​The EPA held their Inter-Regional Championships at Hayling Island over the weekend of 16 / 17 September and Sussex Petanque had a fantastic weekend, winning both the Juniors competition and the Challenge Div 2 title (gaining promotion to Div 1 in the process). The Championship squad narrowly missed out on promotion to Div 1.

​​The final standings for the Juniors, Challenge Div 2 and Championship Div 2 can be seen below. The full results can be viewed and downloaded from the EPA website http://www.englishpetanque.org.uk/InterRegionalResults.html 

Our Juniors, Morgan Pry, Callum Slade & Ella Slade along with their manager Steven Slade were set a target of finishing in the top 3 and they certainly did not disappoint as they became the 2017 Inter-Regional Junior Champions and deservedly so for their consistent dedication and commitment to the sport. What a year the SXP Juniors and their manager have had, and it's not over yet with Morgan representing England at the World Championships in China in November.
 
Our Challenge Squad in Division 2 were made up of four Hasting’s based teams and they were superbly managed and looked after by Claire Slade. The squad was set a target of gaining promotion but clearly the bar was not set high enough for them and they went on to top the division, with the team consisting of Lisa Turner, Mark Thomas, Paul Astell and & Dean Farthing finishing as the best performing team in their division. Congratulation to all the players/teams for a fantastic performance.

Our Championship Squad of 8 teams were once again managed by Dawn Constable. They were set a target of gaining promotion from Div 2 but narrowly missed out after finishing just 2 wins short of 2nd place. Although we didn’t get promoted there were great performances from all the teams and our number 3 seeded team of Alan Constable, Matt Shrimpton & Tony Mann were the 3rd best performing team in the division with 10 out of 12 wins.

Our Sussex Petanque President, Tony Mann, said "I am extremely proud of what our region achieved this weekend, by the standard of our play across all squads & teams, by our camaraderie and support of one another, the hard work of our managers, our fantastic banter and of course our ability to socialise and party. Thank you all for an amazing weekend."

The weekend was also deeply affected by the sad loss of a very popular player Chris Best from the Northern Region. This tragic event touched everyone including those in our region who had the privilege to have known Chris and those who attended to her on the day. Sussex Petanque sends our deepest condolences to Chris's family, friends and the Northern Region

Sussex Petanque held their 2017 Over 50s Doubles Championships on 6th August at Crowborough Social Club.

The day also saw the conclusion of the Sussex 2017 Shooting Championships with the runner-up being Matt Shrimpton and this year's winner Peter May. Peter will be invited to represent us in the EPA Shooting Championships which will be held at Hayling Island during the Inter-Regional Championships.

But back to the Over 50s . . . . after the first 3 rounds of the morning no one team remained undefeated and there was still everything to play for in the afternoon.

The 2017 Sussex Over 50s Doubles Champions are Herbie Edwards & Rob Willison 
The runners-up this year were last year's Champions, David Alfred & Rohan Bedford

Both teams will be invited to represent Sussex at the EPA Over 50s Champion of Champions on Sunday 24th Sept at the Gardens of Hanbury.

Thanks to everyone who helped set up the terrains today and to those who helped with the lunchtime shooting championship conclusion. 

Sussex Petanque held their 2017 Triples Championships @ Goldsmiths PC on Sunday 16th July. A total of 10 triples teams took part and these included 5 junior players (the most Sussex have had in an event before). 

8 teams went through to a rolling seeded knockout in the afternoon with the remaining 2 teams having a 3 match play-off in the plate. The Plate was won by Lindsey MacDonnell, Lynn Andrews & Kira Croft. In the semi-finals of the Main, Herbie Edwards, Mim (Marie) Christian & Nick Christian beat Brian Chegwidden, Lynn Chegwidden & Matt Wilkins 13-3. In the other semi Jacky Broad, Debbie Gillett & Graham Gillett went 9-0 up against Jeff Mitchell, Matt Shrimpton & Tony Mann and then 12-4 up before a gruelling fightback (1 point at a time) led to Jeff, Matt & Tony winning 13-12.

The final was another close affair with Herbie, Mim & Nick leading 12-4 before another gruelling fightback by Jeff, Matt & Tony securing a 13-12 win to become the Sussex 2017 Triples Champions. Special mention to Mim who's sensational pointing at times kept her team in the game.

Some other thanks and acknowledgements. Thanks to Herbie Edwards and everyone at Goldsmiths PC for their hospitality. To everyone who helped with the Triples and Shooting paperwork and officiating. A special mention to our newest and youngest member, Charlie Shrimpton (not yet 9), playing in his first ever SXP comp and having the courage to take part in the Shooting too. Also to Lynette Carey & Andy Carey for forming a team with Charlie and looking after him during the day.

The 2nd part of 2017 Sussex Shooting Championships also took place during the lunch break. 8 players had previously taken part at our Doubles and a further 14 players took part during the Triples. The early leader Peter May (21 points) has held onto his lead despite Matt Shrimpton also scoring 21 points. On count-back Peter has achieved a higher number of 5 point scores. There will be a final chance to take part in the Shooting at the Sussex Over 50s Doubles Championships on 6th August as the demand to take part has been much higher than anticipated!!

