EDITION 22 - LEISURE AND SOCIAL

The European Citizens’ Association organised a sponsored walk to raise money for various charities in Calvia which help the elderly and people with special needs. The walk was from Genova to Es Capdella but most participants joined it at Calvia church to walk the last 9 kilometres to the Sa Vinya restaurant. At the end of the walk there was a barbecue, charity raffle and entertainment from live bands and artists. Many associations and local charities were represented including residents of the Nazaret home in Palma.

Special guests included Kate Mentink, Deputy Mayor of Calvia, singer songwriter Liam Live, who performed for the crowd, Vicki McLeod from One Mallorca Magazine and Laura Penn and the team from Luna Radio. The number of people who took part was twice that who joined in the walk last year. Organisers attributed this to the good publicity that the event received from local radio (Luna 100.3FM) and magazines (One Mallorca). The money raised (estimated to be in excess of €10’000) will go to local charities. In the past 5 years the event has raised more than 44,000 euros. Well done to all who worked hard to make the event such a success. A joyous day was had by all!

26th to 29th March 2008 PADDLE TENNIS TOURNAMENT HOSTED BY THE ILLES CENTRO WELLNESS CALVIA AND THE GRAN CASINO A well attended and fun tournament was recently held in the SW of the island. Featuring a game which most Brits have no idea how to play! In the interests of public awareness 1M presents the rules of Paddle Tennis so we can all join in next time. Paddle tennis is played on a 50 foot by 20 foot court, which is used for both singles and doubles. The court is marked into four service areas, each 22 feet long by 10 feet wide, with a baseline 3 feet behind the service line. The net is 31 inches high and is stretched taut between two posts, each 18 inches from the sidelines. The rules call for at least 15 feet of space behind each baseline and at least 10 feet of space on each side of the court. If there is less than 11 feet of back space, a special "lob area" rule goes into effect. Service lines then become the baselines, and the baselines become lob lines, marking a 20-by-3 lob area. A shot landing in this area must be a lob, that is, it must have reached a height of at least 10 feet above the court surface; otherwise it is out. The paddle's striking surface must be made of wood, but metal is allowed on the edging, throat, and grip. Maximum dimensions are 17 1/6 inches long and 8 1/2 inches wide. The surface may be perforated or solid, but virtually all players use a perforated racket, since it allows them to put more spin on the ball when desired. Progress of Play In general, the rules of paddle tennis are the same as the rules of lawn tennis, with these exceptions: • Service must be struck at a point no higher than 31 inches above the court surface. • Only one service is allowed; if it is a fault, the server loses the point. • The server may toss the ball up, or bounce it once behind the baseline, before striking it. Once one     method or the other is employed, it must be used for the entire set. • In singles, the server must let the return of service bounce before returning it. (This of course,     prevents the server from rushing to the net as soon as the serve has been made.)

CALVIA QUIZ LEAGUE 2007/2008 DRAWS TO A CLOSE WITH A TERRIFIC EVENING OF FUN!

The sporting yet competitive spirit which has graced the entire Quiz League for its season continued during the Grand Final night, held recently on April 5th, at the Siglo Grand Buffet, in Santa Ponça. Well over 200 competitors from local bars gathered for a final hurrah before knuckling down for the oncoming tourist season. Each pub team had its own table and team sizes varied from 4 members up to over 20. Ian and Anne Morrison, who had previously been speaking of ending the Quiz League due to the immense time demands it puts on them, announced that they would be continuing the highly successful competition in the Autumn of this year, and for many more after that.

Although the honour of being League Champions had been decided by The Crown’s dominance throughout the season (with the runners up being Zanzi’s Bays and then in third place, The Acorn) there was still the small matters of the Teams’ Team of the Year, Individual Cup, Knockout and Handicap Cups to be decided on the night.

First up was the Individual Cup where each team put up a representative to fight on their behalf. Eventually victorious was Steve Russell from The Acorn who pipped Frank Leavers from Rositas to the post.

Then the teams went into battle once more. Surprisingly, close to relegation pub team, the Snooker Café, soon took the lead – with their entire team finally present at the same time, it became clear that the Snooker Café will be a team to reckon with in the next season. Throughout the rounds they trounced the League Champions until the final round when The Crown managed to answer more questions correctly, however it was not enough and The Snooker Café managed to win the Knockout Cup by a two point margin, team captain, Laura Penn from Luna Radio, was ecstatic with their victory. The Crown came in a gracious second.

The Handicap Cup (the rules of which are known only to Senor Quiz Master Morrison) went to the Snooker Café, with the runners up being Applebees.

And the most hard fought prize, the Teams’ Team of Teams prize went to the Crown. Voted for by their peers, again it was a close run thing between them and the Snooker Café.

So, many congratulations to all. A fine night was had, and many more are looked forward to starting again in Autumn.

If you want more information on the Quiz League, or would like to enter a team then contact Ian Morrison on igmsantaponsa@atlas-iap.es and you can go to www.lunamallorca.com for all of the season’s results.