Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

European International Series

Entrants 1968: Belgium (B) • Switzerland (CH) • West Germany (D) •
France (F) • Great Britain (GB) • Italy (I) 

Presenters / Commentators of International Competitions:
Paule Herreman and Jean-Claude Mennessier (Heat 2 and International Final) (RTB - B)
Georges Kleinmann (SSR - CH)
Jan Hiermeyer (Heats 1-4 and International Final) and Herrmann Weber (Heat 1) (SRG - CH)
Mascia Cantoni (Heats 1-2, 5 and 6) and Ezio Guido (Heat 4) (TSI - CH)
Tim Elstner (Heats 1-4 and International Final) and Camillo Felgen (ARD-WDR - D)
Simone Garnier (Heat 1) (ORTF - F)
Katie Boyle (Heats 1-3), David Vine and Eddie Waring (Heat 4) (BBC - GB)
Giulio Marchetti, Renata Mauro and Enzo Tortora (Heat 3) (RAI - I)

International Referees:
Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi (Heats 1-5 and International Final)

National Referees:
Marcel LeFavre (B)
Hans Jenne (CH)
Hans Ebersberger, Hubert Gunsin, Kurt Hauser, Peter Hochrath,
Helmut Konrad and Werner Treichel (D)
Philippe Meiringe and Bernard Stollere (F)
Cecil Korer (Heat 4), Paul Ridyard and Eddie Waring (Heats 1-6 and International Final) (GB)
Gian Paolo Carusi, Livio Orvani, Alessandro Trapassi (I)

Production Credits:

National Producers: Pierre Chevreuille, André Lange and Diane Lange (B), Werner Marti (CH), Marita Theile (D), Guy Lux, Jean-Louis Marest and Claude Savarit (F), Barney Colehan (GB), Luciano Vecchi (I); National Directors: Michel Rochat (B), Walter Plüß (CH), Günther Hassert (D), Roger Pradines (scheduled) (F), Philip S. Gilbert (GB), Piero Turchetti (I)

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

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)

F

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 1 (Cancelled)

Intended Staging: Wednesday 19th June 1968
Intended Venue: Paris, France
Relocated Venue: Épinal, France

Teams: Bastogne (B) v. Neuchâtel (CH) v. Inzell (D) v.
Cancale (F) v. Worthing (GB) v. Alghero (Sardegna) (I)

Additional Information

This heat was at first relocated and then cancelled as a result of the fall-out from student riots which had broken out in Paris in early May and continued throughout the month. The producers, fearing that the event may be sabotaged by protesters, decided to relocate the French International Heat to Épinal, a commune in the Moselle region in the north east of the country near the West German border. However, the riots intensified into early June, spreading across the country, and resulting in a national strike that nearly brought France to a halt. When the strike spread to include workers of broadcaster ORTF, the corporation cancelled the heat completely and made a decision not to broadcast any of the 1968 Jeux Sans Frontières series.

The teams due to take part in the French heat battled it out instead at an additional event (designated as Heat 6) held in West Germany a week after the planned German heat. The Swiss heat in Zofingen was re-designated Heat 1. Despite the programmes not being transmitted in France, French teams still participated in the competitions.

CH

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 1

Event Staged: Wednesday 3rd July 1968
Venue: Niklaus-Thut-Platz, Zofingen, Switzerland

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 3rd July 1968, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 3rd July 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 3rd July 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 5th July 1968, 7.30-8.50pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 5th July 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Winners' Trophy presented by: Hermann Weber

Theme: Balance and Dexterity

Teams: Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) v. Zofingen (CH) v.
Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) v. Haguenau (F) v. New Brighton (GB) v. Trani (I)

Team Members included:
Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) - Gert Brückner, Karl Buhr, Herbert Fischer, Albert Göttfrieds-Kaufman, Franz Heinlein, Isobel Kenser, Peter Keppel, Helmut Reise, Angelica Schretten-Brüner, Renata Schück, Harald Scheimer, Monika Vögel, Josef Weiß;

New Brighton (GB) - Ernest Warrington (Team Manager), Carl Gee (Team Coach), Margaret Ashcroft, Joan Bate, Edward Budworth, Paul Clarke, Judith Clarkson, Brian Cole, Anne Connor, Pamela Davies, Robert Davies, Susan Elliott, Wendy Elliott, Paul Gee, Stewart Hansen, Allan Healey, Catherine Henry, Ian Hughes, Eric Jones, Dennis Langton, Tony Noble, Joe Pringle, Peta Ranson, Ian Smith, Alan Williams.

