The Boules Lounge

Imitation isn't always the best form of flattery!

2010-07-07T20:22:00.015+10:00

It seems that we have a copycat campaigner on our hands. Unbeknownst to me, the following article was circulated amongst the petanque community earlier this week signed by myself- Roger Casquette? Now, unless I've recently started writing articles in my sleep with a French accent, its highly unlikely that i am responsible for such drivel.

The accused may also want to cover their tracks a little better next time, by perhaps removing all personal details from their document...

Sorry lads, but if you're going to use my nom de plume, I'd appreciate a bottle of vintage Bordeaux wine or at the very least, that you proof-read the document before circulating it, for I have a reputation to uphold!

However, to prove that i can be a good sport, I've decided to keep the article on the blog for people to comment against. Enjoy...

Petanque Australia Association

Why Petanque Australia Association instead Petanque Australia Federation?
Lets see the advantage of it: Insurance’s cost cheaper, each state manage its own association, Organize its own program like Coaching, Umpiring, overseas trips, Fundraising, etc, etc. We can still play interstate competition if we want to, with Associations from each state, giving us a choice.

Who will be part of any association?
Petanque Association will start in Victoria, due to league problems and conflicts of people. But the first state that proposed the association was WA in 2005. At the time a proposal to FIPJP
Was rejected for reasons beyond our believe.
Probably several Clubs will be involved in their association. Some will be still federate and the country clubs will run their own association. Qld will run their own association soon, NSW is in Chaos, SA they already do what they want, they play with or without a license. It is a big mess all around the country.
Why should we have the same name association? In order to reduce the cost of insurance we need as many members as possible but we will still be independent from each state.
Two years ago, WA had some clubs out of WA league for different reasons, these clubs still hold tournament, the only difference was they did not have insurance, with this association they will be covered by insurance. SA was playing without a day license, and today nobody knows what’s happened there. Most of the clubs did not want to pay the $2 Fee for the league per player playing in the tournament. Hence the reason we had poor results with the league.
The Association makes its own rules or status, the one from the federation is so huge, if you want to read it you need some hours in front of you…
Association wont be sectarian, everyone will be welcome, from association or federation
As long as the club organizer is not involved in any incident or accident when it’s a tournament. So, for a low cost insurance, you will be covered and everybody will be happy. The association will have its own license to be able to play interstate or overseas, Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand (especially after the 2010Trans Tasman results), Tahiti are happy to challenge us, Mauritius is also a possibility, basically if you want to play and not have one hundred rules that most of us do not understand, you join the association and enjoy the game of petanque without politics which kill the enjoyment of this fantastic sport

What are the disadvantages of being out of the federation?
Most clubs in Australia play socially already, how many players travel interstate or overseas to participate in an event. Not too many really, air fees are expensive and The federation does not pay or subsidize in any form or manner. Some of the players play on Saturday afternoon and don’t even play on Sunday. With the federation you can play and represent Australia, how many players from VIC, WA, SA, and NSW who represented Australia are still playing tournament today?

In my opinion, play officially or not, you should still play for Australia, and players representing the country should be the top players, which is no longer the situation in Australia, only players in the position financially can afford it.

Roger Casquette

The Puppet Master has lost his strings...

2009-10-19T14:06:00.013+11:00

I fear that the 'delusions of grandeur' that ran rife throughout the previous board member's minds have reared their ugly head again with Mr Deramond conveniently forgetting his place in the petanque community.

It's common knowledge that Mr Deramond has been quietly 'scheming' behind the scenes to undermine the current board and plan his campaign back to the Presidency.

But has he gone too far this time...

15th October 2009

President
Caulfield Park Petanque Club

cc All Petanque Clubs Secretaries
League Secretaries
Director Umpire Commission
President International Umpire Commission, FIPJP

Dear Kevin,

The PFA Board ,met on Friday 9 October 2009 to discuss the latest communication from Mr. Andre Deramond.

These actions are considered unacceptable in that they contravene PFA Policies and by-laws

It has been resolved by the Board that the comments made by Mr. Deramond has brought the game into disrepute , therefore disciplinary action shall be taken against Mr. Andre Deramond for the said actions..

I hereby give notice of this action.

The following behaviour is considered to be unacceptable to the Board;-

Circulation of Board correspondence without approval of the Board, in contravention of PFA Communication Policy and PFA Privacy Policy.

Publishing defamatory and offensive comments about the Board and, more specifically about the PFA President in contravention of the umpire Code of conduct.

Communication with FIPJP without authority of the Board in contravention with the PFA Communication Policy and the Umpire Policy.

Withholding Federation correspondence without authority from the Board.

The Board is aware that , as past PFA President, Mr. Deramond should have an understanding of PFA rules ,policies and procedures given that action was taken in recent times against other members for similar actions.

Consequently, the Board suspends Mr. Deramond's PFA umpire and player's license as from today Thursday 15 October 2009 pending the outcome of a Disciplinary Hearing Tribunal appointed to hear the complaint by the Board.

Pleas note that due to Victoria not having a League, the complaints will be dealt with by a State Hearing Tribunal appointed by the PFA Board within 3 weeks from the date of this letter...

Yours sincerely

Marcel Philogene

When sleeping dogs cant lie still...

2009-10-09T15:54:00.009+11:00

It comes as little surprise that Mr Deramond should make a public statement about the 'cracks' appearing in the current board. I wonder if Sylvio will be able to accept the 'constructive criticism' as diplomatically as Andre did during his reign... Sylvio, just repeat after me "no comment"...

Andre Deramond
7/10/09

Dear all,

A reminder the previous board choose not to stand or contest the last election; In most organisations it is common practice for the new comers facing this situation to seek help and assistance from previous board members.

We did just that, offered our unconditional assistance, I can assure you and we have all correspondence to back it up that as a board we did everything possible to assist the new President Sylvio Jolicoeur, the only elected board member.

Likewise when the new PFA secretary rang me 3 weeks ago asking for help, his words were we are in a mess, I and the ex-board members agreed, we only requested that members been made aware as we didn’t want them to think that we were interfering, we are still waiting for an answer!

The PFA President in his meetings with the NSW Clubs and Victorian Clubs confirmed that he as an accountant and the Treasurer as an accountant did find PFA accounts in perfect order with no issues, putting an end to those nasty and unfounded claims that PFA was insolvent.

Di Yeomans our ex-treasurer and I supplied in hard and soft copies all PFA documents, so to make the task of our new board as easy as possible. So the Secretary comment is totally unjustifiable; “The rebuilding of the Australian Petanque Federation will take more than 1 day”. No need to rebuild, a few adjustment, a review of policies, yes but rebuilding certainly NOT.

In our last report I choose to list all the achievements of the previous board from 2000 to 2009.
I only hope that our new board will be as innovative and able to show such good results. Our board was a truly National board, with members representing most states in Australia; our last board had always at least a woman as a member (40% of our membership)

First and foremost, the following decisions over rule any other decisions made by the previous Board and its President on matters detailed below. What a strange comment all decisions and policies were approved and made by the full board.

Umpire Commission:

I am aware of discussion between Ray our Umpire commission President and a PFA board member, but until we have a full withdrawal of a 'comment/Ruling' made by our President in his newsletter our members 'Players' are in limbo. Quote: "Members have complained that umpires are making a nuisance of themselves by constantly interfering with the game. We will have a discussion with Raymond Beaumont on how we can play the game without too much policing. It has been suggested that umpires are to get involved only if they are asked".

Please refer to attached document from the FIPJP President; I did seek his comment as International umpire.

PFA new rules were adopted in January 2009, and posted on our PA website, it would be appropriate for our current board to publish a new PFA rule book as most of our members are not aware of the change adopted by the FIPJP congress in November 2008 in Dakar (Senegal).

Coaches Commission:

Please refer to attached letter from the FIPJP President

Our junior team was selected by the Coaches in Perth (Lindsay Kinghorn, Brenton key, Adrian Clement, and Judith Armstrong), and then the team was approved by the board as per our normal procedure.

Ladies going to the world championship in Thailand were as well chosen on the same principle by winning the national Triple in Perth.

No information is released to members on International tournaments (New Caledonia open, Asian C’ships in November in Thailand). One only hears on the grapevine that some players are going to play (return to the good old days) Transparency certainly not.

Over 60 players from different states represented Australia last year (Women world, Trans Tasman open and juniors, Oceania, Asian Championships etc.) All without PFA board interference.

Representatives to the 2010 Trans Tasman Championships:

Like most decision taken to date, let’s take the easy one and please a few interested players, this to the detriment of the majority.
Why should you come all the way from WA, Qld, SA or Tasmania knowing that you have no hope of winning the Interstate challenge? NSW and Vic are by far the 2 stronger states and the only question remaining is which state will play NZ in the Trans-Tasman.
Under a selection process players from WA, SA and QLD were selected to represent Australia, today the door is closed!

Australian Open Championships

Back to the good old day

Let’s buy a raffle ticket (registration) and if you are lucky on the day the prize could be a trip to the world championship. How can we be taken seriously as a sport by the Australian Sport Commission and the Federal government?

Again against all instructions and directions given to our coaches by the CIEP/FIPJP

The winner goes: which winner? Quote “The first eligible men’s team consisting of players holding a PFA player’s License and eligible to represent Australia at an overseas tournament,( see overseas representation eligibility) will be given the opportunity to represent Australia at the 2010 Men’s World Championships in Taipei, Taiwan late 2010”

How do we take the best Australian team? What if the 3 overseas players beat an Australian team in the final? But what if those 3 overseas players had beaten another Australian Team in the ¼ final or semi final? Which Australian team do we take? The argument will go on and on.

Categories
Players will be categorised as follows:-
• Seniors (Open)- 18 years of age and over
• Seniors - over 60 years of age
• Juniors - 10 years of age to under 18 i.e. before reaching 18 years of age at time of registration

I did contact the PFA President about age category and pointed out to him that they were international guidelines about age category, when he announced the new age category for juniors of more than 16 years of age, we now have a repeat of this strange situation Juniors 10 years of age to under 18. Where is this coming from? It is not in any rule or regulation of the FIPJP, PFA can certainly make a rule on the age category, but not after advertising and selling licence.
My daughter is 9 years old and she is licensed, is she allowed to play?

Decision made on the run, without consulting and seeking advice from the umpire commission.

Prizes

It seems that all cash prizes have been removed, (Interstate $100 per player and coach of each winning team) and (Easter tournament over $4 to $5000 in cash prizes distributed in all categories including the consolante), it must be part of the saving program announced by the PFA board.

Oceania “Special Championships” qualification

All PFA board since 2000 have had difficulties with the Oceania confederation, PFA withdrew from the confederation due to lack of communication in English, no accounts provided and so on. Oceania is run by New Caledonian (French speaking), New Caledonia being a French league, applying the national French Federation rule, not the International FIPJP rule.
PFA did rejoin the Oceania confederation Danielle Marchand a board member attended an Oceania meeting on behalf of PFA board and so allowing us to participate in both confederations, offering more opportunities to our players.

