Grampians Petanque Club members enjoyed incredible success at the Petanque Federation Australia National Championships in Adelaide over the Easter Long Weekend.
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Trevor Keilar, Tim Shaw and Glenn Bovell won the Open 60+ Triples, with Keilar and Bovell winning the Open 60+ Doubles.
Shaw also excelled in the Open 60+ Singles, winning the complementaire.
Despite the club's brilliant performance at the event, Bovell said he and Keilar almost did not attend.
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"A member of our club, Tim Shaw, was going in the competition. Trevor and I hadn't really planned on going," he said.
"But Tim rang up and said he had been asked by a couple of players from Melbourne to play with them in the triples. He said he had a couple of clubmates he'd ask first.
"So it was a last-minute decision for Trevor and myself to go over."
In the Open 60+ Triples, the trio dropped one game but still finished on top of the ladder.
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They then progressed through the quarter-final and semi-final before defeating a team from Adelaide Hills Petanque Club in the grand final.
Keilar and Bovell were even more dominant in the Open 60+ Doubles.
They finished on top of the ladder without dropping a game and ended their five qualifying games with a delta of 53.
Their performance in the finals was similarly impressive, only truly coming under pressure in the grand final.
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"We won the first quarter final 13:1, and we won the semi final 13:2," Bovell said.
"When we got into the grand final we were a little bit behind. They were on seven and we were on four. Then we got a four, and then we got a five and closed the game out."
Keilar and Bovell started playing in doubles competitions about three years ago. They won the Victorian Championship in 2019 and finished second in 2021.
Bovell said they had learnt to play to each other's strengths.
"It does help because I'm sought of the finder and he's sought of the shooter, so we've got specific roles within the team," he said.
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"We discuss what our moves are going to be and talk through our tactics."
Bovell said the club was eager to return with more members in 2022.
Grampians Petanque Club is keen to welcome new members.
The club plays in Halls Gap on Saturday afternoons and Moyston on Sunday afternoons.
The club has balls for newcomers to use if they do not have their own.
For more information on the club, head to https://www.grampianspetanque.com.au/.
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