On behalf of the Wellington Pétanque Association (WPA) I pass on our condolences to their families and to club members who have not only lost valuable club members but also friends.
Although the changes to the running of WPA tournaments have worked well, and I thank the clubs for their continuing support and hard work, I do want to make some minor adjustments that will ease the pressure on clubs as several clubs are struggling as playing numbers reduce. This will be outlined when the new seasons calendar is released shortly, and we ask clubs to nominate the tournaments they would like to host.
I would like to pass on my thanks to Tony Simpson and Clive Williams who have umpired our regional tournaments over the past year. Also, thanks to those who have assisted Tony and Clive.
Tony is resigning as Umpire Co-ordinator as he wants to concentrate more on playing Petanque. I thank him for his time and effort that he has put into the role.
There is still a need to recruit more umpires and I encourage all current and past players to consider becoming an umpire. It certainly makes running a tournament a lot easier when we have one or two umpires keeping an eye on play and players.
Our finances continue to be in a healthy position with $20,117.49 in the bank, which is a slight reduction from $20,421.93 in 22/23.
Affiliation fees are down from last year which reflects the reduction in club membership, and this has also had an impact on the number playing in the WPA tournaments which reduced to 195 this year compared to 222 in 22/23. The drop in numbers has seen a reduction in the amount we have spent on trophies.
There has been an increase in coaching expenses, but I see this as a positive and not a negative. There is a strong desire from players to receive more coaching and this has been reflected in the increased numbers attending the coaching/training run by Graeme Morris. I know clubs strongly support coaching/training sessions.
I would like to pass on my appreciation to Brian Smith for taking on the role as Treasurer and thank him for his wise input at the WPA meetings.
A huge thank to Graeme Morris for running the coaching/training sessions with support from Shirley Macdonald and Barbara Nicholls.
The coaching/training sessions are proving to be very popular, and this has seen the focus of these sessions change from just concentrating on the representative players but also on those players who want to improve their playing ability and their strategic approach to the game. This can only be a positive and increase the competitiveness of our regional tournaments. The coaching/training will also give players the encouragement to enter regional and national tournaments as their confidence improves.
The Chanticleer Trophy was played in Wellington in 2023 which saw Auckland take the trophy back off Wellington. The tournament was played at Manawatu where Auckland brought a very strong team down to the Manawatu. The next challenge is in Auckland later this year.
The Tri-Star was played at the Ashburton Pétanque Club. Both Southern and Canterbury had very strong teams competing in the tournament which saw Wellington struggle.
The next challenge is in Wellington later this year.
Thank you to Anne Grant for keeping the website up to date and I appreciate the quick response Club’s have made to Anne’s requests.
Please remember, if Anne does not receive the information, it will not go on to the website, so the onus is on clubs to get the information to Anne as quickly as possible.
Firstly, a huge thank you to Simon Grant and to Claire Bradburn for all the work they have done to date in getting our constitution up to date.
There is no immediate pressure on the WPA to complete our new constitution as we await advice from several groups, including Pétanque NZ.
An updated constitution will be included on the Agenda for the AGM in 2025.
On behalf on the WPA I would like to pass on my congratulations to all players who were selected for National and Regional representative teams. It is an honour and a privilege to play for New Zealand and Wellington and it is pleasing to see your hard work has paid off.
I would like to pass on my thanks to Simon Grant who has continued to do a fantastic job as Secretary. I certainly appreciate the time he spends ensuring all his Secretarial duties are up to date and completed.
To the Clubs, I thank you for continuing to put your name forward to run our tournaments and for the work you have done in organising and running the tournaments.
I also would like to thank the club delegates for your attendance at our meetings and the input and contributions you all have made.
It is also pleasing to see those holding the positions of President, Treasurer and Secretary have agreed to stand again. I thank them for this as it does give us good continuity going into the 24/25 year.
Kevin McFadgen
WPA President