YSTRADOWEN BOOSTS WINNING WALES TEAM
4 members of Ystradowen Petanque (Boules) Club were honoured to represent the Welsh Petanque Association as guest competitors in the English Inter-regional (national) championships last weekend at Weston-super-Mare.
Nearly 1,000 English regional players took part with Wales and Scotland competing by special invitation.
Our team (Tim Howard, Andrew Howard, Owain George & Chris Howard) all have strong Ystradowen & Aberthin links. We had a very successful and enjoyable weekend contributing strongly to a winning Welsh team. Wales topped the second division and won promotion next year to the premier league of regional competition across England, Wales & Scotland. Go Cymru 🏴
Together with Ystradowen residents Sara & Rod Howells and Dan Caunt who is part of the Williams family of Llansannor, we play in Wales as Ystradowen Irons. We qualified to play for Wales for the first time earlier in the summer so we were really pleased to have finished as the third most successful Welsh team overall.
Our other village team is called Ystradowen Newts and also plays in the Welsh Petanque league. We also have members who just play for their own enjoyment and a chance to meet up and chat.
Petanque in Wales is on the up!! We are always keen to welcome new members whether you want to play for Wales or just have a chuck and a chat.
Want to get involved!!
Yp2019club@gmail.com
A GAME FOR ALL AGES!
Everyone can enjoy the game of Petanque (French Boules) be they occasional players, club members or international specialists. Few sports offer opportunities for a wide range of people to play equally against one another. Above all, it is a very sociable game with club games and league or international competitions having a very friendly and encouraging atmosphere. You can play in a singles game with just 2 players, a doubles game with 4 or a triples with 6. Basic equipment is much cheaper than bowls as well. If you just want to play for fun you can find sets (3 boules and a ‘jack’ or ‘coche’) for under £20 online. Competition sets are a bit more expensive at around £70 but you can make use of the competition-standard Club equipment by using the contact points below. Children can play too – we have lighter, smaller sets of boules for children of 7-18 years.
The game is very easy to learn. Unlike lawn bowls, there is no bias in the balls (boules) and so learning basic technique is much simpler. Games can be played on an equal basis between people of all ages, gender and ability so anybody can play a game against just about anyone else. The rules allow wheelchair and disabled players to compete on equal terms too. Look carefully and you’ll see that our court in Ystradowen has a disabled access point through the wooden surround!!
YSTRADOWEN PETANQUE CLUB
Ystradowen Petanque Club was formed in 2019 to:
- develop the sport,
- maintain the courts (pistes) built with EU grant funding in 2018
- compete in the South Wales Clubs League
offer a route through to national and international competitions
Our club plays in Division 3 of the National League as Ystradowen Newts. Most of our team members had never played Petanque formally before the club was formed last April but we have improved our understanding and skills by meeting and learning from other more experienced players in the South Wales region.
As a result, we have steadily improved and have even won a couple of games recently against more experienced opponents!
We now have 14 fully registered members. Most of them have become confident enough even in this short time to want to play in the National League. A few others are happy just to play against friends in the village, with visitors or with others within the club. In all, about 100 people have played in Ystradowen this summer (2019).
Club nights are very informal and are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6.30 until dark. Sunday mornings from 11.00 will also see players on the pistes behind the “Astroturf”. Don’t forget we have boules that you can borrow if you want to give it a go and you can become more expert than you might think in very short time. So if you are looking for a new activity, friendly competition or to meet more people in the village, do get in touch.
First Year Report 2019
Ystradowen Petanque Club looked back on a very pleasant first year with a social get together over Christmas. We have 14 full time members and met frequently throughout the summer playing in the National League and running some internal competitions. Chris Howard and Rod Howells, who won the Club Cup and Plate titles, are seen here with JPR Williams, club member and honorary President.
It’s more difficult for the club to meet in winter because of the weather and our regular club practice sessions can’t run midweek because of the light. But we do meet up on the Parc Owain piste when weather permits and we are taking part in a Winter league on alternate Sundays until March.
Regular practice and coaching will begin again in March and all new members are very welcome. We hope to have 20 members by the time we really get going in the Spring as a few have said they would like to give it a go more regularly this coming Summer after “having a go” and making new friends in the village and beyond.
Contact Us:
If you are interested in playing please contact our club secretary, Chris Howard on 07711062421 or yp2019club@gmail.com if you want to join us at any time we have equipment available to borrow free of charge and suitable for your own needs whatever your age, ability or level of interest.We are also able to cater for small group events by arrangement.
Ystradowen 