Ashburton Courier: March 31, 2022

www.ashburtoncourier.co.nz
NEWS
Ashburton Courier, March 31, 2022
11
Neville edges petanque final
BY MICK JENSEN
Ashburton petanque player
NevilleBensdorpisontop of
his game and is the newly
crowned New Zealand open
singleschampion.
Bensdorp edged fellow
Ashburton MSAPetanque
Club memberRichardBrowne
in anailbitingfinal at the
Dunedin City Petanque Club to
win the title 13­12.
It is the first national title for
the 48­year­old who only took
up the game in 2015.
‘‘It was an amazing feeling to
win and it took awhile to sink
in,’’ he said.
Bensdorp opened up a9­0
lead in the final before
Brownecame storming back to
level the scores at 12­12.
He kept his nerveonthe last
end to claim his biggest
tournament victoryand eight
wins from eight matches
played.
The Ashburtonpair emerged
from astrong field of 48
players which featured many
upsetsand manytop players
not quite making the cut for
the championship section.
Bensdorp beat Giorgio
Vakauta 13­3 in the semi final
to claimhis finals berth.
‘‘This guy is apetanque
legend and has been at the top
of the sport for along time, so
to evenplay againsthim was
an honour.’’
Bensdorp has beeningood
petanque form this season.
He liftedthe South Island
triples title with two
Christchurch team mates in
April and was fifth in the
triples at the nationals.
He started playing at the
nationals in 2017 and has been
third equal in the doubles and
fifth equal in the triplesinthe
Photo: Neville Bensdorp with
the impressive New Zealand
petanque open singles trophy.
past.
‘‘When Ifirst got into the
game it was Richard (Browne)
who took me under his wing
and helped me develop the
skills.
‘‘Other players in
Christchurch have also given
me insights.’’
Bensdorp said playing
againstthe best playershad
lifted his game and it was nice
also that his wife, Karen,
played the game at ahigh
level.
An alumniofAshburton
College, Bensdorp used to play
football and was auseful lawn
bowls player.
Skills from the bowls green,
including judging the ground
and slope, had beenuseful
when transitioning to
petanque, he said.
Bensdorp’s goal over the
comingmonths is to make the
New Zealand petanque team
and to test his skills against
trans­Tasmanrivals. He is also
keen to advance his umpiring
qualifications and already has
his regional umpire badge.
‘‘I’m not too far away from
my nationalbadge and I’d love
to be an internationally
qualified umpire one day.
Travelling and running
tournaments around the world
would be great.’’
IN BRIEF
VOLUNTEER ROLES
There are shortterm,no
commitmentformsofmicrovolunteeringthat
can be done from
yourhome.
AheadofInternational Micro
VolunteeringDay on April 15,
VolunteeringMid &South
Canterbury and The Microvolunteer
Collectiveare offeringa
free online workshop about someof
the roles.
It runsonApril 5from 10amto
11am.People can register by
emailing manager-midc@vmsc.org.
nz
The collective is holding avirtual
day of Microvolunteering on April
14. More information is available at
https://events.humanitix.com/
micro-moments-for-macro-change
NEW CHANCELLOR
Former SelwynMPand Bachelor of
LawsalumnaAmy Adamshas been
appointed chancellor at the
University of Canterbury.She was
appointed by Minister of Education,
ChrisHipkinsafter shebeganher
four-yearterm in September 2021,
and has now beenappointed for a
two-yearterm.
BUILDCONSENTS UP
Methven’s buildingboomdoes not
look like abating,withfour consents
worth$4.135million issued in
January this year. Justthree
consents valued at $344,000 were
issued last January.
Atotal of 51 consents were
issued in the 2021yearvaluedat
$12.6m,uponthe 38 consents
valued at $7.6in min2020.
Keep safewhen
diggingor moving
equipment
Overhead and underground powerlines can be easy
to forget about when diggingormoving farm machinery
around your property.
Beforeyou start digging,find outwhere power lines
and cables arelocated. Contact 0800 b4u dig
If you do come intocontact with live lines,call
EA Networkson0800 430 460 immediately and
staystill untilhelp arrives.
eanetworks.co.nz