Community | Monkstone Pétanque Club

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The Return of Elderfit

2 August, 2026 / Webmaster / No comments

The club recently hosted two Elderfit sessions for around 10 or 12 visitors, most of whom were strangers to the game of petanque. They enjoyed the experience very much, but, in both sessions, the heat got the better of everyone and it was agreed to curtail the session for health reasons.

Our club has previously hosted Elderfit events so we were pleased to see them return and we hope to continue such sessions in the future but hopefully in cooler conditions.

Thanks to Roger, Mike, Spencer, Vickie & Bernard for helping organise the sessions and supervising the play and thanks to Gareth for bringing his Elderfitters to the Club.

Category: Community, Friendship /

Marie Curie Visit MPC

28 July, 2026 / Webmaster / No comments

Monkstone PC is always willing to support local charities and our latest event was a taster session in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. We hosted twelve novices who were all eager to learn the mysteries of petanque. Mike Jones welcomed the group to our club and explained the safety rules. After an expert demonstration of the basics by Lloyd and John Maroney, we split our visitors into teams of doubles and got them playing, with each group having a volunteer on hand to show them the ropes.

It was a perfect occasion for playing petanque, the heat of the day having eased into a balmy evening. Our visitors took to the game very quickly, showing some keen competition and a good level of skills. Everyone seemed to really enjoy this new sporting experience and at the end of the session they were happy to take advantage of the bar and refresh themselves en plein air.

Many thanks to Mike, John & Carol, Lloyd and Sean for their support.

Roger Griffin

PS. One of those who joined this taster session has already been back to the club and is keen on joining.

Category: Community, Fund Raising /

It’s Petanque, Jim ……………..

19 May, 2025 / Webmaster / No comments

…………… but NOT as we know it!!

Last Thursday, a small group from the Club were invited by, Tomas Martin who works for Disability Sport Wales as Boccia Coordinator, to a Welsh Paralympic Performance Session for Boccia – a game very similar to petanque in many ways but with some notable differences, amongst them:

the jack is as big as the boccia balls
the balls are like mini stuffed footballs that range from squidgy to very hard and each player can have a selection of balls of differing hardness – unlike petanque where, in a set, each boule is identical
the players sit in a line alternating each team so that each player from a team has a different view of the game which often determines who plays the next ball
players who are unable to throw a ball use a ramp similar to the one we used to roll pennies down at the funfair – but much larger. (these players are known as “rampers”). Normally “rampers” would not play against “throwers”
the winner is determined after a fixed number of ends not by reaching a certain score
as in petanque there is a plethora of minor rules which were explained to us but would take too long to repeat here

The evening started with introductions and a chat about boccia. Tomas, who has competed for Wales in various international events, is the grandson of our own club member, Tony Martin who took most of the photos in this article.

Then it was down to the Sports Hall where we split up into 2 teams to play a couple of sessions each against the “throwers” and the “rampers”. By the end we were beginning to get the hang of it, getting balls relatively near to the jack and even shooting.

Tomas Martin with the Monkstone Team

I am not sure if anyone knew the final result but it didn’t matter – everyone had a great time and an evening to remember and Inclusivity in Sport was the winner!

A big thank-you from Monkstone Petanque Club to Tomas and all the other players and volunteers who made the evening such a success and good luck to Wales Paralympic Boccia team in the future.

WNSCb

Category: Community, Friendship /

2024 Club Doubles

13 October, 2024 / Webmaster / No comments

Good turnout today for the Club Doubles competition. 40 members, including for the first time 4 members of our Junior Section (Maddie Bartlett, Kitty Johnson, Lina & Teilo Muenier) competed under leaden skies but least the rain held off.

The format was the usually 3 round melee where partners were drawn from to seeded pots to try to balance the teams in experience. Games were untimed.

After Round 1 the leaders were Sean Smith/Paul Hawkins (+9) followed by Vickie Adshead/ Linda Thomas (+7) and John Maroney/Lloyd Kinsey (+6). Maddie Bartlett with her partner (& uncle) Gareth Bartlett was the only Junior winner (+2).

When the scores came in it looked as though Sean/ Paul had an unassailable lead on 2 wins (+20). Their nearest challengers were Robin Ralph/ Leon Sofianos (+11) with Peter Kensett/Tony Cooper, Mike Jones/Andrew Siso and John Maroney/Lloyd Kinsey all on (+9).

So it was on to the final round. Mike/Andres (+10) & Peter/Tony (+18) had both won but their points difference was not enough to overtake Sean/Paul – all they needed was a win, however small, to take the overall trophy. There was also a pair of new kids on the block, Maddie/Gareth who had recorded their 3^rd win 13-1 for (+17) – to avoid their blushes I won’t name the team they beat (but if you study the results carefully its there for all to see!)

News came in from the final game on the pistes between Sean/Paul and Roger Griffin/John Edwards that the score was tight but eventually Roger/John triumphed and ended Sean/Paul’s hope of winning the competition.

The presentations followed and Maddie took the Best Junior award while Peter/Tony took the overall winner trophy.

FINAL SCORES

PRESENTATIONS

President Mike Jones presents the Best Junior trophy to Maddie Bartlett

President Mike Jones presents the overall winner trophy to Tony Cooper who received it on behalf of himself and his partner, Peter Kensett, who had had to leave early.