A Major Survey of our Sport

Readers of this notice will fall into two camps. Players in the Pennant & 3 Shires will all know Toni and the work she puts into our sport. They will also have rubbed shoulders with the EPA, many of them having played in some of the excellent competitions they organise around the country - even overseas.

But it is different in the Fun Leagues! Here the Official Rules are often the only contact players have with the EPA. We all benefit from the effort the EPA makes in translating and publishing these Rules.

But the EPA is aware of the existance of the large number of players who play for fun and have not affiliated in anyway to the National Body. They have only to visit this website to realise that many fun players play in well organised leagues to recognisable Rules based on their own. But that's all they know.

Now they are taking an interest in this side of our sport and Toni, (bless her cotton socks) has been given the unenviable task of assessing the health of all levels of our sport in the Region as part of a wider survey.

There are many reasons why fun players have not joined the EPA and I have no intention of critising them for it -- but don't knock the EPA for taking an interest. They represent our sport, fun and serious. They need to know the strength of the sport in relation to that of other sports competing for patronage or funding of one sort and another. So Toni has just sent this email to the various leagues:

Hi
At the 2009 English Pétanque Association AGM it was decided that the management committee would set up some working groups to try to find ways to improve certain areas of our sport.

I am heading the working group looking at venues. Please take the time to fill in the questionnaire below.

Just click on the link: http://surveyconsole.com/t/ABYb5ZCvbH

If your league does not affiliate to the EPA this does not matter, I would still be most grateful for your help and information.

Please would you send this email out to the clubs in your league.

The EPA will not be trying to change any thing about your clubs/leagues/venues. I am just trying to get an over all view of venues across the country. Please feel free to email me photos of your playing area/club or with any questions. Thank you in advance for taking the time to help me with this task.

Toni Gates
Management Committee (Regional)

I put on my hat of "Webmaster of Fun Leagues" and clicked on Toni's URL. I tried to studied the questionaire thru' a Fun Player's eyes. I got worried and emailed a few questions to Toni who gave some assurance with her answers.

-------, the idea is to get an idea of what venues we have across the country, to maybe introduce the EPA to them, see if we can help them in anyway.

The data received will be for EPA committee use only and no names or contact details will be published.

At a later point I will contact clubs with venues large enough to host national events to see if they wish to go on a register for this.

Now I doubt if any of you have terrains large enough for major competition but you certainly have some quite delightful ones. I'm not sure how they could be of interest to the EPA but who knows?

Personally I trust young Toni and know that the EPA is no ogre. I see no harm in the survey and would recommend cooperation. What's in it for you? Very little I imagine, but I believe nothing but good can come of letting the EPA know of the strength and feelings of that major part of our sport which is "Just for fun".

7 February 2010