FIRST EVENT OF 2008
The first competition of 2008 was the traditional Easter-egg shoot, held at the Star Inn, St Day on Sunday 30 March. Overall winners were Simon Penna of Falmouth and Paul Lancaster of Roche, who beat runners-up Steven Boyne and Caroline Hattam, both of Truro, in a close-fought final.

The event was sponsored by Skinners Brewery, who generously provided prizes in addition to the usual Easter eggs.

The next Kernow Pétanque event will be the Cornwall Triples, to be held at the Star on 20 April.

EVENING SESSIONS IN ST DAY AND TREGONY
Regular introductory and coaching sessions will be held through the summer in St Day and Tregony. New players are very welcome to come and try the game - boules are available to borrow - and existing players can take the opportunity to hone their skills.

The sessions are at the Star Inn, Vogue, St Day, on Tuesday nights, organised by the Star Inn Pétanque Club and at Tregony Sports Club, Back Lane (near the church), Tregony, on Wednesdays, arranged by members of Tregony Sports Club Pétanque Club. Both sessions begin at 6.30 and will take place each week, weather permitting.

At last: 2007 Cornwall league winners!

After a long delay, the 2007 Cornwall pétanque league finals were eventually played on Sunday 9 March 2008 at the Star Inn, Vogue, St Day. The winners were the Angel-Headed Hipsters, made up of Gordon Couch (Gorran Haven), Anthony Frost (Rosemergy, Morvah) and Jock Turnham (Truro).

Runners-up were the Rams: Wendy Booker (Carharrack), Martin Dyke (St Austell) and Peter Gliddon (Carharrack).

The final was held back from the end of the 2007 season by the unavoidable commitments of the two highest ranking teams. In the event it was a closely-fought match: each team won one of the triples games and the final result turned on the singles, with the Hipsters taking two for an overall 3-2 win.



Winners and runners-up in the Kernow Pétanque 2007 League Competition. Left to right: Angel-Headed Hipsters (Gordon Couch, Anthony Frost, Jock Turnham); the Rams (Wendy Booker, Peter Gliddon, Martin Dyke).
Kernow Pétanque AGM

The Association's Annual General Meeting was held on Sunday 24 February 2008 in the Tap Room at Skinner's Brewery, Truro.

Kernow Pétanque president Graeme Kirkham reviewed the past year, with highlights including a much-improved performance by Cornwall's squad in the national inter-regional competition in September and the number of new players who joined during 2007.

The Association also held a very successful weekend of events in June 2007 to mark World Pétanque Day and the centenary of the beginnings of the game. A winter league has also been run for the first time in a number of years, and the ground has been prepared for a successful 'twinning' arrangement with a pétanque club in Morlaix, Brittany.

On the down side, Cornwall is still very short of players in the junior age groups and more needs to be done to attract new players across the board.

Some changes were made to the Association's Officers: Susan Williamson will take over from Ruth Nicholls as Membership Secretary - warm thanks were sent to Ruth for her past contribution in this post - and Karen Lynas will aid Ruth in the Treasurer's role. Paul Lancaster, formerly of Thames Valley, becomes a coach to the region. The president thanked Regional Umpire and Playing Officer Mike Hill for all the work he had put into organising events and the league through the year.

The next AGM will take place on 16 November 2008.