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Glorious weather on Sunday 24th April saw eight teams gathering on the piste at the Seven Stars for the Marches Open Triples and Coche throwing competitions.
The two leagues in the morning highlighted Brecon PC as the strongest team with three wins and plus 23 points. However, they were knocked out in the semi- final by Ian W, Trevor and Melanie. Steve, Carol and Pete played Brecon for third place and Brecon were back to their winning ways!
The final was a tense affair. With the scores at eight apiece, Trevor ‘Deadeye’ shot to leave five boules on the jack for victory. Michael, Roy and Blair could do nothing about it, despite Blair’s frankly remarkable pointing and Trevor, Melanie and Ian were victorious.
The Coche throwing also took place on Sunday. Andy Wright opened the scoring with an astounding 44 points. Michael scored 23 points for second place and Ian W 19 for third. Andy’s score was much the highest ever recorded for this event. It was a long day, but the fabulous weather and great company made it all worth it.
Please remember to put Sunday 26th June in your diaries for the Marches Open Pairs and Pointing competitions.
For the printable score-sheet, go to the Summer League tab and chose Documents
The Summer competitions dates are also fixed (again, see Minutes below), and the dates are:
24th April – Triples and Coche Throwing
26th June – Pairs and Pointing
11th September – Singles and Shooting
Date for Beeline – Monday 29th August
Minutes of Committee Meeting held at Seven Stars, Clehonger on 29th March 2022 at 7:30pm can be downloaded or printed by going to the HOME tab, clicking on GENERAL DOCUMENTS then clicking on MPL-Comm-290320223942
Minutes of Committee Meeting held at Seven Stars, Clehonger on 29th March 2022 at 7:30pm (the Minutes can be downloaded or printed by going to the HOME tab, clicking on GENERAL DOCUMENTS then clicking on the yellow folder icon)
Present: Stella Acton; Tracy Adams; Steve Bradley; Jens Bryan; Barbara Clarke; Michael Hewitt; Martin Hudson; Phil Lear; Adrian Reeve; Helen Reeve; Ian Williams; Melanie Williams; Andy Wright
Apologies: Alan and Barbara Turner; Rob Thomas; Roy Wilkes; Eric Acton; Roger Marshall; Matty Taylor
Minutes of last meeting were agreed as a correct record.
There were no matters arising.
The Chair reported that the Winter League had been a success and was congratulated by members for a smooth-running season – helped by fortnightly fixtures which gives time to catch up on games if necessary.
Other Officers had nothing to report.
Summer League had 16 entries thus far, with closing date the following day. Teams lost to the league are Seven Stars, Portway Goldz, Mortimers Cross, Barristers and Tram Tracks. Possible new teams are Oak at Gladestry and Wilton Bridge. Martin and Phil (WB) explained they have no lighting which might make evening play tricky. They were advised that builders’ lights on stands are available for modest sums and will investigate further. At present, it looks as though there will be 8 teams in each division with positions decreed by standings at the end of 2019 season. The season is due to start on 20th April. It will be tricky to arrange because there are limited pistes and several venues with multiple teams.
Beeline Competition – This has been poorly supported in recent years and the Executive suggested a change to the organisation. Instead of playing into September and October, when the evenings turn cold, the idea to play as a one-day event was mooted. This was discussed and with no dissenters, it was agreed to try this for one year and see how it went.
Date for Beeline – Monday 29th August
Summer League Knockout Cup – this competition was originally brought in to fill spare weeks when playing in three divisions. It will be put forward as an end-of-season extra for this year and see how it goes. Entries will be sought before the July meeting when more concrete arrangements can be made.
Marches Competitions – these have been held as Closed events in the past, open only to Marches players. It was suggested that perhaps we could encourage more players if they were to become Open events. It was pointed out that numbers have been in decline over the last ten years or more. Should competitions become open, only Marches players would be eligible for Marches Cup points, meaning the Cup would effectively remain a closed competition. Following discussion, it was agreed to trial Open competitions.
Dates of competitions were determined as follows:
24th April Triples and Coche Throwing
26th June Pairs and Pointing
11th September Singles and Shooting
Any Other Business:
The new rules require a little clarity. When strings are live, the jack is valid if thrown/placed right up to the side strings. However, when strings are dead, as in Marches rules, the jack should be thrown/placed 50cm from side strings. The new rule that the thrown/placed jack should be 50cm from back does apply to Marches.
