered that the teams had been moved to another hotel leaving these people at the originally advertised accommodation. The team was separated for the duration of the competition. Interaction and individual coaching sessions were restricted. This is clearly an example of the ineffective communication prior to the competition. The Confederation and the Organising Committee assured us that the change of accommodation venue had been communicated at least four weeks prior to the competition. There are opportunities to better arrange accommodation to ensure all team members are accommodated together. Arrangements similar to those for the Women s World Championships in 2009 in Thailand should not be difficult secure. Gifts There is a tradition within the Pétanque community and the Oceania Competition that teams and their players exchange gifts during the competition. PFA Board provided some gifts for this purpose. The number and type of gift was based on a number of assumptions about competition structure and team make-up. These gifts were tasteful and represented Australiana. The number of gifts was inadequate for the number of teams and players to meet the expectations of participants. Some team members were embarrassed when offered gifts from other teams and players. Given the number of gifts provide and the distribution process used, some team members did not have a gift to offer in return. It was apparent that the players from other teams were most appreciative of gifts that individual team members had sourced themselves. Typically the desired items were: pins, caps (not PFA caps), Australian team shirts, koala or kangaroo furry animals. There would be benefits to planning the approach to gift giving and to communicating the tradition to team members prior to leaving Australia. Given sufficient time, players could easily acquire their own supplies in advance. Pétanque Federation Australia could review its approach and the type of gifts to enable team members to more confidently represent their coun- Page 8 of 13! 10 September 2010!

9 try. Possible alternative could include: tossing coins that have the PFA logo on one side and a kangaroo on the other. With sufficient numbers, each player could give the coin to the opposition after the toss. Throughout the competition, it is likely that each team member could receive this as a gift. There is an opportunity to review the PFA cap to make it more appealing as a touring cap. The Competition Format & Structure The 2010 Oceania Championships were arranged with 5 events in both Men s and Women s. The events were: DATE EVENT 1 September 2010 Men s Pointing Competition Women s Pointing Competition Men s Shooting Competition Women s Shooting Competition 2 September 2010 Men s Singles Competition Women s Singles Competition 3 September 2010 Men s Doubles Competition Women s Doubles Competition 4 September 2010 Men s Triples Competition Women s Triples Competition Pointing Competition The pointing competition required all six team members to point three boules over 6 meters, 8 meters and 10 meters. Players would point one boule at each length. The objective was to point the ball as close os possible to the positioned jack. Each boule was measured by the Arbitre and points awarded. The maximum number of points for each boule was 5. The team members were scheduled in the sequence they appeared on the submitted team list. Libby scored the most for the Australian team and progressed to a barrage. She was eliminated during the barrage. Eric scored the most for the men s team and progressed through the barrage before eventual elimination. Shooting Competition The format of the shooting competition was different to that practised in Australia and the World Championships. Players were required to shoot one boule each over 6 meters, 8 meters and ten meters. The target boule was positioned within a plastic throwing circle making accuracy the key issue. At 6 meters, a single target boule was placed in the centre of the target circle. At 8 metres, the target boule was placed between two other boules. At 10 metres the target boule was placed behind another boule. The shooting lanes were arranged so that the shooter was facing the setting sun. The shots were made more difficult, particularly for the men, as the sun reflected off the plastic target circles into the players eyes. The direction was changed both the men and the women for the barrage and the finals. Genevieve, Delys and Kim scored the most for the women s team in the first round and went through a couple of barrage rounds where 14 women were competing for seven positions in the 10 September 2010! Page 9 of 13

10 finals. Kim, then Genevieve and finally Delys were eliminated in successive of rounds of barrage. Stephane and Eric scored most for the men s team and competed in the barrage. Stephane progressed to the finals and won a Bronze Medal. His final shot to win the bronze was at 10 metres. Singles Competition The singles competition was played on poules of four or three. There were 35 players in each of the men s and the women s events. Two players from each poule progressed to a 1st tour where the group was reduced to 9. These players drew a number to decide opposition players. The 9 played a cadrage to reduce the number to quarter finals and then to semis and finals. Individual team members delivered very creditable performances with some players beating the eventual winners during the poules. In the women s, Kim, Delys, Genevieve and Ariadne progressed from the Poules. First Delys then Kim were eliminated in successive rounds. Ariadne and Genevieve progressed to the semifinals, where Genevieve placed fourth. Ariadne progressed to compete in the finals against Tahiti. She won the Silver medal. Doubles Competition The doubles competition was also played in poules, 1st tour and then a cadrage to bring the numbers down to four teams that contested the semi finals. The selected doubles combinations worked well and were very supportive of each other. Approximately 50% of Australians made it through the poules and to the cadrage. No Australians made it to the semi finals. Kim and Delys were the most successful in the women s competition having to play off to get into the semi-final. They were eliminated at this stage. Triples Competition The triples competition was also played in poules, 1st tour and then a cadrage to bring the numbers down to four teams that contested the semi finals. The selected triples combinations brought together some players who have not played together before or have not played together for some time. The players worked well together with excellent individual efforts and with very supportive teamwork. Again, around 50% of Australians made it through the poules and to the cadrage. Unfortunately, Libby injured her knee during the poules while playing New Zealand. She continued on and was supported by Ariadne and Kate during their next game against Tahiti. The restricted movement got in the way of her play. It was satisfying to see three Australian teams competing to win the right to progress to the semi finals. The terrain was a sea of gold. No Australians made it to the semi finals. Genevieve, Kim, and Delys were the most successful in the women s competition progressing to the cadrage where they were in the top 6. Both men s teams, Pierre, Jean-Luc and Mico, and Arnaud, Eric and Stephane were eliminated in the cadrage after some fierce competition with the eventual winners. Page 10 of 13! 10 September 2010!

