Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

European International Series

Entrants 1970: Belgium (B) • Switzerland (CH) • West Germany (D) •
France (F) • Great Britain (GB) • Italy (I) • Netherlands (NL) 

Presenters / Commentators of International Competitions:
Paule Herreman and Michel Lemaire (Heat 3 and International Final) (RTB - B)
Jan Theys and Herman Verelst (Heat 4) (BRT - B)
Madeleine Desmartines (International Final) and Georges Kleinmann (SSR - CH)
Jan Hiermeyer (Heats 1-6 and International Final) (SRG - CH)
Mascia Cantoni (Heat 2 and International Final), Tiziano Colotti (Heat 2)
and Ezio Guidi (Heats 3-7) (TSI - CH)
Hartmut Brühl (Heat 3), Tim Elstner (Heats 1-2, 4-7 and International Final)
and Camillo Felgen (ARD-WDR - D)
Simone Garnier (Heats 2 and 4), Guy Lux (Heats 1, 3-6 and International Final),
Claude Savarit (International Final) and Léon Zitrone (Heat 3) (ORTF F)
David Vine and Eddie Waring (BBC - GB)
Giulio Marchetti (Heats 1, 3-7 and International Final) and Renata Mauro (Heats 1, 3-7 and International Final) (RAI - I)
Barend Barendse, Ted de Braak (Heat 6) and Dick Passchier (Heat 6 and International Final) (NCRV - NL)

International Referees:
Gennaro Olivieri, Guido Pancaldi

Collaborator / Assistant Referee:
André Lange (Heats 1, 3-7)

National Referees:
Marcel LeFavre (B)
Hans Jenne and Franco Crameri (CH)
Hans Ebersberger, Hubert Gunsin, Peter Hochrath, Helmut Konrad, Gerd Siepe and Werner Treichel (D)
Philippe Meiringe and Bernard Stollere (F)
Arthur Ellis and Paul Ridyard (GB)
Gian Paolo Carusi, Livio Orvani, Alessandro Trapassi (I)
Ben Bril (NL)

Production Credits:

National Producers: Pierre Chevreuille, André Lange and Diane Lange (RTB - B), Jef Savenberg and Herman Verelst (BRT - B), Sergio Cavaglieri and Carlo Piccardi (CH), Marita Theile (D), Guy Lux and Claude Savarit (F), Barney Colehan (GB), Luciano Gigante (I), Piet Hooy and Bernard Prins (NL); National Directors: Michel Rochat (RTB  - B), Marco Blaser (CH), Pierre Badel and Jean Cohen (F), Günther Hassert (D), Alan Chivers (GB), Piero Turchetti (I), Dick van 't Sant (NL)

Produced by the European Broadcasting Union and
RTB-BRT (B), SSR-SRG-TSI (CH), ARD-WDR (D), 
ORTF (F), BBC (GB), RAI (I), NCRV (NL)

Key: International Heats ● = Qualified for International Final / ● = Heat Winner (Silver Trophy) International Final ● = Gold Trophy / ● = Silver Trophy / ● = Bronze Trophy Trophy   ▲ = Promoted to Position / ▼ = Demoted to Position DST = Daylight Saving Time (ONLY Great Britain and Italy observed DST)

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 1

Event Staged: Tuesday 9th June 1970
Venue: Villa Olmo, Como, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Tuesday 9th June 1970, 9.00-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Tuesday 9th June 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Tuesday 9th June 1970, 10.00-11.20pm (Live - DST)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 10th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm
SRG (CH): Wednesday 10th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 10th June 1970, 9.05-10.25pm
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 10th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm

ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 1st July 1970
BBC1 (GB): Friday 10th July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Renata Mauro

Theme: Games in the Garden

Teams: Deurne (B) v. Schwyz (CH) v. Kelheim an der Donau (D) v. Albi (F) v.
South Shields (GB) v. Como (I) v. Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL)

Team Members included:
Schwyz (CH) - Leanna Kove;
Kelheim an der Donau (D) - Olga Gasner, Rosemarie Gleischspitter, Tanz Kaldinger, Katerina Karin, Rolf Liszt, Regina Narotni, Louisa Oostermeier, Gart Peizel, Ludwig Serwagen;
Como (I) - Aristide Chezzi (Men’s Co-Team Coach), Dario Ostinelli (Men’s Co-Team Coach), Annalisa Ajani (Women’s Team Captain), Giampiero Ajani, Aurelio Balestrieri, Ezio Bardelli, Mario Brunello, Cristina Caimi, Andrea Castiglia, Elvira Cavicchioni, Giovanni Comerci, Antonio Converso, Sergio Favaron, Lia Giudici, Margherita Giudici, Luigi Greco, Anna Marchetti, Emilia Martini, Graziella Monti, Emy Montini, Milli Meri, Calogero Napoli, Pietro Normanno, Giovanna Rossi, Fulvia Rupcich, Antonio Stabile, Giuseppe Tantardini, Guido Tenconi, Giuseppe Terzo, Paola Valsecchi, Adriana Verdicchi, Alberta Viannello;
Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) - Ino Meijer (Team Coach), Jo Tennekes (Team Physio), Henk van Bruggen (Team Captain), Bea van Bruggen, Henk Dibbits, Frans van Eekelen, Bennie Geling, Jetse Hartmans, Birk Hoornsman, Anneke Kleefstra, Boukje van der Laan, Wim Nijenhuis, Floris Roozendaal, Marton Rotyis, Nel Schut, Christ Smulders (Reserve), Ina Steijn, Gert-Jan van Tilburg, Gurbe Veenstra, Hero Veenstra, Alie Huis in't Veld, Hilda Zijlma.

Games (Official Titles): Festival, Swing, Tandem, Swedish Stairs, Flying Fish, Gluttons, Skiing, Portraiture;
Jeu Intermédiaire: Gyroscope;
Jokers: Scarecrows.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
2nd
4th
5th
5th
7th

 I • Como ● ●
 CH • Schwyz
 D • Kelheim an der Donau
 NL • Dronten (Flevopolder)
 B • Deurne
 F • Albi
 GB • South Shields

40
37
37
36
32
32

25

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Deurne (=5th, 32pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Schwyz (=2nd, 37pts)
West Germany (D) - Kelheim an der Donau (=2nd, 37pts)
France (F) - Albi (=5th, 32pts)

Great Britain (GB) - South Shields (7th, 25pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Dronten (Flevopolder) (4th, 36pts)

The Host Town

Como, Italy

Como is a town with a population of around 85,000 inhabitants in the Lombardia region. It is located at the southern tip of the western arm of the inverted ‘Y’ shaped Lake Como, 24km (15 miles) south of Lugano in Switzerland, 24km (15 miles) west of Lecco (located at the southern tip of the eastern arm of the lake), 38km (24 miles) north of Milano and 47km (29 miles) south of Sorico, located at the northern tip of the lake.

The hills surrounding the current location of Como have been inhabited, since at least the Bronze Age, by a Celtic tribe known as the Orobii. Remains of settlements are still present on the wood covered hills to the south-west of the town. Around the 1st century BC, the town centre was situated on these hills, but it was then moved to its current location by order of Julius Caesar (100BC-44BC), who had the swamp near the southern tip of the lake drained and laid the plan of the walled city in the typical Roman grid of perpendicular streets.

The newly founded town was named Novum Comum and had the status of municipium (Latin term for town or city). In 774 AD, the town surrendered to Charlemagne (748-814 AD), and became a centre of commercial exchange. In 1127, Como lost a decade-long war with the nearby city of Milano. A few decades later, with the help of Frederick Barbarossa (1122-1190), the Comaschi (the people of Como) could avenge their defeat when Milano was destroyed in 1162.

Frederick promoted the construction of several defensive towers around the city limits, of which only one, the Baradello, remains. In 1714, the territory was taken by the Austrians until Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) descended into Lombardia in 1796 and ruled it until 1815, after which the Austrian rule was resumed after the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815). Finally in 1859, with the arrival of Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882), the town was freed from the Austrians and it became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Italy under the House of Savoy.

As a curiosity, the Rockefeller fountain that today stands in the Bronx Zoo in New York City was once in the main square (Piazza Cavour) by the lakeside. It was bought by William Rockefeller in 1902 for 3,500 Italian lire (the estimated equivalent then of $637 and about $16,333 today!).

The Visiting Towns

Deurne is a suburb of Antwerpen with a population of around 70,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of Antwerpen and is located 692km (430 miles) north-west of Como.

Schwyz is a town with a population of around 15,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic (German-speaking) Swiss canton of the same name and is located 139km (877 miles) north of Como.

Kelheim an der Donau is a town with a population of around 17,000 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 406km (252 miles) north-east of Como.

Albi is a town with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants in the French region of Occitanie and is located 586km (365 miles) south-west of Como.

South Shields is a town with a population of around 77,000 inhabitants in the English county of Tyne and Wear and is located 1,264km (785 miles) north-west of Como.

Dronten (Flevopolder) is a town with a population of around 41,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Flevoland and is located 787km (489 miles) north-west of Como.

The Venue

Villa Olmo

The games were played within the gardens of the magnificent Villa Olmo which was designed to be a summer retreat for the aristocracy and therefore built on the shore of the 146km² (56 miles²) Lake Como. It was named after an elm tree planted in the middle of the ornate gardens and which sadly today, no longer exists.

The construction of the neoclassic designed building began in 1797 and was completed in 1812. It was commissioned by Marquis Odescalchi who had returned from Roma in 1780 with an up-to-date and cosmopolitan education and committed himself to a programme of cultural renewal of the whole Como area. The contract was given to Swiss architect Simone Cantoni (1736-1818), the most famous member of a family of master-builders and architects from the Ticino canton of Switzerland, who had been working since the 16th century' on the Ligurian Riviera, France and Germany. He embraced a strict neoclassical architecture in which the references to the ancient world and to French culture contributed to the creation of a new language, though still formally complying with the classical principles and rules that had been taken up again in the 18th century'.

It passed from the hands of the Odescalchi family to the Raimondi family in 1824 after which it was witness to many historical visits and meetings. As well as a visit by the Queen of the Two Sicilies and the Queen of Sardinia in 1835, other guests of Raimondi included the emperors of Austria, Archduke Franz Ferdinand (1863-1914), Queen Maria Carolina (1752-1814), wife of King Ferdinand I (1751-1825), Prince Klemens von Metternich (1773-1859) and Marshal Josef Radetzsky (1766-1858). Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) also visited the Villa and became involved in a controversial love affair with Giuseppina Raimondi (1841-1918). On 24th January 1860, at the age of 52, Garibaldi married the 18-year old, but immediately after the wedding ceremony, she informed him that she was pregnant with another man's child and Garibaldi left her the same day.

In 1883, the Raimondi heirs sold Villa Olmo to the Visconti family, who decided to start a restoration by architect Emilio Alemagna (1833-1910). The stables and the portico were demolished and a little theatre was built inside. In 1924, Villa Olmo become property of the municipality of Como and which has used it to host cultural events and art exhibitions ever since. Although the building is only open to the public during the exhibitions, the lakeside gardens are freely accessible during the daytime for a current charge of 10 euros (£7.75).

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Festival

The first game - ‘Festival’ - was played individually over 45 seconds duration and featured a female competitor from each team standing inside one of six glass compartments which had a clock hand attached to a target on the outside. Standing 10m (32ft 9¾in) in front of the compartments, there were five opposing male competitors, each armed with three darts. On the whistle, the clock hand would be started and music played and it was the competitor’s task to imitate the song being played. In the meanwhile, the five opposing competitors had to throw the darts and try to hit the target as close as possible in front of the sweeping clock hand. This would ultimately result in the hand and music stopping when it reached the dart and the time would be taken. If the opponents were successful, the female competitor would be ‘drenched’ with polystyrenes balls from above when the music stopped. The team with the least time remaining (having sung the longest) would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Great Britain and their competitor had to mime to the 1963 hit Today I Met the Boy I’m Going to Marry, recorded by Darlene Love. The five opponents were not so accurate with their darts and could only stop the clock after 26 seconds of elapsed time.

The second heat featured West Germany and the dart throwers were slightly better with their accuracy and resulted in the clock being stopped after 17 seconds.

The third team to participate was Belgium and their competitor was stopped after 16 seconds.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Switzerland and they finished with a time of 22 seconds.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of France, but as a result of the accuracy of the darts players, their competitor had hardly started to sing before being stopped after just 5 seconds.

The sixth and final heat featured Italy and it appeared that the opposing players had lost their sense of direction after missing the target on the majority of throws. However, although the target was hit on three occasions, they were all on the left-hand side of the target which permitted the clock to continue for 31 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Como (I) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd South Shields (GB) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Schwyz (CH) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Kelheim an der Donau (D) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Deurne (B) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Albi (F) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (--- / 0pts)

Comments: The Italian competitor in this game was 26-year old Anna Marchetti, a professional singer in her own right and daughter of Italian TV presenter Giulio Marchetti. At the end of the game, there appeared to be some favouritism shown, as she was spared the drenching with the polystyrene balls! In their first-ever participation in Jeux Sans Frontières, Netherlands did not participate on the first game and found themselves in the unenviable position of holding the first-ever 7th place with 0pts!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - Gyroscope

The next game - ‘Gyroscope’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over one minute duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) standing on either side of the course and holding a wire taut between their teeth. The course comprised a long platform divided into individually numbered compartments ranging from 1 (closest to the start) and 82 (the highest-scoring and furthest compartment). On the whistle, a male team-mate, standing behind a semi-circular podium, had to wind-up a gyroscope and place it on the wire. The competitors then had to move down the course, which comprised various obstacles including a seesaw and sponge blocks, maintaining the wire’s tautness throughout. If the gyroscope stopped spinning or the wire was not kept taut, it would fall into one of the compartments below. They then had to return to the start to repeat the game and emulate the distance travelled. It should be noted that the scoring would be reliant on just one of the gyroscopes. The team transporting their gyroscope in the faster time or the greater distance would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Netherlands and they were able to transport a total of three gyroscopes, the furthest reaching compartment 53.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53)

Game 2 - Swing

The second game - ‘Swing’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team and a large swing. Whilst one of the competitors was wearing boxing gloves and laying face-down on the swing, the other was dressed as a city gentleman and standing on a high podium in front of the swing. On the whistle, the female competitor had to set the swing in motion and then climb onto a smaller podium at the rear of the swing and maintain the swing’s momentum. Once the swing had reached its correct height, the competitor could begin to collect four items - a bowler hat, a pair of glasses, an umbrella and a briefcase - from his ‘city gent’, but he had to collect them unassisted. Only one item could be passed to his fellow competitor on each swing forward. These items were then handed to the female competitor and once all four items had been handed over, she could start handing back five items of hippie-style clothing - a poncho, a floral necklace, a wig, a guitar and an empty glass - to her swinging team-mate who then had to place them unassisted onto his colleague on the podium. However, once the glass had been handed over, it had to be filled with water from a bottle on further swings until completely full. Once the ‘hippie’ believed that the game had been completed, he had to place the glass onto the podium and the time was taken. Each of the nine items collected and handed over scored 1pt each and the volume of water collected would also be scored with 3pts awarded for a full glass, 2pts for ¼ to ¾ full and 1pt (up to ¼ full). The team achieving the higher score (maximum 12pts) or completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and France and although two of the teams believed that they had completed the game, they were penalised on the volume of water collected. France scored 11pts (9pts for the items + 2pts for the water) in 1 minute 9 seconds, Switzerland scored 11pts (9pts + 2pts) in 1 minute 11 seconds and West Germany scored 9pts (8pts + 1pt).

The second heat featured Great Britain, Italy and Netherlands and ended with Italy scoring 12pts in 58 seconds, Netherlands scoring 12pts in exactly one minute and Great Britain scoring 10pts (7pts + 3pts).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Como (I) (6pts awarded / 12pts total) 2nd Schwyz (CH) (4pts / 8pts) ▲ 3rd South Shields (GB) (2pts / 7pts) ▼ 4th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (5pts / 5pts) ▲ =5th Kelheim an der Donau (D) (1pt / 4pts) ▼ =5th Albi (F) (3pts / 4pts) ▲ 7th Deurne (B) (--- / 2pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - Gyroscope

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Belgium and they also made a total of three runs but they were only able to reach compartment 47.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) 2nd Deurne (B) (47)

Game 3 - Tandem

The third game - ‘Tandem’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team and an unusually designed bicycle with three wheels and axles. Above each of the outside wheels there was a saddle on which the competitors were sitting back-to-back and at the end of a straight 25m (82ft) course there was a stack of 120 large circular polystyrene tablets. On the whistle, the competitors (one front-facing and other rear-facing) had to pedal the bicycle up the course to join a male team-mate standing adjacent to the stack. On the outward journey, the front-facing competitor steered the bicycle whilst her rear-facing companion, carrying a circular tray, back-pedalled. When they reached the end of the course, the tray was passed to the original front-facing competitor, whilst a male team-mate stacked up to 8 tablets on it. They then had to cycle back to the start, with the original rear-facing competitor steering and her companion holding the tray secure. The tablets then had to be handed over to another team-mate after crossing the original start line and the game repeated. Only tablets carried across the line would be counted. The team collecting the greater number of tablets would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany, France and Netherlands and it was apparent from the start which of the three teams would achieve the greater total. When the results were announced, West Germany had collected 20 tablets, France had collected 18 tablets and Netherlands had collected 17 tablets.

The second heat featured Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and there was somewhat of a shock when the results were announced. Belgium had emulated the total set by West Germany and collected 24 tablets, Great Britain had collected 18 tablets whilst Italy, having been victorious in the first two games, finished in last place after collecting just 16 tablets.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (10pts awarded / Joker / 14pts total) ▲ 2nd Como (I) (1pt / 13pts) ▼ 3rd South Shields (GB) (4pts / 11pts) =4th Deurne (B) (6pts / 8pts) ▲ =4th Schwyz (CH) (--- / 8pts) ▼ =4th Albi (F) (4pts / 8pts) ▲ 7th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (2pts / 7pts) ▼

Comments: Although the result of this game was legitimate and passed without any protest being raised, it appeared somewhat of a coincidence that the positioning of the teams was dependent on the respective lane and bicycle used in their heats. Belgium and West Germany had participated in the right-hand lane and both scored the highest total in their respective heats, France and Great Britain had utilised the left-hand lane and had both scored the second-highest total in their heats and Italy and Netherlands had utilised the middle lane and had both scored the lowest total in their heats!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - Gyroscope

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and they made a total of four runs, but the furthest they could reach was compartment 41.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) 2nd Deurne (B) (47) 3rd Schwyz (CH) (41)

Game 4 - Swedish Stairs

The fourth game - ‘Swedish Stairs’ - was played individually over one minute duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a 3m (9ft 10¼in) high scaffold ramp spanned by eight bars numbered 1-8, set at 1.2m (3ft 11¼in) intervals apart, descending its length. At the base of the ramp there was a set of rugby-style goal posts. On the whistle, the competitor had to jump up and grab the first bar whilst a female team-mate placed a large beach ball between his knees. He then had to start to swing forward and backward in order to gather enough momentum to propel himself to the second bar and so on until he reached the eighth bar. He then had to swing his body forward and gather propulsion so that he could release the ball over the horizontal bar of the goal posts. The game was then repeated throughout. Each bar traversed with the ball intact between the knees was valued at 1pt and an additional 3pts would be awarded if the ball passed over the crossbar of the goal. If the ball or either competitor fell to the ground, only the number of bars traversed on that respective run would be counted. The team with the greater overall score would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they made one perfect run of 11pts (8 bars + 3 bonus) and three unsuccessful runs of 8 bars, 7 bars and 1 bar, respectively, giving them a total score of 27pts.

The second heat featured France and they made three perfect runs of 11pts and scored a total of 33pts which at first appeared to be unsurpassable in the time permitted.

The third team to participate was Great Britain and they made a complete hash of the game (and their Joker). After a successful first run in just 11 seconds, the team were unable to emulate it on any of their other three runs and ended with a score of 26pts (11 + 8 + 4 + 3).

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Italy and they stormed the game, completing their first run in just 9 seconds followed by three further perfect runs. At the end of the game, the team had scored an incredible 49pts (11 + 11 + 11 + 11 + 5).

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Belgium and they fared the worst of all, scoring just 23pts (11 + 4 + 8) from three runs.

The sixth and final heat featured Switzerland and they scored 31pts (11 + 7 + 11 + 2) in total.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Como (I) (6pts awarded / 19pts total) ▲ 2nd South Shields (GB) (4pts / Joker / 15pts) ▲ 3rd Kelheim an der Donau (D) (--- / 14pts) ▼ 4th Albi (F) (5pts / 13pts) 5th Schwyz (CH) (4pts / 12pts) ▼ 6th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (3pts / 10pts) ▲ 7th Deurne (B) (1pt / 9pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - Gyroscope

The fourth round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured West Germany and, following three disappointing runs, the team made a superb finish on their fourth run and transported their gyroscope all the way to compartment 69.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (69) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) ▼ 3rd Deurne (B) (47) ▼ 4th Schwyz (CH) (41) ▼

Game 5 - Flying Fish

The fifth game - ‘Flying Fish’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a female competitor from each team on roller-skates standing in front of a high scaffold from which a zip wire descended to the ground. On the whistle, the competitor had to pull a lever in order for a fish to be released down the wire and then she had to skate to the end of the 20m (65ft 7½in) course to catch it before it went out-of-bounds. Once caught, the competitor then had to return to the start and place the fish on top of a podium and then the game was repeated. The team collecting the greater number of fish would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very straightforward game saw the participation of Great Britain, Italy and Netherlands and ended with Great Britain collecting a total of 3 fish, Italy collecting 4 fish and Netherlands collecting just 1 fish.

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and West Germany and it was apparent from the outset that the latter was having problems with the mechanism and unable to release any of the fish from the wire. Nevertheless, the game was permitted to continue and it ended with Belgium collecting a total of 7 fish and Switzerland collecting 5 fish. West Germany, having been disadvantaged by the malfunction of the equipment, were permitted a solo run using one of the other wires and collected 4 fish.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Como (I) (4pts awarded / 23pts total) ▲ 2nd Deurne (B) (12pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ 3rd Kelheim an der Donau (D) (4pts / 18pts) =4th Schwyz (CH) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ =4th South Shields (GB) (2pts / 17pts) ▼ 6th Albi (F) (--- / 13pts) ▼ 7th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (1pt / 11pts) ▼

Comments: Although West Germany were permitted a second essay due to the malfunction of the mechanism, it appeared that Netherlands who had also used the exact same equipment, had been somewhat hindered during the latter stages of the game with a similar problem. Despite the release handle being pulled, the fish failed to release immediately or descended the wire at a very slow speed compared to their two rivals. Surprisingly, no protest by the team’s captain was forthcoming and their official score went uncontested!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - Gyroscope

The fifth round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured France, but they were unable to emulate any of the four previous teams’ efforts, only reaching as far as compartment 32 on any of their four attempts.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (69) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) 3rd Deurne (B) (47) 4th Schwyz (CH) (41) 5th Albi (F) (32)

Game 6 - Gluttons

The sixth game - ‘Gluttons’ - was a game of nerve and chance played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Netherlands presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team attired in a poncho-type apron around his waist and a small obstacle course comprised of crests and troughs. Inside the five pockets of the apron, there was a total of 80kg (176lbs 6oz) comprised of 100 x 800g (1lb 12¼oz) balls. On the whistle, the competitor had to traverse the ‘mountainous’ course, but whilst the additional weight of the balls made his task somewhat more difficult, the competitor had the option of removing as many of the balls as needed to achieve his goal at any point in the game. At the end of the course, he could replenish some of his ‘lost’ weight from a small trough of balls. He then had to run to a podium at the end of the course to complete the game. The competitor had to ensure that he completed the game within the time permitted as there would be no intermediate scoring. The team completing the game with the greater weight would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, France and Italy and although they all reached the end of the course, none of them were able to reach their individual podium before the permitted time elapsed.