Stella explained that the Bell now closes at 10pm on Wednesdays. She asked that their home matches begin at 7pm in order that they are completed a little earlier. This was agreed as an exception, given the circumstances around the pub closing time. In exceptional circumstances, it was agreed that, if opposition players were unable to all arrive by 7pm, the order of play could be changed to begin with doubles or even singles. This will be reviewed in July at the next Committee meeting.
Finally, it was noted that there is a small number of players without a team this year. Should any team be short of players, please contact the Secretary, Melanie, who will put them in touch.
The meeting closed at 20:33
Agenda
SUMMER LEAGUE
A reminder that entries for the Summer League close tomorrow, 30th March, so that dates and fixtures can be arranged. I will need your team name and the venue from which you intend to play. If you did not enter for 2020 season, you will need to pay the entry fee of £25 too. Previous entry monies are, as previously agreed, carried forward to this year. We are looking to begin the season on Wednesday 20th April. Fixtures will be published after the closing date for entries.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL!
The winter league restarts on 9th January – happy bouling everyone!
The Christmas Melee was held at the Seven Stars, Clehonger on Sunday 19th December. 19 players came along despite the foggy and cold weather. A great time was had by all and the Christmas Fancy Dress was much admired, although Santa being given a piggy-back by an Elf was a little disturbing! The competition was won by Steve deBurgo with Adrian Reeve second and Trevor Allen third. The entry fee and the raffle raised £160, and £80 will be donated the the Midland Air Ambulance, which was the charity of choice of the late Andy Preece. A memorial bench for Andy was unveiled on the day with an appropriate inscription on a plaque. A photo of the plaque and a photo of the melee players is on the Gallery.
WINTER LEAGUE 2021
The Winter League is in full swing, the fixture list and league table can be printed from the Winter League Tab on this website. Matches are now finished for Xmas, the rest will restart in the New Year. The matches start at 12.00 noon. A score sheet for the matches can be down loaded for printing from the Winter League/Documents Tab on the website.
The Christmas Melee was held at the Seven Stars, Clehonger on Sunday 19th December. 19 players came along despite the foggy and cold weather. A great time was had by all and the Christmas Fancy Dress was much admired, although Santa being given a piggy-back by an Elf was a little disturbing! The competition was won by Steve deBurgo with Adrian Reeve second and Trevor Allen third. The entry fee and the raffle raised £160, and £80 will be donated the the Midland Air Ambulance, which was the charity of choice of the late Andy Preece. A memorial bench for Andy was unveiled on the day with an appropriate inscription on a plaque. A photo of the plaque and a photo of the melee players is on the Gallery.
WINTER LEAGUE 2021
The Winter League is in full swing, the fixture list and league table can be printed from the Winter League Tab on this website. Matches are now finished for Xmas, the rest will restart in the New Year. The matches start at 12.00 noon. A score sheet for the matches can be down loaded for printing from the Winter League/Documents Tab on the website.
AGM
The minutes of the AGM and the succeeding Committee meeting are available to view and print in the SUMMER LEAGUE > Documents section.
Presentation of Trophies took place at the AGM. The winners in each category were:
Photos taken at the presentation can be viewed in the Gallery
WINTER LEAGUE 2021
The Winter League starts on 31st October. There have been 9 teams entered, there will be one league, the fixture list can be printed from the Winter League Tab on this website. The matches will start at 12.00 noon. A score sheet for the matches can be down loaded for printing from the Winter League/Documents Tab on the website
Melanie
Link:Petanque England Covid Rules 2020
The Summer League Grand Final took place at the New Strand on Wednesday 22nd September, with New Nags emerging as the victors. The score at the end of an interesting final was New Nags 4 (62) and Brecon 2 (50)
Please also note that the Marches AGM will take place on Wednesday 13th October 2021 at Seven Stars, Clehonger, beginning at 7.30 pm and will be followed by presentation of awards and trophies. Please let me have – by email if possible – any motion for discussion. I will aim to circulate an agenda during the preceding week, so all motions to me by 6th October please. There will be an election of officers for the coming year. If you are interested in standing for any position, please let me know in advance of the meeting. Please pass on this message to other players in your teams as I do not have an email address for everyone.
