iwpetanque

"lady" in pin · Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2008 8:38 pm Post subject:

everyone on this forum has criticised the standard of island petanque, i was merely referring to the standard of play needed when playing at the regionals where the quality of play is higher.

you once again bring up how competitions should be run and the bit of the rule you leave out every time is that if the numbers of entries are low it is a the discretion of the organiser to decide how the comp should be played.
currently numbers are low and the format chosen encourages everyone to keep playing and to enjoy the petanque.

in light of the problem over our comps/qualifiers the current committee decided that the playing rules needed revising. if you wish to make any proposals or nominate yourself to help the few committe members would im sure be welcoming.

just for the record not once have i named or accused mr n of anything. i was just trying to highlight the difference in behaviour of men drinking and ladies drinking. i hope that i was not being too sexist

lmao · Joined: 05 Oct 2008 Posts: 1

silver tiger · Joined: 05 Mar 2008 Posts: 17

The reason i started to play petanque is because i thought it was "fun" Laughing

.There are thousands of players with no aspirations of ever playing at National or even regional level yet they still enjoy the game. However those of us who want to compete at a higher level should have the opportunity of putting out the best available team.I believe we can only acheive this with a more stringent selection process.I am sure there are enough available dates in the season to run a grand prix series.Finally let me say this i am not Mr N's best mate but i not think he can be held solely responsible for the Islands woes.I make no attempt to hide behind a pseudonym i am Alan Routledge.

Sedge · Joined: 09 Apr 2008 Posts: 8

Afternoon,

I don't attempt to qualify to represent the island due to personal circumstances and lack of team mates.... however... I like a lively topic and thought I'd give my views from the outside looking in.

Firstly, petanque on the island is pub sport, therefore drinking has become part and parcel with the game, very much like pool and darts.

Looking at the teams that represented the island I can not see how any of them could have been improved significantly. Obviously there were a number of big names missing like Kevin and Glen, I assume that Kevin had no desire to play, which is a shame as on his day he can be an awesome player, and can give invaluable advice (as long as its in moderation!).

Everybody whom plays competitions and the leagues regularly, knows who the top players are, their prefered roles etc, so I think that the teams that qualified largely reflect my opinions. Therefore I am unsure how playing each other more over a number of competitions will improve anything other than the standard of play, but what it will do is make those competitions exclusive to those who wish to qualify for Brean.

Please don't read this and conclude that I think that players that did not qualify were not good enough to represent the island, thats not what I am getting at, and indeed there are some very good players did not make the cut who would still be able to do a decent job for the island.

So here is my suggestion.... and its not 'selection' but its not for away.

Firstly the committee should appoint a team manager, somebody who is able to judge players based on perfomance over a period of time.

Teams of 3/4 are invited to enter the qualifying competition and fight it out over a weekend or two, or three, however it is decided.

Once those teams have qualified, they become IW 1-12 and will now be the responsibility of the manager.

Selected players who were unable to qualify in their own teams will be approached and asked to either make any triples into 4's or join a standby list, incorporating some younger players who would learn a lot from watching top class petanque. (I'm not sure who played for the island juniors).

Should a player drop out of a team, the manager will select a player to join the team based on performance and role required. This will stop any teams from picking a friend to join them based on their availability, and potentially threaten the results of that team. I appreciate that this gives little or no time for the team to gel, but its surely protecting the best interests of the island team. At no stage am I suggesting ammending the core of the team which qualified without a player being unable to play.

Having a fourth player, will also bring strength and depth to a triple, allowing a player to drop out should they suffer a lack of form, injury or hangover. Having that fourth player can also freshen up a side, stop negative decisions when things are not going to plan etc.

Who would make a good manager?
1. Must have full backing of the committee at all times.
2. Must be an exprienced player (not necessarily good) with a good understanding of both in game and overall match tactics.
3. Approachable, friendly and non confrontational
4. Strong people skills, listening, empathy, advice, massaging egos etc
5. Very very broad shoulders!

I can think of a few candidates, but would they want the job?

Those are my (very long and waffled) thoughts.

Oh and Im David Sedgeley from Camphill (Relegation fodder 2006/2008)

Glen · Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Posts: 7

To avoid any confusion, I'd like to confirm that I am Glen Smile

There are a couple of others hiding in this thread who should show themselves!

bomber · Joined: 15 Jul 2008 Posts: 2

i am chris bailey (hotshots) qualified as iw 2 this year

billybigboules · Joined: 06 Oct 2008 Posts: 2 Location: IOW

Having been kept amused while reading the FORUM , one can’t help but notice that there is TROUBLE IN PARADISE, as a result, or should I say bad result from the Inter Regional Comp.