Asian Confederation

The previous boards choose to apply for membership of the Asian Confederation, Richard Tarlinton attended the Asian tournament with this in mind, PFA board has been accepted and approved as a guest member and allowed to send teams and participate in the Asian Championships.

The Asian championships offer greater value for our players, more countries, more competitions, lower cost (Accommodation and food in particular).

PFA new website:

Does it mean that every time we have a new board, we will have a new website?
New website at what cost?

Rebuilding? Keep building it is a lot simpler

To date the new board is simply and rightly confirming the existing and proven policies.
It clearly indicates and shows that previous board were on the right track and were moving the game in the right direction.

All policies and regulations based on the acceptation and implementation of International common rules and practices. Maybe you could start as the friendly Secretary to provide all clubs (the members) with a register of clubs, players, accredited umpires and coaches. You could also answer questions from members put to the board in previous correspondence, in particular those relating to “legal matters” still being dealt by the board.

I understand that the task is not easy so concentrate on the job ahead of you and avoid unnecessary comments or digs at previous board members.

Regards,
Andre Deramond

Fact or Fiction...

2009-07-30T10:42:00.003+10:00

July 22, 2009

Dear Members

By now you would have received your stickers for the 2010 licences. The board would like to thank you for your patience and for the positive comments you made regarding the changes to licences , structured games etc. I also thank you for observing the protocol regarding correspondence, we now receiving letters from secretaries of state leagues or co ordinators.

Extra members for the PFA committee
We have decided to extend application for joining the Board to 30 July 2009.

Legal matters regarding the Woodend Petanque
This matter is now considered close. We would like to thank the woodend committee members for their contribution and idea for the new board.

The De Floch case – Western Australia
The board is now appointing a review committee to look into the matter and to scrutinize the procedures taken by the previous Board of review and to ensure that the defendants have been availed natural justice. You will be advised of further developments.

Insurance Policies
The Board has accepted the big rise in premium for our policy from $1600 to $6286. This rise was due as a result of the legals matters in the 2008-2009 year. Your new board will do its utmost to avoid similar situation

Youth world cup - Donation
Our young players are attending the youth world cup in Tunisia in October 2009. We are asking you to help toward their costs. Several clubs have decided in addition to their proposed donations to forgo their refund of the day licences. Please be generous as youth is the future of the sport.

Recognition by the Australian Sport Commission (ASC)
We are still putting the required documentation together for the application. We have until end of July to lodge the application. We will keep you posted

Website
Our website was down for nearly two weeks due to a change of provider by the webmaster. This has now been rectified. We are negotiating with them to improve the site

Facebook
The PFA is now on facebook please use it to promote us and your club. You may upload photos; articles must be submitted through your state league to the PFA

The Boules Lounge blog
Whilst the PFA do not encourage the blog we cannot stop people from expressing their views. We would like to see positive contributions from members (do not be afraid to use your name). There have been a lot of comments on the New Zealand Petanque website regarding the negative comments. Let us know what changes would be good for the game

Umpiring
Members have complained that umpires are making a nuisance of themselves by constantly interfering with the game. We will have a discussion with Raymond Beaumont on how we can play the game without too much policing. It has been suggested that umpire to get involved only if they are asked.

By laws and policies
Now that we are going into a quiet period we have decided to look into the various by laws, Policies and anomalies in the Constitution

We have decided to put a freeze on by laws and policies pending the review. If you have any suggestions please communicate them to us ASAP

Inter State Challenge
In line with our policy on transparency and fair go we have decided to call for tenders from clubs for this year inter state challenge to be held in November. If your club is interested please submit an offer.We will be looking at facilities, proximity to air port, transport, accommodation and other extras.

The application closes on the 16 August 2009

To conclude the board seeks your positive contributions and encouragements. As mentioned we are all volunteers and family men if we have erred in anyway do not hesitate to let us know. At the end of the day we want to see the traditional Petanque back so that everybody can enjoy it instead of playing little dictator.

Yours in Petanque
Sylvio Jolicoeur

Those that can't teach, facilitate...cont.

2009-07-07T17:27:00.002+10:00

In my previous article I touched on a few topics, which I feel deserve further discussion.

The first issue pertains to Credibility, as I feel this is the sorest point between players and coaches in the Australian Petanque scene.

There is no doubt that we all feel we can gain something from someone who has had broader experiences than our own. This experience can come from excellence in other fields, such as business & academics or from the sport in question.

For instance, whilst he wasn’t so much a coach as the ‘Directeur Technique’ for the French Petanque Federation, Victor Nataf used his experience as an Olympic Water Polo coach towards creating a more professional structure for Petanque in France. So, while many players may have felt short-changed by his new selection and ranking system, they also knew that they were benefiting from his years of experience at the highest level.

Similarly, after completing his playing career, Tony Roche developed a highly successful career as a tennis coach. Ivan Lendl hired Roche as a full-time coach for Roche's advice on volleying. Lendl dreamed of winning Wimbledon, and because Roche had been a fine grass court player, he sought his tutelage.

So the question is, without the expertise of someone like Tony Roche or the credibility of someone like Victor Nataf, how can the coaches in Australia contribute to the development of our players? Well, the first step should be to implement a much stricter application process for coaches, for as it stands, anyone can call themselves a coach.

This may be acceptable for beginners wishing to learn the ‘rules’ of the game, but it doesn’t seem appropriate for players wishing to follow their dream of wearing the Australian geurnsey one day.

Unfortunately, I have heard one too many stories of coaches advising players during a game that they can either point or shoot to get out of a sticky situation. This my friends is not coaching, this is stating the obvious.

Players wishing to take on the important role of coach need to be fully invested in professional development. This entails understanding not only the rules of the game, but also the finer idiosyncrasies of our sport. This can only be done through years of playing at a high level, or by avidly watching the masters working their magic (DVDs, YouTube and Blogs).

It may seem elementary, but watching the best players in the world compete against each other will undoubtedly highlight key strategic points and allow the viewer to better understand the unspoken psychological undercurrents between players.

The second issue pertains to Knowledge.

To be able to teach effectively the coach must have in-depth understanding of the sport from the fundamental skills to advanced tactics and strategy. Coaches may have experience playing, but not all former players make good coaches. Too often I have seen coaches project their own uncertainties or insecurities onto their players by enforcing a game that is either too offensive or too defensive. Either way, the player is not balanced and will never understand the true strengths of pointing vs. shooting.

Similarly, coaches must take the time to understand that petanque is as much strategy as it is execution. A player that understands their opponent and has the insight to know whether to play a passive or aggressive game will almost always beat a player that in execution terms is stronger.

The last issue pertains to Leading by Example

The effective coach leads by example. A good coach adheres to the same rules they expect of their players. A coach who wants respect should also show respect. A coach who expects players to remain positive needs to display a positive attitude. A coach who wants his team to listen will also listen to his team.

Unfortunately, there have been too many cases of coaches in Australia taking the reigns and dictating to players, without consultation or any regard for anyone apart from themselves. This is the first mistake. The second mistake is lack of accountability. Many coaches liken their clipboard to a bullet-proof vest, making them feel that they are invincible, but all this has done is widen the gap between themselves and players, which brings us to the third and final mistake; lack of trust. Coaches that have only acted in their own interest instead of for the players will never earn the trust or respect they feel they deserve. For as the saying goes; one can demand respect, but they will never earn it.

I would like to conclude by quoting another reputable author in the sporting world; Terry Orlick, who is an internationally acclaimed Sports Psychologist and has helped hundreds of Olympic athletes maximise their performances and achieve their goals:

‘Many Coaches work extremely hard, have very good intentions, and do a great job, but some do not think enough about what is best for the unique individuals they are coaching. They may focus too much on results without giving adequate thought to players as thinking, feeling human beings. The best coaches understand that when you feel valued and respected, you give more of yourself and perform at a higher level. These coaches recognise the immense value of consulting with athletes or performers in the shaping of their own destiny’.

So basic, but so often forgotten.

Those that can't teach, facilitate?

2009-06-17T17:18:00.006+10:00

It comes as little surprise that coaches/selectors have borne the brunt of the latest attacks in the petanque community.

These volunteers have not only given up their own time to assist with the development of our young sport, but have subsequently been berated for their efforts. Are the allegations of prejudice and discrimination well-founded, or the jealous rantings of the players scorned?

So what qualities make a great coach? Is it the persons ability to breakdown and articulate each step, much like a teacher? Or the persons ability to discipline and nourish the players like a parent? Or is it fundamentally the persons credibility that allows the student to believe...

In order to answer that question, one must determine what steps are taken when a person morphs from player to coach. Contrary to urban myth, these players are not miraculously visited by the force in the dead of the night...in fact, the process can be likened to applying for a boating licence; anyone is eligible, so long as they are prepared to fill out the paperwork.

Therefore, just as selectors have come to expect players to demonstrate both skill and team qualities, should coaches be expected to provide that certain 'je ne sais quoi' when it comes to leading, instructing and inspiring players?

Unfortunately, by International standards, Australian players with the experience, mental dexterity and communication skills to effectively coach players are few and far between. Due to these short-comings, many players have had to suffer through humiliating selection drills, verbal and emotional abuse, detrimental modifications to their natural style and completely illogical team selections.

It is for this reason that we must accept that we are still in the embryonic stages of development as a sport and introduce a new term into our vernacular; Facilitator.

A Facilitator is a player that has completed the necessary certifications and can take on the administrative responsibilities of their players. This involves conducting pre training briefings, scheduling training sessions, organising activities, planning match practice and finally coordinating player logistics for interstate or International tournaments.

Whilst the Facilitator takes on an organisational role for the players, they must not be confused with the more complex role of Coach, who in all their experience is able to guide, inspire and empower the athlete to realise and develop his or her potential.

A great coach is not easy to find and requires a very unique set of talents and skills including a profound understanding of the game, good communication skills, a continuous pursuit of knowledge and personal development, good motivation and listening skills and a good understanding of the players.

Being aware of individual differences in players is an important ingredient in coaching excellence. Yelling, screaming, and other emotional displays may work for some players but could have a devastating effect on others. Individualising communication and motivation to specific players is key to team success. Paying attention to the player’s emotions, strengths and weaknesses are the responsibility of a good coach.

Lastly, as mentioned in an earlier article, coaches and administrators with 'delusions of grandeur' should take a good hard look at themselves.

A facilitator or coach, should be a humbling and personally satisfying role. Coaches that cannot keep their personal feelings aside, or abuse the system to feed their flailing ego's should stick to playing.

When Good Men Do Something...

2009-06-01T13:12:00.004+10:00

It is widely known that character and integrity is much easier kept than recovered, yet for many of Andre and Alan Irwin's henchmen, this truth was sadly ignored.

As someone once poignantly stated "for evil to succeed, it takes good men to do nothing"...so when good men choose to stand up and fight for what is right, it is our responsibility to support them.

