New club holding open day this Sunday
EVERYONE is welcome at the Dunedin City Petanque Club’s open day this Sunday from 10am4pm.
The event gives the club the opportunity to show off its new facilities at 81 Eglinton Rd in Mornington, and for the public to check out the sport.
Spokesperson and Petanque New Zealand president Stefany Frost relates that it has been a major undertaking to develop the club.
Initially part of another club, the members set up the Dunedin City Petanque Club in order to be able to host national competitions.
It’s taken four years of fundraising and hard work to get the Eglinton Rd facility to the stage it is now.
‘‘We took out a lease on the old croquet club, which had been vacant for 20plus years,’’ Stefany says. ‘‘We started planning and fundraising and raised quite a lot of money, well over $130,000, with a few grants and every form of fundraising you can imagine.’’
The small group of members who initiated the club’s formation has dwindled a little over those four years, but much of the development work has been done by the passionate core.
While contractors have been called in where necessary, the club members have done what they can themselves to save money, including everything from spreading gravel to building retaining walls.
Although the terrain work was completed a year and ahalf ago, the club had to wait until recently for its clubrooms to become available. The building is a former classroom from Fairfield Primary School.
‘‘Now it’s on site and we’re very excited to have a facility and be able to start promoting the club,’’ Stefany says. ‘‘It’s hard to do that without power or toilets. Now we’re all systems go.’’
Prior to the clubrooms’ relocation, last December the Dunedin City Petanque Club hosted the national senior doubles champs.
Since its delivery in September, they’ve hosted the national singles championships, and the South Island doubles.
‘‘There’s still a lot to do,’’ Stefany says. ‘‘But it’s great to be able to hold decentsized tournaments, and it’s an opportunity to be able to grow the sport in the southern region.’’
It’s this passion for petanque that has driven the development of the Dunedin City
Petanque Club. That’s why they have chosen the Eglinton Rd site, as it is visible to the community that they want to engage in the sport.
They want people to come and play petanque whether club members are present or not, and to enjoy the sport that they love.
‘‘We want people just to play petanque, and if they enjoy it and want to join the club that’s great,’’ Stefany says. ‘‘We’re keen to increase participation in the sport really. It’s probably the most egalitarian sport you could have: It can be played by anybody from 5 to 95, male and female, everyone plays equally. You don’t have to be fit, fast, or strong, you just have to be able to stand and swing an arm.’’
She continues that people are able to play as socially or as competitively as they like, and the club caters for all ages, genders, and ambitions.
It’s an ideal sport for couples, families and individuals.
The Dunedin City Petanque Club would like to thank everyone who has helped make the new club a reality, including the various grants organisations, and those who have helped with fundraising and development work.
Thanks to Community Trust of Otago and Lion Foundation, the two major sponsors; also NZ Community Trust, Southern Trust,
Bendigo Valley Trust, The Trusts Community Foundation, Greg Inch Contracting, Duane Pleace Plumbing, AMP Electrical, M.D. Builders, Fulton Hogan, Blackhead Quarries, The Great Southern Group, Southern Repiling Ltd, and support from the Dunedin City Council, Mark Perham from Fieldturf, and Downer & Co.
‘‘We’ve had a lot of support,’’ Stefany says. ‘‘We want to thank people, and encourage them to come and have a look and a play, and see if it’s something they’re interested in.’’