All in all it was a very long but very full day and thanks to everyone who took part and supported the event.

There have been a quite few changes made to the Rules for the Sport of Petanque by the World Federation (FIPJP) which come into effect from 2017. These changes will affect all of us when we play, though some rules more than others. The new rules can be found on the attached document with the changes highlighted in blue.
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Below we have summarised the main changes that are more likely to affect our play (other rule changes are more likely to be relevant at major international tournaments)

1) Jacks must now be of a weight between 10 and 18 grams
2) Players must use regulation circles if provided by the organisers
3) A circle must be at least 2 metres from another circle in use
4) The team throwing the jack have only 1 attempt to throw a valid jack (it used to be 3 attempts). If they fail to throw a valid jack their opponents immediately place the jack at a valid position. The opponents may also move the circle back if the position did not allow the maximum distance for it to be thrown (10 metres)
5) If the thrown jack is stopped by a member of their team then the opponents will place the jack
6) After throwing the jack and a first boule the opponent still has the right to contest the validity of the jack except when the jack has been placed by the opponent
7) If a player picks up a circle when there are still boules to play the circle is replaced but only the opponents are allowed to play their boules
8) Players must not sweep (prepare the ground) in front of a boule to be shot
9) When an umpire is measuring players must stand at least 2 metres away
10) If a player picks up their boules from the playing area while their partner/s still have remaining boules they will not be allowed to play them
11) Players must not be absent from a game or leave the playing area without the permission of the Umpire (this is not a change) – but any absence will not interrupt the game and their partner/s must play their boules within the specified minute. If the player has not returned by the time they are to play their boules they are then cancelled at the rate of 1 boule per minute
12) An end of play is considered to have started as soon as the jack has been thrown regardless of its validity
13) For non-observation of the rules Umpires have a penalty system using yellow (warning), orange (disqualification of a boule) and red (exclusion of player) cards for various offences (this is not a change). However, when exceeding the time limit the umpire will impose a yellow card warning to the whole team
14) It is specifically forbidden to play without a top and players must wear fully enclosed shoes protecting toes and heels
15) It is forbidden to smoke during play (including e-cigarettes) or to use a mobile phone
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At the end of July Sussex held their Over 50s Doubles Championships and the winners were David Alfred & Rohan Bedford who defeated Tony Mann & Jeff Mitchell in the final. This made both teams eligible to represent Sussex at the EPA Over 50s Champions of Champions. This was held on Sunday 25th September at Hanbury PC in Essex at a quite stunning location to play pétanque. Overall there were 16 teams from 11 of the EPA regions and the morning consisted of 4 leagues of 4 teams with teams from the same region separated. 
 
David & Rohan’s opening game was against the Isle of Wight team who they defeated 13-7 having trailed 0-5. Tony & Jeff’s opening game was against the Southern Region 2 team and their strong practice form deserted them as they struggled at times to earn a 13-10 win.
 
In the second game David & Rohan played the very experienced Angie & Lee Jamieson from Kent in a close encounter. Both teams had opportunities to build a lead but failed to capitalise and eventually David & Rohan succumbed to a 10-13 defeat. Tony & Jeff however beat the Anglian 2 team 13-0 but this was a case of where the score did not reflect how well Luisa & Les from Anglia actually played.
 
So it was essential for David & Rohan to win their third game to qualify for the afternoon’s main competition and they did just that by beating the Great Western team 13-5 to finish 2nd in the group. Tony & Jeff knew they had already qualified for the main but defeated the East Midlands 1 team 13-2 winning the group and also securing the number one seeding for the afternoon.
 
In the Main Quarter Finals David & Rohan were drawn against the Anglia 1 team and despatched them with a 13-5 win. Tony & Jeff played the Eastern 2 team and found themselves 0-7 down having not played at all badly but events going against them. They soon rallied though and came back to win 13-10.
 
Both Sussex teams avoided each other in the Semi-Final draw and David & Rohan played against the Anglia 2 team. Anglia built up an early lead before David & Rohan came back in what developed to be a very tight and long game. The final end saw Rohan shooting with the last boule and getting a carreau for game winning 13-11. Tony & Jeff were drawn against Angie & Lee from Kent in another tight and long game, not helped by some slow play by the Jamieson’s which earned them a warning from the umpire. At one stage the Jamieson’s had an opportunity to win the game if they had successfully moved the jack back but despite 3 attempts by Lee they did not achieve this and Tony & Jeff were mightily relieved to be still in the game. Tony & Jeff then finally saw off the match winning 13-10 to create an all Sussex final which absolutely no one would have predicted.
 
The final was played in a great spirit with both teams commending each other’s good play and of course in the knowledge that whatever happened it was going to be a great result for our region. David & Rohan started well but in the 3rd end of play a carreau from Jeff and strong follow up pointing by both players earned them 5 points and established a lead that they never surrendered. Tony & Jeff went on to win 13-7 and proved to be very popular winners with many of the teams participating and in particular with the teams they had defeated on route to the final.
 
It was a fantastic day for our Sussex Region with all four players proud to be representing Sussex, being great ambassadors for our region and making many friends during the day.

(thanks to Tony Mann for the above report and photos below)