Below is a public letter of apology issued to the current administration from Jean Francois Veysserie. The controversy pertains to an issue that is unfortunately still being resolved in WA.

Dear Sylvio,

Last year, a series of incidents took place, the full details of which I was aware.

The previous PFA board chose to pursue a course of action regarding those matters that I believed was unjust and indeed against our rules. I strongly disagreed and expressed my opinion and reasons with the previous president.

My feelings were so strong in fact, that when it became obvious that my concerns were not even being considered I resigned my position as National Director of Coaching rather than be tainted by association.

I understand that disclosing this injustice by means of a public letter was not professional given my position as former National Director of Coaching. My actions were out of frustration as I was privy to seeing an injustice take place by the previous president and was not given an opportunity to be heard.

I stand firm on my position with regard to the former board’s actions, but I would like to apologise for acting outside PFA’s Communications Policy. I acknowledge that it was the wrong way to go about dealing with the situation.

Could I please request that my coaching licence be reinstated in light of this?

Jean Francois VEYSSIERE

Any Given Team...

2009-05-23T15:47:00.006+10:00

Although we are yet to finish the web poll; What makes petanque great?, it is becoming increasingly evident that Friendship and Camaraderie will rate in the top two criteria.

So, whilst there is no doubt that we all enjoy playing petanque with friends and family, it raises the question of whether or not do pre-arranged teams raise the level in Australian petanque, or put a dead-weight on the selection system.

There can be many arguments for and against the inclusion of teams versus individuals and whether or not they can both be equally respected...

It is in my experience that teams are usually made up of friends, family members or local acquaintances and will have played together for multiple seasons. These players have trained together, travelled together, won together and lost together. They have an unspoken language in their team that only they can decipher and an ability to shut out the world when it comes to the crunch. But do they have the depth of skill to compete at International level?

Individual players, on the other hand seek personal development and recognition. These players promote their skills during the season hoping to attract and recruit potentially compatible players to fulfil the other roles and help them achieve their goals. These players are resilient, adaptable, and resourceful…but have they lost the ability to truly mesh with others in a team environment?

The Selection System implemented in the last 5 years has certainly caused a rift between coaches and players of all types. It became common knowledge that even though some teams had experienced victories and lengthy stays at the top, that it wasn’t ‘politically’ advisable to select all 3 players, nor was there any glory in selecting pre-arranged teams.

Similarly, individual players who were typecast, disliked or not considered part of the ‘Superclass’ were cast out in the desert to fend for themselves. These players were rarely given the opportunity to showcase their skills because all the seemingly ‘compatible players’ already had their teams. So which is worse off?

There is no doubt that there are certain players that bring out the best in our game. Whether it is due to skill compatibility, or their ability to make us feel invincible, there is undoubtedly a perfect combination available to all players. So what happens when the players themselves have already sought and found those perfect combinations? Does that deem those teams redundant because they were not the selector’s choice? Is it just possible that the players may know themselves better than the coaches?

Likewise with individual players, is it fair to expect a shooter to play his/her best when they are thrust amongst strangers in a do or die situation? Is that environment conducive to good play?

So which traits make a champion team? Is it the individual strength of the players or is there some magical, unknown ingredient that creates the ultimate combination? Can a mediocre team achieve the greatest heights on just confidence, spirit and determination?

The following extracts have been taken from Ray McLean; Leadership Consultant to the Australian National Basketball, Football, Rugby and Rugby Union teams. They have been included in this article to demonstrate the transferability of the ‘team’ concept across all sports:

“As they say about footballers; money and the jumper don’t matter because in the end they’ll go in for their mates. No stone has been left unturned or esky left unemptied in football’s quest for a well-bonded team”

“Outstanding individual talent might hold in Golf or Tennis, but the numbers work against it in a team sport like football because, all myths aside, there hasn’t been a footballer born with enough individual ability to compensate for the negative impact they can have on the rest of the team’s performance if the player’s goals and the teams goals are not one and the same”

“As the old saying about a champion team beating a team of champions continues to sink in, expect to see a continuing shift of emphasis in recruiting for elite team sports from simply identifying the most physically gifted individuals available to more subtle recruiting criteria where an individual’s capacity to learn and develop into an effective team member are valued as much as their athletic talents"

So this now leaves us with an even bigger question; are the coaches/selectors in Australia skilled enough to be able to pick players based on both their skill and their team qualities?

When David Beat Goliath...

2009-05-18T17:27:00.011+10:00

Submitted by Jim Ayres

The following is an extract from The New Yorker entitled when David beats Goliath. It starts as a story about a basketball team of 12 year old girls, 6 out of 8 of whom had never played basketball before, who made it into the American national championships. Their coach had never seen a game of basketball before agreeing to coach them and developed his own set of winning strategies which of course no other team was using. The story goes on to analyse why his formula worked and includes the following paragraph.

David’s victory over Goliath, in the Biblical account, is held to be an anomaly. It was not. David’s win all the time. The political scientist Ivan Arreguín-Toft recently looked at every war fought in the past two hundred years between strong and weak combatants. The Goliaths, he found, won in 71.5 per cent of the cases. That is a remarkable fact. Arreguín-Toft was analyzing conflicts in which one side was at least ten times as powerful—in terms of armed might and population—as its opponent, and even in those lopsided contests the underdog won almost a third of the time.

In the Biblical story of David and Goliath, David initially put on a coat of mail and a brass helmet and girded himself with a sword: he prepared to wage a conventional battle of swords against Goliath. But then he stopped. “I cannot walk in these, for I am unused to it,” he said (in Robert Alter’s translation), and picked up those five smooth stones. What happened, Arreguín-Toft wondered, when the underdogs likewise acknowledged their weakness and chose an unconventional strategy? He went back and re-analyzed his data. In those cases, David’s winning percentage went from 28.5 to 63.6. When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath’s rules, they win, Arreguín-Toft concluded, “even when everything we think we know about power says they shouldn’t.”

In petanque in Australia we currently have an affiliated group of coaches who train to a very strict set of tactics which copy those of the top French teams and anyone who plays outside of this set of tactics is automatically not considered for selection at State or National level regardless of their results. Yet it is this very same set of tactics that makes our representatives vulnerable to defeat. Not only are we trying to take on the French at their own terms but we are exposing our representatives to demoralising defeats from players who they are told do not make the grade.

My wife Cathy from New South Wales is one of those players who has been told several times she is not good enough for representative honours. Even though she has represented NSW and Aust it was only because she self selected herself by having the money to pay for the trips. But if you look back at some of the past victories she has had you can see how her “when David meets Goliath” style of play has enabled her to account for those who have been granted representative honours for playing to the one set of tactics time and time again.

Canterbury 2007- Cathy and Rosie defeated two of our representative women in the final on the eve of their departure to the world championships in France by playing a very simple strong pointing game and keeping them under constant pressure to shoot. Remember shooting accuracy in Australian women’s events rarely exceeds 33%

Easter Beresfield 2008- Cathy, Siv and Therese knocked out the Australian representative team for Turkey and went on to lose the finals to the New Zealand national team. In this competition they were treated as unknown non-representative players and taken too lightly as a combination. This is worst mistake a coach can teach his players.

Canterbury 2008- Cathy and Rosie defeated all of the New South Wales women picked to represent Australia at Taiwan. In this case the representative players chose to get angry at Cathy and Rosie for beating them. In the meantime Rosie decided not to let them get away with their anger and pointed like a champion allowing Cathy to break for multiple scores something the representatives were told she could not do. Causing them to lose all focus on their own games.

NSW Singles 2008- Two of Australia’s representative players were battling it out to met Cathy in the finals. Cathy was watching them play an absolute brilliant breaking game against each other and decided that no matter who won she would use the same set of simple tactics. Point to a distance whereby they were unsure to shoot or point. If they shot her out- put it back . if they outpointed her- shoot only if it was on the cosh , if not, simply outpoint them. Her aim was to always keep them undecided as to shoot or point. Cathy won that final 13-2 and was told immediately by a State coach that how she played was not how petanque is meant to be played.

Woolongong two day doubles 2009- Cathy and Siv both considered this tournament to be hardest they have ever played in. They won this one again with unconventional play. Siv is an excellent breaker but at times does not want to break. So they played the tournament switching between playing a breaking game and a pointing game within the same game. This effectively stopped their opponents getting any sort of consistant rythym against them. Though Cathy and Siv knew exactly what they were doing their opponents did not. Cathy and Siv also had the advantage of knowing exactly how their opponents were going to play.

NSW triples 2009- Cathy’s partners Jan and Pam had never played in a state final before and were extremely nervous about facing 3 internationals in the finals. Both Pam and Jan liked to play quickly whereas the opposition played slowly, as they are trained to do. Cathy decided to speed up her game as well and play Tahitian style (relaxed without a care in the world) this had the effect of putting Pam and Jan at ease and meant the opposition were always in the circle under pressure. Cathy, Pam and Jan won that one.

The point I am trying to get across is that our coaches are coaching our representative players to play one style of game only and even though they have had their many successes they also have suffered many defeats at the hands of players who know exactly how their opposition is going to play and who play differently or can adapt their games to suit the day. I know that there are many other examples that could be quoted from other New South Wales clubs and Interstate and my apologies go to those women who deserve mention for their individual skills and tactics.

Jim Ayres

Happy 10th Anniversary Deception Bay Club!

2009-05-08T17:51:00.008+10:00

All members are invited to join in the festivities and soak up the beautiful QLD sun by attending the 10th Anniversary of the Deception Bay Petanque Club.

10th Anniversary Doubles Competition

Sunday 7th June 2009

Starting time 8:30am sharp

$20 registration

Day licence required

Pre registration required by June 5th

Prizes

Men 1st: $300

Men 2nd: $150

Ladies 1st: $200

Ladies 2nd $100

For more information contact:

Marcel: 0406 296 337

Jean Claude: 0419 677 493

Mico: 0412 440 667

2009 Trans Tasman Challenge

2009-05-04T13:40:00.023+10:00

Congratulations to the NZ team who are the winners of the 2009 Trans Tasman Challenge in both the Open and Seniors division.

Congratulations to the Australian Open & Senior teams for all their hard work and fighting spirit.

