THE Upper Thames Boules Club's move to the Gerard Buxton Sports Ground in Royal Wootton Bassett has started with continuous success having won the Cotswold Pétanque League last year.

Previously Minety Pétanque Club, it has been in existence for over 20 years and were until recently located at the Foresters Arms in Leigh, but have since been allocated eight pistes which allow up to 50 players at any one time.

The profile of pétanque is also increasing with it having been put forward as a new sport for the 2024 Olympics in France.

Upper Thames fielded two sides in the nine-team league, which sees two games of triples followed by three games of doubles in each match.

This season, a 3-2 win over Gloucestershire's Gotherington was followed by a 5-0 whitewash of the Red Bull in Malmesbury.

Upper Thames went on to beat The Saxons at the Cricklade Leisure Centre 3-2.

The Upper Thames Boules Club have club times every Tuesday (7-9.30pm) and Friday (10am-12.30pm) with a free come-and-try event planned for Saturday, June 9 (10am-2pm) at the Royal Wootton Bassett Sports Association facility.

See utbc.co.uk for more details.