Seniors National Championship

"Age ... is a matter of feeling, not of years" -George William Curtis

19/07/06 This is not really a proposal. It is more a question, and it goes like this: Is having an official Seniors National Championship a good thing for Petanque in New Zealand?

If you look at it, seniors can already go to the Masters Games. and the Trans Tasman also has a special senior section. I am wondering if this is enough, and if we are in danger of unintentionally marginalising this group.

I am not aware of a "Seniors National Championship" in Lawn Bowls. (a physically similar sport to ours).

When I look at the so-called seniors in NZ Petanque, I see a group of vibrant people who can teach the younger players a thing or two when it comes to our game. I am not at all sure about a Seniors National Championship. What do you think? -Tom van B.

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Comment 1 Are you having a 'bad day' Tom, don't bury us before the coming Senior National Championships... Yes, the Trans Tasman Challenge was great for the Seniors. Masters Games is NOT a real challenge, just matured sports people having real fun. You should be aware that there are Veterans, Masters, Golden Oldies and Seniors in many National Sports. The biggest percentage of club petanque players in NZ is Seniors, and we deserve to have a National Tournament once a year.

We are not here to only teach the younger players.. Us 'SENIORS' can and do, play serious competitive petanque. -Rex Hayes.

Comment 2 This is exactly my point Rex - I agree with you. Like you, I do not see how "seniors" are in any way lesser Petanque players in need for a protective environment or setting.

(I still remember how during 2006 Kath & Kaye Alison won from Dirk Winnie & David Lippard in a strong tournament in Hawkes Bay.)
I am not at all against tournaments for seniors, I am just wondering what the purpose is. Unlike highly physical sports such as running or cycling, a fit 40 year old Petanque player has no advantage over a fit 70 year old Petanque player. This age-equality is one of the unique and nice things about our sport. I deem it totally correct however, to have categories such as Veterans, Masters, Golden Oldies and Seniors in Triathlons. -Tom van B.

Comment 3 (from England) just to let you know that the english petanque ass. have their over 50 competition this weekend at Brighton, the terrains run along side the beach, the temps this weekend should be around 30 degrees C. Hope us oldies can keep up the pace. -Jeff.

Comment 4 Hey Jeff, that is great - don't forget your sunhat. Wow, 50+, this would just about be all our 1200 affiliated New Zealand players!. Jeff, could you tell us what other categories you have under the English Petanque Ass. Also, just to come back to the original question on this Post, do you think it necessary to partition petanque players by age group. Thanks for your input. -Tom van B.

Comment 5 On page 8 of the PNZ magazine (winter issue) I read:

".... finally reached a point in your playing career where you have the opportunity to prove you are good enough to play for New Zealand. It might be the Seniors but it is still New Zealand."
On the PNZ website I read:
"PNZ to confirm with Petanque Australia what the status of senior participation in the Trans Tasman challenge will be for 2007 onwards. If agreement is made that the senior competition is to be through a selected process (competitive) rather than it being a social event, then seniors will be eligible for the same allocation of funding as the open team, from any grant applications made by PNZ"
This makes me think I may be barking up the wrong tree, and people genuinely believe that older participants are less capable Petanque players. In that case it is better to perpetuate what I believe to be a myth, and have Senior tournaments. These Senior events could in the future be further divided into age groups 50+ 60+ 70+ etc.. The question of National Senior Female Tournaments should also be raised - just to be fair. Please remember, the division between male and female players is already firmly entrenched. We in New Zealand think (just like the ultra conservative Europeans) that males are superior over females when it comes to Petanque. Can I conclude from all this that a "senior female Petanque player" is by definition the least capable of our players. Oh... the dangers of partitioning people are many. -Tom van B.

Comment 6 23/02/07. Have today discovered that Australia has "over 60" male and "over 60" female events. Well...., there you are. -Tom.

Comment 7 01/04/07. The winners of the 2007 Peugeot National Triples:

1st) Ron Sandilands, Murray Porter and Simon Fabey. 13

2nd) Seti Mailei, Andrew Mailei and Georgio Vakauta. 06

Two members of the winning team are "seniors". These "seniors" are now going to represent New Zealand in the Word Championships in Thailand this year!. If you also take into account the calibre of the second place-getters, you surely have to agree with what I am trying to say on this page: "Seniors" do not need a special protective environment in order to do well in Petanque. This doesn't mean of course, that we can't or should not have "senior" events. We just need to be clear about the reasons why we have them, that's all.

 

In the light of all of the above on this Wiki page, I would love it for someone to put up a reason for having "senior" events, other than "Australia does it" or "The OLD Country does it". -Tom.

Comment 8 16/07/07. It is interesting that players that have represented New Zealand overseas, are not to play in interregional matches such as the Wellington Vs Auckland clash. However, seniors are excluded, and can play. There seem to be some inconsistencies here. Why are seniors treated differently?. Does this mean that Ron Sandilands and Simon Fabey can play, but Murray Porter can't?.

"There was some initial confusion regarding the eligibility of Senior NZ Representatives. The selections were based on the Wellington Selection Policy and the intention was never to exclude our Senior NZ Representatives. The wording in our policy will need to be altered to make this absolutely clear."

 

Text taken from this PAGE. -Tom.

Comment 9

"I understand from David Lippard that Ron's score of 27 was the best any New Zealander has scored at an International competition including the Worlds. Not bad for a 72 year old."
-Murray Porter.

The above quote by Murray Porter was inserted by me (Tom van B). I rest my case.

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