Games: The Cheese Stacks, Seesaw Water-Balls, The Prisoners' Balloons, The Bridegroom's Attire, The Limbo Contest (Jeu Divisée), The Ring of Mud, The Party Items, Lancing the Rings, Bells in the Haystack and Chained Ball Balancers (Jeu Handicap);
Jokers: Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Kaufbeuren im Allgäu ●
 B • Watermael-Boitsfort/Watermaal Bosvoorde
 CH • Zofingen
 F • Hagenau
 GB • New Brighton
 I • Trani

49
47
46
40
33
28 (*)

(*) Trani (I) incorrectly awarded 3pts instead of 2pts on the final game

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (2nd, 47pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts)
West Germany (D) - Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (1st, 49pts)

France (F) - Hagenau (4th, 40pts)
Great Britain (GB) - New Brighton (5th, 33pts)
Italy (I) - Trani (6th, 28pts)

The Host Town

Zofingen, Switzerland

Zofingen is a walled city in the teutophonic (German-speaking) Aargau canton. It is located 40km (25 miles) south-east of Basel, 48km (30 miles) north-west of Luzern and 45km (28 miles) west of Zürich. It lies at about 439m (1,440ft) above sea level and is home of an ancient monastic settlement. The city was founded in 1201 by the Counts of Frohburg and whilst the population today is around 12,000 inhabitants (15.8% being foreign nationals), over the last 20 years it has changed at a rate of 14.7%. Most of the population (88.9%) are teutophonic with the second most common (3.4%) being italophonic (Italian-speaking) and, surprisingly, the third most common (1.4%) are lusophonic (Portuguese-speaking)!

The historic old town is one of the best preserved of Switzerland. It has the shape of an irregular rectangle measuring 470m x 225m (1542ft x 738ft) with buildings dating from the 17th century', when the medieval buildings were gradually replaced by those in the baroque style. The central landmark is the Stadtkirche which has both Romanesque and Gothic parts, During archaeological excavations, the remains of several previous buildings came to light, including the first foundation walls dating back to 600 AD. Each year at the beginning of December, the traditional Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market) takes place here, offering festively decorated stalls with traditional products for sale. All around the area visitors are greeted with flickering log fires and aromas of cinnamon and mulled wine, all designed to put everyone in festive mood.

Interestingly, the city only has two libraries - Stadtbibliothek Zofingen and the Bildungszentrum Zofingen. In 2010, there were a combined total of 158,351 books or other media in the libraries and in the same year a total of 222,191 items were loaned out!

The Visiting Towns

Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde is a francophonic / néerlandophonic (French / Dutch-speaking) municipality of Bruxelles / Brussels with a population of around 25,000 inhabitants and is located 467km (290miles) north-west of Zofingen.

Kaufbeuren im Allgäu is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 212km (132 miles) north-east of Zofingen.

Haguenau is a town with a population of around 36,000 inhabitants in the French region of Grand Est and is located 170km (106 miles) north of Zofingen.

New Brighton is a town with a population of around 15,000 inhabitants in the English county of Merseyside and is located 1,036km (643 miles) north-west of Zofingen.

Trani is a city with a population of around 55,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Puglia and is located 950km (590 miles) south-east of Zofingen.

