KENT PETANQUE ASSOCIATION ISSUE No.79 JANUARY 2013 The January K.P.A. Management meeting was held at Meadow Sports Club, Chatham on Thursday 24th January. A few notes taken at the meeting that may be of interest...not minutes. Attending were.. K.Buchan, A.Mills, R.Yates, M.Weston, P.Abbitt, M.Cubitt, C.Cooter, R.Spillet, K.Atkinson, T.Turner, R.King, M.Eggleton, D.Baxter, J.Keemer Richards, R.Keemer Richards. The K.P.A. Playing Committee has met, and the outline draft Calendar for 2013 made. There will be 5 Regional Triples Qualifiers as follows.. 1st Qualifier Sunday 14th April at Lordswood P.C. 2nd Qualifier Sunday 19th May at Tovil P.C. 3rd Qualifier Sunday 2nd June at Star Meadow P.C 4th Qualifier Sunday 16th June at Hartley C.C. 5th Qualifier Sunday 21st July at G.R.F.C. The K.P.A. Championships for 2013 will be. Triples Championship Doubles Championship Singles Championship Shooting Championship and The Chairman s Cup. The final date and venues for all competitions will be shown on the KPA Calendar to be posted in the next few days on the KPA web-site. It was agreed that the KPA will be sponsoring cash prizes in the form of travelling/ accommodation expenses for Kent teams for competitions on the Continent. These prizes will be tied to some of the KPA Competitions, details yet to be confirmed, and posted. Cost of entry into KPA Competitions will be the same as last year and cash expenses for Kent squads playing in the Regional Championships at Mill Rythe will be similar to last year. The Chairman's Cup will be held on the same weekend as the Mill Rythe Regional Championships. Discussions relating to probable petanque facilities at three venues. Gravesend Rugby Club are in the process of adding a new petanque playing area for approx. 8 new pistes, in addition to their existing pistes. Preliminary action is being taken for petanque facilities at The Railway Inn at Sole Street, and for a completely new facility at Istead Rise, both to be formalised into new petanque Clubs in the near future. It is likely that all three projcts will be looking to the KPA or KPL for help with funding at some date in the future. It is unlikely that Petanque will continue at The George P.H. Meopham. Whitehouse P.C. are to investigate the possibilities of hosting the Chairman s Cup this year. The KPA have been notified by Nord Maritime, that they do not wish to continue with the long running twinning arrangement. KPA GAZETTE Page 1
Agreed that the KPA sponsored prize money for Kent teams to play in competitions on the Continent has proved to be successful and that Clubs and teams should be advised of similar opportunities for weekend Competitions that may be of interest to Clubs and teams.the KPA could provide details and some guidance to participate. At present there are three signatories for the KPA bank account..agreed that another signatory would be sought. Recorded that individual Clubs can apply directly to the EPA for possible funding for Petanque improvements The K.P.A. Membership Secretary post will be carried out by Ray and Janet Keemer Richards. The Playing Committee is to investigate options and quotes for new playing kit, and to report back to the main committee accordingly. NEXT MEETING..8pm 28th FEBRUARY at HARTLEY COUNTRY CLUB KPA MEMBERS ARE VERY WELCOME TO ATTEND TO OBSERVE OR PUT FORWARD A POINT OF VIEW. A speedy recovery and best wishes from Kent petanque players go to KEVIN ATKINSON (The George Meopham) and JOHN ADAM (Hartley C.C.) who are both in hospital at this present time. GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D The EuroCup enters the last stages with Round 4 games scheduled to be played at the end of January, with the FINAL to be played on 24th February. The Clubs/Teams remaining in this competition are.. Whitnash Windmill P.C. (Heart of England) Sports Bar P.C. (Chiltern) Coventry P.C. (Heart of England) Bancroft Park P.C. (Chiltern) The Engine P.C. (Chiltern) Harrow P.C. (London) Compton P.C. (Great Western) Ship Inn P.C. (Southern) Brighton & Hove P.C. (Sussex) Lordswood (Kent) Hampshire Rose P.C. (Southern) Borden P.C. (Southern) Tovil P.C. (Kent) Meadow P.C. (Kent) The E.P.A. web-site posted a cancellation notice for the Group A and Group C matches which were to be played on Sunday 20th Jan. Dire weather warnings were voiced in the media for snow storms over this weekend.common sense prevails! KPL Winter Cup & Plate Competitions.Latest. Cup Semi-Finals HARTLEY GIBBS V HARTLEY POTTERS LAMB INN PUB V GEORGE DRAGONS Cup Plate Semi-Finals HARTLEY YATES V GRFC SNOWBOULES TOVILIERS V MOSSY S or RAILWAY RASCALS KPA GAZETTE Page 2
