Club

Tue 09th Feb, 2016 Issue: 72

Swipe, swipe, swipe!

CPC member and committee person Robyn has three little words for you, "Swipe, swipe, swipe". Every time you buy a drink or food and swipe your card at the yacht club or any Southern cross club establishment you are adding to the CPC coffers. Arguably, it's one of those unique situations where drinking to excess is actually a good thing!. It is a slow but steady trickle of money but it adds up and we desperately need some cash flow. Robyn informed the committee as to earnings accrued and suggested that future earnings be set aside for future licensing payments (2025). This was agreed upon by the committee as a prudent measure that will see the club in good financial shape for its future financial commitments. Thanks Robyn.

Tuggeranong sparks up; Good tidings from Tuggeranong with last week finally busting the numbers drought. Saturday 6th Feb was a particularly pleasant one with a solid 8 and idyllic weather. 8 players is the minimum for some good combinations and games and so it was. Not only that we also had two good 'bites' and we may well pick up some new players. If the drought is busted, and I guess the next few weeks will tell, then I would like to especially thank Annette, Heike and Hannan for keeping the dream alive at Tuggeranong. Without them Tuggeranong would have been a dead duck months ago. I will bring the club trolley along again as we may need some spare boules. Thanks guys! - Update - Sat. 13th Feb! - Oh dear back to (4)

Feedback please; Let's be realistic, where else or what sport or activity these days charges $25 dollars for a full year of fun and entertainment. $25 is what the club charges you at present to be a member of the CPC. In addition the PFA (Petanque Federation of Australia) charges you another $30 to license you and cover your insurances. So all up you pay a fee of $55 per annum. "Cheap as chips", I hear you roar!. The PFA component we have no say over and is a given but I would like to discuss with members and put forward the suggestion that we up our club fees to a more realistic $40 - $50 per annum. This would help keep our bank balance at a more workable level where we do not have to constantly scrape the barrel for even the most minor of expenses. Let me make it clear, we are not in the business of making money but we do need to be able to pay our way, all be it in a small way. Please give the committee your thoughts on this and I would encourage you all to discuss this. My parting shot is this, $25 (Current membership) divided by 52 weeks comes in at 48c per week. What on earth can you buy for 48c these days, a laughable bargain I am sure you agree, Your comments welcome on this proposal please?

Another beautiful image taken of the CPC army at Wollongong. 'A pause between battles' is the caption for this image with plenty of ammunition lying on the ground. I think it is safe to say it was a wonderful and successful weekend away enjoyed by all. Image by B.Wyatt

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Coat of arms; Jim jokingly mentioned to me, "Why don't you design a 'coat of arms' for our Weston Park Boulodrome Ivo?", incorporating our continued interaction with Weston Park fauna who continually delight in leaving their calling cards behind for us to clean up. What the President wants he gets!. So here you go Jim, the unofficial Weston Park Boulodrome coat of arms! guaranteed to lift the spirits of the sweepers.

Lapel pins;

A self funded initiative

between Sebastian, Ivo, Catherine and Jim will make available to you shortly this attractive accessory. Ideal for hats or caps but also as possible CPC gifts or awards to individuals. The 20c coin sized silver plated enamel disc with safety pin will have the CPC logo with the words 'Capital Petanque Club' and 'ACT' emblazoned on it. You can place an order with the above 4 individuals at the cost of $6 per pin. We have ordered 100 units so plenty available.

Weston Park add-ons;

There is no doubt that the CPC committee has

established a good working relationship with TAMS and ACT Govt. which is paying dividends quicker than we thought. A combination of insider knowledge of procedures at local government level by the likes of Robyn and Sebastian has certainly helped facilitate all this but I suspect it is more than just that. I detect a certain goodwill and willingness to help by officialdom to achieve not only their goals at Weston Park but also ours at the same time. It's a mutually beneficial 'love in' at present with almost weekly contact by both parties to further the progress of what has already been achieved. Long may this vibe continue. OK, we have not achieved every request but here is a list of successes and failures. Onsite parking has been denied, for now, except for special events where we can request a key for the duration of the event. We will revisit this issue at a later stage. The positives are as follows; signage both next to the piste and location street signage will happen in months. In future all we have to tell interstate visitors is to drive to Weston Park and then look for the Petanque sign. Storage is also happening with permission granted for us to use the Female toilet in the disused toilet block nearby. This will be converted to a CPC storeroom and will happen in weeks. The CPC will have key access to this storeroom so chairs and tables are back on for autumn and winter. CPC storage was a big ticket issue for us and I am amazed it has been so quickly resolved. Water bubblers, future shelter options and lighting are still things to be discussed but as you can see things are happening almost continuously and progress is being made.

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$6 Only!$6 Only!$6 Only!$6 Only!

Image by C. Alexander

Mark's Back scratcher; CPC Piste manager, Mark Cooper has been busy in his garage again and has come up with prototype No.2 for the ultimate solution to our piste sweeping gear. This baby is a much lighter more efficient tool that will lightly scratch the surface and level it up as it is pulled over our piste leaving an immaculate finish in its wake. This gear has been influenced by a similar device we saw at the Wollongong Petanque club some weeks ago, however Mark has refined it, simplified it and come up with what I think is a much better version. Road testing is in progress as we speak but I think it will pass the test with flying colours and become standard issue for all 'CPC sweepers' from now on. Once again Mark your initiative and drive is highly commendable. You have the uncanny ability to make things happen with a minimum of fuss or deliberation, all power to you for that!

