That is according to the Yorkshire-based Migs Trimingham, part of a Petanque Events team comprising UK-based players who had travelled over for the weekend’s Guernsey Open in St Andrew’s.
Visitors from Alderney, Jersey and various places around the UK competed at this year’s three-day Open, but Trimingham had endured a particularly long trip to get over.
Not that she minded. This marked her fourth visit, having shared the triples honours with Clare Revill and Clive de Silva last year.
‘I think the proof is in the fact we have been playing for so many years,’ she said during a break at Friday’s sun-kissed singles competition.
‘We love the people and we love the way it’s organised.
‘It’s a perfect setting, lovely people, and we play seriously and have fun at the same time.’
The rivalry always steps up a notch when Guernsey take on Jersey.
But in her third time competing at this event, Nicky Maindonald from the sister isle’s Carrefour club simply described it as ‘lovely’.
‘It’s just always such a really nice atmosphere,’ she said.
‘The play is so friendly, even with the island rivalry.
‘And the food is always good.’
Jersey had gone in as inter-insular champions, albeit with very little separating the islands, as they had edged the title on countback in June.
It has been a different story for Chris Baross, who travelled from Bath.
He only picked up the sport relatively recently, at the age of 65, and this weekend was his very first experience of the Open.
‘I’ve been playing for just two years,’ he said.
‘It’s the kind of event where you need to play very well.
‘For someone new to the sport, it encourages me to learn and get better.’
Baross, who had gone in as the youngster of his Bath squad, would like to see the sport become more popular with players in their 20s.
‘In Europe, they play from five years old.
‘We need to get more people giving it a go.’
This comes as Guernsey Club de Petanque president David Allen admitted that the player numbers – which included 34 doubles combinations and 24 triples teams – are ‘slightly less than in the past’.
‘It’s the cost of travel and cost of hotels.
‘You’ve got to put some money down to come.
‘But we have got a lot of regulars who come from the UK, and Jersey in particular.’
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