New President's letter to Members

2009-05-01T15:30:00.003+10:00

01 May 2009

Dear Members

I have the pleasure to announce the new members of the PFA board of directors:

Sylvio Jolicoeur - President
Jean Paul Boudan - Secretary
Cyril Peroumal - Treasurer
Mathieu Boudan - Sport Director

Statement of Duties

Sylvio Jolicoeur – Liaise with various Petanque bodies within and outside Australia, help other directors whenever the need arises. To promote the sport with government bodies and other bowling codes

Jean Paul Boudan - In addition to his secretarial duties Paul ( being a specialist ) will put packages for sponsorship and look after fund raising. He has a couple of very important projects in the pipeline already

Cyril Peroumal - A tax agent, will look at the finance situation. He will be concentrating on various ways to keep the company solvent and budgeting for 2010

Mathieu Boudan – The benjamin of the board has been selected to reflect youth. He will be looking after the development of the sport, coaching, youth development and liaising with the umpiring commission

Vision for the next 12 months
• To keep cost as low as possible.
• To reduce the reliance on membership fee
• To simplify dealings with members and leagues
• To increase membership
• To work with Petanque Victoria in forming a federation
• To improve communication with members and leagues
• To review the membership fees
• To simplify licencing and licencing laws

As an immediate measure your board after various discussions with members and players around the land has the pleasure to announce that as from the 1st July 2009 the following measures will be implemented( these changes have been done within the ambit of the constitution):

Fees
• Juniors > than 16 yrs $5.00
• Open age to 60 $35.00
• Over 60 $25

Licences
• Licences will be restricted to permanent residents of Australia
• Abolition of day licences
• Abolition of club licences
• One type of licence only at the above prices

State Leagues
State leagues will be the agent for the PFA. As such,they will have full powers to conduct business on behalf of the PFA. This will include coaching, formation of umpires , promoting the sport , organizing PFA and Leagues sponsored tournaments and managing licences.

Non licence players
All restrictions regarding games where non licence players are playing next to licence players will be lifted. Games can be organized in wineries, parks etc however, the organising club will have to inform the State league of its intention so that the latter can notify our insurer and local authorities that the game is not a league sanctioned tournament and as such not covered by insurance. Failure to notify the league will incur a penalty

We would like to remind the organisers of non sanctioned games that it is in their interest to get an insurance as they can be personally liable for negligence and injuries.

Special Circumstances
Just like other bowls codes there will be provision for three trial games for a newcomer. The member club has to notify the State league who will issue a special pass to that effect

Non residents
Non resident upon production of a valid foreign licence can participate in PFA sponsored competition and two leagues games. However, the member club can approach the league if there are special circumstances

Our survey with clubs around the country has revealed various reasons for either not belonging to PFA or grumbling about the use of the membership fee. At the moment 80% to 85% of members are playing for fun and have no ambition to represent Australia, yet the majority of the fees or other funds are spent on 15% of players and officials. Accordingly, your board for the year to end in 2011 will impose restrictions on officials’ and coaches’ movements within and outside of Australia. We expect (with your help) to finish the year with a solid balance sheet. We will devote a lot of importance to the grassroots as they are our bread and butter.

Sponsorship and annexation with Bowls Australia
We will pursue intensively for new sponsors and amalgamation with Bowls Australia. If successful, it will allow us to proceed to the second phase of our programme which is to push hard for the recognition of the sport by the Federal and State Governments .Finally this will generate more funds for the sport ,for those members who treat the game as a sport, for more participation to international tournaments and for more intensive coaching .If the foregoing comes to pass then prospects will be unlimited.

Your committee will seek the co operation of members to help them in their endeavour to take the sport to a different level for both amateurs and semi- professionals .To achieve those goals we need all the advice and encouragement from the Petanque community. We want to remind everyone that we are only human and volunteers, as such we will expect mutual courtesy.

Yours in Petanque
Sylvio Jolicoeur

Welcome Kiwi's

2009-04-30T11:51:00.002+10:00

As we approach the 2009 Trans Tasman Challenge, we would like to extend a big welcome to the New Zealand Team travelling to NSW for this weekend. All the best to both teams and may the best country win.

Open Team
Men:
Andre Noel, Christian Fouquet, David Lippard, Ian Baker, Maurice Belz, Dirk Winnie

Women:
Sharon Cannon, Pam Jenkins, Joanne Lippard, Laurel Priestley, Claire Wilson, Barbara Johnston

Manager: Lorraine Brock
Coach: Grant Hackett

Senior Team
Men:
Bob Bridge, Andrew Findlay, Rex Hayes, Graeme Morris, Bill Peachey, Malcolm Pfhalert

Women:
Marilyn Bunce, Diane Findlay, Margaret Maher, Joan Miller, Sue Neilson, Jean Parley
Manager: Murray Porter
Coach: Trevor Neilson

Pizzini Winery Tournament- 2nd & 3rd May

2009-04-22T23:23:00.005+10:00

The King Valley wine region, together with the highly reputable Pizzini Winery play host to one of the most relaxing and fun-filled tournaments of the Petanque season.

Located in Victoria's north east – about three hours north of Melbourne and seven hours south of Sydney, Whitfield is positioned in one of the most picturesque and unspoilt valley’s in Australia.

Held on the 2nd & 3rd May, this triples tournament is a highlight of the petanque calendar!

Please note that the Pizzini Family is currently building a new winery therefore the 2009 Pizzini Petanque Tournament will be held at THE MOUNTAIN VIEW HOTEL in Whitfield.

Tournament information
Christian: Ph.: 03-9817 9700
Robert Bariola: Ph.: 03-5729 3659
Katrina Pizzini: Ph.: 03-5729 8278

Accomodation
Wangaratta Visitors Information Centre :Ph. : 1800 801 065
www.visitwangaratta.com.au

A Little Strategic Back-Peddling?

2009-04-16T12:32:00.002+10:00

Melbourne 14 April 2009

Dear members,

APOLOGY

In the notice of Meeting for the 2009 Annual General Meeting prepared by Petanque Federation Australia Limited (‘PFA’), statements were made regarding Mr Henry EP Steel suitability to hold office as Director of PFA.

The Statements referred to the existence of legal proceedings to which PFA was a party.

PFA acknowledges that it was inappropriate to refer to these legal proceedings in the notice of Meeting and unreservedly apologises to Mr Henry EP Steel for any distress or embarrassment he has suffered as a result.

André Deramond

Signed by André Deramond for and on behalf of Petanque Federation Australia Limited and for and on behalf of the current directors of Petanque Federation Australia Limited, namely André Deramond, Dianne Yeomans, Lesley Murray, Robin Anderson, and Mico Charlot, in their capacity as directors of petanque Federation Australia limited.

2009 Trans Tasman Challenge

2009-04-13T18:03:00.004+10:00

The PFA Board is pleased to announce the players who will represent Australia in the 2009 Trans Tasman Challenge which will be held at Tempe, NSW; home of France Petanque Club on the 2 & 3 May 2009.

Open Team
Men:
Teva Hoatua, Pierre Boudan, Pierrot Lubin, Stephane Langlois, Eric Leconte, Mico Charlot

Women:
Ariadne Ernest, Libby Sowter, Mureille Xavier, Eileen Marie, Raluca Raicu, Emilie Caseris

Coach: Pierre Figon

Senior Team

Men:
Rene Thibault, Robert Prime, France Blackburn, Joe Joseph, Ray Bradberry, Henri Niquet

Women:
Rolande Bernard, Gilberte Chaperon, Minouche Rousell, Joyce Anderson, Valmai Nicol, Iris Murray

Latest Update from the AGM

2009-04-12T23:45:00.007+10:00

Many of us anxiously held our breath for the 2nd installment of the AGM which was held at 6pm today. This second and final meeting would represent the future of the Petanque Federation and state leagues.

The question on everybody's lips this weekend was 'will PFA be abolished or will someone brave the unknown and make a stand?'

Our answer came tonight with the appointment of Director; Sylvio Jolicoeur.

To say that this man has taken a risk is a massive understatement, especially as our now ex-president was so unwilling to cooperate and discuss the financials associated with PFA; "No comment, no comment, why don't you see if you can do better, no comment, no comment, no comment..."

So what do we know about Mr Jolicoeur? Who will he appoint as the other 3 directors, what will their combined qualifications be, and most importantly, what direction will they take the game?

I have fished through the previous articles and found the below comment posted by Silvio. I have no doubt that he has the passion, so let's just hope he has the strength, courage and integrity.

"Well done Jean francois, at least you were frank with your comments. Just like you I do not need to be anonymous. I have been nicknamed Bayard le chevalier sans peur sans reproche.

I think we need a sweeping change at the top of the petanque hierarchy. There has been some very undiplomatic language coming from people who were supposed to be our leaders. The result is an organisation who has not support of various state leagues and players.

We need to bring the human face back to the game. To compensate hard working players by subsidising part or completely their trip whilst representing our country at various petanque competitions. To do this we need harmony and respect from all quarters.The day we have this everyone will work to build up the kitty. At the moment we seems to have money for officials.

After being passive over the years listening and reading all the bullshit I am willing to put my body on the line for the cause of the game. I am sure my 35 years of experience in the field of taxation/management/public accountant will be of some use to the game we all love.

On that point I will submit my name and a team for the position of president of petanque Australia and various key office holders. I think a raw person is needed for the progression of the game.

Anyone who want to support my candidature please email me at srjaccounting@bigpond.com I want to have as much feedback as possible. If the support is there I will definitely postulate.If anyone want to know my back ground please contact me either by email or by phone 02 88243485".

Sylvio Jolicoeur

A few points to consider...

2009-04-08T18:10:00.007+10:00

The following points were raised recently by Gary Hosie:

Item 3 – Changes to the Constitution
It is our view that the constitution remain as is to allow the incoming board the opportunity to review the constitution and the by-laws in their entirety in consultation with members.

Item 5 – Changes to the Easter Open
We would prefer that this item be rejected until the incoming board has the opportunity to present alternatives to members as part of an overall plan of developing the sport and social/competitive sides of petanque. There are a range of views on the Easter Open/Australian Championship and whilst have our own we would like to present some options. We oppose the notion that the winners of the Australian Championship (in whatever form) should have their airfares paid to attend the World Championship as we believe that the sport cannot afford the expense.

Item 6 – Venues for 2010
We would prefer that this item be rejected until the incoming board has the opportunity to consider alternatives with members as part of an overall plan of developing the sport and social/competitive sides of petanque. We are not opposing either possibility but would like to consider the views of members after presenting them with an overall plan.

The AGM
In discussions with players around the country, many have expressed concern at the aggression and lack of civility in communications. Some have been quite distressed. We know that not everyone is happy with the present board and we know that some have singled out Andre in particular for his aggressive manner in correspondence, but we also note that others are equally culpable when communicating with Andre and the board. There is no point criticizing someone’s behaviour if it is a reflection of our own. People in glass houses etc….

It may not be everyone’s experience but we have always found Andre to be civil, helpful and supportive, as have Di, Richard and numerous others who have spent time on the board.

We would ask that all who will attend the AGM come with clear thoughts and cool heads. Important decisions will be made and not everyone will be pleased with the outcomes but if we are to promote petanque as a ‘convivial’ sport let us set an example by dealing with the issues without rancour and then have a fantastic tournament.

Our sport has a great future so let’s get positive!
Regards Gary Hosie

A Fresh Perspective...at last!

2009-04-02T16:40:00.009+11:00

The winds of change are certainly blowing through... Since the nomination of the new candidates; Gary Hosie, Jim Ayres, Chinka Steel and Ian Castle there has been a buzz in the air.

