I Got it Wrong

I would like to apologise to the WPA and Michael Rocks for wrongly accusing WPA of making snide remarks regarding my re-tweets of WPA news. I got it wrong - the tweet in question relates to the Welsh Petanque Association. –Tom.

Communicating via the Web

Nice to see the excellent WPA website is now using Twitter as an added means of communication. I have for some time advocated Twitter as a way of keeping the wider New Zealand petanque community up-to-date about events, titbits, and maybe even national and international tournament results as they happen. With the introduction of a petanque Facebook site by Ruby, our wider community is becoming more and more connected via the internet. Good stuff.

PNZ President Message

Some of you will be aware that I have recently been elected as PNZ President at the latest Board meeting. I am excited about the opportunity to serve the petanque community of New Zealand. This will not be without its challenges but I intend to meet these challenges head on and work constructively with those of you who wish to strengthen the PNZ for the benefit of all. I have a Board that is similarly committed to improving and strengthening the service that we deliver to you our members. However, we cannot operate in isolation. We need your input and support to enable us to meet our objectives. We need your suggestions and ideas in regard to the direction that we need to be taking, but ideas alone will not move us forward. We need people who are prepared to act and take an active role both nationally and regionally. We need to have a cohesive structure from our clubs through to our National Body. One of the issues that we are currently facing is a decline in membership and some clubs wanting to go it alone. While this may be an attractive option for some clubs and members it will have an impact on those clubs who remain affiliated. At our latest Board meeting we had some discussion on how we could address this issue and a couple of Board Members are currently working on proposals that we hope will show that we are committed to trying to address some of the concerns that have been raised. I urge you all to get behind this Board and support us to improve the structure and organisation for your benefit. I believe we can only do this if we operate under a single umbrella organisation. Personally my commitment to you is a preparedness to work constructively and cooperatively to bring about positive change and growth. I look forward to working on your behalf. Cheers Dirk

Win a Petanque Book

About three months ago PNZ received two copies (for review) of "Petanque The Greatest Game You Never Heard Of". This weekend I too received two copies of this new Petanque book. I hope to have a book review on this Blog within the next two weeks. In the meantime, the first two South Island clubs to contact me will each receive a copy of this book. Email Tom: usabilitynz@gmail.com with the name of your club and postal address.

Major Hawke's Bay Tournament Cancelled

I was surprised to learn that the Hawke's Bay summer doubles has been cancelled because of lack of interest. This long established tournament has always been so well supported by most North Island clubs. I myself have very fond memories of large well organised tournaments in typical gloriously hot Hawke's Bay weather. The excelent terrain has great facilities, drinks, ice-cream slices, plenty of shady spots, etc..

Fun Petanque Image

You may have seen this on our Twitter page. Anyway, I just couldn't resist putting this up on our Blog. It really appeals to my sense of humour. We may see these signs at our major tournaments.

"Please do not play petanque behind the dog"

Merry Christmas from Georgio

Hi there People   The Vikings Petanque Club and is Members would like to wish everyone a '' Merry Christmas '' and '' Happy  New Year 2012 '' be safe and we will see you on the Piste again for another year of Petanque in 2012.   ‘’ Don’t drink and drive, otherwise I want see you in the new year in the Petanque Grounds if you do Drink & Drive.’’   Club President Georgio Vakauta

Great Petanque Gift Ideas

With Christmas so close it can be hard to find something useful and practical for your petanque obsessed partner, friend or whatever. I found two great gift ideas for you to consider. They would certainly serve me well during my petanque tournaments. Have a great Xmas and even better new-year.

WBS TriplesTournament

This event is sponsored by WBS

Players around New Zealand are looking forward to one particular petanque event on the playing calendar next year. It is the annual iconic WBS Triples tournament. Just playing in it is everyone's wish and entry applications are normally received by the organisers months before the event. Wairarapa Building Society Triples Tournament is organized by the Masterton Pétanque Club and will take place on 25th & 26th of February at the Masterton Park Bowling Club venue. Play commences at 0900 hrs on Saturday, 0830 hrs on Sunday. Download your PDF entry form here.

