Today with a special guest! 😎

https://youtu.be/lGq0lq7I_4A?is=NslVANp9LxdmVhwR

Coming back from the PE‑IR Challenge League, I’m still buzzing. It was a fantastic event and yes, lifting the trophy as Challenge Champions certainly adds to that feeling 😎 but honestly, even without the win, the whole experience was outstanding. You spend 2 days surrounded by old friends, new faces, nice to meet @Lee Herring, and constant play on varied terrains against tough opposition. It’s the kind of environment that pushes you, teaches you, and reminds you why you play the game. Scotland sent a squad of 16 players, all brought together specifically for this tournament. Most of us had never played together before. Each team had an experienced captain, with the rest of us there to develop our skills, tactics, and confidence in a major competition setting. On paper, my team was probably the least experienced of the group. But from the first morning, we were a team. Our captain, @Malcolm McKenzie , ran a rotation system so everyone got meaningful game time and also sat out occasionally as the sub. We were encouraged to think tactically, be honest about our form, and make decisions for the good of the team, am I playing well? Should someone else take my role? Is it better if I sub out? That mindset made a huge difference. We won 9 out of 11 games, including several where we came from behind against strong opposition. I went into the competition as a shooter/middle role. By lunchtime on day one, I knew my shooting wasn’t where it needed to be for this level of competition, two boules lost from missed shots per end isn’t helpful. So I shifted into more of a pointing/middle role, and it immediately steadied my game, when asked occasionally to shoot as middle I was far more accurate and consistent and therefore was more help to the team. Mentally, I stayed strong throughout, but I do want to understand why my shooting dipped. It wasn’t catastrophic, I think I only had one truly bad shoot, but even small lapses matter at this level. That’s something I’ll reflect on and work on.

Ive just made a little comic 😎

Let’s have your reports from this weekend. What went well and what didn’t. What did you learn? For me I played a different comp every evening this week and was tinkering with my gesture. Nothing huge just attempting to replicate Kantaros style. I got battered today by a MUCH better team and I learnt that I need to change tactics much quicker when my instincts kick in. In addition I don’t need to focus so much on boule to boule shooting IF the terrain allows for rafle style as I only just beat a team who shot every boule that way with a high percentage of carreau and they didn’t care.