On the other hand, there has been mixed feelings about this blog since the beginning and much criticism about the negative comments being promoted on this forum, however I believe that drastic steps needed to be taken to get the petanque community's attention...a community that had been silently crying out for change and peace.

Fundamentally, this blog was developed to allow members an opportunity to express their real views about the direction of the game. Unlike the NZ Blog, I permitted members to make anonymous comments because I saw what happened to certain players when their views didn't mirror those of the administration...and it wasn't pretty.

Consequently, we were able to see Andre's true colours in his responses to members and expose once and for all the root cause of the negative climate since 2005, for as the saying goes 'the fish always stinks from the head'.

Now, as members we must turn a new leaf. We have been given our opportunity to complain, so now we must take the opportunity to commend.

After much consideration, I have taken the decision to keep The Boules Lounge going so that we can use it to post interesting and constructive information to all members. My first contribution is the opening statement from Gary Hosie and Jim Ayres, who will undoubtedly inject energy and positiveness back to the game. Hoorah, bring on the good times again!

Let’s Get Positive!
Petanque is a fantastic way to pass the time! There I’ve said it. I tried to hold it back but I
couldn't. It is great leisure activity! It is a great sport! You have the choice! Don’t you?

It seems to me the much of the discussion going in the Australian petanque scene hinges on this dilemma. It tends to colour the way we do things and in the end we seem to have a
hybrid that is making many unhappy. Are we running sporting events like a picnic or picnics like a sporting event? Why can’t we do both? Let’s run picnics and sporting events! Let’s find the solutions to make everyone happy instead evening out the un-happiness!

Let’s drop the arguments and build a glowing future. So come on, let’s get positive!
It is in this spirit that I have decided to nominate for the position of President of Petanque
Australia, although with all the acrimony going around at the moment I wonder why anyone would want to - my wife thinks I must be crazy!

This is an Executive Summary of issues we want you to consider. Needless to say we will be consulting with members in all states before committing to decisions and ask that people support us in our endeavours. We need a range of participants to work with us to share the load and provide input.

We are looking to provide more information for members and keep you informed.
Soon there will be an election and the people will decide. Maybe we all need to take a step back and reduce the tension, then let’s get positive and work together to take our
game/sport forward.

Regards Gary Hosie and Jim Ayres

I am beginning to exhale already....

Who will STAND and who will fall?

2009-03-16T23:46:00.006+11:00

The countdown begins to one of the most critical AGMs in Australian Petanque history. No longer can members stand back and let the future of the game be dictated by others. 2009 must become the year of awareness.

So the question is who will STAND and what are they standing for?

I believe that the 2009 President Report was the first occasion whereby Andre and his administration opted to present their resume of achievements for the past 9 years. Amongst the list were achievements such as the development of the Trans Tasman Series and the Seniors Competitions, proving that some good has in fact emerged over the past 9 years, but the question still stands; is it enough? and if not, what more do we want and expect?

I suppose that there is part of me that lacks the faith that anyone in Australia will have the courage, honesty and determination to fight towards a happier and more successful Federation. Afterall, how do you make so many people happy when individuals are motivated by different things and in different ways?

What will happen to us if the current administration is voted back in for the 10th year (most likely by the unsuspecting remote clubs) and all the progress that we have made in the last month is deemed redundant? I have to wonder about these things when I see our smug President surveying this blog all day long, making abusive and mocking remarks to everyone under his alias Albert Chapeau…I wonder whether he has nothing left to lose or whether he has already estimated that he has the necessary votes to run for a 10th consecutive year…

So what can we do, you ask? The first step is to become acquainted with the election process. The second step is to take an active interest in your clubs vote. Allow me to explain:

Step 1: The Election Process

30 days prior to the AGM, members are given the opportunity to submit their ticket for a role in the Executive Committee. These candidates should ideally submit a document containing details of their achievements, skills, short-term and long-term objectives. These documents will then be forwarded by PFA to all clubs around Australia for their perusal (which ideally should have been done so already).

Club Presidents are then responsible for contacting each candidate and speaking to them directly about their philosophies, strategies and contingencies. Once the President of each club is well informed, they must then approach their members with the information and request feedback.

Finally, the majority vote is determined and either sent to the AGM by proxy or by an attending member of that club.

Step 2: Use your rights and privileges as members by:

a) Ensuring that each candidate provides the necessary documentation to back themselves as suitable candidates

b) Ensuring that your Club President fills in any information gaps so that as members, you can make an educated decision for the fate of your sport

c) Ensuring that your President takes the time to listen to each member so that the majority view for your Club is put forward and not the lazy, proxy vote.

As with anything in life; education is power, so the only way to give petanque back to the players is to inform ourselves and then act because ‘well done is better than well said’…Benjamin Franklin

Has our President just made his first admission of fault?

2009-03-12T11:18:00.006+11:00

Extracts taken from the 2009 PFA AGM President Report and financial statement:

"I understand and accept that some of our members are not happy or satisfied with the administration of PFA, but with all the past and present Directors I have tried to contribute to the best of my ability in improving PFA overall situation".

This may be the most humble I have seen Andre in ummm...9 years? It's a definite breath of fresh air...oh, hang on there's more:

"Some players have genuine complaints about the way Petanque is run in Australia, but too often the lack of democracy within their Clubs does not allow them to be heard as some Club Presidents and Committee Members prefer to pursue their own agendas to the detriment of their Members".

Yeah, I should have known it was too good to be true...

The Wind of Change...

2009-03-11T00:21:00.006+11:00

While the initial tone of this blog was to create controversy and stir up the stale air that has weighed down the sport recently, it is still critical that we maintain respect and tolerance amongst players, for without that we are doomed.

There is no doubt that the culture instilled by the current administration has promoted unhealthy competition and unnecessary mistrust amongst players, however part of the ‘Giving Petanque back to the Players’ campaign is to encourage players to let bygone’s be bygone’s and to recapture the magic of our game.

I can certainly admit to feeling less then enthused at seeing players that I once considered good friends and great team-mates. So I sit back and ask myself what changed? What events in the last few years have brought out the worst in many players…? But more importantly, what can be done to wipe away the bad taste in so many people’s mouths?

While there are certain dedicated players working towards making the necessary changes at the upcoming AGM, it is up to the rest of us to tackle the hostility from the bottom up by embodying the changes we want to see happen.

'You must be the change you wish to see in the world'. Gandhi

The Membership Mystery...

2009-03-07T11:15:00.015+11:00

My name is Jacques Roussety and I am the President of Bayswater Petanque Club here in WA, a club established in 1986 and still going strong. We have 150 members consisting of both petanque and non-petanque players. When it was pointed out to me that the club cracked a mention on the forum I decided to take a look and to be honest was saddened to read about the tirade and personal attacks amongst the members. Since my club was mentioned, I feel that I should clarify certain matters raised in respect as to why Bayswater Petanque Club pulled out of the Petanque Federation of Australia.

The best way to do this, I feel is to publish the letter which I sent to PFA to that effect. The letter is self explanatory, for everyone out there to read and digest. From talking to other people and certainly from the comments posted on this forum, there’s probably other clubs out there experiencing the same problems. As we’re no longer member of the PFA I don’t wish to comment any further as I do not wish to be seen as interfering in the affairs of this organisation.

But as one of the members of my club posted anonymously, it is a fact that since we left the federation we are much happier and relaxed. On a personal note, I would be a hypocrite if I say I do not miss the interaction with the other clubs and the friendships cultivated over the years, because I do.

So I look forward to the day when commonsense will prevail and we can get down to the business of playing the wonderful game of Petanque instead of getting at each other’s throats.

P.S. It is fact that neither PFA nor PWA felt the need to EVEN acknowledge receipt of the letter from BPC.

Dear Sir,

I wish to advise that the Bayswater Petanque Club (BPC) will not be renewing its affiliation to the Petanque Federation of Australia (PFA) for the financial year 2008/2009.

This decision is regrettable however, after much discussion and deliberation, it is the view of the Executive Committee and members of the BPC that pertinent policies of the PFA in their present form are unacceptable in that they are either ambiguous, too stringent and designed to effectively exert too much control on the activities of individuals and the internal affairs of the club. For the past few years, issues pertaining to the said policies, which I will highlight further, have been the subject of endless discussions and arguments amongst licensed/non-licensed players and executive committee members of the BPC to the point that I believe that they are having a detrimental and destabilising effect on the membership of the club.

At the core of the discontent and dissatisfaction amongst the members is the policy of the PFA requiring non-licensed members of the BPC to either buy a Day Licence or Club Licence in order to play in an open tournament organised by their own club. In spite of its name, the BPC is also a social club with the majority of its petanque players, enjoying the social aspect of the games and the odd tournaments. It is the view of these players, who are mostly pensioners, that they should not have to pay again, firstly because they have already paid their membership to the club, secondly they have nil intention of participating in tournaments outside of their own club and thirdly the issue of insurance should be left to the individual to decide. The BPC, in its attempt to diffuse the situation, have in the past resolved to pay the ‘Day Licence’ fees of its non-licensed members, but have now discontinued the practice as it (the BPC) does not want to be seen as supporting two classes of membership within the club.

Whilst on the subject of ‘Day Licence’, I wish to make the following observation which highlight ambiguities which I referred to. ‘Day Licence’ is defined in the PFA Player’s Licence Policy (Part III 2) as: ‘a license issued to players who are not members of an affiliated member club and who wish to participate in a sanctioned tournament of event’. My understanding, according to this definition, is that non-licensed members of the BPC, an affiliated member club of the PFA, are not entitled to buy a ‘Day Licence’, yet BPC non-licenced players have been compelled to purchase such licences in the past. Within the same document (at Part VI d) it states that: ‘a player holding a Club Licence can enter an open by purchasing a Day Licence for the event’.

Perhaps this issue needs further clarification as to which section takes precedence. To add to the confusion, as per the PFA memo in respect to ‘Non PFA Sanctioned Tournament’ dated May 2008, the PFA advises amongst others that :‘unlicensed players and non-affiliated clubs should not be invited to participate in an official PFA tournament’. This begs the question as to why the PFA gives such advice since Part III 2 of the Player’s Licence Policy expressly makes provisions to accommodate such players?

One other issue of concern relates to the requirement of the PFA that Executive Members of affiliated clubs be licensed players. Whilst this policy might be acceptable for a club consisting purely of petanque players, the same could not be said in respect of clubs such as the BPC, where executive committee members are elected and are not always petanque players. To impose such a policy on clubs could be likened to PFA adopting a dictatorial approach and an unjustifiable intrusion in the affairs of the club.

Whilst I recognise the need for the PFA to develop policies for the good and the promotion of the petanque game, clearly pertinent policies as discussed have proved unworkable and unacceptable to the members of the BPC and as already stated, have been the subject of ongoing squabble amongst the members for too long. In a bid to resolve this matter, the BPC had a meeting with its licensed and non licensed players members, as a result of which, the players voted to opt of the PFA, further present licensed members have decided not to renew their licence. Consequently the BPC has no alternative but to not renew its affiliation to PFA.