SUMMER LEAGUE 2021
The Summer League, albeit in shortened form, was enjoyed by all the teams and ended with Stars on 45 leading the East group with The Nag’s Head second, and for the West group, Strand and Deliver came top followed by Brecon. The 2021 Champion will be decided by semifinals featuring the first of each group playing the second in the other.
The semi- finals of the summer season 2021 resulted in two draws and some very tight fought games. The victors of Brecon vs Stars on 45 were Brecon on points and New Nags vs Strand and Deliver was decided by a four person play off as the points were also equal. New Nags were victorious and so the final will be between New Nags and Brecon at the Strand on Wednesday 22nd September.
Please feel free to go along and watch – it promises to be an exciting evening.
The Summer League is back!
This summer, there have been 12 teams entered, and because the season is short, the teams have been divided geographically, into East and West divisions, with no regard to the final placings in 2019. The league starts on June 16th, and fixtures, tables and result are displayed on the website within the heading 2021 Season Matches.
COVID rules applicable to the match dates will apply. Current rules until further notice are listed below
Printable Scoresheet in PDF format can be found within the DOCUMENTS section under the 2021 SEASONS MATCHES tab
Sunday 27th June Triples and Coche Throwing
Sunday 8th August Pairs and Pointing
Sunday 15th August Singles and Shooting
D ear All,
Excitingly, I finally have clear plans to report. Thanks to those who have replied to previous emails, we are confident of having sufficient teams to run a summer season, albeit in a somewhat reduced format. Some of our pubs are not reopening until a little later in the year, and we are, of course, depending on restrictions lifting, so we will not be starting until 16th June. This will be a shorter season than usual, a one off competition in its own right, and will have no bearing on league positions for 2022. Neither will there be entry fees, which will again be held over to next year. Whilst games will be scheduled for Wednesday evenings, as usual, we recognise time might be tight and ask that early rearrangement of matches be organised to allow for holidays and the like. The usual summer league format will be used, with a minimum of six players per team and application of the matrix if fewer players turn up.
Team Captains and Club Contacts will be hearing more from me regarding entries in early May, giving us all time to monitor COVID progress.
However, we will be holding a melee at Seven Stars, Clehonger, on Saturday 29th May, as a pre-season opener. Entry will be £3 with all monies paid out in prizes on the day. Numbers will be restricted to 30 players, so please let me know your interest ASAP in order that I may keep an up to date list of participants.
Finally, for now, we have dates for Marches competitions for you to note in your diaries.
Sunday 27th June Triples and Coche Throwing
Sunday 18th July Pairs and Pointing
Sunday 8th August Singles and Shooting
Kind regards
Melanie
WINTER LEAGUE
Please note this message from Mel regarding the current lockdown situation
Dear Team Captains and Players,
Clearly, with the new lockdown, pétanque will not now be able to go ahead on 8th and 22nd November, as pubs will be closed and gatherings, even outside, forbidden. At present, fixtures for 8th December could still go ahead, but we will have to see what happens regarding the end of lockdown and what new or further delights may yet lay in store for us all.
Stay safe.
Melanie
HEREFORD PC WINTER LEAGUE
The winter leagueis run under the auspices of the Hereford Petanque Club. Originally 5 teams entered, but unfortunately Stable Door have had to withdraw. The Winter League now restarts on starts on 25th October with 4 teams entered. The fixture list is on the Winter League pages.
Team Captains please ensure that Risk Assessments are up to date for their venues, and the advice in the Marches Secretary’s email is adhered to. A copy is given below.
“In order to be Covid compliant, we need the Marches Winter League to be administered under the auspices of Hereford Petanque Club as a Petanque England affiliated club, otherwise we are restricted to the rule of 6. Therefore, the league will be known as Hereford PC Winter League, purely to ensure we are meeting legal requirements. I will change heading on scoresheet and send out on a separate email shortly, together with a scoring question for you.