This year the IOW teams seemed to have lacked direction in a stormy sea in a rudderless boat.
Why not appoint a TEAM MANAGER and finances permitting, he/she should be financially rewarded from funds. The Manager should be put firmly in charge and authorized to make final decisions, overseeing all the teams at the qualifiers and at the Inter Regionals.
All players should be given written guidelines about what to do if they find an unexpected wedding invitation appears on their doormat , before they go to Brean Sands. The Manager is immediately informed of the situation and a fourth player from another team or perhaps someone from a team that didn’t manage to qualify is asked to play.
As for the player from another land joining team 3, well surely there must have been a reserve team or a player who could have been selected from the IOW, and if not perhaps a rule change should be implemented at the next AGM.

Players with egos who are acting irresponsibly must be put in their place and not allowed to assert their demands and egos ,regardless of whether they have been going to Brean for the past 20 years, or it is their first visit..

Most players treat Brean as a little holiday and enjoy continuous party time including having a good drink, if a player is too drunk to play the next morning, well isn’t that the point of having a fourth player?

The FORUM is not without intrigue, who on earth is the mysterious Mr ‘N’, do you think his first initial could possibly be ‘S’ and how does shooter 666 know that Mr ‘N’ was in bed at 2.00am on the Saturday – were they sharing beds?
I rather think it sounds as if Mr A B C D and the rest of the alphabet have all played a part in the IOW’s downfall this year – what a shame, with so many good players blaming the other.

It is good to see that Millie and Mandy have exposed themselves on the FORUM, and may I say that Mandy’s comments ‘ I have never exposed myself on the dance floor, thrown my friends over the bar, or picked a glass fight with another region or run naked in the campsite ‘ well Mandy there’s always 2009 , and what better place to practice at least one of these antics than at next year’s qualifiers, this would be such an incentive for the more timid players amongst us who are not quite sure whether they want to be part of the fun times at Brean Sands

As for my suggestion to appoint a Team Manager for next year, I am sorry to say I have no absolutely no suggestions as to who this person could be, or whether such a person even exists, but if there is a pecuniary incentive let me know, and I’ll get time off from work…….?

Benjani · Joined: 10 Oct 2008 Posts: 1

I am gobsmacked with regards to this discussion & can probably already see where the problem is in the region from the responses!

First & foremost I am obviously Ben from the hated IOW 3. On a personal note I can honestly say that apart from about 10 people I was never really spoken to by people from the region or indeed made to feel particularly welcome. I am a very approachable person to anyone generally (I think it helps my job somewhat!) & feel dissapointed that more people didn't accept me as part of the "team". As far as my performance goes it was pretty bad but not completely awful bar maybe one or two games, for this I apologise but I certainly wasn't trying to lose games deliberately & I do have pride which is now obviously seriously damaged for my experience at Brean this year. Can anyone say that they watched our games enough (honestly) in order to perfectly judge us? Keir was not the reason we lost all bar one of our games either for those looking for a scapegoat. Also for info he was listed as our 4th player before the qualifying weekend but was on his honeymoon for that weekend. The first thing someone from the IOW said to Keir was absolutely amazing & did not help our team start one bit, to say it lacked motivation is a massive understatement! Mr Newton & the others that were there will tell you exactly what was said if you ask them. It is a shame because as per Glen's post it was supposed to be Glen, Sean & myself.

I have always partied hard & played hard at any inter-regional be it Poole, the Island or Brean & have never lost more than half my games until this year. Nothing was different this time & I have certainly played alot worse for wear than this year, even at team 1 in the past & got results. I really can't put my finger on why it went wrong for us this year as I've played in far, far worse teams ability wise. If I knew maybe we could've have sorted it out after a few games!!!! You only have to look at the so called "top players", usually seasoned international players from any other region, about 90% of them are out drunk on the nights till the early hours so I refuse to accept that this is the sole reason.

I'm not an arrogant, jumped up bloke & don't feel I can just turn up and win because of past successes. I have represented GB in North Sea's & World Championships in the past but was obviously alot more dedicated to practice, etc then. I play to enjoy it these days but I still prefer to win obviously! Here is where many miss the point of why we get up at stupid hours on our weekends off & shell out amazing amounts of cash to play! If the social aspect of Brean didn't exist then I wouldn't go quite simply.

One of my biggest moans is that the support from the region was terrible. I know you don't want me to talk about other regions but certainly whenever I have played for the Southern region people stayed behind from games when they'd finished to support the rest of the round. I remember making a personal note of supporting the teams that were struggling in order to lift them hopefully rather than go off & slag them off in the chalet. I just feel that there was no team spirit in the camp at all which is a shame.

These are my views for what they're worth. Ben

pointer 123 · Joined: 13 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

When I was told the forum was worth joining I never thought it would be this entertaining.

Who is shooter666 indeed? Seems well informed or perhpaps just listens to whats been going on?

As for a team manager then why not why not make this an elected post as with the membership of the committee?

We need to get more people playing in better quality competitions - surely a job for those in post on the League and Island EPA committees - lets see what they say Confused