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and Netherlands and, with the advantage of having observed the events of the first heat, it was a completely different story. On this occasion, all three teams completed the course and the scales revealed that West Germany weighed-in at 198kg (436lb 8¼oz), Netherlands weighed-in at 197kg (434lb 5oz) and Switzerland weighed-in at 173kg (381lb 6½oz).

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (6pts awarded / 24pts total) ▲ =1st Como (I) (1pt / 24pts) 3rd Deurne (B) (1pt / 22pts) ▼ =4th Schwyz (CH) (4pts / 21pts) =4th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (10pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ 6th South Shields (GB) (--- / 17pts) ▼ 7th Albi (F) (1pt / 14pts) ▼

Comments: Having observed the misfortune of the three teams in the first heat, the team captains from the three teams in the second heat were determined not to suffer the same fate. Armed with stopwatches, they could be seen instructing their competitors when to stop collecting balls and departing for the podia. At one point, British referee Arthur Ellis could be seen insisting they move away from the game. Due to the movement of the competitors on the scales at the end of the game, the weights were rounded up or down to the nearest kilogram. West Germany actually weighed-in at 197.9kg, Netherlands at 197.3kg and Switzerland at 173.4kg and therefore Netherlands failed to win the game by virtue of the weight of just one ball (800g)!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 6 - Gyroscope

The sixth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Great Britain and, following three minor attempts, the fourth run proved more fruitful and saw them reach compartment 52. This result put them in 3rd place at this point with just one team still to participate.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (69) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) 3rd South Shields (GB) (52) 4th Deurne (B) (47) ▼ 5th Schwyz (CH) (41) ▼ 6th Albi (F) (32) ▼

Game 7 - Skiing

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Skiing’ - was played individually from a 30m (98ft 5¼in) long artificial ski slope erected above the sheltered mooring area of Villa Olmo directly on the shoreline of Lake Como. It featured two male competitors from each team and a set of nine pins (skittles) hanging above the base of the ski slope. On the whistle, the first of the two competitors had to descend the slope and then had to jump up and hit the pins with his hands. This was immediately followed by the second competitor. The team achieving the greater aggregate score would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium and whilst their first competitor hit only one pin, the second failed to hit any at all and gave them a total score of just 1.

The second heat featured Great Britain and this would prove to be the most disastrous game of the night for the team after both competitors failed to score.

The third team to participate was France and whilst the first competitor hit only one of the nine pins, their second was more successful and hit three pins to give them a total of 4.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Switzerland and whilst their first competitor hit two pins, the second failed to hit any and gave them a total of 2.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and their first competitor hit four of the pins whilst their second competitor equalled his team-mate’s score and gave them a total of 8.

The sixth and final heat featured West Germany and whilst the first competitor hit three pins, the second hit only two pins and gave them a total of 5.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (5pts awarded / 29pts total) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (6pts / 27pts) ▲ =3rd Deurne (B) (2pts / 24pts) =3rd Schwyz (CH) (3pts / 24pts) ▲ =3rd Como (I) (--- / 24pts) ▼ =6th Albi (F) (4pts / 18pts) ▲ =6th South Shields (GB) (1pt / 18pts)

Comments: Before the start of the game, a ‘demonstration’ of the game was given by a female competitor from the Dutch team of Dronten (Flevopolder). The reason for this was not explained but on her descent she made no attempt to hit any of the pins and simply skied into the water!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 7 - Gyroscope

The seventh and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Italy and despite all their efforts, they could only reach compartment 32 on the second of their five runs and finished in joint 6th place on the game.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (69) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (53) 3rd South Shields (GB) (52) 4th Deurne (B) (47) 5th Schwyz (CH) (41) =6th Albi (F) (32) =6th Como (I) (32)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (7pts awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (6pts / 33pts) 3rd Deurne (B) (4pts / 28pts) 4th Schwyz (CH) (3pts / 27pts) ▼ 5th Como (I) (2pts / 26pts) ▼ 6th South Shields (GB) (5pts / 23pts) 7th Albi (F) (2pts / 20pts) ▼

Comments: With just one game remaining to be played, West Germany and Netherlands appeared to have the top two positions secured. However, with three teams yet to play their Jokers, things were about to change dramatically. Throughout the programme the scores on the scoreboard had been displayed in the normal country alphabetical order. For no apparent reason after the scores for the Jeu Intermédiaire were updated, the scoreboard operators attempted to rearrange the teams in points order and made a complete hash of the positions and some of the points. Instead of displaying the above information, the scoreboard appeared incorrectly as follows: 1st Kelheim an der Donau (D) (36pts) 2nd Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (33pts) =3rd Como (I) (26pts) =3rd Deurne (B) (27pts) =3rd Schwyz (CH) (27pts) =6th Albi (F) (20pts) =6th South Shields (GB) (23pts) After realising their error, the operators removed the ‘positional numbers’ but retained the teams and points as displayed above! West German commentator Camillo Felgen explained to his viewers that some of the scores and positions on-screen were incorrect and had to give the ‘actual’ scores verbally (even then he still got the Belgium score incorrect as 27!).

Game 8 - Portraiture

The eighth and final game - ‘Portraiture’ - was played in unison over 3 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland, France and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. When the camera returned to the scoreboard to show the Jokers being played, the operators had corrected the score of Belgium to 28 but continued to display the teams in the incorrect order. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team wearing roller-skates and a 30m (98ft 5¼in) course comprising a ramp with a metallic board at its apex and fourteen magnetic puzzle pieces - a face outline, two ears, two eyes, two pupils, two eyebrows, a nose, a mouth, a bow-tie, a hat and a bobble - of a clown’s portrait. On the whistle, the competitors had to roller-skate up the ramp one at a time with a piece of the puzzle and stick it in the correct position as had been shown to the viewers beforehand. The competitors could choose in which order they placed the pieces but they all had to be in their correct position on the board. The team completing the puzzle in the faster time would be declared the winners.

When the results of this straightforward game were announced, Italy had finished in 1st place in 2 minutes 14 seconds, France had finished in 2nd place in 2 minutes 28 seconds whilst Switzerland had finished in 3rd place in 2 minutes 29 seconds. The fourth team to complete the game were Belgium in 2 minutes 34 seconds with Netherlands finishing in 5th place in 2 minutes 51 seconds. The final two teams to complete the game were Great Britain in 6th place in 2 minutes 59 seconds and West Germany in 7th place in 3 minutes 3 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Como (I) (14pts awarded / Joker / 40pts total) ▲ =2nd Schwyz (CH) (10pts / Joker / 37pts) ▲ =2nd Kelheim an der Donau (D) (1pt / 37pts) ▼ 4th Dronten (Flevopolder) (NL) (3pts / 36pts) ▼ =5th Deurne (B) (4pts / 32pts) ▼ =5th Albi (F) (12pts / Joker / 32pts) ▲ 7th South Shields (GB) (2pts / 25pts) ▼

Comments: The awarding of the points after this game turned into somewhat of a farce when referee Guido Pancaldi was given the incorrect time for Great Britain and inadvertently deducted points from Belgium. Initially given a time of 2 minutes 29 seconds, the same as Switzerland, the points were announced and Italy, France and Switzerland were awarded their respective points with Great Britain also being awarded 5pts. Belgium were then awarded 4pts and Netherlands 3pts which left two scores (2pts and 1pt) to be awarded to West Germany. Realising that he made a mistake, he simply reduced the score of Belgium by 2pts (instead of 1pt from Belgium and 1pt from Netherlands) and then awarded West Germany 1pt. A touch-judge then pointed out that the time for Great Britain should have been 2 minutes 59 seconds and both he and co-referee Gennaro Olivieri, somewhat thrown into confusion by this, then had to re-write the game placings on another column of the blackboard, followed by the correct scores for the bottom four teams! The scoreboard operators had finally sorted out all their errors and, at the end of the game, the scores and positions were displayed in the correct order. Although the format to display the final scoreboard in this way had already been used the previous year, it would not be used again until 1978 when the scoreboard display was computerised rather than manually operated.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

During his opening comments, West German co-commentator Tim Elstner welcomed his colleague Camillo Felgen by stating to the viewing audience that he had only just completed the Domestic series the previous Saturday and had flown direct to Como after the live programme had been transmitted!

With the advent of colour transmissions later in the series, the referees would continue donning the same outfit for each programme throughout the entire series but these would change for each successive year. However, for the first three programmes of this series, the referees were attired in the previous formal formula of wearing dark vertical striped jackets with a white shirt, tie and matching light-coloured trousers.

It was a triple celebration for Spanish-born, Italian presenter Giulio Marchetti at this heat. In addition to witnessing his own daughter Anna participating in (and winning) the first game, he enjoyed an Italian victory on home soil and was also celebrating his 59th birthday on the day of transmission.

Records and Statistics

With a distance of just 24km (15 miles) separating Como and Lugano (the venue of the following International Heat), the two towns not only hold the record for being the closest two venues in the same Jeux Sans Frontières series but also that of being the two closest consecutive venues in the same year!

Additional Information

This programme opened with a 3 minutes 30 seconds long fireworks display which would be recorded as one of the most spectacular ever seen on Jeux Sans Frontières.

As was the norm at the opening of the programme, the various commentators were shown on-screen in their respective commentary boxes. However at this heat, the balconies of the villa’s windows doubled as commentary boxes with each broadcaster’s ident letters hanging from the balustrade. As the camera panned along the building, the final box was reserved for TSI, the Swiss-Italian broadcaster. However, instead of seeing the TSI commentator, the camera met with a group of six privileged spectators who waved at the camera!

Made in B/W • This programme exists in the BBC Archives (with Italian commentary)
Exists in European archives

CH

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 2

Event Staged: Wednesday 24th June 1970
Venue: Parco Civico e Riva del Lago di Lugano (Civic Park and Shore of Lake Lugano),
Lugano, Switzerland

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 9.05-10.35pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
ARD-WDR  (D): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Wednesday 24th June 1970, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)

Nederland 2 (NL): Friday 26th June 1970, 8.20-9.35pm

ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 8th July 1970
BBC1 (GB): Friday 17th July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Tiziano Colotti

Theme: The Customs of the City

Teams: Zelzate (B) v. Val di Poschiavo (CH) v. Uelzen (D) v.
Aix-les-Bains (F) v. Exmouth (GB) v. Acquasparta (I) v. Assen (NL)

Team Members included:
Zelzate (B) - Christina Daumer, Camille de Broek, Albert Enoks, Johann Evahardt, Christina Fiorowski, Willi Gernhardt, Wil Maltosse, Rolond Pauls, Sondra Ravanelli, Frank Vernackter;
Val di Poschiavo (CH) - Felice Luminati (Team Manager), Renzo Badilatt, Margherita Branchi-Ramponi, Valeria Compagnoi, Bruno Cortesi, Gustavo Cortesi, Dante Crameri, Monica Crameri, Orlando Gervasi, Bruna Godenzi, Maria Guadagnini-Monigatti, Adele Hiltbrünner-Semadeni, Viviana Iseppi-Godenzi, Renato Meneghini, Tullio Meneghini, Giacinta Nadig-Passini, Achille Olgiati, Silvia Oswald-Loosli, Dino Vasella, Franco Vasella, Vincenza Vasella, Valeria Wegmüller-Isepponi, Salvatore Zala, Graziano Zanolari;
Uelzen (D) - Wolgang Empft, Monika Forres, Wilhelm Johannes, Brigitta Müllan, Manfred Müllan, Hermann Müller;
Aix-les-Bains (F) - Albert Breavare, Alain Canstery, Jacques Dalmeau, Annette DuPont, Pierre Fiolle, Jean François, Gil Raville;
Exmouth (GB) - Gordon Russell (Team Captain),John Cameron, Tommy Clegg, Keith Thorne, Victor Turner;
Aquasparta (I) - Davia Ananelli, Marcello Barci, Cervio Coppi, Giorgi Putondi, Alberto Vigola;
Assen (NL) - Frits Busscher (Team Captain, non-playing), Fré Bos, Ari IJdemaar, Harry Jonser, Menno Keizer, Ruth Klasses, Egbert Nijstadt.

Games: The Water Mill, Cracking the Eggs, The Floral Hats, Boxing Bagatelle, Serving the Beer, The Giant Rollers, The Paintball Acrobats and The Bridegroom's Attire;
Jeu Intermédiaire: Aquatic Quoits;
Jokers: Jolly Joker Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
5th
5th
7th

 F • Aix-les-Bains ● ●
 D • Uelzen
 B • Zelzate
 I • Acquasparta
 GB • Exmouth
 NL • Assen

 CH • Val di Poschiavo

48
41
35
35
34
34

25

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Deurne (=3rd, 35pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Schwyz (=2nd, 37pts)
West Germany (D) - Uelzen (2nd, 41pts)
France (F) - Aix-les-Bains (1st, 48pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Exmouth (=5th, 34pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Dronten (Flevopolder) (4th, 36pts)

The Host Town

Lugano, Switzerland

Lugano is a city surrounded by the mountains of the Lugano Prealps and lies on Lake Lugano, in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) canton of Ticino. It is located 24km (15 miles) north of Como in Italy, 93km (58 miles) east of Zermatt, 105km (65 miles) south-west of Chur and 113km (70 miles) south-east of Interlaken.

The population is around 70,000 inhabitants with around 37% (25,000) being resident foreign nationals. It is the 9th largest city of Switzerland by population, the largest city in the canton and the largest city with an italophonic majority outside of Italy. It is renowned for its warm summers and, the fact that in recent years it has attracted an ever growing number of celebrities, entertainers and successful athletes, has been nicknamed of the ‘Monte Carlo of Switzerland’.

The first written mention of a settlement at Lugano can be found in documents, which are of disputed authenticity, with which the Longobard king, Liutprand (712-744 AD), ceded various assets located in Lugano to the Church of Saint Carpophorus in Como in 724 AD. Other documents, dating from 804 AD and 844 AD refer to Lake Lugano as Laco Luanasco, and an act of 984 AD indicates Lugano as a market town. During the fighting between Guelphs and Ghibellines (factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively) and the new disputes between Como and Milano during the 14th and 15th centuries, Lugano was the scene of clashes between opposing forces.

After a long rule by the Rusca family, Lugano was freed from the domination of Como, which had been taken over in 1335 by the Visconti family. At the same time the link between the town and the valley strengthened. In 1416, the Duke of Milano, Filippo Maria Visconti (1392-1447) conquered the region of Lugano and the Rusca valley and made it a fief (a feudal property). The city was the object of continuous disputes between the Dukes of Como and Milano until it became a Swiss dominion in 1513. Swiss control lasted until 1798 when Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) conquered the Old Swiss Confederation and created the Helvetic Republic.

From the mid-19th century' until 1970, the city recorded constant population growth, especially between 1880 and 1910, when the population more than doubled. This increase was partly due to foreign nationals settling in Lugano and people from other language areas of Switzerland. In the last three decades of the 20th century', the population fell slightly, reflecting a trend to move away from the city to the suburban communities. Following the Second World War (1939-1945), and particularly during the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to an abundant flow of capital from nearby Italy, Lugano experienced a period of exponential growth in banking activities which led to it placing itself as the third financial centre of Switzerland, with over 100 banking institutions present in the city.

The mainstays of the local economy today are trade, tourism and finance but Lugano is also one of the most popular tourist destinations in Switzerland with the city being home to a number of historic buildings and museums, whilst the surrounding area has many natural sights. The city centre is located on the lake shore just to the west of where the 18km (11 miles) long River Cassarate enters the lake. The city's waterfront forms a crescent around the bay between the 925m (3,035ft) high Brè and the 912m (2,992 ft) high San Salvatore mountains. Both Lake Lugano and the surrounding mountains provide a wide variety of outdoor activities. On Thursday 24th May 1956, Lugano played host to the first annual Eurovision Song Contest which was staged at the Teatro Kursaal (now Casinò Lugano) which is sited directly adjacent to the Civico Parco.

The Visiting Towns

Zelzate is a town with a population of around 12,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of Oost-Vlaanderen and is located 690km (429 miles) north-west of Lugano.

Val di Poschiavo is a municipality with a population of around 5,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic / italophonic / rhaetophonic (German / Italian / Romansch-speaking) Swiss canton of Graubünden / Grisons and is located 92km (57 miles) north-east of Lugano.

Uelzen is a town with a population of around 35,000 inhabitants in the German state of Niedersachsen and is located 784km (487 miles) north of Lugano.

Aix-les Bains is a town with a population of around 32,000 inhabitants in the French region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and is located 238km (148 miles) west of Lugano.

Exmouth is a town with a population of around 35,000 inhabitants in the English county of Devon and is located 1,048km (652 miles) north-west of Lugano.

Acquasparta is a town with a population of around 5,500 inhabitants in the Italian region of Umbria and is located 467km (290 miles) south-east of Lugano.

Assen is a town with a population of around 68,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Drenthe and is located 796km (495 miles) north of Lugano.

The Venue

Parco Civico e Riva del Lago di Lugano

The games were played at two adjacent locations in the city. The first was within the confines of the Parco Civico which overlooks the shores of Lake Lugano and covers an area of around 63,000m² (678,126ft²). It constitutes the city’s green lung and is a quiet place where you can take pleasant walks and where it is impossible to remain unperturbed by the grandeur of century old trees. Many paths cross the beautiful flowerbeds, embellished by statues and fountains, and the perfectly maintained meadows.

The park is divided into two different areas. The first one, close to Villa Civico, is reachable through the main entrance, and features English-style gardens with large flowerbeds and grassy areas sitting in the shadow of trees and plants from all over the world. The second area stretches from the shore of the lake to the Cassarate river and has a ‘wilder’ look where visitors can find oaks, lindens, sycamores and maples, all indigenous to the region, as well as a playground area for kids. Inside the park, there are a few very important buildings such as Villa Civico, home to the Museo Civico di Belle Arti (The Museum of Fine Arts), the Palazzo dei Congressi (The Palace of Congress), the Cantonal Museum of Natural History and the Cantonal Library.

The second location was the shore of Lake Lugano which covers an area of 48.7km² (18.8 miles²), 63% of which is in Switzerland and 37% which is in Italy. It has an average width of roughly 1km (¾ mile), a maximum depth of 288m (944ft 9in) found in the northern basin and an average volume of 6.5km³ (1.6 miles³) of water.

The Italian waters of the lake, which include the enclave of Campione d'Italia, are considered by Italian law as non-territorial for fiscal purposes and as such enjoy a special tax status as a duty-free area, exemption from European Union VAT (Value Added Tax) and offer residents other advantageous tax privileges. The enclave which is surrounded by Switzerland on three sides and the lake on the other) is less than 1km (0.6 miles) at the shortest point from the rest of Italy (Monte Sighignola), but the hilly terrain requires a journey by road of over 14km (9 miles) to reach the nearest Italian town, Lanzo d'Intelvi, and over 27km (17 miles) to reach the city of Como.

In 1969, it was planned to construct a cable car from Sighignola, across the Swiss upper slopes, to the enclave. Although construction started, the cable car never opened, and 40 years later in 2009, an agreement was reached between the Italian and Swiss authorities to remove the remains of the structure.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Water Mill

The first game - ‘The Water Mill’ - was played in the confines of the park over six heats of 45 seconds duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team and a large foam rubber-covered roller with a set of blades, at each end, balanced over a large pool. In opposition were five male opposing team members each armed with a high-powered water hose. Before the start of each heat, the competitor had to make his way to the middle of the roller and balance himself. On the whistle, the hoses were turned on and the opposition had to direct them to the top (or bottom) of the blades to make the roller turn clockwise (or anti-clockwise). Once the roller began to pick up speed, they could alternate the roller’s direction by pointing the hoses to the opposite end of the blades in order to get the competitor to misjudge his step and ultimately fall into the pool below. The team that remained on the roller for the greater time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this interesting but straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium but their competitor could only stay aloft for 10 seconds before dropping into the pool.

The second heat featured Italy and their competitor judged the direction of the roller well and was able to stay aloft almost twice as long as his Belgian rival and was given a time of 19 seconds.

The third team to participate was Switzerland and they appeared to have the best technique and used the top of the roller in a manner similar to that of a gymnasium treadmill and jogged merrily along for 33 seconds, a time which would not be emulated.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was France and their competitor lasted 23 seconds.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and despite a good beginning, their competitor tumbled into the pool after just 13 seconds.

The sixth and final heat featured Great Britain and their competitor remained aloft for 21 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (10pts awarded / Joker / 10pts total) 2nd Val di Poschiavo (CH) (6pts / 6pts) 3rd Exmouth (GB) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Acquasparta (I) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Assen (NL) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Zelzate (B) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Uelzen (D) (--- / 0pts)

Comments: Although this appeared a simplistic game in design, hilarity ensued when the competitors tried to outrun the direction of the roller as, not only did it make the roller go faster, it made their footwork even more precarious.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - Aquatic Quoits

The next game - ‘Aquatic Quoits’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was the only game to be played in the water of Lake Lugano. It featured three male competitors standing in a crow’s nest at the top of a tall mast which had a 50m (164ft) wire descending down and into the lake and would end with an unusual and unique result. Below, and set at equidistance from each other, there were seven rubber rings each with a different value. The ring closest to the base of the mast was valued at 1pt, the next was valued at 2pts, the next 3pts and the fourth was the highest-scoring, being valued at 4pts. The values of the fifth, sixth and seventh rings descended with 3pts, 2pts and 1pt, respectively. On the whistle, each competitor had to descend the wire holding onto straps and release himself in time to score the highest score of 4pts, remembering to allow time for kinetic energy and gravity to drop them in the target required. The team with the highest aggregate total over the three descents would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of West Germany and, with all of the competitors dropping into the ring valued at 4pts, they achieved a maximum score of 12.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Uelzen (D) (12)

Game 2 - Cracking the Eggs

The second game - ‘Cracking the Eggs’ - was played over two heats of three teams and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team on a bicycle and a 50m (164ft) course comprising a ‘tunnel’ constructed of scaffolding poles from which thirty giant eggs (in ten groups of three eggs) were hanging. Whilst the male competitor, wearing a crash helmet was in the normal seated position, the female was standing astride the back wheel with her feet resting on an extended axle and with her hands placed on his shoulders. On the whistle, the team had to move along the course and, whilst doing so, the female competitor had to grab an egg from each group and crack it open on the helmet. The team breaking all ten eggs in the specified manner and completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this somewhat straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and Great Britain and ended with the teams crossing the line in that order. However, despite the fact that Great Britain were the last of the three to cross the finish line, the other two were sent back to complete the game and were therefore awarded the best time in this heat of 37 seconds. Switzerland eventually finished the game in 45 seconds with West Germany close behind in 46 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, Italy and Netherlands and was completed by Belgium with a faultless run in the fastest overall time of 27 seconds. Netherlands, who also made a faultless run, finished the game just one second slower in 28 seconds whilst Italy were not so fortunate and, following a couple of errors and being sent back to correct them, eventually crossed the line in 43 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (--- awarded / 10pts total) =2nd Val di Poschiavo (CH) (2pts / 8pts) =2nd Exmouth (GB) (4pts / 8pts) ▲ =4th Zelzate (B) (6pts / 7pts) ▲ =4th Assen (NL) (5pts / 7pts) ▲ 6th Acquasparta (I) (3pts / 6pts) ▼ 7th Uelzen (D) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: As this game was played over a straight 50m course, the on-site touch-judges had to keep pace with their designated charges as they cycled along the course. Any errors (i.e. eggs not broken in the specified manner) could not be relayed to the teams until after they had crossed the finish line by which time the judges had ‘caught’ up. Once informed, the teams had to return to the point where the error was made in order to complete the task and then recycle to the finish line to obtain a time.