The extra work involved in ensuring covid compliance is that each team must have a risk assessment. I am attaching a copy of one based on something Bill drew up – it will need adjusting to fit your pub name, but MUST be a live document that is adhered to during matches. Ideally, they should be completed and returned to me before Saturday please and also printed out to be shared with opposition on the day of each match. I know it seems petty, but it is really important that we are seen to be compliant, especially if someone were to become infected and Test and Trace were to become involved. None of us wants to be slapped with a fine!
I look forward to receiving your adjusted forms asap and sorry to be a nuisance! If you have questions about the risk assessment itself, Bill is well up to speed and I would suggest you contact him with any queries.”
MARCHES COMPETITIONS AWARDS 2020
In the absence of a Presentation of Awards ceremony this year, special mention should go to winners of the various trophies.
Winter League, back in the days before lockdown, was won by team WWWW.
Summer League, renamed the Covid Cup, was also won by WWWW.
Singles was won by Bill Wood.
Pairs won by Roy Wilkes and Bill Wood (runners up were the other two team members of WWWW)
Triples won by Ian and Melanie Williams, Roy Wilkes and Bill Wood.
Shooting was won by Mark Jones.
Pointing was won by Bill Wood.
Coche throwing was won by Stella Acton.
Marches Cup went to Bill Wood.
Particular kudos to Bill Wood for a phenomenal performance throughout the year. He won all bar two of the eight competitions and very nearly made a clean sweep of it. Massive congratulations to him and to everyone who competed for making every competition such fun to take part in.
For the final table for the 2020 Marches Competitions, click the link below
Marches Competitions 2020 Table
ANDY PREECE
Andy’s funeral will take place on Tuesday 3rd November at 15:45 at Hereford Crematorium. Covid restrictions mean numbers are strictly limited but Liz and the family would encourage you to line the road to the Crematorium to see Andrew make his final journey. Please wear red/white to mark Andy’s lifelong love of Manchester United.
Family flowers only but donations can be made via box in Seven Stars from 6pm – when pub is open to all, under Covid restrictions – to be shared between Macmillan and St Michael’s Hospice.
Team Captains and Club Contacts, please circulate to your team members.
Kind regards.
Melanie
ANDY PREECE
Sadly, Andy has died this morning (19th October). Andy has been unwell for some time, he passed away a short while ago, peacefully at home. Liz is comforted by her family at this time. Andy has long been a friend to both the Marches and to Heart of England Petanque Clubs, keeping the terrains at the Seven Stars in superb condition and proving an often formidable opponent on the piste. He will be sadly missed.
Details of funeral arrangements will be posted when they are available
HEREFORD PC WINTER LEAGUE
The winter leagueis run under the auspices of the Hereford Petanque Club. Originally 5 teams entered, but unfortunately Stable Door have had to withdraw. The Winter League now restarts on starts on 25th October with 4 teams entered. The fixture list is on the Winter League pages.
Team Captains please ensure that Risk Assessments are up to date for their venues, and the advice in the Marches Secretary’s email is adhered to. A copy is given below.
“In order to be Covid compliant, we need the Marches Winter League to be administered under the auspices of Hereford Petanque Club as a Petanque England affiliated club, otherwise we are restricted to the rule of 6. Therefore, the league will be known as Hereford PC Winter League, purely to ensure we are meeting legal requirements. I will change heading on scoresheet and send out on a separate email shortly, together with a scoring question for you.
The extra work involved in ensuring covid compliance is that each team must have a risk assessment. I am attaching a copy of one based on something Bill drew up – it will need adjusting to fit your pub name, but MUST be a live document that is adhered to during matches. Ideally, they should be completed and returned to me before Saturday please and also printed out to be shared with opposition on the day of each match. I know it seems petty, but it is really important that we are seen to be compliant, especially if someone were to become infected and Test and Trace were to become involved. None of us wants to be slapped with a fine!
I look forward to receiving your adjusted forms asap and sorry to be a nuisance! If you have questions about the risk assessment itself, Bill is well up to speed and I would suggest you contact him with any queries.”
PAIRS AND POINTING
The usual fair Clehonger weather welcomed an excellent turnout for the final closed competitions. Roy and Bill scrapped into the last 8 and soon found themselves 9-0 down to Ben and Pauline – number 1 from the morning – but the ‘ww’s dug in to win to 11. Meanwhile Trevor and Alistair beat team-mates Adrian and Helen and Ian and Melanie defeated Ian and Ken. Mike and Rob beat locals Andy and Colin, but then lost the closest – and possibly longest, semi-finals to Ian and Mel.
