 | Claire Bradburn has been selected to represent the Wellington Region against the South Island in Ashburton on 27 & 28 November 2020. Great achievement Claire - your fellow club members will be cheering you on! |
 Rachel Clarke and Claire Bradburn played in the Regional Women’s Doubles and Triples over the
weekend of 26 & 27 September. The Doubles were played on Saturday in fine weather and after the first 4 games Rachel and Claire were in fourth place, but unfortunately they didn’t carry their form through to the sudden death rounds and finished 5th equal. The Triples Competition, played on Sunday was different from the start. Heavy rain overnight meant the terrain had a lot of water on the pistes, although the jack didn’t float in any puddles. (this is an actual test done to see if an area is playable within the rules). Rachel and Claire with Ngaire Eriksen from Horowhenua Club played the first two rounds in heavy, wind-blown rain and then the skies cleared for the 3rd and 4th rounds. At this stage they were 2nd overall. The semifinals were played in reasonable weather against a team of three NZ Representatives, Rachel, Claire and Ngaire won 13-8. Then to the final against a team which included two NZ representatives to our one. No sooner had the game started than the gale-force wind brought rain. The team started well, going out to 8-2 when one bad end gave their opponents 5 points cutting our lead to 1. Our team refocused and although the rain turned to hail for a while they kept on track to win the Championship 13-8. A fantastic result! On a beautiful sunny day, the above Club Championship was held with 14 players in attendance. There were four qualifying rounds which at times were very close and intense. The Semi Final games were drawn between: Ian Richards and Peter Matthews Claire Bradburn and Graeme Pilcher Two intense games followed with Peter Matthews scoring 13 points to Ian Richard's 4 and Claire Bradburn scoring 13 points to Graeme Pilcher's 10. The Final was therefore held between Claire Bradburn and Peter Matthews with Claire winning the Club Singles Championship, scoring 13 points to Peter's 5. Congratulations to Claire for games well played! A Good day was had by all.
The Wellington Petanque Association (WPA) Open was attended by Claire Bradburn, Rachel Clarke and Mary Willmer.
The WPA Pointing and Qualification Round began on Friday the 11th September on a very cold and blustery afternoon. Rachel with an excellent score of 35 points came in second to Claire Wilson from Wanganui, who is the current Oceania Champion, scoring 41 points. The Final was played on the Sunday with Rachel the runner up with 11 points to Claire Wilson's score of 15 points. Congratulations to Rachel for a very good performance indeed! THE SUNSHINE MAY NOT HAVE COME TO THE PARTY BUT THE MEMBERS SURE DID!
The best turnout seen in years is how many have described opening days attendance. Unfortunately the plans for some social games in the afternoon were scuppered with the rain that decided to hang around but that didn't stop the formalities and the official 'first bowl & boule'. There was a different feel to this ritual as acknowledged by those addressing the club, with the absence of our patron Pat Christianson who sadly passed away late last year. Its hard to say who the better player would be between Hon Chris Hipkins and our esteemed Mayor, Wayne Guppy, but the crowd was firmly taken by young Charlie Hipkins who somehow managed to get his Bowl and boule closest to the relevant jacks. The day continued as planned from 4pm with awards for last season being presented and a fantastic meal to end the event. Many thanks to our attending dignitaries, sponsors, comittee members, attending club members and their partners for making this day a huge success. |