Technical Problems on the Jeu Intermédiaire!

The cameras returned to the lakeside for the second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire expecting the participation of France. However, due to a technical problem with the live link, it was unable to be played and ultimately delayed. It led to the organisers shifting the remainder of the schedule throughout the evening. There was no further play on the Jeu Intermédiaire until after the sixth game and this resulted in three rounds being played consecutively by two teams, with the final two having to play the game after the outcome of the scheduled final game.

Game 3 - The Floral Hats

The third game - ‘The Floral Hats’ - was played over two heats of one minute duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team, one standing on a high podium whilst the other, armed with a skipping rope and wearing a safety helmet attached to a circular metallic board, was on the ground below. On the whistle, the ground-based competitor had to continually skip throughout the game whilst her team-mate dropped up to forty artificial flowers with rubber suckers attached to the stems, from above. Any flowers that did not stick to the metal ring or were dislodged as the rope passed over the top would not be counted. A touch-judge accompanied the ‘dropper’ on the podium to ensure that flowers were only released one at a time and only whilst the competitor was skipping. The team with the greater number of flowers attached to the board would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Netherlands and ended with France securing 22 flowers, Netherlands securing 20 flowers and Switzerland securing 15 flowers.

The second heat featured Belgium, West Germany and Italy and ended with West Germany securing 22 flowers, Belgium securing 18 flowers and Italy securing 14 flowers.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (6pts awarded / 16pts total) 2nd Val di Poschiavo (CH) (4pts / Joker / 12pts) 3rd Assen (NL) (4pts / 11pts) ▲ 4th Zelzate (B) (3pts / 10pts) 5th Exmouth (GB) (--- / 8pts) ▼ =6th Uelzen (D) (6pts / 7pts) ▲ =6th Acquasparta (I) (1pt / 7pts)

Game 4 - Boxing Bagatelle

The fourth game - ‘Boxing Bagatelle’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured a male competitor from each team wearing boxing gloves and standing in an arena of mud, above which was a large bagatelle board angled downwards to the ground. On the whistle, and at three-second intervals thereafter, stagehands released a football from one of three holes at the top of the game. After the balls had made their way down the board, the competitor had to try and grab them with his gloved hands as they dropped off the board and then run to the front of the game and place it into his country-coded box. Any balls dropping to the ground would be deemed out of play and only cleanly caught balls would be counted. The team collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

This was another straightforward game which ended with France catching 8 balls, Great Britain catching 5 balls, Switzerland catching 4 balls, West Germany catching 3 balls and both Belgium and Netherlands catching 2 balls each.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (6pts awarded / 22pts total) 2nd Val di Poschiavo (CH) (4pts / 16pts) =3rd Exmouth (GB) (5pts / 13pts) ▲ =3rd Assen (NL) (2pts / 13pts) 5th Zelzate (B) (2pts / 12pts) ▼ 6th Uelzen (D) (3pts / 10pts) ▲ 7th Acquasparta (I) (--- / 7pts) ▼

Comments: With this heat being broadcast in monochrome, it was very difficult for the viewing audience to identify which competitor was from which country. This was very apparent once they had become covered in mud. The country-coded boxes at the front of the game also became increasingly covered over as the game progressed and at one point the competitor from Belgium had to be directed by one of the touch-judges to which box to place his ball into.

Game 5 - Serving the Beer

The fifth game - ‘Serving the Beer’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team standing at a 90° angle to the end of a long counter or bar (similar to that seen in a Wild West saloon) with one end of an elasticated rope around his waist and the other attached to a podium. On the whistle, two female team-mates had to hurl glasses filled with beer down the counter and it was the task of the competitor to time his run forward in order to catch the glasses. Only upright-standing glasses that reached the end of the counter would be deemed as counting and any contents could be emptied into a measuring cylinder adjacent to the podium. The team collecting the greater amount of beer would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and Italy and ended with Belgium having collected a total of 2.5kgs (5lb 8¼oz) of beer, Switzerland collecting 2.2kg (4lb 13½oz) and Italy collecting a total of 2.04kg (4lb 8oz).

The second heat featured the three remaining teams of West Germany, France and Great Britain and it ended with France having collected a total of 2.68kg (5lb 14½oz) of beer, Great Britain collecting 2.35kg (5lb 3oz) and West Germany collecting 2.3kg (5lb 1¼oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (6pts awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Exmouth (GB) (8pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ 3rd Val di Poschiavo (CH) (2pts / 18pts) ▼ 4th Zelzate (B) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ =5th Uelzen (D) (3pts / 13pts) ▲ =5th Assen (NL) (--- / 13pts) ▼ 7th Acquasparta (I) (1pt / 8pts)

Comments: This game - ‘Serving the Beer’ - was used again in 1974 at the British International at Northampton when the theme of the games that night was 'The Wild West'. The game involved 'barmaids' sliding glasses of beer along the bar (as portrayed in many skits of Wild West films) which had to be caught by a team-mate. However, the team-mates were tied to an elastic rope and had to time it exactly right to run forward and catch the glass as it reached the end of the bar otherwise the elastic rope would retract, bringing him with it.

Game 6 - The Giant Rollers

The sixth game - ‘The Giant Rollers’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured six female competitors from each team and a large narrow tube with caged doors at each of its ends on a track with lipped edges. On the whistle, the competitors had to roll the tubes up the 25m (82ft) course and return to the start and then repeat it on two more occasions. The team completing all three return journeys (150m (492ft 1½in) in total) in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this simple and straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Italy with the latter two teams finding themselves neck and neck over the first return journey. Following this, France gathered speed and took control and led for the remainder of the game, completing the course in a time of 1 minute 11 seconds. Contemporaneously, Switzerland closed the deficit and overtook Italy and finished in 2nd place in 1 minute 22 seconds with Italy finishing in 3rd place in 1 minute 26 seconds.

The second heat featured West Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands and was the faster of the two heats overall, with outcome very apparent from the outset. West Germany led the game throughout and finished in 1st place in 1 minute 1 second with Netherlands finishing in 2nd place in 1 minute 11 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 3rd place in 1 minute 16 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (5pts awarded / 33pts total) 2nd Uelzen (D) (12pts / Joker / 25pts) ▲ 3rd Exmouth (GB) (3pts / 24pts) ▼ 4th Val di Poschiavo (CH) (2pts / 20pts) ▼ 5th Assen (NL) (5pts / 18pts) 6th Zelzate (B) (--- / 17pts) ▼ 7th Acquasparta (I) (1pt / 9pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Rounds 2 and 3 - Aquatic Quoits

On the stroke of 50 minutes of elapsed time and following a delay of 29 minutes, the cameras finally returned to the Jeu Intermédiaire for the second round which featured France. As was the case in the previous round, all three of their competitors landed in the highest scoring ring valued at 4pts, giving the team a total score of 12.

This was immediately followed by the third round, but instead of Great Britain participating as expected, it featured Italy, and they also achieved a score of 12.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: =1st Uelzen (D) (12) =1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (12) =1st Acquasparta (I) (12)

Game 7 - Paintball Acrobats

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Paintball Acrobats’ - was played individually over 45 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team, one hanging from a trapeze bar with a large circular board attached to his feet and the other standing on a podium 3m (9ft 10¼in) behind him. On the whistle, the competitor on the trapeze had to make gymnastic revolutions of the bar whilst the other threw paintballs at the board. Only one paintball could be thrown per revolution. The team achieving the greater number of hits within the allotted time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very simple and uneventful game saw the participation Great Britain and they achieved a score of 5 hits.

This was followed by the second heat which featured Italy and they were able to score a total of 10 hits.

The third team to participate was West Germany and at the end of permitted time that had scored 13 hits.

This was followed by the fourth heat which featured France and they were only able to score 5 hits.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they scored 10 hits.

The sixth and final heat featured Belgium and they scored 9 hits.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (2pts awarded / 35pts total) 2nd Uelzen (D) (6pts / 31pts) 3rd Exmouth (GB) (2pts / 26pts) =4th Zelzate (B) (6pts / Joker / 23pts) ▲ =4th Assen (NL) (5pts / 23pts) ▲ 6th Val di Poschiavo (CH) (--- / 20pts) ▼ 7th Acquasparta (I) (5pts / 14pts)

Comments: This game witnessed France finishing in 5th position, the only occasion that the team found itself outside the top two places on a game in the entire competition!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Rounds 4 and 5 - Aquatic Quoits

The fourth round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Netherlands and for a fourth consecutive occasion, a total score of 12 was achieved.

This was immediately followed by the fifth round which saw the participation of Belgium and, akin with the previous four teams, also achieved a total score of 12 and it appeared that the game could end in stalemate. However, a mistake by one of the final two teams would produce a unique outcome.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: =1st Zelzate (B) (12) =1st Uelzen (D) (12) =1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (12) =1st Acquasparta (I) (12) =1st Assen (NL) (12)

Game 8 - The Bridegroom's Attire

The eighth and final game - ‘The Bridegroom’s Attire’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Italy and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team with the male dressed in fisherman’s clothing and the female attired in a wedding dress. On the whistle, the two competitors had to run up the course and climb into a narrow upright rectangular Perspex box via a round hole in its side. Once inside, the female had to assist the male out of his clothes and into a groom’s formal wedding attire comprising a shirt, a tie, a waistcoat, a jacket, a pair of trousers, a pair of shoes and a top hat. Once achieved, the pair then had to climb out of the box and return to the start. The team completing the ‘transformation’ in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although this was a straightforward game, it proved a difficult game to judge as a viewer and the result would only be revealed once the teams climbed out of the boxes. After everything had been checked by the touch-judges, the result was announced and there would be just 19 seconds separating the seven teams. Italy had completed the game in 1 minute 13 seconds followed by France in 2nd place in 1 minute 21 seconds. Belgium were deemed to have finished in 3rd place in 1 minute 23 seconds, Switzerland in 4th place in 1 minute 25 seconds whilst West Germany finished in 5th place in 1 minute 27 seconds. The final two places were taken by Netherlands in 6th place in 1 minute 28 seconds and Great Britain finished in 7th place in 1 minute 32 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (6pts awarded / 41pts total) 2nd Uelzen (D) (3pts / 34pts) =3rd Zelzate (B) (5pts / 28pts) ▲ =3rd Acquasparta (I) (14pts / Joker / 28pts) ▲ =5th Exmouth (GB) (1pt / 27pts) ▼ =5th Assen (NL) (4pts / Joker / 27pts) ▼ 7th Val di Poschiavo (CH) (4pts / 24pts) ▼

Comments: This game was used again (but in much more detail) at Meiringen-Hasliberg, once more in Switzerland, on 29th July 1981, to celebrate the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (1961-1997), which had taken place earlier in the day. However, on that occasion the competitors had to exit a cable-car and then six team-mates had to climb inside the train of the dress and jump in unison in order that the bride and groom could make their way down the course to the finish line. With four game wins during the competition (and a fifth guaranteed on the Fil Rouge), French team Aix-les-Bains had accumulated sufficient points to guarantee overall victory and became the first team in the programme’s history to have led an event from start to finish.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Rounds 6 and 7 - Aquatic Quoits

The sixth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire finally featured Great Britain and they became the sixth consecutive team to achieve a maximum score of 12 .

This was immediately followed by the seventh and final round which saw the participation of Switzerland and it appeared that the game could end with all teams scoring maximum points. However, as the first competitor descended the wire, he had mistaken which ring to start his drop above and passed the third ring, still holding onto the straps. He ultimately released himself above the 4pt valued ring but kinetic energy carried him to the second of the 3pt rings. With the two other competitors both scoring 4pts, Switzerland had achieved a total of just 11pts, much to the dismay of presenter Mascia Cantoni.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: =1st Zelzate (B) (12) =1st Uelzen (D) (12) =1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (12) =1st Exmouth (GB) (12) =1st Acquasparta (I) (12) =1st Assen (NL) (12) 7th Val di Poschiavo (11)

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Aix-les-Bains (F) (7pts awarded / 48pts total) 2nd Uelzen (D) (7pts / 41pts) =3rd Zelzate (B) (7pts / 35pts) =3rd Acquasparta (I) (7pts / 35pts) =5th Exmouth (GB) (7pts / 34pts) =5th Assen (NL) (7pts / 34pts) 7th Val di Poschiavo (CH) (1pt / 25pts)

Comments: This was the first and only time in the history of Jeux Sans Frontieres where a game would end in such a manner (six teams winning and one in last place). Four similar incidents, although being the opposite (one team winning and all the others being placed last), occurred in Game 2 of JSF 1972 Heat 5 at Nice, France; in Game 2 of JSF 1988 Heat 4 at Sevilla, Spain; in Game 3 of the XMAS 1990 special staged in Macao; and in the Fil Rouge of JSF 1996 Heat 9 at Torino, Italy. The French team from Aix-les-Bains achieved four victories and three 2nd placings on three of the other four games played. Quite a remarkable performance for a team playing away from home!

Returning Teams and Competitors

The children of Swiss team members Dante and Monica Crameri - Alberto, Corina, Nando and Orlando - all participated in the programme for Val di Poschiavo in 1994!

Following his success at leading Assen to a place in Jeux Sans Frontières, team captain Frits Busscher would return to participate in Zeskamp 1970-1971 as team captain of Rolde.

Records and Statistics

With a distance of just 24km (15 miles) separating Lugano and Como (the venue of the previous International Heat), the two towns not only hold the record for being the closest two venues in the same Jeux Sans Frontières series but also that of being the two closest consecutive venues in the same year!

Excluding the first two series of Jeux Sans Frontières (1965 and 1966) when only two teams competed in each heat, French team Aix-les-Bains became the first of only seven teams during the first incarnation of the programme (1967-1982) to lead the scoreboard from start to end. The other members of this exclusive club were Offenburg, West Germany (1971), Marburg an der Lahn, West Germany (1973), Farnham, Great Britain (1974), Nieuwegein, Netherlands (1977), Willebroek, Belgium (1978) and Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy (1981). If the second incarnation of the programme (1988-1999) is included, the list of teams increases by twelve: Madeira, Portugal (1988 on two occasions), Trogir, Yugoslavia (1990), Chaves, Portugal (1991), Llanberis, Wales (1991), Vigevano, Italy (1991), Lisboa, Portugal (1992), La Côte, Switzerland (1992), Firenze, Italy (1993), Keskemét, Hungary (1993), Százhalombatta, Hungary (1994) and Brno, Czech Republic (1995). However, only one team achieved this feat at an International Final - Vigevano, Italy in 1991.

Made in B/W • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives

B

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 3

Event Staged: Wednesday 8th July 1970
Venue: Théâtre d'Été (Summer Theatre), Esplanade de la Citadelle (The Citadel Esplanade), Namur, Belgium

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

RAI Due (I): Wednesday 8th July 1970, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 15th July 1970
BBC1 (GB): Friday 31st July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry with a Strong Breeze

Winners' Trophy presented by: Mayor of Namur

Theme: Local Folklore

Teams: Namur (B) v. Vevey (CH) v. Delmenhorst (D) v. Lille (F) v.
Aberdeen (GB) v. Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) v. Genemuiden (NL)

Team Members included:
Vevey (CH) - André Givenet, Alice Vikery;
Delmenhorst (D) - Jupp Schmeißner (Co-Team Coach), Storma Schmeißner (Co-Team Coach), Monika Behrmann, Bernhard Ebrecht, Uva Ellmann, Ushe Fietz, Detlef Fuge, Franck Heller, Wolfgang Heuken, Gerdha Hoffen, Juta Klaus, Rolf Koch, Karin Morgenthal, Karl Müller, Nikan Müller, Gerraut Pfink, Volker Pietrich, Jürgen Zumbro.

Games:  The Bowling Alley, Junkyard Water Carrier, Romeo and Juliet, Capping the Churns, Hold Your Head High, Death to the Spider!, The Bath of Venus and The Great Escape.
Fil Rouge: Hanging the Salamis;
Jokers: Joker Playing Cards (except France – Large Plain Card with two Joker Playing Cards placed in its centre).

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
1st
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th

 B • Namur ●
 CH • Vevey ● ●
 D • Delmenhorst
 NL • Genemuiden
 GB • Aberdeen
 F • Lille
 I • Siracusa (Sicilia)

42
42
39
37
28
27
21

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Namur (=1st, 42pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Vevey (=1st, 42pts)
West Germany (D) - Uelzen (2nd, 41pts)
France (F) - Aix-les-Bains (1st, 48pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Exmouth (=5th, 34pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Genemuiden (4th, 37pts)

The Host Town

Namur, Belgium

Namur is a city with a population of around 110,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) province of Wallonia. It is located at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, 30km (19 miles) east of Charleroi, 53km (33 miles) west of Liège, 56km (35 miles) south-east of Bruxelles / Brussel and 109km (68 miles) north-west of Arlon. Its main industries are tourism, machinery production, leather goods, metals and porcelain.

Namur began as an important trading settlement in Celtic times, straddling east-west and north-south trade routes across the Ardennes. The Romans established a presence after Julius Caesar (100-44 BC) defeated the local Aduatuci tribe. The city came to prominence during the early Middle Ages, when a castle or citadel was constructed on the rocky spur overlooking the city at the confluence of the two rivers. The city developed somewhat unevenly, as the counts of Namur could only build on the north bank of the Meuse - the south bank was owned by the bishops of Liège and developed more slowly into the town of Jambes (now effectively a suburb of Namur). In 1262, Namur fell into the hands of the Count of Flanders, and was purchased by Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy (1396-1467) in 1421.

After the city became part of the Spanish Netherlands in the 1640s, its citadel was considerably strengthened. Louis XIV of France (1638-1715) invaded in 1692, capturing the city and annexing it to France. However, French control was short-lived, as William III of Orange-Nassau (1650-1702) captured the city only three years later in 1695, during the War of the Grand Alliance (1689-1697). Under the Barrier Treaty of 1709, the Dutch gained the right to garrison Namur, although the subsequent Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 gave control of the former Spanish Netherlands to the Austrian House of Habsburg. Thus, although the Austrians ruled the city, the citadel was controlled by the Dutch. It was rebuilt again under their tenure. France invaded the region again in 1794, during the French Revolutionary Wars (1792-1802), and again annexed Namur, imposing a repressive regime. After the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) in 1815, the Congress of Vienna incorporated what is now Belgium into the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. Belgium broke away from the Netherlands in 1830, following the Belgian Revolution, and Namur continued to be a major garrison city under the new government. The citadel was rebuilt yet again in 1887.

Namur was a major target of the German invasion of Belgium in 1914, which sought to use the Meuse valley as a route into France. On August 21st 1914, the Germans bombarded the city. The citadel fell after only three days' fighting and the city was occupied by the Germans for the rest of the war. Namur fared little better in World War II (1939-1945) as it was in the front lines of both the Battle of the Ardennes in 1940 and the Battle of the Bulge in 1944. The city suffered heavy damage in both wars.

The city's most prominent sight is the aforementioned citadel, now demilitarised and open to the public. Namur also has a distinctive 18th century' cathedral dedicated to Saint Aubain and a belfry classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. An odd Namurois custom is the annual Combat de l'Échasse d'Or (Fight for the Golden Stilt), held on the third Sunday in September. Two teams, the Mélans and the Avresses, dress in medieval clothes while standing on stilts and do battle in one of the city's principal squares. The Avresses represent the New City with the red and white colours, and the Mélans represent the Old City with the yellow and black stilts.

The Visiting Towns

Vevey is a municipality with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Swiss canton of Vaud and is located 468km (291 miles) south of Namur.

Delmenhorst is a town with a population of around 75,000 inhabitants in the German state of Niedersachsen and is located 388km (241 miles) north-east of Namur.

Lille is a city with a population of around 230,000 inhabitants in the French region of Hauts-de-France and is located 129km (80 miles) west of Namur.

Aberdeen is a city with a population of around 220,000 inhabitants in the Scottish council area of Aberdeen City and is located 872km (542 miles) north-west of Namur.

Siracusa (Sicilia) is a city with a population of around 125,000 inhabitants in the Italian island region of Sicilia and is located 1,706km (1,060 miles) south-east of Namur.

Genemuiden is a town with a population of around 12,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Overijssel and is located 254km (158 miles) north-east of Namur.

The Venue

Théâtre d'Été

The games were played at the beautiful open-air theatre located on the Route Merveilleuse on the ascent to the Citadel in Namur. The current building, opened in 1889, is used to promote summer concerts of music, dancing and drama for the local inhabitants.

In the wake of the French Revolution of 1789, a large number of religious buildings and sites were destroyed. The space was later reclaimed for new urban facilities such as theatres, kiosks, and parks. In 1822, the Regency Council decided to construct a building dedicated entirely and exclusively to the arts and music - the Théâtre de Namur. The original theatre was entirely built and inaugurated in the year 1824, on the site of the Convent of the Annunciation. It was smaller than the current building is today and was particularly uncomfortable for both players and spectators.

Following a fire in 1860, the theatre was reconstructed to highlight the monumental character of the building. The main façade was designed in neo-classical style and was built on two levels. However, a second fire in 1862 saw the theatre fall derelict for 37 years. In 1896, it was decided to reconstruct it once again, keeping the front building as before but change the central part of the building, aligning it on the front to save space and providing an additional 150 places. The stage was also redesigned, becoming rectangular in shape.

The theatre remained open until 1990, after which time urgent renovations were required to bring it up to the standard of European law, re-opening on 7th March 1998. Today it is known as Théâtre de Verdur (The Green Theatre) and since 1985 (excluding the 8-year hiatus) has been the home of the free annual Verdur Rock festival which is organised and coordinated by the Youth Service of the city of Namur. Although it is only a one-day event, the festival offers amateur rock bands a rare shot at playing before a large audience and with the theatre’s size, the festival has witnessed crowds of up to 10,000 people in recent years!

