International Weekend of Petanque 2019

Another great Weekend of Petanque at Worthing saw three days of great competitions. The temperature was much colder than last year with the occasional threat of rain but overall there was a fair bit of sunshine which kept the majority of the players happy and without the risk of sunburn! We are pleased to welcome The Hoff as guest blogger for the WoP to do justice to the commentary on the three days. The Hoff is renowned for his passionate writing and technical know-how of the game…

Southern Counties once again delivered a fantastic Weekend of Petanque (WoP) on the south coast at Worthing Petanque Club. Three wonderful days of doubles, triples and singles saw players from across England and Europe battle it out for the BIG cash prizes.

As always, the doubles kicked off proceedings on the Saturday. A full quota of 64 teams were in attendance – the perfect number.

Morning leagues were proceeded with the highly exciting knock out stages. 32 teams were sent through, with many scrambling to the draw to see who they were up against – and their potential route. Worthing’s terrains always spring a surprise and there were a few of the established players in the Silver.

After a gruelling days play, Netherland’s stalwart Noel Kampeneers alongside Geoff Booth were victorious, defeating another European star, Denmarks Christian Anderson-Nielsen and England’s Scott Ashby.

In the Silver, Stuart Floyd and Callum Lombard beat Kaylee Thatcher and young Ella Slade.

Sunday was the turn of the triples. 44 teams, another cracking number of entrants, were ready to compete for the £900 first prize.

Less entries to the doubles meant only 16 teams were sent through to the knock out stages, so a good points difference was imperative to get through if you didn’t win all your games. As on the Saturday a few stellar teams were unfortunate to miss out on the top 16.

The competition was fierce and alive throughout the latter stages. Two top notch Semi Finals saw Mark Robertshaw, Steve Daykin and Vince WIlls defeat Glenn Floyd, Stuart Floyd and Steve Lombard to set up a £900 showdown with Ross Jones, Reece Gould and Alex Spillet after they beat Geert Peers, Edward Vinke and Dean Seville.

The final was a very tight and gritty affair, both teams making a lot of boule count and the game was too and fro. In the end Ross, Reece and Alex were able to get over the line and share that big cash windfall.

In the Silver, the winners were the Dutch trio of Jobbi Schefferlie, Mario Bloom and Vince Exalto. They defeated English/Danish mash up of Tracy Spillet, Kevin Spillet and Christian Anderson-Nielsen.

Last but not least we come onto the Singles. 53 players gave the ‘hardest discipline’ a go on the final day. Once again, there were big cash prizes up for grabs.

With the Singles being a much quicker format, there were 5 morning games with 32 teams making the knock out stages.

Singles are a sterner test for competitors, it really is a battle tactically and mentally. There were some great performances during the day – Andrew Walker making the Semi Finals and pushing Noel Kampeneers right to the end. Mark Dowman was also riding a wave of form, beating some great players on his way to the final.

Noel Kampeneers made it 2 titles out of 3 with his win against Mark Dowman in the final.

The Silver final was contested between Hakim Dahmani and Southerns newest junior star, Will Read. Hakim was victorious but so much credit must go to Will.

That concludes another year of Petanque action at the Weekend of Petanque. Some superb boule was thrown, some sensational games were played, some major scalps were had and everyone had a great weekend.

With thanks to Hilary for her continued organisational skills, Glenn for again producing a fantastic weekend of Petanque from behind the scenes, John for being a cracking umpire, Worthing for hosting and of course the sponsors Dragonair, Medem and Empire Services who all make it possible.

Here’s to 2020! – see you then.