Sixteen teams competed in the 2026 Regional Triples Tournament held at the Kapiti Pétanque Club.
The format commenced with four randomly drawn games. The top eight competed for the Trophy and the bottom eight for the Plate.
Trophy Winners were Michael Rocks, Annick Le Guen and Kevin McFadgen who beat Shirley MacDonald, Graeme Morris and Linley Wistrand.
Plate winners were Seymour, Theresa and Dan Harawira. They beat Claire Bradburn, Rachel Clarke and Peter Matthews.
Arvida Lansdowne Estate Masterton Open Triples 2026
11 March 2026
The Masterton Open Triples, which is one of the longest running tournaments in the Wellington Region was reduced to a one-day event for the first time due to a fewer number of entries.
This was due to a busy schedule for many of the regular players.
The 2026 event was sponsored for the first time by the lifestyle village Arvida Lansdowne Estate.
Eight teams participated. The format was four randomly drawn qualifying games.
Following qualification, the top four teams played semi-finals for the championship and the remaining four teams played for the plate.
The 2026 annual Open Swiss Doubles tournament took place on Sunday 22nd March at Maidstone Park on a beautiful autumn day.
Twenty two teams were entered from around the Wellington region, although one team was unable to make it so a Bye was used in each round.
Five rounds of Swiss at 60min with no extra end were played over 12 pistes, three before lunch and two after.
Swiss format is a great way to rank players or teams within just a few games, as winners are automatiocally paired against winners, while non-winners are paired against non-winners after each round.
The ranking used after each round of games was based on number of games won first, then by Buchholz 1, then by Buchholz 2 (also known as fine Buchholz), and finally by differential.
Most players are familiar with games won and differential, but tournaments such as Swiss are deemed 'fairer' using Buchholz because it takes into account the strengths (based on results at the time) of the opposing teams, scaled by the number of games played, thereby more accurately determining the true ranking.
Third place was Colin Gooch and Bob Horton, "The Young Ones" from Upper Hutt, with 4 wins. Second place was Paul Bonsey and Murray Feist "Old Duffers" from Upper Hutt, also with 4 wins. In first place was Theresa and Seymour Harawira "Untouchables" with 5 wins, from Silverstream.
Held after the WPA Committe Meeting on 19 February 2026, the draw for Round 34 is below.
Note: Upper Hutt holds the trophy after the final match in Round 33, so they are removed from the list of Challengers.
No.
Challenger
Venue
34.1
Otaki
Home
34.2
Silverstream
Home
34.3
Naenae
Away
34.4
Masterton
Away
34.5
Kapiti
Home
34.6
Manawatu
Home
34.7
Horowhenua
Home
34.8
Whanganui East
Away
Note: The venue is for the Challenger.
Jacques Cochonnet Trophy Challenge
26 March 2026
Upper Hutt team - Jacques Cochonnet Trophy winners
Otaki hosted the first challenge of the year for the JC Trophy from holders Upper Hutt, on Wednesday 25th January 2026, in warm and dry but humid conditions. The teams gathered at 09:00 and play began at 09:30.
Upper Hutt took two of the three games in the first round, and then all three in both the second and third rounds, making it 8-1 at the end when they all adjourned for a wonderful lasagna feast hosted by Otaki.
This was the 22nd consecutive win for Upper Hutt, who have been able to field a virtually unchanged team throughout the current winning streak.
The next challenge is from Silverstream to be held at Silverstream.