The Games in Detail

Introduction

Before the competition began, Belgian presenter Michel Lemaire introduced the British team first and the crowd was treated to a tune from eight members of the Aberdeen Bon Accord Ladies Pipe Band, playing Scotland the Brave. As the introduction of the teams continued, Michel reached the French team of Lille, who were described by West German commentator Camillo Felgen as coming from the city where French President Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970) was born and raised. Ironically, later in November that year, de Gaulle passed away at La Boisserie, the family home in Colombey-les-Deux-Églises, at the age of 79.

Game 1 - The Bowling Alley

The first game - ‘The Bowling Alley’ - was played individually over six heats and featured a female competitor from each team and a bowling alley with fifteen large pins at the end. The alley was slightly unusual to that of the norm whereby it had a couple of additional features. Between the end of the alley and the 15 pins (normally there would only be ten), five smaller alleys had been set at a 90° angle to the right of that, and at the end of these were compartments valued from 0-4pts. There was also an extra compartment beyond these which was valued at 5pts but was shielded by a wall. On the whistle, the competitor bowled a ball and, at the same time, five opposing male competitors each bowled a ball along the five other alleys in an attempt to knock her ball into one of those compartments and therefore preventing it from reaching the pins. However, if the ball was hit by one of the opposition and ricocheted past the compartments, it could drop into the sixth compartment (5pts). If the competitor on the other hand was successful in avoiding the opposition attack, the ball knocked down the pins at the end of the course. The number of pins knocked down plus another five (being the number of compartments passed successfully) were added together to give a total. This was then repeated to give an aggregate score. Any ball that was not hit by the opposition, but made contact with their lane end markings, would be deemed as scoring 0pts.The maximum score that a team could achieve would be 40pts (15 pins + 5 compartments passed (20pts) on each run). The team with the greater aggregate total would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Italy and they scored a total of 7pts (5pts on the first run and 2pts on the second).

The second heat featured Great Britain who scored a total of 34pts (17pts (12 pins knocked down + 5 compartments passed) on the first run and a further 17pts on the second).

The third team to participate was Belgium and they could only score a total of 1pt (0pts on the first run and 1pt on the second), which at first glance appeared to be somewhat of a disastrous opening score for the home team.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was France and they also scored a total of 1pt (0pts on the first run and 1pt on the second).

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and, as was the case with the previous two teams, also scored a total of 1pt. However, they scored 1pt on the first run and 0pts on the second.

The sixth and final heat featured West Germany and they scored a total of 2pts (0pts on the first run and 2pts on the second).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aberdeen (GB) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Delmenhorst (D) (4pts / 4pts) =4th Namur (B) (3pts / 3pts) =4th Lille (F) (3pts / 3pts) =4th Genemuiden (NL) (3pts / 3pts) 7th Vevey (CH) (--- / 0pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - Hanging the Salamis

The next game - ‘Hanging the Salamis’ - was the Fil Rouge which was played over a duration of two minutes and featured two competitors (one male and one female) at the base of a long ramp standing alongside a trolley with a caricatured shield at the front. At the top of the ramp, there was a metal framework from which were hanging a number of wires and at the base was a table with 100 salamis with a hook attached to each one. On the whistle, the female competitor had to collect salamis from the table and then board the trolley. Her male team-mate then had to push the trolley up the ramp in order for her to hang a maximum of three salamis from the wires. In order to hamper their progress, a high powered water hose was located beyond the framework which aimed a jet of water towards the competitors and ultimately against the shield as it progressed up the ramp. Once the salamis had been hung from the wires, the team then had to return to the base of the ramp to repeat the game. However, for each additional run, the competitors had to swap roles of pushing and hanging. The number of salamis that were carried on each run was the choice of the competitor but, in order for them to count, they had to be hung individually. Multiple salamis that hung together would only count as one. The team hanging a total of nine salamis in the faster time or the greater number in the permitted time would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Switzerland and they had to make a total of four runs in order to complete the game. The first run was completed in 26 seconds but although four salamis had been hung only two were counted. The next run proved more fruitful with three salamis counting and was completed after 58 seconds of elapsed time. A further three salamis were hung on the third run after 1 minute 27 seconds and a fourth run with the final salami was completed in 1 minute 50 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds)

Game 2 - Junkyard Water Carriers

The second game - ‘Junkyard Water Carriers’ - was played over two heats of 1 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and an obscure rectangular-shaped pipe-work on which atop sat a bowl. On the whistle, the male competitor had to raise the pipe-work so that the bowl was positioned underneath a water source. To support the weight of the equipment, the female assisted him with a pole attached to a wheel. Once the bowl was full of water, the team then had to maintain the pipe-work’s balance whilst traversing a 10m (32ft 9¾in) course which comprised three small hurdles. At the end of the course, a male team-mate standing on a podium had to remove the bowl and empty any contents into a large bucket. After replacing the bowl, the two competitors had to return to the start to repeat the game. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, France and Great Britain and it ended with Great Britain taking full advantage of an oversight by the designers and touch-judges. The buckets in which the water was stored did not have any lids and although the final whistle had sounded, the team were able to sneak a final bowlful of water into the bucket. When the results were announced it showed that Great Britain had collected 26.5kg (58lb 6¾oz) of water, Belgium had collected 22.5kg (49lb 9½oz) and France had collected 15.5kg (34lb 2¾oz).

The second heat featured Switzerland, Italy and Netherlands and it finished with Switzerland having collected 25.5kg (56lb 3½oz) of water, Netherlands having collected 25kg (55lb 1¾oz) and Italy having collected 23kg (50lb 11¼oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aberdeen (GB) (6pts awarded / 12pts total) 2nd Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (3pts / 8pts) 3rd Genemuiden (NL) (4pts / 7pts) ▲ =4th Namur (B) (2pts / 5pts) =4th Vevey (CH) (5pts / 5pts) ▲ =6th Delmenhorst (D) (--- / 4pts) ▼ =6th Lille (F) (1pt / 4pts) ▼

Comments: For fans of the programme that were unfortunate never to have attended an International heat (or indeed a Domestic), a long shot of the arena at the end of this game would reveal how close to each other the games of Jeux Sans Frontières were located. Viewers would always be given the illusion that the games were sited far apart, but this shot showed five games in close proximity to each other with a cameraman being rolled in closely followed by electricians and stagehands with cables in their hands!

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - Hanging the Salamis

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and they hung three salamis on their first run after 25 seconds of elapsed time. The second run was just as fruitful with the next three salamis hung after 1 minute 9 seconds. They completed the game on their third run in 1 minute 43 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) 2nd Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) ▼

Game 3 - Romeo and Juliet

The third game - ‘Romeo and Juliet’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a number of large flowers. The male competitor was standing in a designated cordoned lane and was blindfolded and holding a blunted tripod. On the whistle, he had to run along his lane in order to collect three flowers which were sprouting from large boxes at the end of the course. He then had to place a flower in each of the three ‘prongs’ of the tripod and then return to the start of the course where the female competitor was standing aloft on a platform. She then had to remove the flowers from the tripod and descend a small meandering greased ramp at the rear of the platform and then place the flowers into holes on a foam rubber board located on the ground. Contemporaneously, the male competitor had to repeat the game below whilst the female ascended the ramp with the aid of rope banisters to reach the top of the platform. The team collecting the greater number of flowers would be declared the winners.

When the results of this straightforward game were announced, they revealed that it had been very closely fought. Switzerland had collected a total of 18 flowers whilst Great Britain had collected 16 flowers. Belgium, West Germany and Netherlands had all collected 15 flowers each whilst Italy had collected 14 flowers.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aberdeen (GB) (5pts awarded / 17pts total) =2nd Vevey (CH) (6pts / 11pts) ▲ =2nd Genemuiden (NL) (4pts / 11pts) ▲ =4th Namur (B) (4pts / 9pts) =4th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1pt / 9pts) ▼ 6th Delmenhorst (D) (4pts / 8pts) 7th Lille (F) (--- / 4pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - Hanging the Salamis

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured France and, as was the case with the previous round, they completed the game in three straight runs. The first run was completed after of 22 seconds of elapsed time, the second run after 59 seconds and the final three salamis were hung in a total of 1 minute 33 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Lille (F) (1 minute 33 seconds) 2nd Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) ▼ 3rd Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) ▼

Game 4 - Capping the Churns

The fourth game - ‘Capping the Churns’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play, a decision that they would ultimately regret. The game featured two female competitors from each team and a large open-topped milk churn with weighed ropes hanging down on each side and a total of 40 long rounded wooden poles. On the whistle, the competitors had to collect an unlimited number of the wooden poles and climb the ropes in order to reach the top of the churn. They then had to place up to a maximum of four across the mouth of the churn and then another two at 90° on top of those. This had to be repeated so that each subsequent layer of two poles was at 90° to the previous one. As the layers increased and with the poles being rounded and wider than the churn itself, the competitors had to be careful not to produce too much swing whilst ascending and descending due to it being very easy for them to become dislodged by the ropes (or competitors) touching them. The team with the greater number of poles intact at the final whistle would be declared the winners.

As this straightforward game progressed, it appeared that Italy had made a wise decision to play their Joker, after their pile grew higher and higher. However, disaster was to befall them just three seconds before the final whistle, when one of the competitors touched the pile of 13 poles with the rope and it tumbled to the ground. With no time remaining to recompose itself, the team waited with bated breath for their worst fears to be announced. The final result of the game showed that Switzerland and West Germany had each placed 10 poles over the mouth of their churns, Belgium had placed 9 poles, France had placed 4 poles, Netherlands had placed 3 poles and Italy had 2 poles remaining at the top as the whistle was sounded.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Vevey (CH) (6pts awarded / 17pts total) ▲ =1st Aberdeen (GB) (--- / 17pts) 3rd Delmenhorst (D) (6pts / 14pts) ▲ =4th Namur (B) (4pts / 13pts) =4th Genemuiden (NL) (2pts / 13pts) ▼ 6th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (2pts / Joker / 11pts) ▼ 7th Lille (F) (3pts / 7pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - Hanging the Salamis

The fourth round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain whilst accompanied by the Aberdeen Bon Accord Ladies Pipe Band playing in the background. Unlike the previous two rounds, but akin with Switzerland in the first round, the British team had to make an additional run in order to complete the game. The first run was completed in 26 seconds with only two salamis being hung. The next run proved more fruitful with three salamis counting and was completed after 53 seconds of elapsed time. A further three salamis were hung on the third run in 1 minute 35 seconds and a fourth run with the final salami was completed in 1 minute 56 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Lille (F) (1 minute 33 seconds) 2nd Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) 3rd Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) 4th Aberdeen (GB) (1 minute 56 seconds)

Comments: The British team had to make four runs after dropping one of the salamis on their first run. Although the team attempted to make up the deficit on the third run by hanging four salamis, referee Gennaro Olivieri could be seen informing the team that only a maximum of three could be hung per run and they still needed to make one more run to achieve the required number to finish the game.

Game 5 - Hold Your Head High

The fifth game - ‘Hold Your Head High’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and, although deemed very risky, witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. However, as was the case in the previous game for Italy, it would be decision that the team would regret. The game featured two male competitors from each team standing on three wooden stilts with the right leg of one competitor and the left leg of the other sharing the middle stilt. Above the heads of the competitors, there were two wires running along the course and hanging down from safety clips were two ropes which each had a football enclosed in a net. On the whistle, the competitors had to work together and head the footballs along the wires to cross a finish line. If either of the competitors fell from the stilts, both of them had to return to the start, but the positions of the footballs would remain where they were. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and France and it was apparent from the outset that Belgium were the better adept at stilt walking and completed the game in 1 minute 21 seconds without mishap. The other two teams were not so adept with neither able to make it to the halfway mark without mishap. When the results were announced, both teams were given no score as they had failed to complete the game.

The second heat featured West Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands and, although not so adept as Belgium, both West Germany and Netherlands completed the game. The results revealed that Netherlands had finished in 1 minute 26 seconds and West Germany in 1 minute 38 seconds whilst Great Britain had failed to complete the game and thus given no score.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Namur (B) (6pts awarded / 19pts total) ▲ =1st Aberdeen (GB) (2pts / Joker / 19pts) =3rd Vevey (CH) (1pt / 18pts) ▼ =3rd Delmenhorst (D) (4pts / 18pts) =3rd Genemuiden (NL) (5pts / 18pts) ▲ 6th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (--- / 11pts) 7th Lille (F) (1pt / 8pts)

Comments: Before the start of the second heat, the West German commentators stated that it was difficult to understand why a team would risk their Joker on this type of game unless the competitors were expert stilt walkers. This statement would prove accurate after the heat ended! Belgium finally made some movement on the scoreboard after this game, having been stuck in 4th position since the first game!

Fil Rouge, Round 5 - Hanging the Salamis

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge featured Italy and they completed the game in three straight runs. The first of the three was completed after 19 seconds of elapsed time, the second run in 49 seconds and the final three salamis were hung in 1 minute 21 seconds. 

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1 minute 21 seconds) 2nd Lille (F) (1 minute 33 seconds) ▼ 3rd Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) ▼ 4th Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) ▼ 5th Aberdeen (GB) (1 minute 56 seconds) ▼

Game 6 - Death to the Spider!

The sixth game - ‘Death to the Spider!’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland and West Germany presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured four male competitors from each team and a course which comprised a playground swing, a shallow rectangular pool and a large spider’s web. On the whistle, the first of the competitors had to be pushed on the swing by a team-mate in order to gain enough height to hurl him from the swing to cross a designated line before landing in the pool. If successful, he exited the pool and ran to the far end of the course and waited underneath the spider’s web which was hanging from above. This had to be repeated until all four competitors were at the far end of the course. The team then had to make a human pyramid in order to reach the web and, with the aid of a peg attached to the web, burst a large balloon representing the spider. Any competitors failing to cross the designated line on their swing had to return to the start and repeat the game. The team ‘killing’ the spider in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and France and played out without incident. It finished with Switzerland completing the game in 42 seconds, France completing the game in 57 seconds and Belgium completing the game in 1 minute 23 seconds.

The second heat featured the remaining three teams of West Germany, Great Britain and Italy and proved to be the more ‘entertaining’ of the two. West Germany were the first to build their human pyramid after 42 seconds, but their competitor failed to burst the balloon and fell to the ground causing the process to be repeated. Contemporaneously, Italy believed that they had completed the game in 1 minute 21 seconds after bursting the spider’s head, but they were informed by the touch-judge that they had not crossed the line correctly on their final run and their competitor had to return to the start and repeat his run. The fortunes of Great Britain were just as grave when they completed their pyramid after 2 minutes 26 seconds but, as was the case with West Germany, were unable to burst the balloon. The result of the second heat showed West Germany had finished the game in 51 seconds whilst both Great Britain and Italy had failed to complete the game in the permitted time.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Vevey (CH) (12pts awarded / Joker / 30pts total) ▲ 2nd Delmenhorst (D) (10pts / Joker / 28pts) ▲ 3rd Namur (B) (3pts / 22pts) ▼ 4th Aberdeen (GB) (1pt / 20pts) ▼ 5th Genemuiden (NL) (--- / 18pts) ▼ =6th Lille (F) (4pts / 12pts) ▲ =6th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1pt / 12pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 6 - Hanging the Salamis

The sixth and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured Netherlands and, although they completed the game in three straight runs (the first after 25 seconds of elapsed time and the second after 1 minute 4 seconds), they could only manage a finishing time of 1 minute 34 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1 minute 21 seconds) 2nd Lille (F) (1 minute 33 seconds) 3rd Genemuiden (NL) (1 minute 34 seconds) 4th Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) ▼ 5th Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) ▼ 6th Aberdeen (GB) (1 minute 56 seconds) ▼

Game 7 - The Bath of Venus

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘The Bath of Venus’ - was played over three heats of one minute duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and an open platform comprised of two large wooden beams protruding out over a pool of water and three hoop-la poles at the end of the course. On the whistle, the male competitor armed with four giant hoops had to walk along the two beams, crossing an elasticated tape along the way, to the end of the platform to reach another platform which spanned the beams. He then had to hurl the three rings, one at a time, at the poles in order to score points. The nearest pole was valued at 1pt, the central pole was valued at 2pts and the furthest from the platform was valued at 3pts. The game then had to be repeated by the female competitor and then had to continue to alternate until time limit (although in practice, there was only enough time for a maximum of three runs to be achieved). Any competitor falling into the pool had to return to the start whilst their team-mate took their next turn. The team scoring the highest total would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of France and Great Britain and ended with both teams scoring 4pts each (2 x 2pts).

The second heat featured West Germany and Netherlands and whilst West Germany could only score 3pts (1 x 2pts + 1 x 1pt), Netherlands more than doubled their total and scored 7pts (1 x 3pts + 2 x 2pts).

The third team to participate was Switzerland and Italy and whilst Switzerland (who appeared to have a champion hoop-la expert in their team) scored 12pts (4 x 3pts), Italy were only able to score 2pts (2 x 1pt).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Vevey (CH) (6pts awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Delmenhorst (D) (2pts / 30pts) 3rd Aberdeen (GB) (4pts / 24pts) ▲ 4th Genemuiden (NL) (5pts / 23pts) ▲ 5th Namur (B) (--- / 22pts) ▼ 6th Lille (F) (8pts / Joker / 20pts) 7th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1pt / 13pts) ▼

Comments: There was a case of opposite fortunes for two countries following this game. Whilst Switzerland had achieved their fourth victory from five games, at the other end of the scoreboard Italy had finished in last place for the fourth time in five games (having not participated in the other game). Ironically, in the game where Italy did not participate, Switzerland had finished in last place!

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - Hanging the Salamis

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and, as was the case with the previous five teams, they completed the game in three straight runs (the first after 20 seconds of elapsed time and the second after 55 seconds) in 1 minute 25 seconds and finished in 2nd place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1 minute 21 seconds) 2nd Namur (B) (1 minute 25 seconds) 3rd Lille (F) (1 minute 33 seconds) ▼ 4th Genemuiden (NL) (1 minute 34 seconds) ▼ 5th Delmenhorst (D) (1 minute 43 seconds) ▼ 6th Vevey (CH) (1 minute 50 seconds) ▼ 7th Aberdeen (GB) (1 minute 56 seconds) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Vevey (CH) (2pts awarded / 38pts total) 2nd Delmenhorst (D) (3pts / 33pts) 3rd Namur (B) (6pts / 28pts) ▲ 4th Genemuiden (NL) (4pts / 27pts) =5th Lille (F) (5pts / 25pts) ▲ =5th Aberdeen (GB) (1pt / 25pts) ▼ 7th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (7pts / 20pts)

Comments: Despite the fact that Italy had won the game and scored 7pts, bringing their score to 20pts, the scoreboard operators inadvertently deducted 3pts and displayed the team's score as 10pts!

Game 8 - The Great Escape

The eighth and final game - ‘The Great Escape’ - was played in unison and witnessed Belgium and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a course comprised of five large upended isosceles triangles in a line and located 5m (16ft 5in) apart. On the whistle, the male competitor had to run forward and climb to the top of the first triangle and then assist the female competitor to do the same. Once aloft, the competitors had to use a 6m (19ft 8¼in) long narrow plank of wood to reach the next triangle by placing it across the pointed ends. This was repeated until four crossings had been made and the competitors were aloft the fifth triangle. The male competitor then had to jump down to reach a placard with his national ident letters and hand it to the female to hold aloft. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

A very fast paced and straightforward game saw Belgium and West Germany neck and neck throughout with Belgium having the slight edge and finishing in 1st place in 1 minute 15 seconds. West Germany finished in 2nd place in 1 minute 17 seconds followed by Netherlands in 3rd place in 1 minute 22 seconds and Switzerland in 4th place in 1 minute 29 seconds. Great Britain finished in 5th place in 1 minute 58 seconds followed by France in 6th place in 2 minutes 7 seconds and Italy in 7th place in 2 minutes 14 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: =1st Namur (B) (14pts awarded / Joker / 42pts total) ▲ =1st Vevey (CH) (4pts / 42pts) 3rd Delmenhorst (D) (6pts / 39pts) ▼ 4th Genemuiden (NL) (10pts / Joker / 37pts) 5th Aberdeen (GB) (3pts / 28pts) 6th Lille (F) (2pts / 27pts) ▼ 7th Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) (1pt / 21pts)

Comments: In order that there were no major injuries, each of the ends of the triangles had grooves cut out of them so that the planks of wood could sit securely in place whilst the competitors crossed. Despite trailing by 10pts and lying in 3rd place before the start of the game, the Belgian team of Namur jumped to joint top of the scoreboard after winning the game and bagging 14pts on their Joker game.

Made in B/W • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives

F

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 4

Event Staged: Wednesday 22nd July 1970
Venue: Piscine Olympique des Arènes (Bullring Olympic Swimming Pool),
Île de la Barthelasse (Barthelasse Island), Avignon, France

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 22nd July 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

RAI Due (I): Friday 24th July 1970
Nederland 2 (NL): Friday 24th July 1970, 8.20-9.35pm
BBC1 (GB): Friday 7th August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winner's Trophy presented by: Henri Duffaut, Mayor of Avignon

Theme: Tests of Strength and Skill

Teams: Ath (B) v. Savognin (CH) v. Radevormwald (D) v. Avignon (F) v.
Caernarfon (GB) v. Barletta (I) v. Bolsward (NL)

Team Members included:

Radevormwald (D) - Hans Schaefer (Team Manager), Fritz Krumm (Co-Team Coach / Team Captain), Margret Pikker (Co-Team Coach), Hartmut Behrensmeier, Ute Butz, Jürgen Dikensmann, Renata Durmond, Dietmar Helmich, Alfred Mattern, Dieter Pferner, Axel Reischenberg, Bernd Reinbott, Lothar Reinbott, Nika Reinbott, Volker Reinbott, Bernd Richter, Heidemarie Rosendahl, Ulrich Rüsing, Inga Schutz, Günter Templin;
Bolsward (NL) - Bertus Niewenhuis (Team Coach), Cor Wielenga (Team Physio), Johan Hamburg (Team Captain, non-playing), Baukje Altena-Vallinga, Henk Arends, Henk Bangma, Andries Bleeker, Siepie van Dijk, Suze Doper, Broer Eekma, Tonny Ferwerda, Klaas Hettinga, Agatha Huisman, Froukje Huisman, Johan Huisman, Rein Huisman, Jan Kooistra, Aggie de Lang-Bootsma, Joop de Lang, Dominicus Lolkema, Simona Odinga, A. Rijpma, Frans de Vreeze.

Games (Official Titles): One Against All, The Strong Men, Pumped Up, The Cyclists, The Spacewalkers, Crossing the Ford, Flying Rugby and Don Quixote;
Jeu Intermédiaire: The Bottle Carriers;
Jokers: Heraldic Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th

 D • Radevormwald ● ●
 B • Ath
 I • Barletta
 CH • Savognin
 F • Avignon
 NL • Bolsward
 GB • Caernarfon

48
40
37
36
32
30
26

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Namur (=1st, 42pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Vevey (=1st, 42pts)
West Germany (D) - Radevormwald (1st, 48pts)
France (F) - Aix-les-Bains (1st, 48pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Exmouth (=5th, 34pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Genemuiden (4th, 37pts)

The Host Town

Avignon, France

Avignon is town with a population of around 92,000 inhabitants (around 12,000 of which live in the ancient town centre enclosed by its medieval ramparts) on the left bank of the 813km (505 miles) long Rhône river in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. It is located 84km (52 miles) north-east of Montpellier, 85km (53 miles) north-west of Marseille 200km (124 miles) east of Nice and 202km (125 miles) south of Lyon.