I am acutely aware that this decision may or may not have any adverse effect on the BPC and other Western Australian petanque clubs, however as discussed, these issues have been brewing for too long and I feel that it was in the best interest of the club and its members to take this action. I am not aware if the issues raised have been formally brought to the attention of the PFA in the past, if not, I am doing so now in the hope that perhaps at its next review of policies, the PFA may wish to take into consideration the matters raised and take appropriate remedial action if appropriate.

Yours sincerely
Jacques Roussety
President

It is sad to see a club that potentially represents 12% of our entire membership base be left to go without any contact at all from PWA and PFA.

It looks like the personal agendas of PWA and PFA board members are getting in the way of the real aim of PFA – MAXIMISE AND PRESERVE MEMBERSHIP NUMBERS WHEREVER POSSIBLE

The last reported membership numbers Australia wide were:
2003 vs 2008
Vic: 237, 540
NSW: 250, 289

SA: 177, 175
WA: 153, 161
QLD: 114, 83
TAS: 26, 33
ACT: 0, 24

TOTAL: 957, 1305

I believe that Jean-Phillipe Guglielmi’s recommendation that day licences be removed will give clubs maximum flexibility to assist in preserving and increasing memberships.

It is interesting to note the increase in Victoria's memberships in the past 5 years...

Upon further inspection it is due to a 3yr $20,000 p/a Vic Health government grant of which the funds are managed by one man; Kevin Ward and are used to set up clubs in country Victoria.

The information from my Victorian contacts is that these new clubs that are sprouting up all over the place are not interested in getting actively involved due to the ongoing politics, however still hold voting rights at the AGM.

Furthermore, I’m told from various clubs sharing their attendance records that whilst memberships have increased in Vic, that players attending tournaments in Victoria since 2003 has decreased. Interesting...

United we STAND, divided we fall...

2009-03-05T23:32:00.010+11:00

Below is an email from a Bayswater PC member sent to a few select players in WA on Feb 6th 2009. 2 weeks prior to this blog going live.
It seems as though players from every state feel the same...

"What can I say; it is sad what it is happening to the Petanque community, but this is going on for a while and we have questioned the same issues and more over and over again for a long time.

The way they manipulate the Constitution and their positions for their own benefit is beyond belief. Now you can understand why we pulled out of Petanque Australia, our members didn't want to be part of a Federation and mostly part of a League that was doing nothing for their own members and to promote the game in an healthy way in our state.

We tried but we failed due to a group of people that only were looking out for their own interests and "friends".

I haven't been part of Petanque as long as most, but from what I hear and saw the first years it isn't as it used to be. Petanque used to be fun, friendly, relaxed, full of people, there was hardly a problem to make up teams and for competitions to be successful. As timed passed it was more of a chore and we had in general so many arguments in the pitches due to poor sportsmanship, unfair selections, etc ...

Where did the fun, friendship, sportsmanship go? It wasn't pleasurable anymore to be part of it. Petanque ceased to be a family entertainment and became the game for just a few that wanted to represent our state and do great things interstate and overseas, what a laugh.

They forgot the main aim of promoting the game in our own state and keeping the WA Petanque community happy. I must say since we are not part of the Federation we are much happier and relaxed, we don't have to put up with what is going on and we keep all our members and friends of the club as contented as we can.

You know everyone is always welcome to come to our club and we don't need to make up excuses as to why a licence isn't required.

Having a licence with so many restrictions, regulations, bans and sanctions takes the fun out of playing, it is like playing in a pitch full of eggs, always watching where you are stepping, what you are doing or saying in case you step in one and burst it and get sanctioned for it.

We weren't interested in that".
Anonymous

Please note that Bayswater Petanque Club (BPC) gave official notice that it would not be renewing its affiliation with the Petanque Federation of Australia (PFA) in June 2008.

United we will STAND.

2009-03-05T16:33:00.007+11:00

Fellow members,

Before reading on, I refer you to an earlier article titled “Doomsday has arrived for some members…” which is related to this issue.

In the words of the great Albert Einstein; 'The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing'.

For this reason it would be negligent of me to ignore the issues that have plagued the WA League for many years, culminating in the dismissal of coach Angelique Le Floch – Vayssiere and the subsequent resignation of Jean Francois Veyssiere; National Director of Coaching.

To explain it simply, the below email was written in response to a comment by Andre to Jean Francois about only ever having received one letter from a disgruntled player in WA.

The email below is the reason behind Angelique having both her licence removed and being asked to attend a Disciplinary Hearing. I have highlighted the two comments which have caused the apparent controversy:

Mr Deramond,

First of all, as far as I'm concerned, as State Coach of Western Australia, I have been shocked by your email concerning your National Director of Coaching, it's not respectful to your executive board. The problems in WA are famous and you knew them:

1. 2006: Emails about Problems in Western Australia when I was appointed by Alan Irwin and got troubles with the same bad people

2. From 2008, Letter from Bayswater Petanque Club to explain their withdrawal from the Federation because of the WA League --->No answer from PFA

3. 1st letter in September 2008, when the State Singles happened and have been tampered, (see attachments)

4. Meeting at Sydney for the Interstate where we discussed about WA issues

5. 2nd letter about the rejection of a WA player to the Selection process (see attachment)-No answer again

6. Christmas Eve, email concerning the rejection of issuing licences

7. 2009, 3rd letter about the accident with a non-licenced coach and about pressure and tampering in WA. That has been very well summarized in the previous Jean-Francois Veyssiere email.

8. You have received a call from Robin Anderson telling you that my wild card team won't play because of pressure in WA, THAT WAS A LIE; you got the proof a few hours later.

For my mathematical understanding, it makes EIGHT evidences to tell you what's going wrong in Western Australia since 2006, that only proves that you're not respectful of the International rules and lying and also the problem is not recent.
About the communication policy in WA, it doesn't work and we wrote you twice to tell you about this issue. What is the process when you have tampered people in a League and a bad PFA representative? You shouldn't make any comments about how badly developed it is in WA when you do what you're doing.

I'm fully qualified for my job and I know what is bad. I'm not a bitch, tampered THAT'S WHY with your behaviour in regards of bad people like Robin Anderson, the most rotten WA person that you couldn't find anywhere else in the world, it's difficult to be accepted.

I'm calling all the coaches to make a block to support Jean-Francois Veyssiere with the great job he has achieved in the last two years as recognition of his duty that he has respected loyally.

Best regards

Angelique Le Floch – Vayssiere

Essentially, this email was the final straw by a coach who had shed blood and tears for almost 4 years to make PFA recognise the problems plaguing the WA League.

I cannot speak on behalf of anyone else, but my doubts about the current administration are beginning to solidify as more evidence is being revealed about the degree of corrupt members being encouraged and promoted up the ranks by Andre.

Angelique is fronting the tribunal because she breached the communications policy. What’s ironic about that is the fact that Andre has conveniently dismissed most of her attempts to communicate to him the issues affecting WA since 2006.

And what’s even more ironic in this case is that the abusive comments used by Angelique are nowhere near as harsh as the words Andre uses to communicate to members he dislikes. So one could say that Andre has fallen on his own sword when it comes to the Communications Policy he created.

Given the mounting evidence, is Andre really fit to hold an international umpiring licence? Who knows, maybe someone out there might move a motion to remove his licence at the upcoming AGM…

Our sights set on the future...

2009-03-04T17:38:00.008+11:00

The below content has been submitted by Jean-Philippe Guglielmi; SA member, as a means for us to start turning this game around.

The below suggestions were supplied on the premise that feedback mustn't come from an anonymous source. I realise the irony of me supporting such a request, but as I've already told a few curious members, this channel of communication will cease to exist if my identity is revealed.

Therefore, this is an opportunity for members to post arguments for and against each category so that we can start planning for the future.

PROGRAMME FOR THE FUTURE

SUGGESTIONS and QUESTIONS:

1. PETANQUE CLUBS.
The clubs are the “mother” of Petanque. Only the clubs should be equipped in the role of caring, welcoming and introducing new players to the game of pétanque.

a) A club must have complete freedom to fulfil that role.
b) The DAY-LICENCE must be removed (how can a new player be hooked in just 3 days?).
c) INSURANCE: Club must have their own Public Liability.
d) NO SANCTIONED EVENTS? It is good for pétanque? The only “ILLEGAL” events must be the events with cash money as prizes.

Most importantly; clubs must have freedom.

2.Leagues
a) Leagues develop pétanque in their individual states as each state has different needs and possibilities. The League is the cement between the clubs in their effort to develop pétanque.
b) Leagues must have complete freedom.
c) Leagues must vote at the Federation’s AGM.

3. Pétanque; Sport Vs Social
The two types of pétanque must cohabitate within the clubs. The difference is not necessarily in the skill but in the atmosphere. Clubs should create opportunities to cater to both.

4. Easter National Championship
Let’s have a National Championship like in Sweden (with 2500 players). Allow the National tournament at Easter to become a 'Festival of Pétanque' where fun and friendships are promoted.

5.Coaching
Coaching is very important for the development of Petanque as a sport. Coaching sessions must be encouraged and promoted.

6.Selection
It is far too early in our present level of pétanque to have a selection process; it is too elitist, creating deep disunity. The A-list players will be naturally revealed at the specified tournaments.

Even if we did 'select' a team that brought us fantastic results at the World Championships, apart from pride, the atmosphere at petanque would still be compromised.

7. Categorisation
On one hand it is fair that the 'best' be rewarded, but this must occur on many levels to keep all players interested. A categorisation system will enable players with different level of skill to be similarly rewarded.

8. Sponsorship
Sponsors and politicians are only interested in numbers (for marketing and votes). In order to increase our sponsorship opportunites we must first increase memberships. Our best impact at this stage will be with the National Tournament at Easter.

9.Federation
A good orchestra needs a good conductor. The Federation must be like an orchestra’s conductor and not as a Galley’s conductor with a whip.

10.Umpiring
The convenor of the day nominates the umpire of the day. If two teams are playing in harmony, the umpire should not come interrupt. In Petanque the Umpire is not proactive; he/she is an Arbiter and must wait to be called.

Dear fellow pétanqueurs, I want to highlight the uniqueness of Petanque before you begin posting your suggestions. It is futile to keep comparing processes and procedures from other sports because Petanque is unique. Judge for yourselves next time you attend a tournament; how many sports do you know that allow such a disparate bunch of participants to enjoy themselves in healthy competition? For Petanque to flourish it must follow the philosophy of 'La Joie de Vivre', rather than 'Petanque de Haut Niveau' (which is not working out very well!). We can not afford to lose 50% of our members simply to experiment with systems employed in advanced Federations such as in France.

I would like to personally thank all the benevolent people involved in pétanque. For those members seemingly going the wrong way, you are allowed to U-Turn...

Jean-Philippe Guglielmi

Doomsday has arrived for some members...