Trevor and Alistair beat Bill and Roy in the morning, but it was reversed in the semi-final, meaning the pairs final was contested by all four of the www.w’s, with Roy and Bill prevailing following a fight-back from Ian and Mel. Eric and Stella enjoyed a fun-packed game against Steve and Blair to take the Plate.
Helen and Stella led the pointing with 5 until the second half – after the pairs final, when Mel, Mike and Rob equalled them. However, Bill capped a rather good day with a highly respectable 8 out of 15 to win the pointing.
Marches Competitions 2020 Table
SUMMER LEAGUE (Covid Cup)
4 teams entered for the Covid Cup, this years abridged Summer League. The last games have been played, and the WWW.Ws emerged victorious.For results and league table go to the Summer League pages
Link:Petanque England Covid Rules
SINGLES AND SHOOTING
The Marches Petanque got underway last weekend with the Singles and Shooting. A full house of 16 entrants – there are now only 8 lanes on the re-strung Clehonger terrain – had a gloriously sunny day and equally good matches. Following the mornings knock-out, Roy Wilkes and Andy Wright were 1 and 2, but both lost to Trevor Allen and Steve DeBurgo in the first rounds of the afternoon. Mark Jones beat Mike Baker for a place against Steve in the semi-final and Bill Wood – finally – beat Ian Williams before coming out tops against Trevor in a slightly epic semi-final. Mark started the final well, but Bill maintained his pointing and shooting to win the singles title.
Ian Clark didn’t have the most favourable of morning draws, but made the most of the Plate by beating Colin in the final.
Mark again had to settle for 2nd spot in the shooting with a creditable 20, but was just pipped by Trevor on 23. Bill and Colin George shared 3rd place.
Thanks to the Clehonger team who have re-strung the terrain and all concerned for following the requirements. Things, at least in petanque, are a little bit like normal. Don’t forget the triples on 23rd August – a maximum of ten triples, so get your entries to Mel in early.
SINGLES AND SHOOTING
This competition will take place for the pre-entered players on 9th August at the Seven Stars, Clehonger, please arrive by 9.30 am for a 9.45am start. Petanque England Covid Rules will apply.
There are 16 entries for this competition. The entries have been drawn into 4 groups, and in the first round each group will play a league. The top 2 in each group will be seeded to go forward into the second round knockout, followed by the semifinal and the final. The bottom 2 in each group will go forward into the plate knockouts.
The Groups are:
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
1. Colin George 5. Bill Wood 9. Joe Oakley 13. Stella Acton
2. Eric Acton 6. Mike Baker 10. Roy Wilkes 14. Andy Preece
3. Andy Wright 7. Adrian Reeve 11. Steve de Burgo 15. Mark Jones
4. Trevor Allen 8. Ian Clark 12. Melanie Williams 16. Ian Williams
Tables will be sorted by Games Won, then by Points Difference, in case of a tie, the head to head scores will be used.
During the matches, the shooting competition will be held. Good Luck to all!
COVID 19 UPDATE
The Executive are considering plans to restart some format of games, dependant on Government Guidelines. Watch this space. During this non-playing period, work has commenced on a second piste at The Strand in Eardisley, to accommodate two teams from the now shut Tram. Check this out [HERE]
COVID 19 (CORONAVIRUS) PRECAUTIONS
Sadly, the Executive Committee have had to make the decision to delay the start of this year’s Summer League. Pétanque England have suspended all Pétanque and government advice is to avoid social situations. Therefore, the meeting set for 24th March will also be postponed.
The fixture list will be published at some stage, depending on the likelihood of current restrictions being lifted over the summer. There is flexibility in the programme, with the potential to drop fixtures such as Summer League Knockout Cup and Beeline Competition if we have a shortened season. There are only 17 entries to the league this year, so there will be only two divisions. The proposal is that Division 1 has 9 teams and Division 2 has 8. This gives both divisions a fuller fixture list and equal opportunities to play Pétanque.