The Petanque Grey lobby can register a victory with the introduction of Rule 4.5 of the E.P.A. COMPETITION RULES 2013. Triples teams are to comprise 4 players. A spokesperson for the elderly commented.us elder citizens can now benefit from much needed rest periods during long Triples Competitions. Competitions with playing time unnecessarily extended by the younger more pedantic players, who find the need to adhere to every rule in the book...just to waste time and lengthen the period of the game, it would seem. So now we can shuffle a teams playing order to suit the stamina, or fatigue ( as the case may be) of individual players, particularly applicable for two day or longer competitions. Who of the team is the most tired and deserves to sit-out the next game.requires fine tactical judgement, and will probably result in a book of guidelines on measuring tiredness. Maybe teams of four players should be encouraged for the Kent Regional Triples Qualifiers.with teams of four playing in the National Finals? The DUKE OF WELLINGTON Ryarsh has become a successful venue for petanque over the past few years, overseen by proprietors JON & HELEN. Apart from the draw of petanque and a very successful restaurant, the lively Kent village pub is also the venue for live JAZZ in the main bar on the first Thursday of each month..and from this background comes a JAZZ EVENING at Ryarsh Village Hall on Saturday 9th March with any profits going to the D.O.W. Petanque Club and Kent s Air Ambulance. Jon and Helen are offering a pre-concert supper in the Duke of Wellington from 6 7pm of fish and chips or chicken curry at a goodvalue-for-money price of 7 per head. The doors of the village hall open at 7pm and the band will start playing at 7:30. Tickets are 8 purchased in advance. You will need to bring your own drinks and nibbles to the hall, tea and coffee will however be provided. Make it a night out with a nice meal and Jazz by THE SOUTHERN RE- VIVAL JAZZ BAND. Book supper direct with the pub at 7 per head Tel. No. 01732 842318 Buy tickets for Jazz in the Ryarsh Hall at 8 per head from CHRIS STOTESBURY Tel. No. 01732 845560 email: chris3008@btconnect.com KPA GAZETTE Page 3
And what s in it for us Petanquers? For most of us...there was no doubt that the London Olympics was a huge success..and in particular the sporting attitude and work and enthusiasm provided by the army of unpaid volunteers.a new breed of British ethnic species named Games Makers, numbering approximately 70,000 of them. Stars of the games the Games-Makers An army of Games Makers. Unpaid Driver-Games Makers were employed to chauffeur top Olympic people and Olympic participants around London in a fleet of 3200 BMW cars that were made available for purchase at prices likely to be some 6000 below new prices..after the games. Low mileage second-hand cars with probable evidence of some sweat stains on the back seats. After removal of the exterior paint logos, these second-hand cars were made available for purchase by games officials and Games Makers. The pre-games torch-carrying organisation was a mammoth undertaking in itself..all torch bearers had their own individual torch which was numbered. The process of passing on the Olympic flame was called the kiss. A policeman was responsible for turning on the cylinder of gas in the top of the torch and for ensuring that the torch was properly lit, then another was responsible for turning off the previous runners flame. The torch was then taken away and a simple process of decommissioning of it by removing the gas cylinder was performed and at the end of the procession all the runners were returned the torch that they ran with. All torch bearers were signed up with a sponsor. Coca Cola was one of the major sponsors and returned torches to runners free of charge, most other sponsors charged the runners 200 each for the return of their torch. All bearers were allowed to keep the running uniform free of charge. Have heard tell that the current price of an authentic torch with runners uniform is around 23000. The unpaid heroes of the games..the Olympic Torch Bearers and the Games Makers! And to put things into perspective... Recent news shows that us.the British taxpayer...coughed up around 1.2 million to provide Olympic tickets to allow scores of Civil Servants, Government Ministers, Actors and Business Leaders to be comfortably seated to watch their favourite sporting event at the London Olympics and the Paralympics.not forgetting tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies. continued Picture of PETER BARBER, games maker and European Hammer Throwing Champ. in the 75/79 age group, and Torch Bearer MICK JENNINGS Kent Petanque player and channel swimmer. KPA GAZETTE Page 4
So what did the Olympics do for us Petanquers?..what is the Olympic legacy for us petanquers?..nothing to both! The next Olympics will be in Rio in four years time and what are UK Sport doing about it?...about 347million is what they are doing about it! Including 4.3million to Synchronised Swimming, 32.6million to Rowing, 7.5million to Diving, Big statue oversees the next Olympics in Rio. 17.9million to Equestrian and 6.9million to Taekwondo. Handball, Wrestling, Table Tennis and Basketball.and Petanque get nothing. Financial support to elite sports people for the London Olympics was successful for some sports..but an apparent waste of money for a few sports. The real question surely.is. what is sport for..is it for collecting a few medals at four yearly intervals? Or is it a long term every day opportunity for the population to keep fit and enjoy involvement in group and team activities? Should kids be encouraged to get away from technology and get into the open air and take part in sport...or should they keep an eye on the latest