Avignon began as a Phoenician trading post during the High Antiquity (6th century' BC), and then became a flourishing Roman town. It suffered greatly from the barbarian invasions, followed by those of the Moors and the Franks in the High Middle Ages. With the expansion of trade, and benefiting from its strategic position and its bridge over the Rhône, it had the status of a free town, strong and arrogant enough to defy the King of France. The presence of the Popes made Avignon the capital of the medieval western world in the 15th century'. A papal territory up until the French Revolution, becoming part of France on 18th August 1791, the city actually benefited little from the first Industrial Revolution. The city entered into relative anonymity in the 19th century' only to come back as a cultural capital in the 20th century'.

One of the two high spots on any Avignon tourist’s itinerary is a visit to the Pont Saint-Bénézet, named after the saint and brotherhood that collected tolls to help finance its cost. Although its fame is mainly due to the beloved children's song of the same name, the bridge known as Pont d’Avignon (or the Bridge of Avignon) is actually a major part of the history of the city. The original bridge was built in the 12th century', but was damaged so often by the raging flood waters of the Rhône that it was decided from the 17th century', that it would no longer be rebuilt. Only four of its original 22 arches remain (three of these stand on the river) and visitors can walk to the end of the bridge which stops halfway across the river. It has been a UNESCO world heritage site since 1995.

The second is a visit to the Palais des Papes (Papal Palace) which sits squarely at the heart of Avignon’s old town. It is one of the largest and most important medieval Gothic buildings in Europe and is actually made up of two buildings - the old Palais of Benedict XII which sits on the impregnable rock of Doms, and the new Palais of Clement VI (1291-1352), the most extravagant of the Avignon popes. A one-time fortress, the palace is a warren of serpentine corridors, imposing stone halls and apartments with frescoes of ornate hunting and fishing scenes and was the seat of Western Christianity during the 14th century'. It witnessed six papal conclaves - a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a new Pope - leading to the elections of Benedict XII in 1334, Clement VI in 1342, Innocent VI (1282-1362) in 1352, Urban V (1310-1370) in 1362, Gregory XI (1329-1378) in 1370 and Benedict XIII (1328-1423) in 1394.

Another must is to the Saint-Véran d'Avignon Cemetery, where the grave of Marie-Maurille Virot de Sombreuil (1774-1823) is located. Known as Mademoiselle de Sombreuil, she saved her father from the guillotine in September 1792. As the death sentence was about to be carried out, she climbed on the scaffold, called the crowd to witness and begged the executioner to spare her father. He offered to pardon the condemned man if she agreed to drink a glass of blood from the previous beheading. The epitaph on the tomb reads “Victim of filial love, she only lived to console and succour the unfortunate. Her wounded heart could only be healed by death. Her reward was in Heaven." While Mademoiselle Sombreuil's body rests in peace in Avignon, her heart resides in an urn at Les Invalides in Paris, where her father had previously served as governor!

The Visiting Towns

Ath is a town with a population of around 30,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Hainaut and is located 748km (465 miles) north of Avignon.

Savognin is a village with a population of around 1,200 inhabitants in the teutophonic / italophonic / rhaetophonic (German / Italian / Romansch-speaking) Swiss canton of Graubünden / Grisons and is located 478km (297 miles) north-east of Avignon.

Radevormwald is a town with a population of around 24,000 inhabitants in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 829km (515 miles) north of Avignon.

Caernarfon is a town with a population of around 10,000 inhabitants in the Welsh county of Gwynedd and is located 1,220km (758 miles) north-east of Avignon.

Barletta is a city with a population of around 96,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Puglia and is located 983km (611 miles) south-east of Avignon.

Bolsward is a town with a population of around 11,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Friesland and is located 1,015km (631 miles) north of Avignon.

The Venue

Piscine Olympique des Arènes

The games were played at the swimming pool complex located at the southern end of Barthelasse Island in the River Rhône directly north of the city of Avignon. The island itself splits the river in two at Avignon with the Petit Rhône flowing on its southern side and the Grand Rhône flowing on its northern side with the rivers rejoining each other 10km (6½ miles) to the north. It has a total area of 700 hectares (7,000,000m²) of which 400 hectares is arable, making it one of the largest river islands in Europe.

Unfortunately at the present time, no pictures of the original pool can be researched but what is known is that Marien Cassan, a member of the French national swimming team, built the first pool at Avignon in 1948. Fifteen years later in 1963, he expanded it and created a nautical stadium with an Olympic pool, a diving pool, a paddling pool, changing rooms and a dining area. The stadium was named Piscine des Arènes, a reference to the famous Barthelasse bullring.

On 8th June 2006, the pool site was acquired and the site redeveloped on a hectare of land by Sylvie and Jean Gourdan. The original concrete spectator grandstand and changing rooms were demolished and the new complex renamed La Palmeraie Piscine (The Palm Pool). It was upgraded to a modern aquatic centre with a 50m x 20m (164ft x 65ft 7½in) Olympic-size pool, a 25m x 10m (82ft x 32ft 9¾in) diving pool (with 3m (9ft 10¼in) and 5m (16ft 4¾in) high diving boards) and a 1,000m² (10,763ft²) water park for children and surrounded by plane trees and palms.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - One Against All

The first game - ‘One Against All’ - was played individually on the poolside over 20 seconds duration and featured a male competitor from each team armed with two circular nets standing in front of a large movable goal. On the whistle, the competitor had to protect the goal whilst it was moved from side to side by four male opposition members. Contemporaneously, a second male opposition member from each of the other five competing teams had to shoot up to five penalty kicks at the goal (a maximum total of 25 balls). The team permitting the least number of balls in the back of the net would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very fast and straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany and their competitor permitted 3 goals to be scored. They were followed by Switzerland permitting 7 goals to be scored, Belgium permitting 8 goals, Italy and France permitting 6 goals each and Netherlands permitting 3 goals.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Radevormwald (D) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =1st Bolsward (NL) (6pts / 6pts) =3rd Avignon (F) (4pts / 4pts) =3rd Barletta (I) (4pts / 4pts) 5th Savognin (CH) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Ath (B) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Caernarfon (GB) (--- / 0pts)

Comments: Despite each of the rounds lasting just 20 seconds, they could have been extended had it not been for the events occurring between them. Presenter Guy Lux insisted that each ball scored in the goal be counted individually by the referees (with the assembled crowd’s assistance) and which in fact took longer to execute than the time that the teams were permitted to complete the game!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - The Bottle Carriers

The next game - ‘The Bottle Carriers’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over a duration of 1 minute 30 seconds and featured three male competitors dressed as dairy farmers and a large conveyor belt constructed across the width of the pool. On the whistle, the competitors had to cross the conveyor belt (which was moving in the reverse direction of play) whilst transporting up to six water-filled bottles. If successful in crossing the pool, any bottles in their possession had to be handed to a female team-mate and placed into numbered compartments on the other side. In order to impede their travel, a touch-judge would place a large polystyrene block on the far end of the belt at regular intervals throughout the game and six female opposition members would point high-powered water jets at them from the pool’s edge. Only one competitor could be on the belt at any one time and the competitors had to return to the start either by way of the pool or around the pool’s edge. The team transporting the greater number of bottles across the pool would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Great Britain and it appeared at first glance to be somewhat of an arduous game, but later rounds would prove that the performance of the team was very poor and the game quite simple to complete. At the final whistle, the team had completed four successful crossings and transported a total of 16 bottles (5 + 4 + 4 + 3) across the pool.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Caernarfon (GB) (16)

Game 2 - The Strong Men

The second game - ‘The Strong Men’ - was played individually and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a miner’s coal cart on a 35m (114ft 9¾in) long rising rail track. On the front of the cart, there was a marker stick protruding outwards and at the end of the track there were fifteen numbered pins (1-15) set at equal distance apart. On the whistle, the competitors had to push the cart up to a 10m (32ft 9¾in) marked point before releasing it up the remaining 25m (82ft) of track. As the cart passed the pins, the marker stick would knock down the pins. The team travelling the furthest distance would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this short and straightforward game saw the participation of Great Britain and they knocked down 8 pins.

The second heat featured Switzerland and they knocked down 10 pins.

The third heat saw the participation of Belgium and they knocked down 14 pins.

The final three heats featured France, Netherlands and West Germany, respectively, and they all knocked down 12 pins each.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ath (B) (12pts awarded / Joker / 13pts total) ▲ =2nd Radevormwald (D) (5pts / 11pts) ▼ =2nd Bolsward (NL) (5pts / 11pts) ▼ 4th Avignon (F) (5pts / 9pts) ▼ =5th Savognin (CH) (2pts / 4pts) ▲ =5th Barletta (I) (--- / 4pts) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: In addition to weights, one of the touch-judges was also in the cart and he could be seen counting the pins as they were knocked down, whilst stagehands replaced the pins upright in preparation for the next run.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - The Bottle Carriers

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Italy who showed how the game should be played. In contrast to the style of Great Britain in the previous round, the competitors crossed the belt with great speed and this prevented their passage from being blocked by the polystyrene blocks. The team made nine crossings and transported a total of 35 bottles (4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 4).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Barletta (I) (35) 2nd Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Game 3 - Pumped Up

The third game - ‘Pumped Up’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team and a small shallow plastic rowing boat attached to a wire. On the whistle, the male competitor had to pull the boat across the pool whilst the females, dressed as sailors, used bowls to remove any water from the boat to prevent it from sinking. Once the boat reached the other side, the females had to disembark and the boat pulled from the water. The male competitor, dressed in a costume filled with foam rubber then had to dive into the pool and cross to the other side. He then had to exit the water and then ascend a ramp and traverse a netted tunnel and then descend to the ground via a second ramp. Once completed he had to make his way to a numbered block which would denote his finishing position.

The first section of this game was very close with the majority of boats reaching the other side of the pool together, but it was Switzerland that entered the water first followed by West Germany, Great Britain, Belgium, Italy and France. However, despite reaching the other side of the pool first, the competitor from West Germany struggled to lift himself and the weight of the sodden rubber out of the water. This permitted Italy, who had overtaken three other teams during the swim, to take full advantage and exited the water first. With the second section of the game simply a matter of maintaining momentum, the teams finished the game in the same order as their exit from the pool. Italy completed the game in 58 seconds followed by West Germany in 59 seconds. Great Britain finished in 3rd place in 1 minute 1 second with Switzerland in 4th place in 1 minute 5 seconds, France in 5th place in 1 minute 7 seconds and Belgium were last to finish in 1 minute 9 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Radevormwald (D) (5pts awarded / 16pts total) ▲ 2nd Ath (B) (1pt / 14pts) ▼ =3rd Avignon (F) (2pts / 11pts) ▲ =3rd Bolsward (NL) (--- / 11pts) ▼ 5th Barletta (I) (6pts / 10pts) 6th Savognin (CH) (3pts / 7pts) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (4pts / 5pts)

Comments: At the end of the game, referee Gennaro Olivieri directed the competitors to the incorrect end of the row of positional blocks. Although it did not affect the outcome of the game, it resulted in the competitors standing on a block with their points value instead of their positional order!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - The Bottle Carriers

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Netherlands and with some high jinks and one competitor completing his crossing in just 4.8 seconds, the team were declared as having transported a total of 33 bottles (6 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 4) across the conveyor belt.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Barletta (I) (35) 2nd Bolsward (NL) (33) 3rd Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Game 4 - The Cyclists

The fourth game - ‘The Cyclists’ - was played sequentially and featured a male competitor from each team on a bicycle and armed with a small mallet. Spanning the pool was a 12m long x 24cm wide (39ft 4½in x 9½in) wooden bridge with a 12cm (4¾in) wide narrow strip of wood running along its length. On the whistle, the competitor had to cycle up a wide ramp in order to traverse the narrow beam and whilst keeping his balance, he had to hit a small cymbal hanging from above the pool as he passed the halfway point. He then had to continue along the remaining 6m (19ft 8¼in) of the wood and descend a similar ramp on the other side. He then had to return to the start via the poolside for the next round. After each round the gong was raised by 20cm (7¾in). Competitors that fell into the pool after hitting the gong or any that used their feet to balance themselves would be eliminated. However, any competitor that came off the narrow strip of wood but remained on the wider bridge below, without using their feet to steady themselves, would be deemed as successful. The team with the greater number of hits of the gong would be declared the winners.

The first run saw the participation of Switzerland who completed the run without mishap. They were followed by France who, although hitting the cymbal, tumbled into the pool and were eliminated. The next run saw the participation of Netherlands who also completed the course without mishap and the same was the case for the participant from Italy. The fifth team to participate was West Germany and although their competitor hit the gong, he had used his feet to steady himself after coming off the narrow strip of wood, and was eliminated. The final team to participate was Great Britain who also completed the course without mishap.

The second run saw Switzerland tumbling into the pool whilst Netherlands completed another successful run and these were followed by Italy, who akin with Switzerland, tumbled into the pool and eliminated. The second run by Great Britain was a total disaster after their competitor failed to hit the cymbal completely and he also steadied himself on the final part of the crossing and almost tumbled into the pool.

Although the outcome of the game had now already been determined, Netherlands made one final crossing of the bridge but failed to hit the cymbal but remained upright throughout.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Radevormwald (D) (1pt awarded / 17pts total) =1st Bolsward (NL) (6pts / 17pts) ▲ 3rd Barletta (I) (5pts / 15pts) ▲ 4th Ath (B) (--- / 14pts) ▼ =5th Savognin (CH) (5pts / 12pts) ▲ =5th Avignon (F) (1pt / 12pts) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (5pts / 10pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - The Bottle Carriers

The fourth round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Belgium and they really made the game look simple and made a total of eleven crossings and amassed a total of 58 bottles (6 + 6 + 4 + 4 + 6 + 3 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Ath (B) (58) 2nd Barletta (I) (35) ▼ 3rd Bolsward (NL) (33) ▼ 4th Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Game 5 - The Spacewalkers

The fifth game - ‘The Spacewalkers’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed as an astronaut wearing boots with metal soles standing on a high scaffold located above the pool. Before the game started, the competitor had to face backwards and, with the assistance of two trapeze hand-bars and a stagehand, lift his feet up so that they came into contact with a magnetised metal plate, which was divided into numbered sections from 0-9, running across the length of the scaffold. On the whistle, he then had to walk upside-down, with his hands behind his head, across the pool one step at a time ensuring that the sole of the boot was in full contact with the plate before attempting the next step. The team to reach the end of the plate in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although at first glance it appeared that this would be a difficult game, in reality it was completed with relative ease. The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and Netherlands and saw West Germany get the better start and lead throughout and cross the finish line in 54 seconds. Belgium completed the game in 1 minute 3 seconds with Netherlands finishing in 1 minute 14 seconds.

The second heat featured France, Great Britain and Italy and was played out in a similar fashion with all three teams finishing within the permitted time. France finished in 53 seconds, Italy finished in 57 seconds and Great Britain finished in 1 minute 25 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Avignon (F) (12pts awarded / Joker / 24pts total) ▲ 2nd Radevormwald (D) (5pts / 22pts) ▼ =3rd Barletta (I) (4pts / 19pts) =3rd Bolsward (NL) (2pts / 19pts) ▼ 5th Ath (B) (3pts / 17pts) ▼ 6th Savognin (CH) (--- / 12pts) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (1pt / 11pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - The Bottle Carriers

The fifth round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and they tried to emulate the style of Belgium in the previous round, but suffered a few mishaps along the way. However, the team completed a total of ten crossings with a total of 45 bottles (6 + 5 + 5 + 6 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 1 + 5 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Ath (B) (58) 2nd Savognin (CH) (45) 3rd Barletta (I) (35) ▼ 4th Bolsward (NL) (33) ▼ 5th Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Game 6 - Crossing the Ford

The sixth game - ‘Crossing the Ford’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four female competitors from each team, a bridge comprised of 14 connected floating platforms extending outwards from one side of the pool and nine large polystyrene cubes. On the whistle, the first competitor had to transport one of the cubes across the bridge and at the end throw it across the gap to a female team-mate on the opposite side of the pool. Once completed, she had to jump or dive into the pool and swim back to the start, whilst the second competitor began her run. This was then repeated by the third and fourth competitors and repeated by all competitors until limit time. Only boxes successfully caught or landed on the poolside would be counted. The team with the greater number of boxes would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Great Britain and it was apparent that Great Britain had made a wise choice for their Joker game. At the final whistle Great Britain had successfully collected 6 boxes, Switzerland had collected 5 boxes and France had collected 3 boxes.

The second heat featured Belgium, Italy and Netherlands and ended with Belgium having collected 8 cubes, Italy having collected 5 cubes and Netherlands having collected 4 cubes.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Avignon (F) (1pt awarded / 25pts total) =2nd Ath (B) (6pts / 23pts) ▲ =2nd Barletta (I) (4pts / 23pts) ▲ 4th Radevormwald (D) (--- / 22pts) ▼ =5th Caernarfon (GB) (10pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ =5th Bolsward (NL) (2pts / 21pts) ▼ 7th Savognin (CH) (4pts / 16pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 6 - The Bottle Carriers

The sixth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured West Germany and they made ten crossings of the conveyor belt and transported a total of 54 bottles (6 + 6 + 5 + 6 + 6 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Ath (B) (58) 2nd Radevormwald (D) (54) 3rd Savognin (CH) (45) ▼ 4th Barletta (I) (35) ▼ 5th Bolsward (NL) (33) ▼ 6th Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Game 7 - Flying Rugby

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Flying Rugby’ - was played individually and featured seven male competitors from each team and a giant 30m (98ft 5¼in) chute. On one side of the pool, the chute overhung the water at its base whilst on the other side there were four springboards on which four of the team were standing. On the whistle, the first of the other three competitors had to descend the chute with a rugby ball and, after reaching the end, had to throw it towards his four team-mates. It was then their task to decide which of them would make a dive and catch the ball. If the ball was caught cleanly the team would score 3pts but if the ball was touched, but not caught, it would score 1pt. This would then repeated by the other two competitors. The team with the greater score would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they were very agile and accurate with the throwing and, after touching the first ball, they caught the next two and scored 7pts.

The second heat featured Belgium and whilst the accuracy of the throwers was perfect, the four competitors on the springboard made a complete hash of deciding who would catch the balls. This resulted in two of the balls being thrown and nobody attempting to catch them whilst the third ball was caught and the team scored 3pts.

The third team to participate was Switzerland and they missed the ball completely on the first run but on the next two attempts they were able to touch the ball without catching it. This gave them a total score of 2pts.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Italy and after missing the first ball, the team got a hand to the second and third balls and also gave them a score of 2pts.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of West Germany and, as was the case with Netherlands in the first heat, the accuracy of the throwing was impeccable. With all three balls being caught cleanly, they had scored a maximum total of 9pts.

The sixth and final heat featured Caernarfon from Great Britain and, with the town located in the rugby-loving nation of Wales, there were high hopes of the team scoring a maximum score also. However, this was not to be after the team failed to catch or touch any of the balls thrown and they ended with a score of 0pts!

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Radevormwald (D) (6pts awarded / 28pts total) ▲ 2nd Ath (B) (4pts / 27pts) =3rd Barletta (I) (3pts / 26pts) ▼ =3rd Bolsward (NL) (5pts / 26pts) ▲ 5th Avignon (F) (--- / 25pts) ▼ 6th Caernarfon (GB) (1pt / 22pts) ▼ 7th Savognin (CH) (3pts / 19pts)

Comments: Despite the Italian team of Barletta being correctly awarded 3pts to bring their score to 26pts, the same as that of Netherlands, the scoreboard operators inadvertently displayed their score as 25pts and had also demoted them by two places to 5th place!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 7 - The Bottle Carriers

The seventh and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured France and after making eight successful crossings they amassed a total of 37 bottles (5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 2 + 5 + 6 + 5) and finished in 4th place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Ath (B) (58) 2nd Radevormwald (D) (54) 3rd Savognin (CH) (45) 4th Avignon (F) (37) 5th Barletta (I) (35) ▼ 6th Bolsward (NL) (33) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (16) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Ath (B) (7pts awarded / 34pts total) ▲ =1st Radevormwald (D) (6pts / 34pts) =3rd Avignon (F) (4pts / 29pts) ▲ =3rd Barletta (I) (3pts / 29pts) 5th Bolsward (NL) (2pts / 28pts) ▼ 6th Savognin (CH) (5pts / 24pts) ▲ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (1pt / 23pts) ▼

Game 8 - Don Quixote

The eighth and final game - ‘Don Quixote’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland, West Germany, Italy and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed as Don Quixote armed with a 3m (9ft 10¼in) lance and attached by wires to the canopy of a carousel. Located adjacent to the carousel, there was a spinning windmill with 44 small hoops attached to its sails. On the whistle, the carousel was put in motion and as the competitors approached the windmill they had to hook the hoops onto their lances. The team with the greater number of hoops would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward game that required the competitor to have a strong right arm in order to keep the 5kg (11lb) lance upright at all times. When the result was announced it revealed that West Germany had collected 10 rings, Belgium and Switzerland had both collected 9 rings each, Italy had collected 7 rings, France and Great Britain had both collected 6 rings each and Netherlands had collected just 1 ring.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Radevormwald (D) (14pts awarded / Joker / 48pts total) ▲ 2nd Ath (B) (6pts / 40pts) ▼ 3rd Barletta (I) (8pts / Joker / 37pts) 4th Savognin (CH) (12pts / Joker / 36pts) ▲ 5th Avignon (F) (3pts / 32pts) ▼ 6th Bolsward (NL) (2pts / Joker / 30pts) ▼ 7th Caernarfon (GB) (3pts / 26pts)

Comments: This game actually cost the team from Bolsward, Netherlands, a place in the coveted International Final. After 2 minutes 2 seconds of elapsed time and with a total of 10 hoops already on his lance, their competitor stumbled and all but one of the hoops slipped off the end and dropped to the ground. With these added to his final ‘scoring’ total of 1, the team would have been awarded 14pts and finished in 2nd place with 42pts and actually taken Alphen aan den Rijn’s place in the Final!

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Although this was French presenter and commentator Léon Zitrone's last year with Jeux Sans Frontières, he was re-introduced to European audiences in 1978, when he co-presented the annual Eurovision Song Contest which was held in Paris that year.

With the introduction of colour transmissions from this heat onwards, the referees would don the same outfit for each programme throughout the entire series and would change for each successive year thereafter. Their outfits in this programme and for the remainder of this series comprised brown jackets, light-blue polyester polo-neck shirts, white trousers and brown/beige footwear.

Reunions

Radevormwald (D)

In May 2003, thirty-three years after their original participation, Hartmut Behrensmeier, Head of Business Development at Bergische Morganpost, organised a reunion for all surviving members of both the Radevormwald team and the Bocholt team who they had defeated in the West German Domestic series in order to qualify for the international competition in Avignon. The reunion was held in Bocholt (the original match having been staged in Radevormwald) and included a much friendlier re-match.