11 Player Support One factor that provides players with peace of mind and allows personal focus on the game at hand is the level of support they receive before, during and after each game. Individual players in this squad were very supportive of each other. Various players, as would be expected at this level of competition went through the usual emotional and physical highs and lows. Team embers provided personal support for each other to become quite a homogenous group. Of particular note was the continual support provided by Peter Mangan. With so many games being contested at one time, I was unable to view and support the whole team. Peter spent the entire time watching and supporting team members as they contested some very intense games. Peter provided, at his own cost, bottles of water to help team members to cope with some hot days. He also performed the role of go-fer for players and myself. Peter, as a support person, was an integral part of this successful touring squad. Thanks Peter. General Competition Observations The following observations about players and the competition were made: The competition involved a number of events that are not commonly contested in Australia - pointing competition, different shooting competition, singles competition and to a lesser extent doubles competition. The team accepted the challenge and pulled together to support each other to deliver an outstanding result. The other countries competing in the competition were very experienced and very capable players. The Australian players regularly held their opposition to scores that involved only one or two points difference. In all events Australian teams had beaten the eventual winners or runners-up during the poules games. Team members who had completed their games consistently supported those who were still playing. As in all groups, there are individuals who hold strong opinions and/or have strong personalities. The conduct of all players during the games and as representatives for their country was exemplary. Both team captains, Pierre and Ariadne, led the teams with outstanding skills. World Championship Qualification The 2010 Oceania Competition was deemed by the Oceania Committee to be the qualification event for participation in the 2012 Men s World Championships. This position was questioned prior to the competition but was not modified. Objections were raised by the Head Coach as the acting delegate at the competition pre-briefing. The objections raised were in relation to the relevance of the competition structure and format to the FIPJP World Championships. The objections also related to the requirement to compete against teams that were not in contention for qualification. Competition Relevance The 2010 Oceania Competition is deemed as irrelevant for selection purposes for the 2012 FIPJP Men s World Championships because: 10 September 2010! Page 11 of 13

12 The competition ranking include results achieved by women who are not being considered for the men s championships. New Zealand s ranking is based on a silver medal won on the shooting competition. The achievements of the New Caledonian women and Tahitian women affected overall rankings considerably. Prospective contenders for the 2012 Men s World Championships were required to perform in events that do not constitute part of the World Championships: The World Championships include only Shooting Competitions and Triples Competitions. The Oceania Competition required participants to perform and be ranked in unrelated competitions - Pointing Competition; Singles Competition; and, Doubles Competition. Rankings are made on the basis of the number of Gold Medals, Silver Medals and Bronze Medals received. This provides a bias for those who perform well in the events that are not World Championship events. For example, New Zealand won two Silver and one Gold medal in the Pointing and Shooting Competitions, but did not progress past the barrage in the Singles, Doubles or Triples Competitions. The inclusion of countries not eligible to progress to the World Championships disadvantaged those countries that they played against. If a country that was eligible drew New Caledonia and Wallis in their poule, they may be eliminated without having played against the Oceania Federations. This situation is unfair to those federations competing to secure a position in the World Championships. Recommendations The following recommendations are made as a result of the observations made before, during and after the 2010 Oceania Competition: The PFA Board should demand a review of the qualification process for the 2012 FIPJP Men s World Championships. They should secure agreement to negate the qualification process used at the 2010 Oceania Competition and secure some alternative process for the upcoming competition. The PFA Board should develop a set of guidelines and support information for Representative Teams and players. These guidelines should provide information and advice on preparing for and attending international competitions. The PFA Board should ensure that all relevant information about international competitions is sourced and communicated to representative players and coaches well before they attend competitions. The PFA Board should appoint a tour manager or coordinator ; or empower the appointed Coach, to coordinate all preparation for the tour including travel, accommodation, registration, uniforms and gifts. The PFA Board should review team uniforms, particularly caps, to ensure that these are both comfortable and appealing to players but also appealing to opposition players. The PFA Board should develop a different strategy to the development of player skills and expertise. If the Oceania Competition is the future of pétanque in Australia and the region, competitions and coaching strategies must support the development of relevant skills. There should be more emphasis on Pointing Competitions, Singles and doubles Competitions. Page 12 of 13! 10 September 2010!

13 The PFA Board should review the framework for coaching in Australia with a view to providing a structured development of juniors to ensure succession of the playing skills in Australia. The PFA Board should continue to develop its selection process to ensure that people are selected on the basis of merit. This will include playing skills, commitment to teamwork and representational qualities. The PFA Board should review the process, quality and quantity of gift-giving for representative players. The gifts should complement the relationship development between Australian players and their opposition. 10 September 2010! Page 13 of 13