THE 8th annual Colin Ballett Pétanque Tournament was held on Sunday at The Kymin in Penarth and for the first time in the event’s history, a ladies team claimed the trophy.

Gemma Foster and Tansy Mayfield of Caerleon Petanque Club saw off the challenge of 15 other pairs to write their names in the event’s history books.

When the tournament administrators run through their organisational checklist, top of the list must be the weather as once again the sun shone down gloriously in the beautiful setting of the Kymin.

This balmy, dry weather ensured hard and dusty pistes, which played into some team’s strengths.

The tournament, which was fully booked a fortnight before the event such is its popularity, saw four groups of four teams play a round-robin in the morning session with the top two pairs progressing to the knockouts in the afternoon.

The remaining eight pairs played in the Plate competition in another knockout.

The 2017 champions Tony Smith and Nai Kongchung were beaten by Foster and Mayfield in the quarter-final, despite the result going the other way in the group stages in the morning session.

Penarth’s final pair Jean-Yves Robic and Scott Murray were next in line for the eventual winners.

The final was contested against former Penarth player Derek Jones (Pontyclun) and Peter Beresford (Caerleon). Jones and Beresford looked strong all day, winning every match in their run to the final, but they were unable to maintain their 100% record as the Ladies from Gwent claimed a famous win.

The Plate competition final was won by another Gwent pair in Hugh Morris and his partner Pat Davis from the Wheatsheaf Club in Llanhennock.

The day was concluded with the presentation of the trophy, which was made to the winning pair by the late Colin Ballett's wife, Simeone who said: “It has been such a great day. Everybody has told me how much they enjoyed it.

"We were lucky once again with the weather. It was a fantastic tribute to Colin.”

Thanks, must go to everybody involved at the club, for making the event so special with excellent organisation.

But the real winner was the game of pétanque, which continues to thrive in the area.

Penarth Pétanque Club meets every Sunday at 11am at the Kymin and visitors and new members are welcome.

Contact Tim Howard on 07545 396815 / tim-howard@hotmail.com or visit the website at www.penarthpetanque.com for more information.