television technology to ensure that they can view the next Olympics on the best possible T.V.? In truth..as with limited success in funding the elite sports people, there can only be limited success in encouraging and funding sports for all...on the other hand a few quid filtering its way down the food chain to aid and encourage local sports and, in particular, minority sports like Petanque could prove to have long term local benefits. A quick flick through this months Gazette will indicate the difficulties of providing news...any news... regarding Petanque through the winter when there is very little petanque activity. Readers are therefore warmly welcome to provide info., stories or pictures for entry into the Gazette.which can be on any topic within reason and with only a minimum tenuous adherence to fact and truth! Most petanque Clubs do not produce their own newsletters...therefore why not use the Gazette as a publication to tell the petanque world about your own Club? The Gazette is lucky in having a few stalwarts who regularly provide info and pictures for publication..which is of great help. Stories and info to the Gazette will be greatly appreciated...stories or information by e-mail, letter or telephone will be acceptable..stories or information can be in full text or note form. KEEP AN EYE OUT.. On the EPA web-site for details for membership enrolment for year 2013. Due to be available soon.we are told! This enrolment will be a computerised system for joint E.P.A and K.P.A. membership and playing licence.combined subs 19 as per last year. KPA GAZETTE Page 5
GRAND SLAM 2013 A NEW series of triples and doubles competitions to be held throughout the summer at venues around the country..at. 5th May Lightwater/Northern Region 2nd June Oxshott/Southern Region 30th June The Engine/Chiltern Region 14th July Nottingham/East Midlands Region 25th Aug Harrow/London Region 26th Aug Meadow/ Kent Region 8th Sept The Finals at The Irish Club/Chiltern Region Accumulated points system estimated price fund 2000 teams to play in a minimum of two events the top 24 teams qualify for the finals on 8th Sept. Organising Committee BARRY WING MARTIN HUGHES TONI GATES and JACK MILNER. For full details go to www.uk.grand.slam@btinternet.com INTERNATIONAL TOURNAMENTS FOR VETERANS 2013 Lloret de Mar & Blanes Spain 31st May to 3rd June The first edition of this great sport event will take place in Lloret de Mar and Blanes.Lloret de Mar and Blanes are coastal villages with more than thousand years of history with a rich cultural and natural heritage. Iberian villages, medieval castles, chapels and beautiful gardens are testimonials of the origins of these towns. Due to the provision of cultural, leisure and sport amenities, Lloret de Mar and Blanes have a large tradition hosting tourists of practically every age from around the world. Outstanding the high number of sportsmen & sportswomen coming in the last years to this area to participate in international tournaments, official competitions, pre-season stage and trips at the end of their season. Lloret de Mar and Blanes have received the certificate of Sport Tourism Destination given by the Catalan Government "Generalitat de Catalunya to the tourism destinations with good facilities and services to be offered to the visitants practicing any sport discipline. COVERING 13 SPORT FROM DARTS TO TENNIS INCLUDING PETANQUE. For full details and information go to.. www.seniorsportsmeetings.es KPA GAZETTE Page 6
HOLIDAY VILLA AVAILABLE EMBROIDERY DEPOT are able to supply and machine embroider a wide range of polo shirts, T shirts, sweatshirts, rugby shirts, fleeces, jackets, caps, bags, towels, flags and other garments, sew-on or iron-on badges. EMBROIDERY DEPOT can offer up to 15% price reduction for PETANQUE CLUB orders. ALAN CREGEEN proprietor. EMBROIDERY DEPOT 28 MILNER ROAD ELVINGTON DOVER KENT CT15 4EQ Tel. 01304 830809 or 07702106581 www.embroiderydepot.co.uk sales@embroiderydepot.co.uk In the village of Diano San Pietro - fully furnished 2 bedroom villa is approx. 2 miles from the Mediterranean beaches of DIANO MARINA nearest airport is Genoa for full details contact JOHN SUGUATO Tel. 01634 312675 See also Gazette Issue 50 for full report KENT & SUSSEX WINDOW CLEANING AND GUTTER- ING CLEANING COMMERCIAL & DOMESTIC RELIABLE & FRIENDLY SERVICE PROVIDED COMPETITIVE PRICES GIVEN FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR QUOTES PLEASE CONTACT 01323 743789 or 079338 70612 TO ADVERTISE IN THE GAZETTE CONTACT RON YATES ronyates6@btinternet.com FREE to all KPA MEMBERS All you need for petanque supplies from the on line brochure. Boule accessories trophies bags and clothing. www.pycpetanque.co.uk Tel. 01359 250829 Shop and Sales Office at Pen-y-Coed Petanque Up Street Bradwell Bury St. Edmonds Suffolk IP31 1AA KPA GAZETTE The KENT PETANQUE GAZETTE is edited by RON YATES. Any item of news for inclusion in future editions should be sent to e-mail ronyates6@btinternet.com The views expressed in the KENT PETANQUE GAZETTE are those of the editor and contributors only, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the KENT PETANQUE ASSOCIATON or the ENGLISH PETANQUE ASSOCIATION E & O E Page 7