The most successful year ever for petanque players in Comet country has seen record numbers qualify to represent England. Petanque is the French game of boules and is played across the country with a number of leagues played in this region, with teams mai

The most successful year ever for petanque players in Comet country has seen record numbers qualify to represent England.

Petanque is the French game of boules and is played across the country with a number of leagues played in this region, with teams mainly based at local pubs.

This year, Myra Huntley and her two daughters, Sarah and Amy, who live in Baldock, qualified to represent England in the International North Sea tournament.

They played the national teams from Sweden, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Norway, becoming the first team mother and daughter team to represent England.

Also playing at the event were Phil Claydon who plays for the Engine in Baldock, and Reece Gould who was part of the most successful England junior side ever at the event.

Also later this year, Reece will be part of the England team playing in the junior Europeans in Maastricht, the Netherlands.

And there is even more to look forward to later in the year.

Steve Zimmerman, Ben Gallimore and Matthew Eversden will be representing England in the World Championships in Dakar, Senegal, after recently being crowned the English triples champions.

All the players represent the Chiltern region, which covers Herts and Beds, and have benefited from the sponsorship of International Labmate, a leading publisher of laboratory and environmental journals.

If you are interested in playing the game, check out the Chiltern region website www.p.etanque.tripod.com or alternatively contact Toni Gates at oh.toni@tiscali.co.uk