Preparing for the National Triples 2008

The National Triples is the premier event in the New Zealand pétanque competition calendar. Previous tournament winners have been invited to represent New Zealand at the World Championships. Nowadays, it is part of the qualification process for becoming a national representative.

Whatever your objectives in taking part in the Championship - be it win a National title, qualify for national representation or simply play at your best, the process of preparing for the tournament is essentially the same. Preparation involves training, playing competitive games and planning.

For a good summary of what is involved in preparing for a tournament see Michael Emerson's report on the 2005 World Championship. (Not archived)

Over the coming weeks, a programme on preparing for the National Triples will appear here. The below table counts down the weeks to the tournament. The table also shows the minimum number of training sessions that should be undertaken each week and gives details of any tournmaments that should be considered as part of your preparation.

Ideally, you will be competing as your National Championship team in Triples events. However, in the absence of a Triples tournament, try and take part in one of the strong Doubles tournaments.

The National Triples has been allocated to Auckland and is likely to be staged at the Herne Bay club. Once the venue has been confirmed, a suggestion on what terrains in Wellington replicate the Auckland piste will be added.

This page will be updated at least once a week. If you have specific topics you would like covered, then contact Michael Rocks (phone 04-973-0011)

Previous Championship winners