MEMBERS of the Ballarat Petanque Club were busy hosts recently with back-to-back competitions held last weekend.<\/p>\n
Players from throughout Victoria took to the gravel at the Ballarat East Bowling Club to participate in the events held by the club for the first time.<\/p>\n
The Saturday saw the club coordinating the north-western regional qualifying round for Victorian Petanque\u2019s shooting competition, while a mixed doubles tournament took place the following day.<\/p>\n
Ballarat Petanque Club president and tournament director Gordon Oliver said the weekend was a great way to show off the local branch to the visitors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re only three years old and we\u2019ve had two triples tournaments and two annual ones,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the club, this is really good because we\u2019ve got great facilities and we\u2019re central.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got people who\u2019ve travelled from Mount Martha in Mornington up as far as Woodend and the Grampians.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the Victorian clubs are here which is great. A lot of petanque players will travel all over for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s competition saw eight players shooting 6.5 metre to 9.5 metre targets in an attempt to qualify for the Australian National Championships in Adelaide in April.<\/p>\n
Then, nearly 60 players from about 12 clubs were paired in teams of two for the doubles, which ran over five games of 50 minutes.<\/p>\n
Grampians Petanque Club secretary Glenn Bovell participated in both events and said it was an enjoyable weekend.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday was a good day and it was a very good atmosphere,\u201d he said. \u201cEveryone supported each other even though they\u2019re from opposing clubs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve played at every tournament that\u2019s been had here. The club\u2019s always good and it\u2019s an excellent venue. They look after you here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MEMBERS of the Ballarat Petanque Club were busy hosts recently with back-to-back competitions held last weekend. Players from throughout Victoria took to the gravel at the Ballarat East Bowling Club to participate in the events held by the club for the first time. The Saturday saw the club coordinating the north-western regional qualifying round for […]<\/p>\n