Writing for the newspaper in 2020, Behrensmeier, who had been one of the original Radevormwald team members, explained: “What took place 17 years ago as a relaxed nostalgic event was nothing like the competition in 1970, which we all had to take very seriously, despite the fun games. Even before 16th May (1970), when the decision had been taken to stage the live broadcast against Bocholt from Radevormwald, there was hardly any other topic of discussion in the town. The town hall was inundated with requests for tickets."

Rudolf Schwanz had created an emblem for the event that "would be used in a special stamp issued by the Bundespost", wrote Bergische Morganpost editor Hans Aldermann. "The same advertising stamp would also be used by the town and the Sparkasse Bank to refer to the programme anywhere in the country, which was ultimately intended to improve the image of Radevormwald. But one thing is certain, for many Radevormwalder, participation in Spiel Ohne Grenzen had been unforgettable.”

At the reunion, and in addition to Hartmut Behrensmeier, nine other original members of the Radevormwald team - Ute Butz, Dietmar Helmich, Fritz Krumm, Ulrich Rüsing, Axel Reichenberg and family members Bernd, Lothar, Nika and Volker Reinbott - were able to make the 88km (55 miles) journey to Bocholt. Guest of honour was former Spiel Ohne Grenzen presenter Camillo Felgen. Behrensmeier warmly recalled the encounter with the singer and moderator from Luxembourg: "He was a very pleasant person to know but absolutely serious." Felgen sadly passed away two years later on 16th July 2005 at the age of 84.

Additional Information

After the opening three International Heats of 1970 in Italy, Switzerland and Belgium, which were made and transmitted in black-and-white, this competition from Avignon was the first Jeux Sans Frontières to be made in colour. Despite this, local French viewers only saw it in monochrome due to colour transmissions not being available until 1976.

When the teams were introduced on to the poolside, each held a placard displaying its name and country. On the placard of Great Britain (and the master scoreboard) was printed ‘Carnaervon’, which is strange because that has never been an Anglicised spelling of the Welsh town's name. The Welsh spelling is 'Caernarfon' and the Anglicised spellings are 'Caernarvon' and 'Carnarvon'. In his introduction of the teams, West German commentator Tim Elstner mentioned that Caernarvon was famous for the Investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales at the town’s castle on 1st July 1969.

The British team of Caernarfon wore green T-shirts in this heat in addition to the normal red ones to represent the colours of the Welsh flag.

West German team member Heidemarie Rosendahl, who was born in Hückeswagen, was an athlete who competed mainly in the pentathlon and long jump. She set a world record of 6.84m (22ft 5¼in) in the long jump at Torino, Italy, in 1970 which stood for five years. She also went on to compete in the Olympic Games staged at München in West Germany in 1972, in which she won a gold medal for the long jump. She also competed against Northern Ireland’s Mary Peters (later to become a one-off guest presenter in the 1980 British Domestic It’s A Knockout series) in the pentathlon at the same Games. Presenter Simone Garnier gave her a special mention at the start of the team’s participation in the Jeu Intermédiaire, after which she received a rousing round of applause from the crowd. Interestingly, the West German commentators made no mention of her or her achievements.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives

GB

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 5

Event Staged: Wednesday 5th August 1970
Venue: Cardiff Castle Grounds / Tir Castell, Cardiff / Caerdydd, Wales / Cymru, Great Britain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

RAI Due (I): Wednesday 5th August 1970, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 21st August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 26th August 1970

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Thomas Ernest Merrells, Lord Mayor of Cardiff

Theme: Games at the Castle

Teams: Genk (B) v. Locarno (CH) v. Kleve (D) v. Reims (F) v.
Lowestoft (GB) v. Rimini (I) v. Hoogland (NL)

Team Members included:
Genk (B) - Gerard Kessen, Ronnie Ronge;
Locarno (CH) - Gianfranco Schmid (Team Captain), Serio Datsio, Giochina Loza, Mariella Signorini, Verena Staufer;
Kleve (D) - Nicole Annalies, Karl-Wilhelm Breuer, Willi Mühenhaus, Bernhard Pfier, Theo Rolfsen, Eva Schmidt, Reinhard Sieber;
Reims (F) - Claudine Gethman, Claude Grenignan, Roger Hahn, Martine Jashet, Michel Rigot;
Lowestoft (GB - Full Squad) - Jeff Frost (Team Captain), Shirley Oldman (Co-Team Coach), Bruce Wayman (Co-Team Coach), Lindsey Abbot, Peter Aldous, Joe Annis, Malcolm Axon, Robert Barker, John Bell, Trevor Carter, Stephen Chaplin, Mandy Colby, Gavin Crawford, Christine Dann, Gregory Darling, Julie Dean, Colin Fox, Denise Gardner, Ray Garrod, Susan Hoey, Roger Ironmonger, David Knights, Diana Larkins, Hilary Lay, John Ling, Julia Manning, William Marshall, Gail McKibbin, Philip Moore, Bill Mullender, Roy Munnings, Terry Nickels, Carol Pleasants, Mark Scanlan, Susan Selby, Susan Sheader, Ray Smith, Philip Stuckey, Chris Thompson, Terry Tripp, Joyce Wigge, Lloyd Woolner, David Wright;
Rimini (I) - Bruno Frizzoni, Mario Joli, Claudio Marchella, Vittorio Sevidio;
Hoogland (NL) - Paul Boon (Team Coach), Gerard van den Heuvel (Team Captain), Sjef Boon, Henk van de Corterlet, Gerard van Dijk, Carla Ebing, Eugène Eijssen, Henny van Hamersveld-van de Wardt, Ans Hilhorst, Kees van de Hoven, Diny Hulsegge, Mart Keet, Greet van ’t Klooster, José van ’t Klooster, Margreet van 't Klooster, Bert Kreijne, Gerard Kreijne, Jan van Middelaar, Elly Nieuwenhuizen, Kees de Ridder, Wim de Ridder, Annelies Schoonderbeek, Johan Smink, Truus Smink, Nel Tondeur, Evert van Valkengoed, Stien van Wee-van de Wetering.

Games: The Human Caterpillar, High Tower Climb and Catch, Tubes and Balls, Ducking the Witch, The High seesaws, The Chain-Gang Convicts, World Cup Mexico 1970 and Damsels in Distress;
Jeu Intermédiaire: The Swivelling Donkey;
Jokers: Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
1st
3rd
3rd
3rd
6th
7th

 B • Genk ●
 CH • Locarno ●
 GB • Lowestoft
 I • Rimini
 NL • Hoogland
 D • Kleve
 F • Reims

40
40
37
37
37
36
25

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Namur (=1st, 42pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Vevey (=1st, 42pts)
West Germany (D) - Radevormwald (1st, 48pts)
France (F) - Aix-les-Bains (1st, 48pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Lowestoft (=3rd, 37pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Hoogland (=3rd, 37pts)

The Host Town

Cardiff, Great Britain

Cardiff (Caerdydd in Welsh) is the capital and largest city in Wales with a population of around 350,000 inhabitants and is ranked the ninth largest city in the United Kingdom. The city straddles the Rivers Taff and Ely and is located 16 miles (26km) south of Pontypool, 26 miles (42km) west of Bristol, 26 miles (42km) north of Bridgwater and 34 miles (55km) east of Swansea, the principality’s second largest city.

It is the chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for Wales. Cardiff is a significant tourist centre and the most popular visitor destination in Wales with around 18 million visitors per year. It is also the county town of the historic county of Glamorgan (and later of South Glamorgan) and has the motto ‘Y ddraig goch ddyry cychwyn’ (The red dragon will lead the way).

In 1081, King William I (1028-1087) began work on the castle keep within the walls of the old Roman fort. This resulted in a small town growing up in the shadow of the castle, made up primarily of settlers from England. In the early 12th century, a wooden palisade was erected around the city to protect it. By this time it had a population of between 1,500 and 2,000 inhabitants, a relatively normal size for a Welsh town in this period. By the end of the 13th century, Cardiff was the only town in Wales with a population exceeding 2,000, but it was relatively small compared with most notable towns in the Kingdom of England.

During the Middle Ages, Cardiff was a busy port and in 1327 was declared a ‘staple port’ (one that required merchant barges or ships to unload their goods at the port, and display them for sale for a certain period, often three days). In 1404, Owain Glyndŵr (c.1349-c.1415) burned Cardiff and took Cardiff Castle. As the town was still very small, most of the buildings were made of wood and the town was destroyed. However, the town was soon rebuilt and began to flourish once again and by 1542, Cardiff had become a Free Borough.

In 1573, it was made a head port for collection of customs duties, and in 1581, Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) granted Cardiff its first royal charter. Cardiff was finally granted city status on 28th October 1905 by King Edward VII (1841-1910), and was proclaimed the first official capital of Wales on 20th December 1955 by the then Home Secretary, Gwilym Lloyd George (1894-1967), 1st Viscount Tenby.

Since the 1990s, Cardiff has seen significant development. A new waterfront area at Cardiff Bay contains the Senedd building, home to the Welsh Assembly and the Wales Millennium Centre arts complex. Current developments include the continuation of the redevelopment of the Cardiff Bay and city centre areas with projects such as the Cardiff International Sports Village, a BBC drama village, and a new business district in the city centre.

The city is rich in sporting history and as such has numerous sporting venues in the city’s confines which include the Millennium Stadium (the national stadium for the Wales national rugby union team and the Welsh national football team), SWALEC Stadium (the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club), Cardiff City Stadium (the home of Cardiff City football team), Cardiff International Sports Stadium (the home of Cardiff Amateur Athletic Club) and Cardiff Arms Park (the home of Cardiff Blues and Cardiff RFC rugby union teams). The Millennium Stadium hosted 11 football matches as part of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, including the games' opening event and the men's bronze medal match.

Although now located in the City and County of Cardiff, at the time of this recording Cardiff was actually in the county of Glamorgan. However, following the complete redistribution of county boundaries under the Local Government Act 1972 (which took effect on 1st April 1974), Cardiff then became part of the newly-formed county of South Glamorgan, which then in turn was abolished in 1996 (under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994) when the city received its current status.

The Visiting Towns

Genk is a city with a population of around 66,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of Limburg and is located 377 miles (607km) east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Locarno is a town with a population of around 16,500 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 657 miles (1,057km) south-east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Kleve is a town with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 400 miles (644km) east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Reims is a city with a population of around 185,000 inhabitants in the French region of Grand Est and is located 353 miles (568km) south-east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Lowestoft is a town with a population of around 71,500 inhabitants in the English county of Suffolk and is located 221 miles (355km) north-east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Rimini is a city with a population of around 147,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna and is located 891 miles (1,434km) south-east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

Hoogland is a town with a population of around 12,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Utrecht and is located 369 miles (594km) east of Cardiff / Caerdydd.

The Venue

Cardiff Castle

The games were played within the confines of Cardiff Castle, which owes its existence to the Romans. In their 300 years of occupation, the Romans built four forts on the site of the present castle, on what was hitherto marshland. The square perimeter wall of Cardiff Castle today was once the outer stone wall of the Roman fort, outside of which a small settlement of traders and suppliers began to grow.

When the Romans suddenly left in 400 AD, the fort was abandoned and in the six centuries which followed, it gradually disappeared through decay and (no doubt) plunder. When the Norman conquerors arrived in Wales in 1089, all they probably found was a large eight acre square (32,374 m²) plot boundaried by grass embankments, surrounded by a small trading settlement and port on the river. The remains of the actual Roman walls were not to be rediscovered for another 800 years. The Normans quickly built a classic motte and bailey keep, recognising - like the Romans - that this was a good spot to guard the river and the sea (both of which were then much closer to the castle than they are today).

In the 12th century, the castle became the stronghold of Robert Fitzroy (c.1100-1147), 1st Earl of Gloucester and 2nd Lord of Glamorgan, the illegitimate son of King Henry I of England (c.1068-1135) and grandson of William the Conqueror. Hailed as one of Europe’s greatest warriors and statesmen of his day, he played a huge role in English history, even minting his own coins. One of his most famous acts was imprisoning his uncle, Robert Duke of Normandy (1051-1134), the eldest son of William the Conqueror (1028-1087), in Cardiff Castle in order to stop him claiming the throne. The Duke later died a prisoner in the stone keep.

For successive centuries, Cardiff Castle, which slowly expanded along the western wall, came under the possession of leading nobles and statesmen, often as a Royal reward. It also passed through many generations of Kings in waiting, including King John (1166-1216), Richard III (1452-1485), Henry VII (1457-1509) and Henry VIII (1491-1547).

However, Cardiff Castle’s greatest moment came in the 19th century, when it was inherited by ‘the richest baby in the British Empire’. John Patrick Crichton-Stuart (1847-1900), 3rd Marquess of Bute, was only six months old when his father, Baron Cardiff (1793-1848), died suddenly after having amassed a fortune through his successful gamble of building the docks at Cardiff for exporting Welsh coal. That single act was to cause Cardiff to grow almost one hundred times in size in just one century to become the largest city in Wales and, in 1955, Capital City of Wales.

By the time the 3rd Marquess himself died in 1900, he was one of the richest men in the entire world. John devoted vast sums to creating in Cardiff Castle the perfect medieval fantasy castle, with no expense spared. The Bute family left in 1947 and sold the Castle to Cardiff City Council for just £1!

Today, the castle and its four hundred acres of adjoining parkland belong to the city and are open to the public, giving Cardiff more parkland per head of population than any other city in Europe. To step inside the castle is not only a journey through two thousand years of Roman, Norman, Plantagenet, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian history, but a breathtaking fantasy journey through rooms decorated lavishly with gold, wood, stone and marble, lined with painstakingly detailed wall murals. Every room has a theme, concerning medieval history, time, space and astrology and, especially, religion.

The Rehearsals

On 4th August 1970, the 1969 Cardiff team were invited back to demonstrate the games to the competing teams in the build-up to this event. The dress rehearsal, staged the night before transmission, was won by the Belgian team from Genk - who would go on to repeat their success in the event proper, albeit tied with Locarno of Switzerland. Genk's victory was not rewarded with qualification for the International Final, as they scored two points less than Namur had in Heat 3 (another joint 1st place finish). Namur's score would be beaten by Verviers in the next heat.

Early on during rehearsals, this heat demonstrated it was going to take a heavy toll on the teams: a member of the West German team fractured a collar bone, while two French and one British team member were treated for torn muscles. By the end of the rehearsal day, nine players were out with injury (by the end of the competition the total injured was to climb to eleven).

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Human Caterpillar

The first game - ‘The Human Caterpillar’ - was played in unison and witnessed Netherlands presenting their Joker for play. The game featured seven competitors (three males and four females) from each team tied together at the waist and a 50ft (15.24m ) long obstacle course comprising two small ramps, two elasticated foot mazes, three small hillocks and two hurdles. On the whistle, each of the competitors had to hold aloft a beach ball (except the seventh which held a football) and then traverse the aforementioned course. At the first obstacle, the team had to ascend and descend a small ramp and then after this, they had to negotiate the first of the hurdles, which they did by passing underneath, and then the first of the mazes. After this, the next obstacle was the three hillocks and then a repeat of the first three obstacles but in reverse - a maze, a hurdle and a ramp. However, after ascending the second ramp, the team had to descend a set of three steps on the other side. Once completed, the team had to repeat the course in the opposite direction. The final task was for the seventh competitor in line (a female) to toss the football through a hole above the ramp as they passed. The balls had to be kept aloft at all times. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although simple in design, this was a fast and furious race which saw Netherlands set off at a cracking pace and maintaining the lead throughout. West Germany, although one of the front-runners at the start, suffered a setback during the game after the ropes attaching the competitors together broke and the team was split in two. However, despite this mishap the game was completed by all teams. Netherlands finished in 1st place in 41 seconds followed by France in 2nd place in 49 seconds. Great Britain finished in 3rd place in 51 seconds, just ahead of West Germany who finished in 4th place in 52 seconds. Belgium finished in 5th place in 58 seconds whilst Switzerland finished in 6th place in 1 minute 1 second.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Hoogland (NL) (12pts awarded / Joker / 12pts total) 2nd Reims (F) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Lowestoft (GB) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Kleve (D) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Genk (B) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Locarno (CH) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Rimini (I) (--- / 0pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - The Swivelling Donkey

The next game - ‘The Swivelling Donkey’ - was the Fil Rouge which was played over 1 minute 15 seconds duration and featured two female competitors from and a large wooden donkey which spanned a small pool and above which was hanging eight carrots with eight decreasing values (8pts to 1pt). The torso of the donkey comprised four parts, the middle two of which were free-moving and could swivel. On the whistle, the first competitor had to manoeuvre herself across the donkey’s torso whilst keeping her balance. She then had to collect one of the carrots and secure it on her person and then make her way across the remainder of the donkey. If successful, she then had to place the carrot inside the donkey’s mouth and then a female team-mate on the other side of the pool had to pull on the donkey’s tail to close the mouth and the carrot would fall into a holding pen underneath. If a competitor fell into the water after collecting a carrot and swam to the other side and placed it in the donkey’s mouth, it would be deemed as scoring 1pt, irrespective of its original value. The maximum score that could be achieved was 36pts (8 + 7 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1). The team with the greater total of carrot values would be declared the winners.

The first team to participate was Italy and they were successful in achieving two runs and collecting the 8pt carrot (after 28 seconds of elapsed time) and the 7pt carrot after 1 minute 1 second and giving the team a total score of 15pts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Rimini (I) (15)

Game 2 - High Tower Climb

The second game - ‘High Tower Climb’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a high tower from which was hanging an 25ft (7.62m) rope. Attached to the side of the tower there was a narrow chute and adjacent to this there was a set of 15 stairs. On the whistle, the first competitor had to climb the rope and collect a ball from a holding clip and then descend to the ground. Whilst keeping hold of the end of the rope, he then had to climb the stairs and place the ball in the top of the chute and release it. Contemporaneously, he had to swing down to the ground using the rope and attempt to catch the ball as it exited the base of the chute. The ball then had to be placed in a basket at the base of the stairs. Successful or not, the second competitor then had to repeat the game. The team with the greater number of balls collected in limit time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and Italy and it ended with Belgium and Italy having caught 2 balls each whilst Switzerland had failed to score.

The second heat featured West Germany, France and Great Britain and was the higher-scoring of the two heats. Disaster struck Great Britain after their first competitor had successfully collected the ball from the chute but then failed to place it in the basket correctly and it dropped to the ground. With time against them, it was now somewhat of an ordeal to make up ground on the other two teams who had safely bagged their ball. At the end of the game, West Germany and France had successfully caught 3 balls each whilst Great Britain had caught just 2 balls.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Lowestoft (GB) (8pts awarded / Joker / 12pts total) ▲ =1st Hoogland (NL) (--- / 12pts) 3rd Reims (F) (6pts / 11pts) ▼ 4th Kleve (D) (6pts / 9pts) 5th Genk (B) (4pts / 6pts) 6th Rimini (I) (4pts / 4pts) ▲ 7th Locarno (CH) (1pt / 2pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - The Swivelling Donkey

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured Netherlands and they made three successful crossings within the time permitted and scored 21pts (8 + 7 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Hoogland (NL) (21) 2nd Rimini (I) (15) ▼

Game 3 - Tubes and Balls

The third game - ‘Tubes and Balls’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team and a 75ft (22.86m) long obstacle course comprised of blocks, steps and ramps. At the start of the game, the two male competitors were standing behind each other separated by a 8ft (2.44m) bar, which had a small open-ended caged section in the middle, balanced on their right shoulders. On the whistle, a female team-mate had to place a small football inside the caged section and then the competitors had to negotiate the various obstacles whilst keeping the bar straight so that the ball remained inside. After negotiating a ramp, a set of steps, two large blocks and a bouncing balance beam, the ball had to be transferred to a similar cage held by the two female competitors. Once this had been achieved, the two females completed the final part of the course, which involved climbing three steps and descending a ramp, before dropping the ball into a basket. The game then had to be repeated. The team transporting two balls in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, Great Britain and Netherlands and passed without mishap, but it was apparent from the start that the other two teams were no match for Great Britain. When the results were announced, Great Britain had completed the game in a record time (based on rehearsals) of 40 seconds, Switzerland had finished in 55 seconds and Netherlands had finished in 56 seconds.

The second heat featured the three single-lettered ident teams of West Germany, France and Italy and proved to be a much slower heat with none of the times from the first heat being emulated. West Germany finished the course in 1 minute 2 seconds, France finished in 1 minute 5 seconds and Italy failed to complete the game and were therefore given a time of 0:00.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Lowestoft (GB) (6pts awarded / 18pts total) 2nd Hoogland (NL) (4pts / 16pts) ▼ 3rd Reims (F) (2pts / 13pts) ▼ 4th Kleve (D) (3pts / 12pts) 5th Locarno (CH) (5pts / 7pts) ▲ 6th Genk (B) (--- / 6pts) ▼ 7th Rimini (I) (1pt / 5pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - The Swivelling Donkey

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and they made two successful crossings and had one carrot placed in the mouth by a competitor after falling into the pool and their score was declared as 15pts (8 + 1 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Hoogland (NL) (21) =2nd Genk (B) (15) =2nd Rimini (I) (15)

Game 4 - Ducking the Witch

The fourth game - ‘Ducking the Witch’ - was played sequentially over three rounds and featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a jester on roller-skates and also a number of local female volunteers dressed as witches sitting (one at a time) on a ducking stool overhanging a pool. On the whistle, the competitors had to descend a ramp and throw a ball at a target which had a hole in the middle. If the ball was thrown cleanly through the hole, an electronic beam would be broken and release a lever which would send the female into the pool. The team with the greater number of duckings would be declared the winners.

The first team to participate was Belgium and they would be followed by France, Italy, West Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands in that order. On the first run only Italy, West Germany and Netherlands were able to send the witch to a watery end.

The second round saw Italy and West Germany successful for a second time and the first and only success for Great Britain.

The final round saw Italy score their third success and Netherlands achieving their second. Belgium and France failed to score in any round.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Lowestoft (GB) (3pts awarded / 21pts total) =1st Hoogland (NL) (5pts / 21pts) ▲ 3rd Kleve (D) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ 4th Reims (F) (1pt / 14pts) ▼ 5th Rimini (I) (6pts / 11pts) ▲ =6th Genk (B) (1pt / 7pts) =6th Locarno (CH) (5pts / 7pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - The Swivelling Donkey

The fourth round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and they made three successful crossings and scored 21pts (8 + 7 + 6).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Locarno (CH) (21) =1st Hoogland (NL) (21) =3rd Genk (B) (15) ▼ =3rd Rimini (I) (15) ▼

Game 5 - The High seesaws

The fifth game - ‘The High seesaws’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured two male competitors from each team and a large seesaw on a high fulcrum. Whilst one end of the seesaw had rungs, akin to that of a standard ladder, the other end was covered with a sheet of plywood to give it a solid base. On the whistle, the competitor on the solid end of the seesaw had to counterbalance the other competitor whilst he ascended the runged end to collect a ball from a female team-mate. They then had to both make their way to the centre of the seesaw so that the ball could be passed through a hole and handed over. Once achieved, they then had to counterbalance the seesaw once more in order to raise the solid end for that competitor to place the ball in a net at the top of a 30ft (9.14m) high pole. The game was then repeated until four balls had been placed in the net. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this fairly straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and Great Britain and, apart from a couple of small mishaps, it played out without incident. Switzerland finished in 1 minute 15 seconds, Belgium, despite dropping the ball on their first attempt at the net, finished in 1 minute 20 seconds and Great Britain, who struggled to place their first ball in the net, finished in 1 minute 21 seconds.

