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Rain, boules and delicious moules...
By Galina Date 23.07.2011
We all know what happens when you plan an outdoor event in England – rain, rain and more rain. On Saturday the 16th of July we all gathered together for some serious fun on Aldeburgh beach just opposite the White Lion – we were so excited until we saw the weather forecast – cosy rain is on its way! How lucky are we? But the English optimists we are, we knew that a beer tent was set up to get us through the raindrops.
As per our plan we had our fantastic five teams all ready to fight and compete in our first of our yearly boules competitions. Must admit, the throws were a bit out of this world! So we thought we give a quick reminder in how to do this successfully. There are technically no right or wrong ways to throw a boule, provided you don’t break any rules – which we admittedly did a couple of times! However, here are a few techniques, which we can use to improve our chances of success next year. Before even picking up a boule you should practice the way you stand. It is important that both feet must touch the ground inside the confines of the circle at all times while the boule is in the air. Your stance should be comfortably grounded. Balance is another good thing to ensure and maintain. The key is in the position of the feet and the distribution of your body weight. It is also desirable to have a good grip and generate some backspin on the thrown boule. And, last but not least tip is the swing. Make sure that the boule is securely cupped in your hand, rotate your arm backwards and swing it forward, important here is to make sure you avoid twisting your hand during the back and forward! And, lastly try and concentrate on releasing the boule in the same plane as the backswing, basically, important to avoid throwing across your body, as this will cause your boule to travel in the wrong direction.
Even though the weather was not fantastic, the games were fun and entertaining. For next year we will have all the teams trained up and ready for the fights. We also have ordered some sun and 25 degrees, however, no changes to the beer tent - it was absolutely brilliant!