2009-03-04T11:50:00.004+11:00

Dear Angelique,

Notification of disciplinary hearing
The committee of Petanque WA received a written complaint from Robin Anderson and Andre Deramond.

I wish to advise you that as a result of the abovementioned complaints that a disciplinary meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday 4th March at the Subiaco Petanque Club at 6.30pm.

It is alleged that you contravened the Petanque Federation disciplinary code Part 8, Section 5, Category 5 and the PFA Communication Policy (Para 4.1, 5.1, 9.1, 10.1 and 11).

This action is the result of the contents of your email sent to Andre Deramond, President of PFA on the 2nd February 2009.

I sent you a copy of the Petanque Federation disciplinary code and communication policy on the 12th of February. If you require an extra copy, you can obtain it online: www.petanqueaustralia.com/content.php?link_id= or you can contact he undersigned.

Yours Sincerely
Tony Mitchell
Secretary Petanque WA
26/02/09

For those members that would like to know what ACTUALLY happened in WA, the email above is the first clue. The full story will be told shortly...

I wonder if I should submit a written complaint about the contents of the email that was sent to me by the President of PFA? I wonder if it would be dismissed...hmmm

No wonder Mr President is too busy to negotiate sponsorship deals!!!

I wish Angelique Le Floch-Vayssiere and Jean-Michel Le Floch all the best for this evening...they'll need it!

And the fun just continues...

2009-03-03T12:27:00.015+11:00

Andre: Blue

Roger: Green

Hi Gutless

Another word from your sponsor!!!! Quote from your latest input: “This blog will resemble a cheap slur campaign.” It’s always been a mud racking exercise encouraged by a man who can’t ever put his name to it.“Recently, I have taken a back-seat role to encourage more members to have their say, and will only intervene when I believe something truly unjust or immoral has occurred (as such with the condescending email from Richard Tarlington).” You can’t even spell Richard’s name properly.

Oops sorry Andre, I’ll fix that now. Thanks for the tip.

The attack on Richard Tarlinton is a perfect example of how despicable you and your mud racking friends are, mud racking of the lowest form. Richard Tarlinton attended 7 meetings in Geelong to set up the Master Games, meetings held in the evening travelling 1500 km only to see some claiming to be running the master, as it happens PFA had a written agreement with the organiser of the event.

You still don't understand why I exposed Richard? Why don't you revisit the email that he sent to a player that was just trying to help and see if you can pinpoint why members should be appalled. I know it's difficult for you, but just try.

Why do some PFA board members feel that because they do voluntary work, they can respond and talk to members with a complete lack of respect? Over time, this has destroyed the fabric of the petanque community. It will take a long time and a very patient board to restore people’s faith in the organisation.

As it is getting boring I thought that I could help you with a few comments as it is important I think to correct a few of the comments on your wonderful “Mud racking blog” and I am sure that you wouldn’t want the truth to get in the way of a good story!

I'm really sorry that a discussion about the future of the game is boring you...

- Board Resignation

-6 mentioned, 3 it is all ‘Tim Whelan Family and health reason, Danielle Marchand and Richard Tarlinton for personal and Business reason

-Di Yeomans did resign in October 2005, I did resign in November 2005 refusing to work with one of the Director, I was offered to work as an operation manager with the people running PA at the time and let them know without uncertainty that I would have nothing to do with them. Subsequent events have proven me right in my view.
- Richard Tarlinton still assist the board as for the Master Games in Geelong or meeting with Bowls Australia

-Select or not select

How wonderful to read Pierre Bommarito comments and his great expose. Sadly he forgot a few things:

a) As the Melbourne club President he fought with all clubs the selection process, lost the battle, without I must add informing his members or what ever is left of them, Pierre looks after himself first and foremost.

b) Pierre has always made it clear that he doesn’t like coaches and “stated that only a super champion could coach him”

c) Pierre and his team of friends went on and entered the PV selection trial reluctantly I must admit but like the other 25 or so players he started the trial, he was aware of the process but at the end of the trial he refused like a good sportsman to accept the result of the trial.

d) PV coaches recommended to PV clubs that Pierre and one of his team mate be not considered for PV team selection, vote by PV clubs 12 or 13 to 0 with one abstent one. Easy to check with PV coaches no involvement from PFA on the matter, an appeal was lodged with PV and rejected by the clubs not PFA. The ex-National director of coaching could provide you with more information and a large number of emails of their correspondence.

f) 200 international games played? What ever Pierre is smoking must be good, 4 world championships and 2 Oceania championships at an average of 10 games!!! his comment nobody ever asked me, Pierre has been approached by PV coaches to get involved and pass on his playing skill, his answer if you want to do it is your problem I am not interested, correct there is nothing in it; in fact you have to give and this is not in Pierre make up or vocabulary.

I have more time for the women team of Elisa, Julie and Josie who indicated clearly to the coaches that they would not accept to be split and so refused to enter the trial, and they stood by their decision it is call integrity.

I believe you may have missed one vital point; these player’s you keep attacking are not PFA Committee Members, so they are NOT ACCOUNTABLE TO MEMBERS, YOU ARE!

You seem to have a personal gripe with Pierre Bommarito? On the surface, he seems to have made some well informed comments on the blog. It seems your unprovoked attacks and abuse is what’s hurting our culture.

P.S I cannot speak on behalf of the ladies team you mention above, but I’m fairly certain that they would rather you don't make time for them.

- Disciplinary process and legal fees

I have no regret what so ever with the board decision and would make the same call today, to accept the comments and wild accusations made by some at our last AGM is not acceptable and I would stand by all our elected members and ask for some respect and a better behaviour. It is easy to throw mud at people but it would be better if those mentioning “corruption, bad management’ could come up with specific examples.The comments seen on the blog indicates that the writers are happy to be branded as cheat, liars and fraudsters if ever they got elected “Happy days ahead”

So, if you had your time over again you would cost members $8,000 to defend your personal battles. At $50 per member that goes to PFA, that equates to 160 memberships you’ve thrown down the drain. Interesting?

Legal fees to defend the directors when served with 2 personal summonses at our home and business address for our treasurer seems to be normal for your mud racking friends and yourself.

Unfortunately Andre, you reap what you sow…

The publication of the affidavit on the WHRPC website with the personal addresses of the Director is not acceptable either and it clearly demonstrate the intention to intimidate the Board members. Only the badly written constitution did not allow us to succeed. It is also interesting to find mention of last year expenses when the financial report was presented and approved at our last AGM in Beresfield.

Players have the right to express their concern about PFA spending, irrespective of whether the Pope himself approved the reports. After all, it is the player’s funds that have been compromised in the last 5 years, not yours.

It is sad to see that most clubs in Victoria and their members don’t want to have a lot to do with this so wonderful club.A couple of people have been cited to appear in front of a Disciplinary tribunal, one has been cited by PWA league members and by PFA for defamatory comments against board members.

-Sponsorship

I love the comment ‘Imagine...if the same amount of time and energy were placed on finding sponsors as it has been on political campaigning and game-playing...’Numerous people were asked to assist they did mention that they would assist but when given all info available they decided that they were too busy and the same players today are criticising the board.

Once again, I believe you’ve forgotten that YOU VOLUNTEERED TO BECOME A PFA COMMITTEE MEMBER, not the players you persist in attacking. You keep passing the buck and refusing to answer the question…where are the sponsors Andre?

The general idea amongst you and your mud racking friends is “that the community owes you a living, we will give you $40 and we want a great return like an airfare of $2500 or $3000” maybe you and those players should take up golf or Tennis. Check other sports Bocce, Triathlon, Soccer, Tennis, lawn Bowls and see how much it cost to participate, not all participants end up representing Australia either or think that they have a given right to do so.I often mention the names of those who work and help PFA for the good of the game, maybe you should ask yourselves “What have I ever done for the game?”

No Andre, maybe you should ask YOURSELF ‘what in God’s name have I done to the game?’

-Coaches

JF Veyssiere can certainly explain why he did resign? With all the freedom he had for his job, he wanted the board to change rules of entries in competition for some players for the national and maybe you should ask the correctly elected PWA league members to give you their views on his interference in PWA affairs, not the role of the National Director of Coaching.

Ray Beaumont our National Director of Umpiring “Not a Yes man” for those who know him sticks to his Umpiring job and doesn’t feel the need to interfere or meddle in club or league matters, this was mentioned a few times to JF Veyssiere by myself sadly to no avail.

Wow, how did Ray manage to slip through your web? Maybe you should threaten Ray with a disciplinary hearing to make him more agreeable and docile in future?

Same comments on our coaches 2 of them went to Perth with no financial assistance from PV, SA or PFA did not play and coached all the weekends our 2 junior teams. Our coaches like in VIC provide coaching section for beginners and those interested in improving their game. Over 50 players attended a coaching clinic at Caulfield a few weeks ago.C.I.E.P. Centre International of Petanque Education this has already been explained in previous PFA memo, it is run by the FIPJP and all coaches going to future FIPJP run tournaments will need to have a C.I.E.P. coaching licence within the next 2 or 3 years.

-Management-Corruption

Amusing comments from our friend Marcel Philogene, about the PFA bad management ask him to explained how he has been elected “President” while having his licence suspended by NSW league, cronyism for some, a man who has run NSW for the last 10 years seeing the membership dwindle and as always it is PFA fault.

Another licence suspended! So what’s the drill? Do I just get in line?

- Cheap words and lowest form of mud racking at gutter level. Even if some don’t like it PFA is run by a board of directors an all decisions are taken at a majority not by one person as implied, The board always consults its National Director umpire and its umpiring commission same with the coaches.Time games, Venues, Rules, Format all items mentioned are discussed with the right elected and appointed persons.I like also to remind our new member that before the arrival of Di Yeomans our treasurer we had a few interesting happening with “PA funds” being used at a casino and with a PA President disappearing never to be seen or heard off. Let’s bring back the good old days.

Not only do you refuse to take ANY RESPONSIBILITY, but you also mock player’s desire’s to make the game more enjoyable again? Remind me why you chose to become President?

-National Triple Championships
Registration as wild card of a team with 2 players who did not complied with PFA existing policies they were refused entry, a complaint was received from 2 clubs, the players club did lodge an appeal. The appeal was referred to the PFA Appeal Tribunal and the decision was accepted by PFA Board (Documents available once again)

-Competition

Some of us can remember the good old days when national championships were decide by the toss of a coin and a punch up (Preston Vic).Or in WA when the final was played at 9 pm finishing late in the night while all the players were at a restaurant in the city same in Newcastle, so yes let’s bring back the good old days.

It’s a real shame Andre, that you will never understand the real meaning of healthy camaraderie. You claim to have played sport at a high level, but yet you still don’t understand the real value of team and loyalty. Who knows, maybe if you were happier in other areas of your life, you might be less intent on using petanque to boost your low self-esteem at whatever cost.

You all have been given the opportunity to stand with an offer to access all documents not like the previous board who resigned without informing the members of their rights. By the way I have a lot of emails to confirm my comments.