The Venue

Niklaus-Thut-Platz

The games were played at Niklaus-Thut-Platz, a square in the centre of the city dedicated to local hero, Niklaus Thut. His date of birth is not known, since almost all municipal documents were destroyed in a fire in 1396. However, what is known is that he was a wealthy bürgermeister and spent his usual time in local government office. From 1375 to 1379, he held the highest honour in office, that of the Schultheißen, a medieval title given to the head of a municipality (akin to today's office of mayor). As official (villicus), it was his duty to order his assigned village or county (villicatio) to pay the taxes and perform the services due to the ruler. The name originates from this function - schuld meaning 'debt' and heißen 'to order'.

After 1380, the city of Luzern began its targeted expansion of its territory and whilst other cities nearby pledged their alliance with the people of Luzern, the inhabitants of Zofingen remained loyal to the Habsburgs. On the 9th July 1386, Niklaus Thut carried the pennant of the Zofinger auxiliary forces and led them into the Schlacht bei Sempach (Battle of Sempach) under Duke Leopold III (1351-1386). The battle was the climax of the conflict between the Habsburgs and the Confederates during the Swiss Habsburg Wars and was an important event for the independence of the Confederacy. Unfortunately, Niklaus and twelve other Zofingers fell in battle.

According to legend, shortly before his death, Thut tore the Zofinger pennant from its pole and swallowed it in order that it did not get into the confederates’ grasp. Thus doing so he saved the city from a major disgrace. Three days after the battle, as Thut’s corpse was being transferred to his home town, they found the pennant in his stomach.

However, the fate of the Zofinger Banner and its rescue is not mentioned in contemporary sources, as the first written records only appeared in the 16th century. The story of heroism by Niklaus Thut has seen him venerated ever since and is patron saint of the city. In 1894, the Zofingia fraternity was founded and on the occasion of its 75th anniversary, a fountain dedicated to Thut was erected in Gerechtigkeitsplatz (Justice Square) in the centre of the city and the square was renamed Niklaus-Thut-Platz.

The Games in Detail

Introduction

At the start of the programme during presenter Hermann Weber’s introductions, six females had joined him on the town square. Speaking to the viewers at home, he stated that he was standing with six supporters from each of the teams dressed in their local costumes. Then, glancing towards the British supporter, who was dressed in a plain white blouse and knee-length skirt, he asked her whether this was her ‘costume’. Quite oblivious to the question’s meaning, the British supporter quite simply stated, “Yes”!

Game 1 - The Cheese Stacks

The first game - ‘The Cheese Stacks’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured three competitors from each team (two males and one female) and two stacks of 13 large cheese truckles. At the front of the game there was another single truckle placed on a slight incline and on which the female was standing and holding two helium-filled balloons. Tied around her waist was one end of a rope which was hanging from a pulley above whilst the other end was being held by one of the male competitors. On the whistle, truckles of cheese had to be placed one at a time on top of the one on which the female stood to build a cheese tower. In order to achieve this, the female had to jump up whilst it could be placed there. As the stack became taller, the first male held the rope taut as the female rose higher. The team placing the greater number of cheeses in a single stack would be declared the winners.

From the outset, West Germany had got the better start and they gradually opened up a respectable lead. After one minute of elapsed time, and having placed 15 truckles of cheese in a stack, they appeared to hold their position in order to declare at this total. However, their hastiness to stop almost permitted some of the other teams to emulate their stack, and this resulted in them having to restart and build higher. At the two-minute mark, it was apparent that all the stacks were beginning to become precarious and this resulted in the teams having to consider whether the gamble of adding any more cheeses to their stacks would be worth it. With the pace of the game slowing down, it eventually ended without mishap by any of the teams. When the result was announced, it showed that West Germany had stacked 23 cheeses, France and Italy had stacked 21 cheeses each, Belgium and Great Britain had stacked 19 cheeses each and Switzerland had stacked 18 cheeses.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =2nd Trani (I) (5pts / 5pts) =2nd Haguenau (F) (5pts / 5pts) =4th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3pts / 3pts) =4th New Brighton (GB) (3pts / 3pts) 6th Zofingen (CH) (1pt / 1pt)

