Tournament Entry Protocols

Tournament Eligibility

Entrants must:

  • Be a New Zealand citizen or hold a permanent New Zealand residents visa;
  • Be a financial member of a petanque club affiliated to Petanque New Zealand;
  • Not be suspended.

Entry Procedures

  • Online entry is the preferred method of entry as it enables us to track all entries.
  • The person completing the entry form must provide their contact details and the name and club affiliation for each member of their team. Members new to a club should ensure the club has registered them with the PNZ secretary.
  • All entries will be confirmed via email. If confirmation has not been received within one week of entering the member should contact the Tournament Director indicated on the entry form. An entry that is not confirmed is not valid and the entrants may not be permitted to play in the tournament. It is the responsibility of entrants to ensure their entry has been verified by the Tournament Director.
  • Late entries will not be accepted, unless at the request of PNZ to make up an even number of teams to avoid a bye situation. Teams entered at the request of PNZ purely to make up numbers will be exempt from paying entry fees.
  • By completing the entry form entrants have agreed to abide by the current rules and the Player Code of Behaviour.
  • Refunds of tournament entry fees will only be made to teams who withdraw prior to the commencement of the event.

Tournament Rules

  • All National tournaments will be played to the current FIPJP Rules as adopted by Petanque New Zealand and any bylaws specific to NZ. (Entrants must have read the current rules as set out on the PNZ website).
  • Entrants are required to participate in the entire tournament; i.e. a player cannot leave partway through without good cause. Late withdrawals for a good cause, such as illness, will be accommodated but PNZ should be notified immediately of any such instances.
    (NB: Any player withdrawing from a National Championship after the start of the event without good cause will be barred from participating in all National Championships for which they are eligible for 12 months following the date of the infringement).
  • Immediately at the conclusion of each game a player from each team is required to sign that the score is correct on the result sheet. They need to check carefully that this is entered correctly as incorrect results effect who everyone plays next and can not always be changed, especially if another part of the tournament has already started. No results will be entered until both parties are present.

Tournament Format

As a rule, all PNZ tournaments will consist of 4 to 8 qualifying rounds by a single elimination (knockout) for the final results. However, this may change from time to time (e.g. depending on the number of entries) and will be advised to entrants by the Tournament Director as far in advance as possible.

The qualifying rounds will be run using the Swiss system. Teams will be ranked on the basis of number of wins with ties split by Buchholz points.

The ranked teams will be placed into sections of 8 teams for a single-elimination knockout.

Risk Management Policy

Players should be aware that the game of petanque involves a number of hazards that have the potential to cause harm to players, officials and/or spectators. These include but are not restricted to:

  • Being hit by a thrown or displaced boule
  • Being struck by objects such as pebbles or stones displaced by a thrown boule
  • Tripping over strings or other material used to delineate playing boundaries such as boards to stop boules travelling too far past the piste
  • Tripping over boules or other equipment left at the end of a piste

While the tournament organisers will take all reasonable steps to ensure that these risks are minimised, players entering a tournament also have the responsibility to ensure their own safety and the safety of others.

Open-toed shoes, sandals, thongs or jandals are not acceptable footwear (see FIPJP Article 39) and players will not be allowed to compete unless a medical certificate is produced to say such footwear is necessary on medical grounds.

If a player has any known medical condition that could become an issue during a tournament (e.g. angina, diabetes, epilepsy, serious allergies) they are required to notify the tournament director and tournament umpire prior to the tournament starting.

Player Behaviour

Players must abide by the PNZ Player & Spectator Code of Behaviour. Sanctions will be enforced for breaches of this code.

Cancellation of Tournament

The tournament will not be cancelled for any reason, except force majeure.

However PNZ reserves the right to alter the tournament format, venue or conditions if any unforeseen events prevent the tournament from starting or finishing within the designated playing time.

Team Identification (all events)

PNZ expects all entrants to be of tidy appearance and to be recognisable as a team, with matching t-shirts or polos, or at least the same colour shirts.

Disputes

The Umpire(s) appointed for the tournament will adjudicate in all matters to do with the tournament rules.

In all other matters a Disputes Committee made up of one representative from the host association or club and two PNZ representatives will adjudicate.

National Tournament Manager
Petanque New Zealand
January 2022