After many long months where we have been unable to hold any national competitions, PE is very pleased to announce that we will be holding our 2020 National Titles competitions for Singles (Men and Women), Doubles (Men and Women) and Mixed Doubles.
The Singles will be held on Saturday 19th September, followed by the Doubles the following day, Sunday 20th September. Our Mixed Doubles will be held on Sunday 11thOctober.
Following detailed discussions with the UK Government, our sport has been given permission by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to hold events of more than 30 people if the event is being run by us as the National Governing Body and the venue is COVID-Secure, compliant with the Government COVID-19 guidelines and Pétanque England’s COVID-19 Play Safe Guidelines (available on the PE website) – please note that the restriction to 30 players, officials and spectators stated in the Play Safe Guidelines continues to apply to club and regional events not subject to the special DCMS permission.
Our 2020 Titles were due to be played at Gravesend RFC in May, and we have decided to maintain the use of this venue, due to the number of pitches that are available and the facilities on site. This ensures that we can offer a safe playing environment within our own Guidelines which we will follow scrupulously.
Our assessment of the venue leads us to restrict entries to a maximum of 72 Doubles teams, and these will be offered on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. Please note that these competitions will not form part on our National Rankings and will be standalone competitions with cash prizes offered based on the number of entries and taking into account PE’s organisational costs.
The prizes available and the playing formats will be publicised after the close of entries and prior to commencement of each competition. We will also be doing a live draw via Zoom and publishing that in advance so that players can arrive at the venue and commence play as soon as the competition and health & safety briefing has taken place. As usual, registration will take place between 0845 and 0915, with play starting at 0930.
The competitions are open to PE members holding a valid 2020 PE Licence and entries should be made online via PE’s membership system. We are unable to accept entries by post. Anyone experiencing difficulties with submitting their entries can contact admin@petanque-england.uk for assistance.
The closing dates for entries will be Wednesday 16th September at 5pm for the Singles and Doubles and Wednesday 7th October at 5pm for the Mixed Doubles. The entry fees will be £10 per player (Junior licence holders free).
Subject to availability, matches will be livestreamed on PE’s official Facebook page. Entrants will also be emailed with details of catering available at the clubhouse.
The competitions are a significant milestone in the journey back to enjoying playing our sport again, and whilst we will still be operating under controlled COVID-Secure conditions, the PE Board hopes that this 2020 return to national competitive play will lead to a full domestic programme in 2021 including National Rankings, EuroCup, National Titles, activities/competitions for our youth, espoirs and veterans, Home Nations, Inter-Regionals and Champion of Champions. Our Events Group is also planning some new competitions which we hope to deliver in 2021. The 2021 National Playing Calendar will be issued shortly.
We very much look forward to seeing our members on the pitch again at local, regional and national level and would like to thank each and every one of our members who have given us their support during these difficult and exceptional times.