Game 2 - Seesaw Water-Balls

The second game - ‘Seesaw Water-Balls’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured two male competitors from each team sitting on a large seesaw. Located on the beam of the seesaw was a large hollow ball which had circular holes cut out of it and beneath the seesaw at one end was a large plastic bucket. On the whistle, the two male competitors had to raise the seesaw in order for the ball to roll from one end to the other. After reaching the end, a female team-mate filled the ball with water through one of the cut-out holes. Once it had been filled, the competitors once again had to raise the seesaw so that the ball could roll back. However, with the ball having holes, the water poured through as it travelled along the beam. When it reached the other end of the seesaw, the competitor had to manoeuvre the ball over the bucket ensuring that the remaining contents poured into it. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Great Britain and it ended with Switzerland collecting 68kg (149lb 14½oz) of water, France collecting 62.5kg (137lb 12½oz) and Great Britain collecting 58.5kg (128lb 15½oz).

The second heat featured the three remaining teams of Belgium, West Germany and Italy and ended with Belgium collecting 93.5kg (206lb 2oz) of water, West Germany collecting 51kg (112lb 7oz) and Italy collecting 39.5kg (87lb 1¼oz).

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (6pts awarded / 9pts total) ▲ =1st Haguenau (F) (4pts / 9pts) ▲ 3rd Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ =4th Zofingen (CH) (5pts / 6pts) ▲ =4th New Brighton (GB) (3pts / 6pts) =4th Trani (I) (1pt / 6pts) ▼

Comments: Interestingly, both of the heats ended with the teams finishing in the same order as their respective alphabetical country idents. The first heat ended with CH (1st), F (2nd) and GB (3rd) whilst the second heat ended with B (1st), D (2nd) and I (3rd)!

Jeu Divisée, Part 1 - The Limbo Contest

The next game - ‘The Limbo Contest’ - was the Jeu Divisée which witnessed France and Great Britain presenting their Jokers for play. The game was played in unison and featured a male competitor from each team carrying a tennis ball in each hand and a large pool of water spanned by two large beams of wood inclined inwards at an angle of 25° and separated by a gap of 60cm (23½in). Located halfway across the pool was a limbo pole set at 80cm (31½in). On the whistle, each competitor had to pass under the pole without knocking it from its holder. If the competitor leaned too far back they would ultimately tumble into the pool below through the gap between the beams. The team that cleared the bar at the lowest height would be declared the winners.

The teams had been drawn as to the order of play and Great Britain were given the arduous task of competing first in each of the rounds followed by Switzerland, France, Italy, West Germany and Belgium, respectively. The first round passed without incident and the bar was lowered by 5cm (2in) to 75cm (29½in) for the second round and that also passed without mishap. The game was then held in limbo (excuse the pun) until after the next game had been completed.

Running Jeu Divisée Standings: =1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (2) =1st Zofingen (CH) (2) =1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (2) =1st Haguenau (F) (2) =1st New Brighton (GB) (2) =1st Trani (I) (2)

Game 3 - The Prisoners' Balloons

The third game - ‘The Prisoners’ Balloons’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team inside a large wooden cage which had four solid faces (bottom, top and left and right sides) with the front and rear panels removed and replaced with netting (purely for cosmetic purposes to allow the action to be viewed). Around the cage, 15 circular holes had been cut out (5 in each side and 5 in the top) and inside the cage were a number of balloons. On the whistle, the two competitors had to push a balloon through a hole in the bottom of the cage and transport it around the outside of the cage by using their hands through the holes. The descending side of the cage also had the added difficulty of having a passage of pins which had to be avoided. The balloons were filled with helium and therefore the competitors had to ensure that they kept a tight grip on the balloons throughout the game. Once the balloon had been transported up, over and down the other side of the cage, the balloon then had to be released into a holding net which was located adjacent to the game. The team collecting the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and France and although it was a simple game in design, it was interesting to watch. It was closely fought and ended with France transporting 6 balloons, Switzerland transporting 5 balloons and West Germany transporting 4 balloons.