So do we Andre, so do we…

André Deramond

Rather than emailing me again like an insolent child and defending EVERY ACTION you have ever taken, why don’t you demonstrate some leadership and take responsibility for once.

I'm sure your friends will back you up, oh oops; I forgot that you don’t have any friends.
I wonder why?

A taste of one's own medicine...

2009-03-03T00:43:00.006+11:00

As the administrator of this blog I feel a certain level of responsibility to my fellow petanque members. I appreciate that in order for my messages to be conveyed effectively, that a certain amount of diplomacy and tact is required…otherwise this blog will resemble a cheap slur campaign.

Recently, I have taken a back-seat role to encourage more members to have their say, and will only intervene when I believe something truly unjust or immoral has occurred (as such with the condescending email from Richard Tarlinton).

For this reason, I feel obligated to point out a comment made in Andre’s latest President’s report:

“Jean François Veyssiere, National Director of Coaching chose to resign in a very inappropriate manner after working with the PFA Board for the last 2 years, disappointing for the Board and his fellow coaches.

Jean François Veyssiere was never asked to resign or pushed to resign, his sudden outburst against the Board is difficult to understand.

Complaints have been lodged with PV by PFA Board members and PWA League for the defamatory remarks made in his letter.

No Committee Members should be subjected to such abusive and defamatory comments. Members are entitled to voice their opinions through their Club but should refrain from all unsustained and abusive comments.”

I have made certain to emphasise the statement in question as it allows me to highlight the sheer hypocrisy of everything our President stands for.

I believe his new campaign slogan should be ‘do as I say, not as I do’…

To this I will leave the subject open ended, but with absolute certainty that those members that have been privileged to receive equally abusive and defamatory emails (and it will only ever be emails because Mr President is too afraid to say what he feels to your face), will take this opportunity to comment on their own experiences.

So now I believe the slogan should be ‘a taste of one’s own medicine’…

An interesting post I found on the WHRPC website...

2009-02-26T17:23:00.010+11:00

02 February 2009

Dear Andre,

RE: Ongoing Matter

We write with respect to the PFA Presidents Report January 2009.

We note that despite the negotiated settlement of this matter, you infer in your report that the legal expenses incurred by PFA were due to WHRPC. It should be pointed out that it was PFA ‘s decision to invoke s.7.1 (b) (ii) of PFA’s Constitution, which gave rise to legal costs for PFA and WHRPC.

To keep member clubs fully informed they should be made aware that on five occasions WHRPC sought to resolve the dispute and avoid legal expenses for PFA and WHRPC:

• One of our club members met with you at your place of work to discuss the matter and seek a resolution.
• Two of our club members met with you and PFA’s former Secretary and presented a 9 point resolution to conclude the matter.
• A barrister engaged by WHRPC made a presentation to the PFA Board requesting the Board reconsider its decision to disaffiliate WHRPC.
• WHRPC’s solicitors proposed a mediated settlement to PFA’s lawyers to avoid further legal costs in the dispute.
• WHRPC appealed the Boards decision under PFA’s Appeal Policy.

All of these attempts to limit legal expense for PFA and WHRPC were rejected by the PFA Board. PFA’s legal expenses are therefore the result of PFA Board decisions. To suggest WHRPC is to blame for PFA’s legal expenses is wrong and mischievous.

We feel honour bound to our members to ensure that accurate facts are placed on the record and have done so with our members. We propose to lay out these facts on our website for other clubs to review and make their own judgement.

S:\Petanque\WHRPC\Petanque Australia 2009\email to Andre 02.02.09.doc

In a genuine effort to finally put this matter to rest we invite you to meet with authorised club representatives (or any committee members of your choice).
This meeting could for convenience be held in Melbourne, or at a location suitable to you.
This would provide an excellent opportunity for petanque to move forward.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Helmore & Ian Castle
President & Vice President
WHRPC

To Select or Not to Select...

2009-02-26T00:30:00.009+11:00

That is the question…

On one hand we are a small community striving to be recognised as a sport and on the other hand we are an established culture at risk of self-destructing.

Since the introduction of selections in 2005, the petanque scene has become a battlefield of feuding players, irrelevant statistics and prejudiced coaching personnel.

Political decisions (i.e. 2 players from Vic + 2 players from NSW) were as transparent as they were unfair. Favourite players were protected, while the rest were forced to defend their skills and win over the coaches like performing monkeys. I have no doubt that many a player compromised their dignity under the Alan Irwin regime…a campaign that left collateral damage in the form of broken friendships, vicious rivalry amongst the states and wounded spirits.

Alternatively, I hear lots of players and coaches supporting selection because it allows us to imitate other sports and the process employed in France, but are we ready?

There is no doubt of the potential benefit of having a pool of great players, ripe for the coaches picking. In fact, a selection process done without prejudice, which takes into account important factors such as compatibility, respect and rapport between players, may actually be quite successful, but who is qualified to run that?

A selection process of that calibre would require coaches to remain completely impartial, understand player’s motivations, ambitions and real potential. It would demand an equal respect for each position in the team (unlike the great Alan Irwin who favoured shooters) and lastly, it would take a great deal of respect by the players towards these selectors because without respect there is nothing.

So the debate still stands; do we allow players to make their own combinations based on their own allegiances and judgments, or should players put their trust in the selectors?

I will ask one final question; would players be more willing to travel with ‘strangers’ if their trips were being partly or fully subsidised?

Now THAT is the question...

Reckless Spending?

2009-02-24T16:51:00.009+11:00

I came across an email recently that’s been raising a few eyebrows. I was hoping someone out there in the petanque community could throw some light on these discrepancies:

Basically it says $13,035.90 has been committed by PFA to cover delegate travel in 2007/08 and costs on a court case for wrongly kicking WHR Petanque Club out of the PFA recently.

Extract of PFA 2008 Annual Report – Delegate Travel $5,040:

A. Deramond to International Congress - $2,059
R. Tarlinton to Thailand (Asia games) - $1,981
D. Marchand to Noumea (Oceania games) - $1,000

Extract from the PFA Presidential Report - Legal Costs Outstanding $7,995.90.

We have to date spent the following amounts:
April – May $1435.50 (Dispute with WHRPC)
May – June 1320.00 (Dispute with WHRPC)

We are now discussing with the Legal firm the amount charged in preparation of our defence with WHRPC. Outstanding accounts with Moores Legal:

June – July $ 3.033.80 (Dispute with WHRPC)
July – August $ 2,819.30 (Dispute with WHRPC)
August – Sept $ 2,142.80 (Dispute with WHRPC)

Total outstanding amount = $7,995.90

My questions are:
1. If PFA acted correctly in kicking out WHR Petanque Club, wouldn’t the insurance have covered ALL LEGAL COSTS? Are we left with bills totaling $7,995.90 because the PFA President had personal issues with an ex PFA director and went to whatever lengths to get back at him……at the cost of all of us members?

2. What BENEFITS have the players received from having paid for these 'delegates' to be present at those international tournaments?

A New Generation of Accountability

2009-02-22T13:14:00.019+11:00

No more will we tolerate bullying of any kind from any member of the petanque community.

Much like the tactics employed in schoolyards, bullies will be targeted and rehabilitated, otherwise they will be expelled...

What some people don't realise is that bullying can come in many forms, and as adults, it is most prevalent in the form of intimidating, cutting remarks made by email...like the instance below:

Good afternoon Bernie,

I have been told by people who attended Coonawarra last weekend, that you claimed that you were running the Petanque Tournaments at Geelong during 20-27 February.

Perhaps they misunderstood what you were saying, or perhaps you have delusions of grandeur.

Nevertheless, let me make this quite clear - you are in charge of nothing, and have nothing to do with running the Petanque Tournaments.

Please confirm to me by return email that you understand what I am stating above.

regards,

Richard Tarlinton

I'm not sure whether the appropriate analogy should be 'the pot calling the kettle black' or 'practice what you preach' to best describe the sheer IRONY of the email featured above!!!

Don't get me wrong, I don't expect anything less from the sender...

I mean, this is someone who shrugged their shoulders in indifference when replying to a player with genuine concern about the rising hostility in the petanque community... but the fact that he felt the need to berate a fellow player when HE IS NO LONGER PART OF PA is rude, disrespectful and proof that it is HE that suffers from delusions of grandeur.

I have a message for you; ADMINISTRATORS AND COACHES ARE NOT SUPERIOR TO PLAYERS.

Please blink twice if you understand what I am stating above.

The End of an Era

2009-02-20T22:03:00.002+11:00

It’s difficult to express the sadness and frustration I feel when all I can do is stand by and watch something that I love slip away. It’s like watching a beloved relative slowly be defeated by dementia. They deteriorate slowly until the day they wake up and no longer remember who you are… That’s how I feel when I think about my beloved Petanque.

We used to have so much fun. What happened?

I love nothing more than listening to stories of the good times at petanque… a time when families put aside their Sundays to spend time with other families and enjoy the sunshine and games. For some of you, you will undoubtedly be able to conjure up hilarious memories at the sheer mention of names like Dumont and Ines…Oh the antics!

I’m reminded of a time when everyone would carpool to the Australian Championships. Each player carrying feelings of hope and anticipation that maybe this year was their year, however each being reassured by the fact that whatever happened, that the Sunday night dinner would be the culmination of another fabulous season.

These National tournaments were a time to rekindle old friendships, fight it out under the hardest of conditions (for those of you that remember Newcastle 99) and form new teams for the following season.

I remember the weeks leading up to the Nationals as being electric…Social games were rampant as teams took any opportunity to train and assess their skills against their fellow players. That’s how we all improved in those days…as Friday night games became an opportunity to experiment with new combinations and a chance to showcase our newest tricks.

Games would last sometimes until the wee hours, however we didn’t mind as we were fuelled by passion, pizza and Pernod (what better combination for success?).

And whilst players changed teams nearly as often as their underwear, there was still a genuine respect and loyalty to fellow players…a kind of unspoken understanding that the desire to win was never as important as the need to be involved in a real community…because ultimately isn’t that why we play petanque instead of golf or chess?

Dreams of winning the Nationals were never far, but for most of us the interstate and winery tournaments became the highlight of the petanque calendar. Coonawarra, Avoca, Pizzini, Wollongong and Tahbilk were amongst some of the most popular tournaments of the season as each location gave players an opportunity to escape from real life and savour the game.

This was a time when the Saturday night was almost as anticipated as watching the final on the Sunday afternoon. One minute you’re fighting it out for sheepstations on the piste, and the next minute you’re doing the tango with Guy or dancing the Nutbush with Solange! And you know you had a big night if you could keep up with the likes of Jean-Claude and Christian Draschler! I mean, who could forget the banquets at Blue Pyrenees winery…they were legendary!

So now I’m sad because I’ve lost something that once meant the world to me. Something that once gave many of us a true sense of belonging and the feeling that we truly were lucky to be part of something that made us feel so alive.

So what happened?