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The past year has been a time of ups and downs for the Region. It is pleasing to hear from clubs report that their memberships are growing and the standard of play of most members has definitely improved. The calendar for the year is filling rapidly with a wide range of tournaments, and it is often difficult to choose which event to attend. The regional events continue to be popular with good entries in most of them.
It was really great to have members of the Wellington Region in the teams that represented New Zealand in Grenoble and Singapore and of course the open and seniors teams that beat Australia so convincingly in May. Well done to all of you and good luck to the teams selected for 2007. The World champs are a wee way away but the Trans Tasman is at the end of April and I'm sure the team would like to retain the trophy again this year.
It was disappointing to hear and read the criticism of the WPA executive late last year. I have been active in many organisations for over 40 years and have never heard such destructive comments. All sports bodies in New Zealand have, over the years, grown by the hard work and efforts of the competitors. If we wish to continue to grow, and be accepted as a national sport that gets funding to attend overseas tournaments, we need to be careful that we don't shoot ourselves in the foot putting disruptive and controversial comments on websites where they can been seen by those people we are wanting support from. I am not saying that there is no room for criticism. Rather, work it out in the confines of the clubs and regions and better still, get involved and do your bit for the game.
I would like to thank Beverley for her work and support over the year and Brian for keeping our books clear and solvent. I might be the person up front but they both do many hours work behind the scenes and on your behalf I thank them both.
Pétanque is a wonderful game and we can all have many more years of fun if we just lighten up, put on a smile and treat other people as we would like them to treat us.
Fay Doyle