The second heat featured Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and with two of the teams playing the Joker, it was soon apparent as to which one would have the lower score of the three. The game ended with Belgium transporting 6 balloons, Italy transporting 3 balloons and Great Britain transporting 2 balloons.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (12pts awarded / Joker / 21pts total) 2nd Haguenau (F) (6pts / Joker / 15pts) ▼ 3rd Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (3pts / 11pts) ▼ =4th Zofingen (CH) (4pts / 10pts) =4th Trani (I) (4pts / Joker / 10pts) 6th New Brighton (GB) (1pt / 7pts) ▼

Jeu Divisée, Part 2 - The Limbo Contest

The cameras then returned to the Jeu Divisée for the third round with the bar lowered by another 5cm to a height of 70cm (27½in). As was the case in the first two rounds, Great Britain participated first followed by the five other teams in order. With all teams clearing the bar, the game was once again put on hold until after the next game.

Running Jeu Divisée Standings: =1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) =1st Zofingen (CH) (3) =1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (3) =1st Haguenau (F) (3) =1st New Brighton (GB) (3) =1st Trani (I) (3)

Game 4 - The Bridegroom's Attire

The fourth game - ‘The Bridegroom’s Attire’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team with the male competitor at one end of an obstacle course dressed in swimwear and socks whilst at the other end, the female was fully-clad as a bride. On the whistle, the male competitor had to race down the course stopping at each of the five obstacles in order to dress himself in an item from a formal wedding suit. The first obstacle involved the groom having to place the legs of a chair into the mouths of four opened bottles and then climbing onto it to reach for a white wing collar and bib. Once completed, he moved onto the next obstacle which was a small dressing table with mirror from which he had to remove a cravat from a drawer and secure it around his neck. The third obstacle required him to climb into a small cage and attire himself in a pair of black trousers with braces. Once out of the cage, he had to move onto a seesaw, above which was hanging a waistcoat and black evening tailcoat. After attiring himself in these two items, he then had to dislodge a top hat from the top of a 10m (32ft 9½in) high pole using a small ball. Once completed, he then had to run to the end of the course to collect the female competitor and then carry her in his arms back to the first obstacle and sit on the chair. The female then had to place a pair of black boots on his feet and tie the laces. She then had to climb back into the arms of her team-mate and then they raced back to the start line where she had to grab a bouquet of flowers in order to set off a firecracker and end the game. The team completing the game correctly in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although the game was uneventful, it was a closely fought contest between Switzerland and West Germany, but it was always going to be a disappointment for Great Britain as their competitor was lagging behind after the first obstacle. Switzerland completed the game in a time of 1 minute 43 seconds followed by West Germany in 1 minute 44 seconds. Belgium finished in 3rd place in 1 minute 59 seconds with France closely behind in 2 minutes 2 seconds. With Italy finishing in 5th place in 2 minutes 14 seconds, it just remained for Great Britain to complete the game. With the clock ticking by, presenter Hermann Weber approached the British duo and asked them “You’re not in a hurry are you?” to which the British groom smiled and shook his head. Eventually they stood up and completed the game in 2 minutes 40 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (4pts awarded / 25pts total) 2nd Zofingen (CH) (12pts / Joker / 22pts) ▲ 3rd Haguenau (F) (3pts / 18pts) ▼ 4th Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (5pts / 16pts) ▼ 5th Trani (I) (2pts / 12pts) ▼ 6th New Brighton (GB) (1pt / 8pts)

Jeu Divisée, Part 3 - The Limbo Contest

The cameras returned to the Jeu Divisée for the final time to witness the fourth round and the bar lowered by another 5cm to a height of 65cm (25½in). As the round began, it was obvious that some of the competitors were to have their fates sealed. Great Britain and Switzerland both cleared the bar whilst France (who were playing their Joker) became the first to falter and after steadying himself with his hands, their competitor was deemed to have failed. The next team to attempt the crossing was Italy and their competitor made the task look easy as he passed under the bar, whilst both of the following two competitors from West Germany and Belgium fell victim to the bar’s low clearance. Fortunately for France, this was the fourth round and, having successfully completed three previous passes under the bar, they were not to suffer the indignity of finishing with 2pts on their Joker game.