Audio Messages to Members.

In the past I have looked at audio messages as a means of keeping the petanque community informed about important things. I remember Graeme Morris helping me out with a test using a standard mobile phone. This is years ago and things have changed, so it is time to try out some new technologies. I made a test recording with AudioBoo (see below) and I would like opinions from people. Do you think this would be something we could do with? If you have an iPad, iPhone or any Android smart phone, and you would like to do a couple of tests, let me know. I will give you my AudioBoo account details so you can evaluate the simple process. All you have to do is download the AudioBoo App to your device. The test audio below was automatically sent to the NZPetanqueClub twitter page. It is also simple to copy and paste the link into any web or blog page like this:

New Graphics on World Championship Website

I am happy to see that the World Women and Juniors Petanque Championships website now has professional graphics. In an earlier post I stated that the graphic looked like it belongs to a "family beach petanque party - slinky tops and straw hats". One commentator replied: "Nothing wrong with the graphics". Well, it's great the organisers have seen it my way and have made changes. This looks fantastic!

(click on image to enlarge)

For all Petanque Coaches and Trainers

Was listening to this and thought that I should share this with the wider petanque community. A lot can be learned from this interview and I highly recommend it. Either listen to it by following the link, or better still, download the interview to your mp3 enabled device - that way you always have it (It's 34 minutes long). "Gary Hermansson - Sports-Minded Sports psychologist Gary Hermansson tells Chris Laidlaw that success on the field is all in the mind - and describes why some sportspeople choke under pressure. Gary has been team psychologist for NZ at Commonwealth and Olympic Games, for the NZ Equestrian Team at the World Equestrian Games, and with the Black Caps."

Christchurch Singles Tournament

Today was the day of the Christchurch Singles, and the day dawned with a minus 2 and a clear sky. Well, it turned out to be one of the best days, absolutely no wind, clear blue sky with a blazing sun to quickly warm us up. It wasn't long before we were in Tshirt and shorts - truly fantastic petanque weather. Lorraine and I look as though we've come from the ski fields - both sporting a glamorous tan at a fraction of the cost :-) Before the start of the tournament the organisers took us all through the house playing rules. And instead of telling us when a boule is out, etc we voted on the various options available. This uber democratic process was much appreciated by yours truly as you can imagine. Mainlanders are so relaxed and practical, North Islanders could learn a thing or two. Anyway, a big congratulations to Graig Mcenzie who won the final against the title holder Brian Westerbeek 13/10.

Click image to enlare PS. Saw this number plate at the tournament on the car park.

The Resilience of Lyttelton

The community of Lyttleton (Christchurch) has suffered enormous damage to their township infrastructure and community spirit from the numerous major earthquakes. It is also this Lyttelton community spirit and resilience that makes this place very special. Lyttelton is friendly and close knit - I know it from the farmers market, the vibrant music scene and the numerous quality coffee shops that have now all been destroyed.

I was there last Saturday and noticed this new Lyttelton Petanque Club and it is a great example of this resilience. It had its grand opening the previous weekend, and from all accounts it was a big success with around 100 people turning up. I have felt for some time that this type of informal petanque club is something we need to see more of. It's great for street communities and city parks, no fees, complicated regulations, affiliations, etc. It is a place for getting together and having fun - think village square France.

click images to enlarge

Tool for PNZ, coaches and trainers.

I came across BigBlueButton the other day, and thought it would be good to share this with the wider petanque community. BigBlueButton is an open source web conferencing system that enables organisations to deliver a high-quality learning experience to remote members. I have done some test runs and it seems an excellent free tool for PNZ, coaches and trainers. It would also be good for AGMs when a good number of people cannot make it to the meeting because of distance.

Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

World Petanque Championships Graphics

Looking at the graphics on the Women's and Junior World Championships website, you'd think it is a promo site for a family beach petanque party - slinky tops and straw hats.
A shame that such unprofessional graphics have been signed off by whoever is in charge. This is after all a World Championship.