The second heat featured the three remaining teams of France, Italy and Netherlands and proved to be the slower of the two heats with all three teams dropping at least one ball each. Italy finished in 1 minute 26 seconds, France finished in 1 minute 36 seconds and Netherlands failed to complete the game and were given a time of 0:00.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Lowestoft (GB) (4pts awarded / 25pts total) 2nd Hoogland (NL) (1pt / 22pts) ▼ 3rd Kleve (D) (--- / 17pts) 4th Reims (F) (2pts / 16pts) 5th Rimini (I) (3pts / 14pts) 6th Locarno (CH) (6pts / 13pts) 7th Genk (B) (5pts / 12pts) ▼

Comments: Although not explained in the programme, the failure of Netherlands to finish the game was due to the competitor on the solid end of the seesaw being injured and having to retire. Re-runs of the game clearly showed that on two occasions his team-mate lost his grip on the rungs which resulted in the other end of the seesaw being dropped to the ground with a great force. Fortunately, camera shots showed that the injuries were not serious and the competitor could be seen standing up and talking whilst receiving attention from his team coach.

Fil Rouge, Round 5 - The Swivelling Donkey

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and they made two successful crossings and had one carrot placed in the mouth by a competitor after falling into the pool. Their score was declared as 16pts (8 + 7 + 1).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Locarno (CH) (21) =1st Hoogland (NL) (21) 3rd Kleve (D) (16) =4th Genk (B) (15) ▼ =4th Rimini (I) (15) ▼

Game 6 - Chain-Gang Convicts

The sixth game - ‘Chain-Gang Convicts’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured six competitors (three males and three females) from each team in three pairs (one male and one female). Each pair was shackled together with a 28lb (12.7kg) ball and chain around their ankles and each competitor was armed with a small bucket. On the whistle, the first pair had to run up a 75ft (22.86m) course and fill their buckets with water and then return to the start and empty the contents into a container. They then had to connect the shackles of the second pair of competitors and repeat the game. This was then repeated again after the third pair had been shackled together and continued for the remainder of permitted time. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and although Great Britain led the game throughout, they were still only able to make three complete runs, the same as the other two teams. The results revealed that Belgium had collected 108lbs (49kg) of water, Great Britain had collected 103lb 10oz (47kg) and Italy had collected 94lb 12¾oz (43kg).

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and Netherlands and ended, in similar fashion as the first, with all three teams completing three runs before permitted time expired. The results revealed that Switzerland had collected 114lb 10¼oz (52kg) of water, West Germany had collected 101lb 6½oz (46kg) and Netherlands had collected 90lb 6¼oz (41kg).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Lowestoft (GB) (4pts awarded / 29pts total) 2nd Hoogland (NL) (1pt / 23pts) 3rd Kleve (D) (3pts / 20pts) 4th Locarno (CH) (6pts / 19pts) ▲ 5th Genk (B) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ =6th Reims (F) (--- / 16pts) ▼ =6th Rimini (I) (2pts / 16pts) ▼

Comments: Between the two heats, viewers witnessed a rare on-screen appearance of BBC It’s A Knockout games designer Stuart Furber, as he refilled the containers of water with a fire hose at the far end of the course.

Fil Rouge, Round 6 - The Swivelling Donkey

The sixth and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured France and they made heavy weather of the game and failed to make any crossings. However, their first competitor was able to place one carrot in the mouth of the donkey after falling into the pool. Their score was declared as 1pt.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Locarno (CH) (21) =1st Hoogland (NL) (21) 3rd Kleve (D) (16) =4th Genk (B) (15) =4th Rimini (I) (15) 6th Reims (F) (1)

Game 7 - World Cup Mexico 1970

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘World Cup Mexico 1970’ - was played individually over one minute duration and featured two male competitors from each team and at the far end of the course there was a goal with a movable goalkeeper. On the whistle, the first of the competitors had to dribble a football down a podium with a convex surface and at the end had to take a penalty kick towards the goal. This was then repeated by the second competitor and then continuously until permitted time expired. However, in order to impede their passage, there was a male competitor from each of the five other teams, one moving the goalkeeper back and forth whilst the other four hurled punch bags at them as they passed down the course. Goals would only be counted if taken from the prescribed area and balls had to stay on the podium at all times. The team scoring the greater number of goals would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany and they scored 1 goal from three attempts. They were followed by France who also scored 1 goal but this time from two attempts.

The third heat featured Netherlands who scored 1 goal from four attempts and they were followed by Belgium who scored 2 goals from four attempts.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Italy and they scored 2 goals but from only two attempts and the final team to participate was Switzerland who scored 1 goal from three attempts.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Lowestoft (GB) (--- awarded / 29pts total) 2nd Hoogland (NL) (4pts / 27pts) 3rd Kleve (D) (4pts / 24pts) =4th Genk (B) (6pts / 23pts) ▲ =4th Locarno (CH) (4pts / 23pts) 6th Rimini (I) (6pts / 22pts) 7th Reims (F) (4pts / 20pts) ▼

Comments: It appeared at this point in the programme that this would be a very low-scoring heat overall. However, it should be noted that only two of the seven teams had actually played their Joker so far. But this would change in the final game when five Jokers were presented for play and would throw the competition somewhat ‘on its head’. This game was designed to celebrate the IXth FIFA World Cup competition that had been staged earlier in the year in Mexico between 31st May and 21st June 1970.

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Swivelling Donkey

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain and they made three successful crossings and scored 21pts (8 + 7 + 6) and finished in joint 1st place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Locarno (CH) (21) =1st Lowestoft (GB) (21) =1st Hoogland (NL) (21) 4th Kleve (D) (16) ▼ =5th Genk (B) (15) ▼ =5th Rimini (I) (15) ▼ 7th Reims (F) (1) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Lowestoft (GB) (7pts awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Hoogland (NL) (7pts / 34pts) 3rd Locarno (CH) (7pts / 30pts) ▲ 4th Kleve (D) (4pts / 28pts) ▼ 5th Genk (B) (3pts / 26pts) ▼ 6th Rimini (I) (3pts / 25pts) 7th Reims (F) (1pt / 21pts)

Game 8 - Damsels in Distress

The eighth and final game - ‘Damsels in Distress’ - was as simple as it was spectacular and witnessed Belgium, Switzerland, West Germany, France and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game was played in unison and featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team, a large canopied litter weighing 176lb 10oz (80kg) and a large castle rampart. On the whistle, the male competitors had to carry the litter to the end of the 150ft (45.7m) course and then one of them had to climb a rope ladder and through a trap door to reach the battlements of the castle. Once achieved, the second male had to hand him an iron ladder so that he could rescue the female competitor standing on the top of a 50ft (15.24m) high tower. Once he had reached the tower, he then had to fly his national flag from a flagpole and then both of them had to descend in the same manner has he had ascended. Once on the ground, the female had to get into the litter and both of the males had to carry it back to the start line. The female then had to climb out of the litter and onto a podium and hold aloft the team’s ident to finish the game. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

From the outset, Great Britain took the lead and ascended and rescued their damsel first. However, on the descent, the team were delayed and this permitted all the other teams to overtake and finish the game ahead of them. Belgium had descended the castle and raced back to the start to finish the game in 1st place in 1 minute 21 seconds while most of their rivals were still descending the battlements. The second team to finish were Italy in 1 minute 25 seconds and were followed home by Switzerland in 3rd place in 1 minute 29 seconds, West Germany in 4th place in 1 minute 31 seconds, Netherlands in 5th place in 1 minute 34 seconds, France in 6th place in 1 minute 36 seconds and Great Britain in 7th place in 1 minute 48 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: =1st Genk (B) (14pts awarded / Joker / 40pts total) ▲ =1st Locarno (CH) (10pts / Joker / 40pts) ▲ =3rd Lowestoft (GB) (1pts / 37pts) ▼ =3rd Rimini (I) (12pts / Joker / 37pts) ▲ =3rd Hoogland (NL) (3pts / 37pts) ▼ 6th Kleve (D) (8pts / Joker / 36pts) ▼ 7th Reims (F) (4pts / Joker / 25pts)

Comments: This was the first of only two occasions in the history of Jeux Sans Frontières that five Jokers were presented for play on the same game. The only other occasion that this occurred was during the International Final staged at Ludwigsburg, West Germany in 1977. At the end of the game there was some confusion as to how Great Britain had done so well in the game's early stages but finished it in 7th place, but after viewing replays, the reason for the delay with the team soon became apparent. Whilst all the other teams descended the trap door with their two male competitors first, followed by the female competitor, Great Britain decided that the female should exit after the first male competitor. Not having the support and safety of two males below her, she struggled with her footing on the rope ladder and the height of her descent and this delayed the team. A photograph from this game was featured on Page 15 of the It’s A Knockout Annual 1977, published by World Distributors (Manchester) Limited in the autumn of 1976.

Presenters, Officials and Production Teams

With Great Britain not participating in the seventh game and with it being football-themed, it was only appropriate that British referee Arthur Ellis should oversee all six heats in contrast to the normal practice of a different referee scoring each heat. Ellis was well-experienced in the field as he had been a referee at three World Cups (1950, 1954 and 1958), 73 Internationals including the renowned first leg of the second round European Cup tie between Barcelona and Real Madrid during the 1960-61 season.

Records and Statistics

After winning this heat (albeit jointly), Switzerland set a record which stands to this day - the longest period without an International Heat win. The next winner for Switzerland would be Faido in International Heat 5 of 1975 - an unbelievable 34 International Heats later! Ironically, during this lean period, Switzerland were able to win two International Finals - one in 1972 and another in 1974!

Additional Information

The opening shots and the introduction of the teams could clearly be seen as having been recorded earlier in the day as the playing arena was clear of any game equipment. Following on from this, the cameras immediately went to the first game which presented a much darker arena with floodlights.

As was the case with Caernarfon, who had played in green and white outfits in the previous heat, Lowestoft played the games in all blue outfits as opposed to the normal red colour of the British teams.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives

NL

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 6

Event Staged: Wednesday 19th August 1970
Venue: Grote Markt (Great Market),
Groningen, Netherlands

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
Nederland 1 (NL): Wednesday 19th August 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

RAI Due (I): Friday 21st August 1970
BBC1 (GB): Friday 28th August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 2nd September 1970

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Dick Passchier

Theme: Groningen City Festivities

Teams: Verviers (B) v. Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) v. Andernach am Rhein (D) v. Angoulême (F) v.
Margate (GB) v. Bassano del Grappa (I) v. Aalten (NL)

Team Members included:
Andernach am Rhein (D) - Anton Büller, Reiner Gabor, Peter Reiff;
Margate (GB) - Heather Campbell, Michelle Campbell, Les Chambers, Kevin Fletcher, Daryll Harding, Jack Harris, Christine James, Bert Joy, Gilleen Rossiter, Terry Rossiter, Shirley Tomlinson, Vic Tyler, David Walker, Dave Wornham;
Bassano del Grappa (I) - Giacomo Andriolo, Micaela Bariani, Ausilio Basso, Sandra Berti,Lucia Comis, Virgilio Crema, Ornella Fabris, Christiana Ferraro, Wilma Fontana, Giovanni Forner, Giorgio Giacobbo, Maria Mazzariol, Claudio Merlo, Sandra Milani, Fiorenzo Operti, Giuliano Pasuello, Walter Rubin, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Antonio Tasca, Ferruccio Tasca, Paolo Tagnin, Franco Toborchi, Luciano Trento, Stefano Zampieri;
Aalten (NL) - Hans Prinsen (Team Coach), Bert Hoogendijk (Team Captain, non-playing), Anja Beskers, Rose Beyer, Gerry Buttner, Marianne van der Drift, Ab Ebbers, Jan Frenken, Alex Fukking, Anneke Grijzen, Gerrit Heusinkveld, Joop Neerhof, Alex Ormel, Bert Ormel, Dick Schoppers, Jan Willem Somsen, Ada Veldhuis, Bert Veldhuis, Willy ter Vrugt, Hans Wensink.

Games: The Sailing Boat, The Ladder Slalom, The Big Rollers, The Vase Carriers, The Antipodean Waiters, The Lighthouse Keepers, The Uniformed Guards and The Firecrackers;
Fil Rouge: The Castle Ramparts;
Jokers: Cartoon Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
6th

 B • Verviers ● ●
 NL • Aalten
 D • Andernach am Rhein
 F • Angoulême
 GB • Margate
 CH • Estavayer-le-Lac
 I • Bassano del Grappa

43
39
36
35
32
28
28

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Verviers (1st, 43pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Vevey (=1st, 42pts)
West Germany (D) - Radevormwald (1st, 48pts)
France (F) - Aix-les-Bains (1st, 48pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Lowestoft (=3rd, 37pts)
Italy (I) - Como (1st, 40pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Aalten (2nd, 39pts)

The Host Town

Groningen, Groningen

Groningen is the capital and largest city of its eponymous province in the north-east of the Netherlands. It has a population of just under 200,000 inhabitants and is located 51km (31½ miles) east of Leeuwarden, 85km (52¾ miles) north of Zwolle, 147km (91¼ miles) north-east of Amsterdam and 35km (21¾ miles) west of the German border.

The city was founded on the northernmost point of the Hondsrug area (a large ridge of sand on which much of the province and neighbouring Drenthe is built). Groningen was founded around AD 950 at the site of a Roman camp and has a rich history, which can clearly be seen from the old medieval buildings in the downtown area. However, the oldest document referring to Groningen's existence only dates from 1040. In the 13th century, when the city was an important trade centre, its inhabitants built a city wall to underline its authority. The city had a strong influence on the surrounding lands and made its dialect a common tongue. The most influential period of the city was the end of the 15th century, when the nearby province of Friesland was administered from Groningen. During this period (1492), the Martinitoren (Martini Tower) in the market square was built, which loomed over the city at a height of 97m (318ft 3in), making it the highest building in Europe at the time. The city's independence came to an end when it chose to join forces with the Spanish during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) in 1594. It later switched sides, joining the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.

In 1614, the University of Groningen was founded, initially only for religious education and in the same period, the city expanded rapidly and a new city wall was built. That same wall was tested during the Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674), when the city was attacked fiercely by the bishop of Münster, Christoph Bernhard von Galen (1606-1678). Fortunately, the city’s wall resisted and this event, known as Gronings Ontzet (Siege of Groningen), is celebrated with music and fireworks on 28th August each year.

Groningen has been called the ‘World Cycling City’ because 57% of all journeys made within the city are by bicycle and, as is the case with most Dutch cities, it is well adapted to the high number of cyclists. A large network of bike paths make it convenient to cycle to various destinations and, within the city, the bicycle is the most popular means of transportation. Groningen's nightlife depends largely on the population of students studying at Groningen University (28,000) and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences (25,000). Its cultural scene is vibrant and remarkable for a city of its size with the Grote Markt, the Vismarkt, the Poelestraat and Peperstraat (the surrounding streets) crowded every night of the week, with most bars not closing until 5.00am!

An absolute must for any visitor to the region is an excursion to the village of Bourtange. Located in the province of Groningen, it is actually 48km (30 miles) south-east of the city centre near the German border. Although it only has a population of 430 inhabitants, thousand of tourists flock to the village each year to see the star-shaped Festung (Fort) Bourtange. It was built in 1593 during the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648) when William I of Orange (1533-1584) wanted to control the only road between Germany and the city of Groningen which at the time was controlled by the Spanish. The fort was used until 1851, after which it was given up and it became a normal village. However, around 1960, living conditions in the village deteriorated to such a state that it was decided that Bourtange would be rebuilt to its former glory and today it is used as an open-air museum.

The Visiting Towns

Verviers is a city with a population of around 56,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) province of Liège and is located 296km (184 miles) south of Groningen.

Estavayer-le-Lac is a town with a population of around 6,500 inhabitants in the teutophonic / francophonic (German / French-speaking) Swiss canton of Fribourg and is located 710km (441 miles) south of Groningen.

Andernach am Rhein is a town with a population of around 30,000 inhabitants in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz and is located 317km (197 miles) south of Groningen.

Angoulême is a town with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine and is located 961km (597 miles) south-west of Groningen.

Margate is a town with a population of around 62,000 inhabitants in the English county of Kent and is located 407km (253 miles) south-west of Groningen.

Bassano del Grappa is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Veneto and is located 909km (565 miles) south-east of Groningen.

Aalten is a town with a population of around 28,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Gelderland and is located 143km (89 miles) south of Groningen.

The Venue

Grote Markt

The games were played on the market square in the city centre which until 1838 had also used for public executions. It is dominated by the Martinitoren, the Stadthuis (City Hall) and the Goudkantoor (Gold Office) and, until World War II (1939-1945), was considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in the Netherlands. During the liberation of the city (the Seige of Groningen) on Sunday 15th April 1945, the north and the east sides of the square were almost entirely burnt down, partly due to arson by German troops, partly due to shelling by Canadians. Fortunately, the Martinitoren and its church, the Goudkantoor and the City Hall were not damaged.

With the nine main streets in the city centre all converging on the market square - Martinikerkhof, Poelestraat, Oosterstraat, Gelkingestraat, Herestraat, Zwanestraat, Oude Boteringestraat, Oude Ebbingestraat and Kreupelstraat - there was speculation after World War II that the Grote Markt would be considered as a major traffic roundabout. Fortunately, this never came to fruition and with the introduction of the Verkeerscirculatieplan (traffic management plan) on 19th September 1977, the square became traffic-free except for buses and bicycles. Cars and vans are only permitted to enter the square on market days via Oude Ebbingestraat on the northern side. The Grote Markt was the main transfer point for local public transport from 1880 (first horse tram) until 1992, and this role is now taken by the central bus station at the Hoofdstation.

At the front of the Town Hall, a plaque has been mounted in recognition of the city’s Liberation in 1945 whilst on the south side there is one dedicated to the memory of the six city councillors killed during World War II. The current pavement was laid in 1926 and in the middle there is a compass rose, with its centre bearing a stone inlaid with the words '5 mei 1995, 60 jaar Bevrijding; 1000 jaar in vrijheid verder, 2995' (‘May 5th 1995, 60th Anniversary of the Liberation; 1000 years into freedom, 2995’).

Nowadays, the market is primarily known for its concentration of bars and restaurants on the south side, many of which were owned by Dutch hospitality entrepreneur Sjoerd Kooistra (1951-2010).

The Rehearsals

In the dress rehearsal for this event, Italian team Bassano del Grappa finished in 1st place, whilst Great Britain team Margate finished in 4th place ahead of Belgian team Verviers which finished in seventh place.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Sailing Boat

The first game - ‘The Sailing Boat’ - was played individually and featured three male competitors from each team and a sailing boat on wheels with a long boom protruding from its mast. At the end of the 25m (82ft) course, and located in front of a 2.3m (7ft 6½in) high wooden wall, there were eight podia of equal height with a bucket of water perched on top. On the whistle, five male opposition members (one from each of the other competing teams) had to push the boat before releasing it along a 25m rail track. Contemporaneously, the three competitors were released and they had to run towards the wall and climb over it in order to reach the buckets of water before the boom knocked them off the podia. Any water remaining in the buckets retrieved had to be placed in a large container and then weighed. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland and they removed six of the buckets before the boom was able to knock them down and collected 25.5kg (56lb 3½oz) of water.

The second heat featured Great Britain and they also removed six buckets and collected 27.5kg (60lb 10oz) of water.

The third team to participate was France and they also collected six buckets but also saved one of the buckets as it tumbled to the ground. However despite this, when the total amount was weighed, their score was only 25kg (55lb 1¾oz).

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Netherlands and two of their competitors struggled to climb over the wall and this permitted the boom to knock down four of the eight buckets. When the contents of the four removed buckets were weighed there was just 17kg (37lb 7½oz) of water remaining.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Italy and, after a piece of very quick-thinking by their lead competitor, they were able to remove seven of the buckets, but when the contents were weighed there was only 26kg (57lb 5oz) of water.

The sixth and final heat featured West Germany and although the three competitors were very agile at climbing over the wall, they were only able to remove five buckets and collect 19kg (41lb 14¼oz) of water.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Margate (GB) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Bassano del Grappa (I) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Angoulême (F) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Andernach am Rhein (D) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Aalten (NL) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Verviers (B) (--- / 0pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - The Castle Ramparts

The next game - ‘The Castle Ramparts’ - was the Fil Rouge which was played over two minutes duration and featured six competitors (three pairs of one male and one female) sitting in a large wooden box and each armed with a bag full of balls. At the end of the course, there was a castle gatehouse and on the battlements there were five caricatured heads of soldiers. On the whistle, the first pair of competitors had to descend a roller conveyor (similar to that seen on a factory production line) and throw balls at the soldiers to knock them down. Once through the castle gate, the competitors continued onwards and were dumped into a pool and then the game was repeated until all five soldiers had been knocked down. Once a team had knocked down all the soldiers, the box would be diverted away from the pool via a small siding. Only one pair of competitors could be on the conveyor at any time and the next pair could not start their descent until the previous box had been removed from the pool. The team completing the game in the faster time or with the greater number of soldiers knocked down would be declared the winners.