The fifth round witnessed the three remaining competitors all pass under the 60cm (23½in) high bar without mishap and the bar was lowered again, this time to just 55cm (21¾in) for the sixth round. With Great Britain passing under the bar for the sixth successive time (and playing their Joker), it put pressure on the other two to emulate the feat. However, the competitor from Switzerland, who appeared to be rather too tall for this game, knocked the bar from its holder and was eliminated. The pressure was now on Italy to emulate Great Britain and to take the game into a further round. With limbo music playing in the background, he passed under the bar with ease.

The touch-judges lowered the bar to just 50cm (19¾in) for the seventh round ‘finale’ between Great Britain and Italy. However despite the pressure, both competitors made it look easy and passed underneath with ease. Incredibly the referees, looking somewhat astounded at the achievement of the two remaining competitors, decided to lower the bar once more, this time to just 45cm (17½in). However, the low clearance available was to prove too much for the competitors with the bar being knocked off on both attempts. The game ended in a draw and it appeared that Great Britain, following two dismal last placings, could be starting a comeback.

Final Jeu Divisée Standings: =1st New Brighton (GB) (7) =1st Trani (I) (7) 3rd Zofingen (CH) (5) ▼ =4th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) ▼ =4th Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (3) ▼ =4th Haguenau (F) (3) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3pts awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Zofingen (CH) (4pts / 26pts) 3rd Haguenau (F) (6pts / 24pts) 4th New Brighton (GB) (12pts / Joker / 20pts) ▲ 5th Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (3pts / 19pts) ▼ 6th Trani (I) (6pts / 18pts) ▼

Comments: It appeared that the scoreboard or live visual link at this heat had broken down at one point. During this final Jeu Divisée, presenter Hermann Weber read out the running totals displayed after the previous game to the crowd from handwritten notes on a piece of paper. Whilst the results after this round were being announced, the Italian competitor decided to jump into the pool to celebrate his team’s victory. However, referees Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi and presenter Hermann Weber were standing adjacent to the pool and quite literally got drenched by the water splashing upwards. This incident was met with some hilarity by all three concerned.

Game 5 - The Ring of Mud

The fifth game - ‘The Ring of Mud’ - was an elimination game in reverse and intended to be played over five rounds of 1 minute 30 seconds duration. It featured a male competitor from each team and a hexagonal playing area filled with mud with a large net suspended above it and a ball attached to a rope above the centre of net. On the outside of the hexagon’s edges there were six individually country-coded areas in which the appropriate competitor was standing and wearing cycle helmet type headgear. On the whistle, all the competitors raced under the net and attempted to head the ball towards their individual sections outside the net. Once the ball had been successfully headed into a team’s area, the game was stopped and that team took no further participation in the game. Points to the master scoreboard were awarded immediately as the teams were eliminated. After each success, the ball was placed back into the centre of the net and the remaining competitors repositioned themselves in their original starting positions. The team still standing after the five rounds would be declared the winners.

This was a straightforward game which saw the ball being hit into the section of West Germany after just 5 seconds of elapsed time and they were awarded 1st place. The second round commenced and after 19 seconds of elapsed time, the ball was hit into the Switzerland section and they finished in 2nd place. When the game was restarted with the remaining four competitors, there was stalemate with none of the teams able to get the ball into their individual section. After 1 minute 30 seconds of play, and with none of the remaining teams having completed the game, the whistle was blown and the game ended.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Zofingen (CH) (5pts awarded / 31pts total) ▲ 2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (1pt / 29pts) ▼ =3rd Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (6pts / 25pts) ▲ =3rd Haguenau (F) (1pt / 25pts) 5th New Brighton (GB) (1pt / 21pts) ▼ 6th Trani (I) (1pt / 19pts)

Comments: During this game, Italy incurred a warning for foul play. West German commentators Camillo Felgen and Tim Elstner explained that the rules of the competition stated that any team disqualified from a game for foul play would automatically receive 0pts, a rule that would come to be amended in later years.