A bit similar to a comb or a garden rake with closely spaced teeth (screws) acting as scratchers of the surface picking up debris and then levelling it.

Missing rings;

A recent CPC audit has discovered the loss of two plastic rings. A white and a blue one. No doubt they were lent out to individuals some time ago and are probably tucked away in some car boot or garage. No problems with that at all but we need to account for them and note their location. If you have one or both please let Mark Cooper or Ivo know. Thanks.

G’day members:

We had three new players with us at Weston Park on Sunday. Jillian was a member of the Subiaco

Pétanque Club in WA until she and her husband moved to Canberra about six years ago. Pity it took her so long to find us. Kim and Storm are from Wellington in New Zealand. Welcome to you all. Mark Cooper is coordinating club members to undertake piste maintenance at Weston Park, and during the month of January Ivo volunteered his time to keep the piste clean and swept. Many thanks Ivo. Mark has volunteers to cover the immediate future, but he would love to hear from any members who would like to add their names to the to the piste maintenance roster. At the beginning of the month Ivo, Seb and I had a meeting with TAM’s staff. Although we are a small club, it was obvious that we are held in quite high regard, which is a real tribute to our club members who guided the liaison with TAM’s during the construction of the new piste. Thanks in particular to Seb, Ivo and Robyn for helping build this good relationship with TAM’s. At the meeting we signed the licence for the piste at Weston Park, which has a duration of 10 years. The other main issues to come out of the meeting are that access through the locked gate will only be available for special events; the government will fund new signage for us at the piste and on the road; and they have agreed that we can use a decommissioned toilet near the piste to store club “stuff”, but we will have to provide a lock. For the quarter to the end of December we received $360 through the Southern Cross Club “community rewards programme”. Many thanks to Robyn for your work on this initiative, and members please make sure you join the Southern Cross Club, have your name listed as a member of Capital Pétanque, and swipe you card whenever you make a purchase at any Southern Cross venue in Canberra. At the last committee meeting it was agreed to put future income from the “community rewards programme” into an interest bearing account to cover the licence fee at Western Park when it falls due in 2025. This will allow funds accumulated from club membership fees to be used for activities that more directly benefit club members. You will note that in this issue of the Boulesheet that Ivo has initiated a discussion on annual membership fees. These have not changed in five years, and members currently pay more for their PFA affiliation than they do for their membership fees to support our club activities. There are a number of activities that currently require expenditure, and the most urgent is an update of our website, and we also need to sort out the hosting arrangements for the website. A former employer of Ivo’s son currently hosts our site, and that organization is probably not aware that we are still tagging along on its coat tails. This is clearly unsustainable, and we need to arrange alternative hosting. The last committee meeting also agreed to trial a club Facebook page. This is a modern communication method and most Australian Pétanque clubs, and PFA, have Facebook pages. Members going to Hobart for the mixed doubles competition have been informed that information about the competition is being released via the Hobart clubs Facebook events page. We are aware that not all members are on Facebook, and we need to ensure that the Boulesheet and email remain the communications method for all important club information. We will also ensure that members are consulted on whether images of them can be used on Facebook. For those with a Facebook account have a look at the new page by searching “Canberra Pétanque ”. Many thanks to Catherine and Annette for taking the lead on this initiative, and also to Sarah for her invaluable support. For those who do not have a Facebook account, but would like to try it, ask Annette or Catherine for guidance if you need it. Ivo has set-up his Facebook account and now has 10 new Facebook friends!!! Finally the last committee meeting agreed to Catherine and my proposal that the next Alexander mixed doubles competition be on April 24th. Have fun on the piste, Jim

Edges trimmed;

Part of the Weston Park boulodrome upkeep is that TAMS mows the grass around the piste and so far they have kept to the bargain, but lately we have noticed some weeds creeping over the concrete edge invading the piste proper. OMG........ but no fear dear readers, Mark Cooper and his trusty whipper snipper to the rescue. Done and dusted, edges trimmed and the place looks immaculate once more. When only the best will do for you dear players.

But guess what?, Mark may have to place notices in the park if and when he whipper snipper's again so as to comply with noise and safety (OH&S) guidelines. I am not joking, the joys of bureaucracy in all its glory!, shades of 'Yes Minister'. Good onya Mark and many thanks for a

job well done and long may your whipper snipper power up.... and roar!

Petanque Aces; Arguably some of the greatest Petanque players in the world. There are many more and they change continuously with new names and faces appearing all the time. No doubt there are favourites with fans arguing their skills as better than others and it is hard to determine and maybe impossible to say who is exactly the best player in the world at any given time. However run into any five of these guys in a game of Petanque and you will crash and burn! Hard to find female players on the web but they do exist and I will do some research and post images for next Boulesheet.

Dylan ROCHET, Petanque pin up boy. A terrific shooter, he is part of the younger generation of top players

Phillippe SUCHAUD, my favourite player, a shooter extraordinaire, rarely misses

Phillippe QUINTAIS, possibly one of the greatest players of all time, good at both shooting and positioning

Marco FOYOT, the father of modern Petanque, getting on in age now but still a great player

Henri LACROIX, always seems to be in the finals, deadly at both attacking and positioning