Details will be kept as up to date as possible on the website – please check it regularly and do not be afraid to use the feedback form to make comments on content, layout and design. It is still a work in progress! Www.herefordpetanque.co.uk if you haven’t already saved it to your favourites!
The Committee Meeting scheduled for 24th March may also be postponed or held ‘virtually’. The Summer League may also be postponed but we will need to monitor the situation before coming to a definite decision.
MARCHES PETANQUE – AGM
The Marches Petanque AGM (arranged for 24th March at The Seven Stars, Clehonger), has been postponed. The Minutes from the previous meeting in October will be up for approval and a copy of the Draft Minutes from that meeting are here AGM 16102019 MPL . Also here is a copy of the Minutes of the Committee Meeting held prior to the AGM MPL Comm 16102019 and a copy of the Trophy winners for the 2019 season Marches Trophy holders 2019
SUMMER LEAGUE
Team Captains, it’s time to get the entries in for the Summer League. Entries to be in by 6th March to Jens, along with the £25 entry fee. An entry form in PDF format is here. Summer League 2020 entry
REMINDER
Start time for the Marches Winter League is now 12 noon for all matches.
Results for Winter League should go to ianwilliams347@btinternet.com
BRIAN BAUGH
Brian’s Funeral Service took place at Hereford Crematorium on Friday, January 24th and a large number of people came to say goodbye to him. The Marches League was well represented.
BRIAN BAUGH
Funeral Service will take place at Hereford Crematorium on Friday, January 24th 2020 at 11.15 am. Family flowers only, donations if desired to Charles Renton Unit, Hereford Hospital
BRIAN BAUGH
We note with sadness the death of Brian Baugh, who passed away at Worcester Hospital on 23rd December after a heart attack. Brian had been a long time petanque player in the Marches League playing for the Stranded Cruisers (and all it’s previous incarnations) for many years as well as taking part in the local competitions. Funeral details will be posted when available. Brian, we will miss you.
EURO CUP PLATE
Hereford II reach third round of Euro Cup Plate and play Northey Arms, from Bath.
SUNDAY 15th DECEMBER
15th December is the now traditional Marches Christmas Melee at the Seven Stars, Clehonger.
As has become usual, there will be prizes for best Christmas themed dress, a great raffle, super prizes for the competition, lots of festive fun and some Pétanque too.
Registration by 9:30 for a 10am start of play.
Please spread the word, bring your friends and let’s start Christmas in style.
REMINDER
Start time is now 12 noon for all Winter league matches.
Results for Winter League should go to ianwilliams347@btinternet.com
WINTER LEAGUE UPDATE
Following the AGM on Wednesday, the proposal to start Winter League games at 12 noon was approved. Therefore, ALL Winter League matches will start at noon (unless you arrange differently amongst yourselves).
The matter of postponed matches during the Winter League was also discussed at the AGM. It was agreed that postponed matches during the Winter season must be played within four weeks of the original fixture and, in all cases, by the last match of the season.
WINTER LEAGUE FIXTURES
The fixture list is now available.
Go to the winter league sub menu’s or click [Fixture List]
BEELINE RESULTS
Congratulations to Team Williams for winning the Beeline Trophy and to Sunrise for winning the plate competition.
PETANQUE ENGLAND CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
A well done to Ian Williams and Bill Wood, who, having qualified for the PE CoC over 50’s Doubles, narrowly lost in the final on Sunday at Branleys, Lincoln. Having won all three morning games and getting in the main, they beat London Region in the quarters followed by Chiltern champions in the semi – in battering rain – before losing 13-11 in a rain soaked final.
THIS NEW WEBSITE : REGISTRATION
We are developing this new website and would appreciate any constructive feedback. The objective is to show general information without needing to register or login to the site, as time goes on we will add a registration form that will allow members to access more detailed and personal information (GDPR).
Congratulations to Ian Williams and Bill Wood on winning the Regional Winter Pairs for the third time in four years. Four games are played in each of the 8 rounds and a great start to the campaign saw them win all 16 games in the 4 rounds before Xmas. Things get tougher after that as the league and first division settles down, but with a further 3 wins in round 6, they all but confirmed their place as Champions and a further 2 wins at Penkridge meant that they won the overall competition and finished top of Division 1.