Upper Hutt Petanque Club took on Naenae, Silverstream and Masterton in the Baine Trophy on Sunday 20th September at Masterton, on a beautiful sunny day, though a cool wind at times. The Bain Trophy is an annual tournament between these clubs and is intended to involve as many newer players as possible in friendly competition. This year each club entered three doubles teams for 4 rounds of games, with player replacements allowed between each round. This allowed newer players to participate in partnership with more experienced players and include more players overall. Our teams were purposely selected with this in mind from the 11 players participating, although smaller clubs did not have sufficient newer members to do so. Whilst this mix could be a disadvantage, it gives newer players a better grounding for future tournaments. However, we proved to have the best team overall by winning 6 of the 12 games played, beating Silverstream by just one game in the end. The trophy was presented to Upper Hutt by Masterton, the previous holders. It was a great day and everyone enjoyed it. Well done to all participants, supporters, and of course the hosts, Masterton Petanque Club.

Next year the tournament will be hosted at Upper Hutt’s Maidstone Park.

Source: Upper Hutt Petanque Club

23/09/26