The first team to participate was Belgium and on their first run they knocked down two of the soldiers before heading into the pool. The second pair was able to remove a further soldier and this was also the case for the third pair. With all competitors now wet, the first pair started their second run and knocked the final soldier down and rolled into the siding in 1 minute 51 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds)

Game 2 - The Ladder Slalom

The second game - ‘The Ladder Slalom’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Netherlands presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team armed with a 2.5m (8ft 2½in) long ladder and an obstacle course. On the whistle, each competitor had to stand between two different rungs and then they lifted the ladder up to waist height and begin to traverse the course. The first obstacle required the team to zigzag in and out of four poles and the second was to pass through a small tunnel. Once through this, the team had to negotiate a set of ten steps to reach the top of a podium and then they all had to get out of the ladder so that it could be used to bridge the gap between another podium on the other side. They then had to run across the ladder and then retrieve it and then use it to cross another gap. However, this time the ladder had to be placed between two high scaffold bars and then they had to swing across using the rungs to get to another podium on the other side. The ladder then had to be retrieved again and then lowered down to the ground at the far end of the podium whilst three of the team jumped down to the ground. The three of them then had to hold the base of the ladder and pull the top forward whilst the remaining competitor had to stand on the uppermost but one rung and be raised up to reach a cord to set off a firecracker. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany, Great Britain and Italy and from the start West Germany headed the race. Italy were penalised for knocking down one of the poles at the start and had to repeat that obstacle which delayed them and resulted in them trailing the other two throughout. However, Great Britain made up some ground on West Germany but it was not enough to prevent them from completing the game in 40 seconds. Great Britain were not far behind and finished in 42 seconds and Italy finished in 49 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, France and Netherlands and this was to be the faster of the two heats with all three teams neck and neck throughout and this fact was reflected when the results were announced. Belgium completed the game in 35 seconds whilst Netherlands and France finished in an exact time of 36 seconds each.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aalten (NL) (10pts awarded / Joker / 11pts total) ▲ =2nd Angoulême (F) (5pts / 8pts) ▲ =2nd Margate (GB) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ =4th Verviers (B) (6pts / 6pts) ▲ =4th Bassano del Grappa (I) (1pt / 6pts) ▼ 6th Andernach am Rhein (D) (3pts / 5pts) ▼ 7th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (--- / 4pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - The Castle Ramparts

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and on their first run they knocked down two of the soldiers with the second pair able to remove a further soldier on the next run. The remaining two soldiers were dislodged by the third pair and the game completed in 1 minute 9 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) 2nd Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) ▼

Game 3 - The Big Rollers

The third game - ‘The Big Rollers’ - was played over three heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured three female competitors from each team on a contraption comprised of two large wooden rollers attached to small one-wheeled steerable trolley and a 225m (738ft 2¼in) course which traversed the four corners of the market square. On the whistle, two of the competitors standing atop the rollers and facing backwards had to set the vehicle in motion by walking forwards. Contemporaneously, the third competitor standing on the trolley and armed with a large pole had to steer it in the direction of the rollers in order to keep her balance. After 25m (82ft), the teams had to stop whilst the competitor on the trolley hung two wooden clogs onto hooks above the course using the long pole. Once achieved, the pole had to be discarded and then it was a straight race, apart from a large ramp that had to be negotiated, around the remaining 200m (656ft 2in). The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this unusual but straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland and Great Britain with Switzerland getting the better start and taking the lead after the first corner of the course. With no real opposition from their rivals, they held the lead for the remainder of the game and finished in a time of 2 minutes 5 seconds. Great Britain were still a long way back at this point and with only 25 seconds of the game remaining, it was a lost cause and the team failed to complete the course and were given 0:00.

The second heat featured Belgium and Netherlands with Belgium racing ahead whilst Netherlands encountered problems before reaching the first corner. With the team holding their nerve, Belgium completed a faultless performance and finished the game in 1 minute 31 seconds whilst Netherlands, having recovered from their earlier mishap, finished the game in 1 minute 50 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of France and Italy and both teams provided faultless performances throughout and it finished with France crossing the line in 1 minute 30 seconds and Italy finishing the game in 1 minute 36 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Angoulême (F) (6pts awarded / 14pts total) ▲ =1st Bassano del Grappa (I) (8pts / Joker / 14pts) ▲ =1st Aalten (NL) (3pts / 14pts) 4th Verviers (B) (5pts / 11pts) 5th Margate (GB) (1pt / 9pts) ▼ 6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (2pts / 6pts) ▲ 7th Andernach am Rhein (D) (--- / 5pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - The Castle Ramparts

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and on the first run they knocked down two soldiers. On the second run, the team completed the game when the three remaining soldiers were all toppled. The box crossed the finish line and they were given a time of one minute.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Andernach am Rhein (D) (1 minute) 2nd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) ▼ 3rd Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) ▼

Comments: The referees made a huge error with the timing of this heat and declared that the team had finished in one minute exactly. However, despite the clock being visible throughout their performance and their ‘actual’ finishing time of 39 seconds being clearly shown on-screen, there did not appear to be any protest made from the West German team captain and no mention of it was made by the West German commentators either. Fortunately for West Germany, only one other team would go on to better their time in the Fil Rouge and which would have in fact beaten their correct time in any case.

Game 4 - The Vase Carriers

The fourth game - ‘The Vase Carriers’ - was played individually over 30 seconds duration and featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team with six rubber rings around their torsos and each wearing a plastic goldfish bowl over their head atop of which was a serving tray. On the whistle, a team-mate placed up to four small clay vases on the trays and then the competitors had to cross a 15m (49ft 2½in) path to the other side of the course where another team-mate was waiting to remove them. In opposition, there was a female competitor from each of the five other teams throwing balls at them as they crossed. All vases still on the tray, standing upright or on their sides, would be deemed valid. The team transporting the greater number of vases would be declared the winners.

The first team to participate in this very straightforward and simple game was Italy and they transported 4 vases in seven crossings (some which were completed whilst no vases remained on the trays).

The second heat featured Great Britain and they transported 3 vases in four crossings.

The third team to participate was Belgium and they transported 9 vases in six crossings.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Netherlands and they transported 7 vases in five crossings.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of West Germany and they transported 5 vases in seven crossings.

The sixth and final heat featured Switzerland and they transported 4 vases in five crossings.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aalten (NL) (5pts awarded / 19pts total) =2nd Verviers (B) (6pts / 17pts) ▲ =2nd Bassano del Grappa (I) (3pts / 17pts) ▼ 4th Angoulême (F) (--- / 14pts) ▼ 5th Margate (GB) (1pt / 10pts) =6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (3pts / 9pts) =6th Andernach am Rhein (D) (4pts / 9pts) ▲

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - The Castle Ramparts

The fourth round of the Fil Rouge featured France and they completed the game in a total of four runs. On the first run they knocked down one soldier and the same was the case for the second run. The third run proved more fruitful with two soldiers being dislodged and the final soldier was knocked down on the fourth run and the team finished in a time of 1 minute 42 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Andernach am Rhein (D) (1 minute) 2nd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) 3rd Angoulême (F) (1 minute 42 seconds) 4th Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) ▼

Game 5 - Antipodean Waiters

The fifth game - ‘Antipodean Waiters’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured seven competitors (six males and one female) from each team. On the whistle, one of the male competitors had to fill and place up to four leaking buckets of water onto a litter. This then had to be passed down the course by the other five males whilst lying on their backs and using their feet to keep it as level as possible. It then had to be placed onto a podium and then the female competitor had to remove the buckets and empty the contents into a container which would be weighed at the end of the game. The litter was then passed back to the start and the game repeated throughout. The team with the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and Italy and it was very difficult to determine which team was the more successful. However, when the results were revealed, they showed that Italy had collected 61kg (134lb 7¾oz) of water, West Germany had collected 55kg (121lb 4oz) and Belgium had collected 40kg (88lb 3oz) of water.

The second heat featured Switzerland, France and Netherlands and would be the lower scoring of the two. The results revealed that Netherlands had collected 52.5kg (115lb 11¾oz) of water, France had collected 38kg (83lb 12½oz) and Switzerland had collected 36kg (79lb 5¾oz).

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Bassano del Grappa (I) (6pts awarded / 23pts total) ▲ =1st Aalten (NL) (4pts / 23pts) 3rd Verviers (B) (3pts / 20pts) ▼ 4th Angoulême (F) (2pts / 16pts) 5th Andernach am Rhein (D) (5pts / 14pts) ▲ =6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1pt / 10pts) =6th Margate (GB) (--- / 10pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 5 - The Castle Ramparts

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain and they completed the game in a total of four runs. On the first run they knocked down one soldier and on the second run they dislodged a further two. The third run proved less fruitful with every ball thrown missing its target. However not to be disheartened, on the fourth run, the final two soldiers were knocked down at the last moment and they finished the game in 1 minute 23 seconds.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Andernach am Rhein (D) (1 minute) 2nd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) 3rd Margate (GB) (1 minute 23 seconds) 4th Angoulême (F) (1 minute 42 seconds) ▼ 5th Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) ▼

Game 6 - The Lighthouse Keepers

The sixth game - ‘The Lighthouse Keepers’ - was played over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed West Germany and France presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team and a 40m (131ft 3in) roll of cloth. On the whistle, the competitors had to pull on the cloth and traverse a small course comprising four hurdles which they had to interweave the cloth over and under. At the end of the course, one of the competitors had to make a cut in the middle of the cloth with a pair of scissors and then both of them had to pull the cloth into two strips along its entire length. Once they had returned to the start, the cloth had to be cut away from the roll and then each of them had to take an end and repeat the course once more, pulling the cloth behind them. Once they had reached the far end of the course for the second time, the competitors had to pull all the cloth together and then each piece had to be thrown up to a male team-mate standing on the balcony of a 5m (16ft 5in) high lighthouse. Once each piece had been caught, the competitor had to climb up to him using the cloth and once both of them were on the balcony, each of them had to insert a connector (which they wore around their necks) on either side of the tower to complete a circuit and cause the lighthouse to flash. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and West Germany with all the teams virtually neck and neck throughout the early stages. However, West Germany picked up speed and were the first to reach the lighthouse but Switzerland were hot on their heels. Unfortunately, one of their competitors was then sent back to correct an error and this permitted West Germany to finish in 1 minute 48 seconds. After recomposing themselves, Switzerland finished in 2 minutes 12 seconds whilst Belgium struggled to climb the lighthouse and finished in 2 minutes 51 seconds.

The second heat featured France, Great Britain and Netherlands and was also a neck and neck race but with France having the slight edge on the other two teams. However, with their failure to secure the cloth on the first attempt at throwing, it permitted Great Britain to close the gap and overtake them and finish the game in 1 minute 35 seconds. France having recovered from their error finished in 1 minute 45 seconds, closely followed by Netherlands in 1 minute 51 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Angoulême (F) (10pts awarded / Joker / 26pts total) ▲ =1st Aalten (NL) (3pts / 26pts) 3rd Bassano del Grappa (I) (--- / 23pts) ▼ 4th Andernach am Rhein (D) (8pts / Joker / 22pts) ▲ 5th Verviers (B) (1pt / 21pts) ▼ 6th Margate (GB) (6pts / 16pts) 7th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (2pts / 12pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 6 - The Castle Ramparts

The sixth and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured Italy and they completed the game in a total of five runs. On the first run they failed to knock any soldiers down but dislodged two soldiers on the second run. The third run was as much a failure as the first with every ball thrown missing its target and as was the case with the second run, they redeemed themselves on their fourth run by dislodging a further two. With the clock already at 1 minute 52 seconds and with only eight seconds to descend the roller, time was running out for Italy to complete the game. However, not to be outdone, the final soldier was knocked down and the team were given a time of exactly two minutes.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Andernach am Rhein (D) (1 minute) 2nd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) 3rd Margate (GB) (1 minute 23 seconds) 4th Angoulême (F) (1 minute 42 seconds) 5th Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) 6th Bassano del Grappa (I) (2 minutes)

Comments: The referees were somewhat sympathetic to Italy at the end of this round by taking their time at the exact moment that the final soldier was dislodged in order that the team was not declared out of time. All the times for the other teams had been taken from the moment the box had diverted onto the siding and Italy were at least three seconds off this point when limit time was reached! However, at the end of the game, their time would be the slowest of all the seven teams and therefore would not have made any difference to the scoring or overall outcome.

Game 7 - The Uniformed Guards

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘The Uniformed Guards’ - was played individually over 45 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured three male competitors from each team dressed as security guards and three display cabinets each with eight pot plants. On the whistle, the three competitors had to make their way across to the middle of a narrow beam above a pool in order to protect the plants which were located at the rear of the pool. In opposition, there was a male team member from each of the other teams and they had try and knock the flowers down with large plastic balls. The team with the greater number of plants still standing would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany and they had eleven pots knocked down which gave them a score of 13 flowers.

The second heat featured Belgium and although all three of the guards were in the pool for the final seven seconds of the game, they only had eight pots knocked down which gave them a score of 16 flowers.

The third team to participate was Italy and despite having good balancing skills, the team permitted thirteen pots to be knocked down which gave them a score of 11 flowers.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was France and they provided the worst performance of the night, permitting sixteen pots to be knocked down which gave them a score of 8 flowers.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Great Britain and they permitted just nine pots to be knocked down which gave them a score of 15 flowers.

The sixth and final heat featured Switzerland and, akin with Italy, they permitted thirteen pots to be knocked down which also gave them a score of 11 flowers.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Verviers (B) (6pts awarded / 27pts total) ▲ =1st Angoulême (F) (1pt / 27pts) =3rd Andernach am Rhein (D) (4pts / 26pts) ▲ =3rd Margate (GB) (10pts / Joker / 26pts) ▲ =3rd Bassano del Grappa (I) (3pts / 26pts) =3rd Aalten (NL) (--- / 26pts) ▼ 7th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (3pts / 15pts)

Comments: The team from Great Britain had cleverly worked out during rehearsals as to the exact position to stand on the beam to prevent the least number of balls from getting past them. This could clearly be seen in the broadcast as the three competitors hardly had to lift a hand to stop the balls from hitting the pots. After the points had been awarded, only one point separated the top six teams, with Switzerland behind by 12pts. However, as Switzerland and Belgium had yet to play their Jokers, it was still mathematically possible for any of the seven teams to win the contest!

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Castle Ramparts

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Netherlands and would again lead to some controversy as to the accuracy of referees’ timings. The first pair of competitors came down the ramp very quickly and knocked down four of the soldiers in just 16 seconds. As the team plunged into the water, the camera panned onto the next pair waiting to descend but no signal was given to the touch-judge at the top of the ramp to release them. Eventually after 40 seconds of elapsed time, the pair began to descend, whilst referee Gennaro Olivieri rushed to the bottom of the ramp frantically waving his arms to signal that the game had been halted. Nevertheless, the team continued to play and successfully knocked down the outstanding soldier in a time shown on the screen as 1 minute 1 second, which would have placed them in 2nd place on the game. However, Gennaro Olivieri stated that their runs had been nullified and that they would have to a re-run the game due to the unexplained delay experienced after the first run. This was met with loud jeering and whistles from the home crowd which drowned out the Dutch commentator’s explanation of the situation.

On the re-run, the team proved that their previous runs had not been flukes and this time took them just two runs (three soldiers and two soldiers) to complete the game again, but this time in just 39 seconds. However, the team had not been properly prepared and they had not started the game until 7 seconds after the starting whistle had sounded. Despite this, the referees deemed that the team had completed the course in 25 seconds (instead of 32 seconds after allowing for those 7 seconds) and this permitted them to secure 1st place on the game!

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Aalten (NL) (25 seconds) 2nd Andernach am Rhein (D) (1 minute) ▼ 3rd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1 minute 9 seconds) ▼ 4th Margate (GB) (1 minute 23 seconds) ▼ 5th Angoulême (F) (1 minute 42 seconds) ▼ 6th Verviers (B) (1 minute 51 seconds) ▼ 7th Bassano del Grappa (I) (2 minutes) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Aalten (NL) (7pts awarded / 33pts total) ▲ 2nd Andernach am Rhein (D) (6pts / 32pts) ▲ =3rd Angoulême (F) (3pts / 30pts) ▼ =3rd Margate (GB) (4pts / 30pts) 5th Verviers (B) (2pts / 29pts) ▼ 6th Bassano del Grappa (I) (1pt / 27pts) ▼ 7th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (5pts / 20pts)

Game 8 - The Firecrackers

The eighth and final game - ‘The Firecrackers’ - was one of the most simplest games ever designed and witnessed Belgium and Switzerland presenting their Jokers for play. The game was played in unison and featured a male competitor from each team and a large inflated mattress. On the whistle, the competitor had to cross the mattress and then, with the assistance of a team-mate, unwrap a small detonator which had been covered with tinsel. He then had to run back across the mattress and place the detonator in a hole and press down to set off three firecrackers. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Due to its simplicity, the game was almost over before it had started and in fact only lasted for 23 seconds in total. Although all the teams reached the end of the mattress together, Belgium were the first to start the return journey and completed the game in 13 seconds. Then it was a mass finish and it appeared to be anybody’s guess as to the positions of the next six teams as they all completed the game on or around 23 seconds. However, the judges and referees had worked out who had finished where and announced that after Belgium, the teams had finished in the following order - Netherlands (2nd), France (3rd), Switzerland and West Germany (4th), Great Britain (6th) and Italy (7th).

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Verviers (B) (14pts awarded / Joker / 43pts total) ▲ 2nd Aalten (NL) (6pts / 39pts) ▼ 3rd Andernach am Rhein (D) (4pts / 36pts) ▼ 4th Angoulême (F) (5pts / 35pts) ▼ 5th Margate (GB) (2pts / 32pts) ▼ =6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (8pts / Joker / 28pts) ▲ =6th Bassano del Grappa (I) (1pt / 28pts)

Comments: At the end of the game whilst the results were being announced, the home crowd were in for a shock. Following the announcement that Belgium had been confirmed as having won the game, Guido Pancaldi then stated that Netherlands had finished in second place. The home team and crowd, believing that the six points had secured victory, began celebrating whilst the finishing positions of the other teams were revealed. He then announced that Belgium had not scored seven points but fourteen points with the Joker played. The home crowd's jubilations were very quickly silenced whilst the Belgian contingent celebrated the nation’s third victory of the year.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Five members of Italian team Bassano del Grappa - Virgilio Crema, Maria Mazzariol, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto and Ruggero Stragliotto - had previously participated in 1970 as members of Italian team Adria, and all featured again in 1971 for Jesolo. Brother and sister Paolo and Daniela Scagnetto also returned to participate for the Jesolo team in 1976. Team member Wilma Fontana also participated in the teams of Jesolo (1971), Marostica (1974) and Jesolo (1976). Paolo Scagnetto again reappeared as co-team coach for Rosolina Mare in 1993 and Porte Tolle (Donzella) in 1994!

Media Attention

Before the British team departed for London’s Heathrow Airport, Ronnie Corbett (1930-2016) turned up in the pouring rain outside the Council Offices in Margate’s Cecil Square, to help the Mayor - Councillor W.C. Goodrich - give the team a rousing send-off.

Famously known as being one half of double-act The Two Ronnies, the pint-sized Scottish comedian, who was appearing at the resort’s Winter Gardens Theatre, arrived in his large silver Bentley and said, “I just had to come to see the lads and lassies off. They are such a grand lot and I hope they win in Europe.”

Additional Information

The city of Groningen was awarded the hosting rights for this city after Alkmaar, Delft and Rotterdam had also been considered as potential venues. In addition to each of these four cities possessing large squares suitable for staging Jeux Sans Frontières, they also had city councils willing to be involved and airports close by. Groningen was first mooted as the venue for the first Dutch International Heat in January 1970, with its confirmation as such being revealed to the Netherlands national press on 14th March. The attendance figure for the event was given as 2,750 spectators and it cost 75,000 guilders (approx. £8,700) to stage. A large proportion of the costs was committed to the construction, purchase or hire of props and equipment, which comprised two pools each containing 50,000 litres of water, 120 tubes, 50 plaster vases, 2,250 tennis balls, 3 giant foam balls, 540m (1771ft) of curtains, 321 flower pots and 100 plastic balls!

The team from Aalten had originally been victorious in the Dutch Domestic series Zeskamp in 1968, and were invited to join the six highest scoring teams of the 1969-1970 series in this year’s series of Jeux Sans Frontières. All the qualifying teams were allocated their respective heats according to their finishing position with their aggregate scores. Aalten were given the honour to play hosts at this heat staged in Groningen.

For the week of this competition, the Dutch organisers, in association with the local Groningen council, arranged for areas of the city to be temporarily renamed in honour of the visiting teams. This meant, amongst the other one-week renamings, that this Jeux Sans Frontières competition was staged in Grote Markt (Market Square) while it was temporarily renamed Margate Square after the team representing Great Britain! (See newspaper report in our Media section.)

Margate became the first British team this year to win two games in a heat.

This heat was broadcast between 9.05-10.31pm (the town clock was shown at the beginning and the end of the programme), so those TV companies whose live broadcast was to have ended at 10.20pm would have had to extend their broadcasts or miss the last Fil Rouge and final game!

As had been the case for the previous two British teams, Margate did not don the normal red outfits designated to Great Britain. Instead, the team wore the orange T-shirts used in their Domestic heat with their red ‘GB’ dossards over the top. In the same vein, some of the West German team wore light yellow shirts with their light blue dossards. This led to some confusion for TV viewers watching in colour because the Dutch and Belgians were also wearing orange and yellow shirts respectively - their normal competing colours.

It was third time lucky here for the Belgian team of Verviers, who after finishing in 2nd place in both 1967 and 1968, finally managed to win an International Heat.

The blue electronic scoreboard which would be introduced as the main scoreboard in 1971 was used as a secondary scoreboard in this International Heat, presumably as a test, and was seen on-screen at the end of the programme whilst the points for the final game were being announced.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives

D

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 7

Event Staged: Wednesday 2nd September 1970
Venue: Großenplatz der Kongreßhalle (Great Square of the Congress Hall),
Hansaviertel, West-Berlin, West Germany

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

RAI Due (I): Wednesday 2nd September 1970, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 4th September 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 9th September 1970

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Camillo Felgen

Theme: Stories of the City of Berlin

Teams: Woluwe-Saint-Lambert / Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe (B) v. Widnau (CH) v.
Gelnhausen an der Kinzig (D) v. Saint-Malo (F) v. Great Yarmouth (GB) v.
Ancona (I) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL)

Team Members included:
Widnau (CH) - Albert Heule, Markus Heule, Wendelgard Heule, Armin Sieber, Erich Sieber, Pirmin Sieber, Rosmarie Sieber;

Gelnhausen an der Kinzig (D) - Andy Büllatin, Peter Hümmel, Heimer Junde, Helmut Süsch;
Great Yarmouth (GB) - Arthur Bowles (Team Manager / Co-Team Coach), Irma Austrin (Co-Team Coach), Carol Delf (Co-Team Coach), Herbert Mather (Co-Team Coach), Yvonne Pitt (Co-Team Coach), Mike Rogers (Co-Team Coach), Stan Ward (Co-Team Coach), Malcolm Aldridge, Andrew Aliffe, Gillian Allen, Wendy Allen, Maureen Betts, Lesley Bircham, Susan Bond, Margaret Bowles, Adrian Brooks, Terry Bryan, David Bullent, Jean Bullent, Tom Calvert, Marylyn Cole, David Drewitt, Graham Drewitt, Dave Etheridge, Mike Fornefe, Terry Gillyer, Martin Hardy, Mick Hewitt, Valerie Hill, Colin Jones, Peter Kelsey, Sandra King, Robert Makepeace, Lynn Maynard, Don McCondach, Helen Millican, John Norfolk, Paul Panther, Sarah Pitts, Malcolm Potter, Patrick Pyewell, Maureen Rogers, Lynn Sainty, Joan Spooner, John Steele, Barry Stewart, David Stock, Peggie Sutton, Ian Thompson, Peter Walsh, Stephanie White, Terry Wing, Cindy Wright;
Ancona (I) - Giovanni Bellini;
Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) - C. Boer (Team Coach), G. Blauw (Team ‘Thinker’), Paul Goederaad (Team Physio), Ad van Ommen (Team Captain), Hans van der End,Eddy Gesman, Piet de Jong, Jim Koster, Margriet Peters-Bongers, Ria van Rietschoten, Jan Rijvers, Marlène Spek, Cor van Tol, Wilma van Uunen-Goedhart, Kees Veenswijk, Ans van der Veldt, Cock Verkade, Dick Verkade, Ria Verkade-Groenevelt.

Games: The Brewers, The Berlin Policemen, The Giraffes, The Berlin Bear, The Hens and the Eggs, The Frogs and Lily-Pads, The Old Men of Berlin and The Berlin Hippopotamus;
Jeu Intermédiaire: The Local Inebriate;

Jokers: Berlin Street Entertainers.

Game Results and Standings