For those players who have heard about the Inter-Regional Championship and the Kent Qualifying Series but not yet taken the step to ‘give it a go’…
Pétanque England host a competition every September where the top 12 teams from each region are invited for a weekend to play against other regions and determine the regional champions! There are two levels of competition – the top 8 teams going into the Championship and teams 9-12 going into the Challenge. Both levels are very competitive and evenly matched all over the weekend.
Last year Kent were triumphant in the Championship, ending a run of 10 years without an overall win!
The competition this year will be held again at Pontin’s Sand Bay, an on site chalet accommodation venue near Weston-super-Mare, over the weekend of 5/6th September. Accommodation is mainly on site, but depending on numbers some players stay a short car journey away. Breakfast and dinners are provided from Friday evening to Monday morning and included in the overall price.
It’s a time of meeting and playing against players from all over the country. Making new friends and renewing old friendships. With over 100 pistes all in use at once it’s a great sight to behold! My first experience was a few years ago but I still remember the support and camaraderie from the whole Kent squad, players that during the season and qualifying series were my opponents, were all standing around our game (it was the last one to finish) and cheering our team on, willing us to win.
Anyway, let’s think about qualifying for the Kent top 12 and what it means. In Kent we have a qualifying series of 4 days with ranking points awarded at the end of each day and counting towards the overall series standings. Don’t worry if you can’t make all 4 days, as only your best 3 count in that final table! This year 2 are held at Hartley and 2 at Lordswood. It is £10 entry per player per qualifier, but the funds raised subsidise the cost of accommodation for the weekend and also go to providing everyone that qualifies for Kent with free Kent kit to wear. The total price of the weekend away is in the area of £200 for 3 nights but as previously mentioned, 2 meals a day are included.
The Kent committee much prefer teams of 4 players (1 sub is allowed during each match), but realise it’s not always easy to get 4 for all the events, so 3 from the 4 can play in any of the qualifiers. Ranking points are awarded to teams based on finishing positions after each qualifier. At the end of the series the best 3 results for a team are added together to identify the top 12 teams. If you wish to try and qualify as a team of 3 then you can always add a 4th later on.
As it’s the best 3 results only that count, if you cant make a qualifier as a team you still have a good opportunity in the series. All the rules for the Kent Qualifying series are on website.
The first qualifier is Sunday 22nd March at Hartley Country Club!
We have some very good players that I have not yet seen at previous qualifiers. It would be great to see some new faces entering the series and hopefully representing Kent, making us stronger overall. If anyone fancies giving it a go, try the first few and you will see the benefits. If you want to give it a go but don’t have a full team then please get in touch with myself or one of the committee members who will gladly assist you in finding a team!
