Norwich Players Represent Anglia at Inter-Regional Championships

Four Norwich Pétanque Club members proudly represented the Anglia region at the Pétanque England Inter-Regional Championships in Weston-super-Mare on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 September.

Gavin Seymour, Jonathan Gracie, Mervyn Bell and Mark Bell competed as Anglia 7 in Championship Division 1. As the competition was played as triples, three members represented the team at any one time, with substitutions made throughout the weekend.

A strong start on Saturday

On the opening day, Anglia 7 played against the number-seven teams from seven other regions.

Jonathan, Gavin and Mark made an excellent start, defeating Heart of England 13–5 before recording an impressive 13–1 victory over the Isle of Wight. Those results briefly placed them second among the tournament’s leading teams.

Their winning run ended against Welsh PA, who took the third-round match 13–4.

Mervyn joined Mark and Jonathan for round four against Suffolk Coastal, but despite a determined performance, Anglia 7 were beaten 13–8.

Gavin returned alongside Mark and Jonathan for the next match, helping the team bounce back with a 13–7 victory over Kent.

Round six brought one of the closest games of the weekend. Jonathan, Gavin and Mark were playing well against Chiltern before Mark suffered a shoulder injury, requiring Mervyn to enter as a substitute. The match went down to the final boule, with Chiltern narrowly winning 13–12.

Jonathan, Gavin and Mervyn completed the first day against Southern, losing another competitive game 13–10.

Battling through Sunday

With Mark still struggling with his shoulder injury, Jonathan, Gavin and Mervyn began Sunday’s matches against the number-eight teams from the other regions.

Kent won the opening game 13–1 before Chiltern defeated Anglia 7 by 13–8. Mark entered for the final end of the Chiltern match to test his shoulder ahead of the next round.

Jonathan, Gavin and Mark then started against the Isle of Wight. Mark managed four ends before his injury forced him to come off, with Mervyn taking his place and helping the team complete a 13–6 victory.

Another extremely close contest followed against Heart of England. Mark replaced Mervyn during the game, helping the team recover and level the score at 12–12. Unfortunately, Heart of England claimed the deciding end to win 13–12.

For the final match, Mark joined Jonathan and Mervyn against Suffolk Coastal. Gavin replaced Mervyn midway through the game, proving to be a turning point as Anglia 7 finished the weekend with an excellent 13–9 victory.

The Norwich quartet recorded five victories across their 12 matches on some very challenging terrains. Their results contributed towards Anglia’s overall total of 45 wins, securing fifth place in the Championship competition.

Cody impresses in the junior competition

Norwich was also represented in the junior event by Cody Greener, who played for the Juniors Combined 2 team alongside young players from other regions.

The team played 11 matches across the two days and finished an impressive sixth out of 12 teams after recording six victories.

It was a particularly strong achievement considering the players had not met one another until the first morning of the competition, let alone previously played together as a team.

Could you represent Anglia in the future?

The Inter-Regional Championships provided a fantastic weekend of competitive pétanque, teamwork and regional pride.

If representing Anglia sounds like something you would like to aim for, the first step is to obtain a Pétanque England competition licence. You can then enter the regional qualifying competitions held near the beginning of each season.

Once licensed, you will receive information about upcoming competitions and qualification events. Alternatively, you can contact Mark Bell at mark.bell@norwich-petanque.co.uk to find out more.