Fun weekend for masters of the boules

It seemed to be not so much about who could boule best, but who had the best outfit at the Masters Games petanque over the weekend.

Two expat Englishmen now living in Wanganui, plumber Dave Davies and gasfitter Andy Simons, were proudly displaying their heritage by wearing St George's Cross flags as capes. Their mates, fellow tradies Mike Goodey and Alex Mitchell, were playing in their "Platonkers" team T-shirts, with the cheeky legend "You're not going after my boules are you?" on their backs. Many of the teams wore similar attire, be it matching Hawaiian shirts, pool ball-covered tees or even berets and neckerchiefs.

But it was two Wanganui women, Lorette Coburn and Jackie Dowman, who took home the prize for best dressed with their Greek-inspired outfits complete with togas, sandals and olive wreaths. It was a small comfort to the pair, who were knocked out of the competition without winning a match.

Sue Gurr, who has been involved with the Masters Games since the beginning and is also a trustee, is a petanque player too but this time was more involved with the administration side of the event. "I've been playing petanque for about 10 years. We're away most weekends playing tournaments all over the country, like at Kapiti two weeks ago, and I was offered to be part of the national seniors side but I decided to be here for the games instead."

She said until recently the petanque players only had one area on which to play.

"The Masters Games people asked us if we could use two areas, and we said yes as long as you supply the terrain.

"Now we have this wonderful terrain set up in the middle of the village which we will use today and tomorrow, and then next week it can be used for the bocce and the woodchopping."

Yvonne Futcher, who will next week be travelling to Khandallah to try out for a spot on the national side, had the unenviable job of making up the draw for the two days of competition.

She said the Wanganui East Club had been very helpful in providing the circles in which the players shoot from, and the scoreboards at the end of each run.

By mid-afternoon yesterday the timers had been switched off, and the matches were getting close. Two by two the players were knocked out and sent to sit in their tents and cheer on those who remained in the running.

Platonkers Mike and Alex played against husband and wife team Shane and Rebecca Matthews in the bronze medal decider but missed out on the silverware by a few points. Fellow Brits Dave and Andy, however, defeated locals Andrew Lewis and Barry O'Leary in their final to take home the first place ribbon.

The gold medal was won by Otaki Bowling & Petanque Club members Gary and Diane Brunton who beat out Wanganui men Dave Smith and Steve Meredith, a victory made all the more interesting as the "Ball Boys" are said to only ever play petanque at the Masters Games and were rarely seen without a beer in their hands.

Mike Goodey summed up Masters Games petanque after his final match. "It's one of the best sports there is, because even though there are rules - and some people who follow them really closely - it's all just so relaxed and fun."