Grampians Petanque Club's Trevor Keilar and Glenn Bovell were crowned 2019 over 60's state doubles petanque champions.
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Hosted at Endeavour Hills, Melbourne, the duo entered into the competition against Victoria's best petanque players.
"Anyone can enter, but some don't, because the competition is pretty fierce," Keilar said.
"We thought we were up to it. Anyone can win on a given day.
"I played in a singles championships last year and came third so I knew what type of competition we were up against."
Socially playing on Friday evening and Sunday afternoons, Keilar and Bovell enter competitions all around the state and tried to keep the routine the same going into the event.
"We played pretty well during the early competition and were awarded a spot through to the finals," Bovell said.
"It's a round-robin type competition and then you play in the qualifying finals, all in one day.
"It was a different type of piste (the area constructed specifically for the purposes of playing) to what we play on at Moyston and Halls Gap.
"It takes a while to get used to the different piste, but you play against the same opposition in other competitions during the year."
Keilar said knowing the opposition comes with advantages in the larger competitions.
"You can shut down strengths and bring to light weaknesses - just like any other sport," he said.
"We didn't drop a final - we were at our best by then.
"It's a bit of a feather in your cap. Boys from the bush beat the elite in Melbourne."
Keilar said it was nice to be recognised from the state body that players from the country can be at the same standard as some of the larger clubs in Melbourne.
"It's not only just us two, but there are also others in the club which go out and compete at competitions and are very successful," he said.
"Some of our members were runners up in an international tournament a few years ago.
"It just shows there are no limitations to what you can achieve."
With a state title under their belts, Keilar and Bovell could be considered for an Australian selection.
"There would be a lot of travelling involved," Mr Keilar said.
"I would like to think we would now be a consideration when it comes time for selection. Winning a state title will give us the exposure when that decision is made."
Grampians Petanque Club host regular social events on Friday evenings at Moyston and Saturday afternoons at Halls Gap with all equipment supplied to participants to try their hand at a different sport.
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