Game 6 - The Party Items

The sixth game - ‘The Party Items’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team transporting party items from one end of a course to the other. On the whistle, the two competitors had to place four large wooden sticks into the four corners under the base of a tray which was located on a podium above their heads. Once balanced, they had to transport the tray along the course whilst negotiating a seesaw en route and placing it down on a table at the other end. A third competitor sitting on a chair behind the table had to remove the tray and contents and place it on the ground next to the chair. At no other time were the trays permitted to be handled by any other means. The first item that had to be transported down the course was a large casserole dish and lid. Once placed on the table, the competitors ran back to the start to pick up the second item, a large suckling pig’s head. This was followed by a set of six cups and a three-tiered birthday cake on the 3rd and 4th runs, respectively. Any tray that was dropped en route would incur a penalty of 30 seconds and, if this was the case, the team had to run up to the end of the course, bang the sticks on the table and then run back to the start before commencing their next run. Any item that was not placed on the table intact would also incur an additional 10 seconds penalty. The team completing all four runs of the course in the faster overall time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, Great Britain and Italy and it ended with Switzerland completing the course in 1 minute 43 seconds and incurring no penalties. Italy completed the course in 1 minute 53 seconds but had incurred 30 seconds (1 x 30 seconds) in penalties and finished with a total of 2 minutes 23 seconds. Great Britain finished the course in 2 minutes 3 seconds but had incurred a massive 1 minute 40 seconds in penalties (3 x 30 seconds + 1 x 10 seconds) giving them a total time of 3 minutes 43 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, West Germany and France and, with the Joker being played, it came as no surprise when West Germany finished the course in a time of 1 minute 30 seconds and had incurred no penalties. France finished the game in an exact same time as West Germany but had incurred 30 seconds (1 x 30 seconds) in penalties and finished with a total time of two minutes exactly. Belgium finished the course in 2 minutes 10 seconds and had incurred 10 seconds (1 x 10 seconds) in penalties, giving them a total time of 2 minutes 20 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (12pts awarded / Joker / 37pts total) ▲ 2nd Zofingen (CH) (5pts / 36pts) ▼ 3rd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3pts / 32pts) ▼ 4th Haguenau (F) (4pts / 29pts) ▼ 5th New Brighton (GB) (1pt / 22pts) 6th Trani (I) (2pts / 21pts)

Comments: In the second heat of this game, and for no clear reason, a touch-judge took the position of a non-playing competitor for France!

Game 7 - Lancing the Rings

The seventh game - ‘Lancing the Rings’ - was played over two heats of one minute duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team armed with 20 small inflated water-filled plastic rings and a high scaffold bar. On the whistle, the male competitor had to begin hurling the rings, one at a time, over the high bar and the female on the other side had to catch them using a jousting lance. Rings that had been caught successfully could be removed from the lance at any time when it became too difficult to handle. The team collecting the greater number of rings would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very simplistic game saw the participation of Switzerland, Great Britain and Italy and passed without mishap. At the end of the heat, Italy had caught 6 rings, Switzerland had caught 5 rings and Great Britain had caught 4 rings. The second heat featured Belgium, West Germany and France and like the first heat passed without mishap. The result revealed that this was the higher-scoring of the two with France catching 12 rings, Belgium catching 9 rings and West Germany catching 4 rings.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Zofingen (CH) (3pts awarded / 39pts total) ▲ =1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (2pts / 39pts) 3rd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (5pts / 37pts) 4th Haguenau (F) (6pts / 35pts) 5th Trani (I) (4pts / 25pts) ▲ 6th New Brighton (GB) (2pts / 24pts) ▼

Game 8 - Bells in the Haystack

The eighth and penultimate game - ‘Bells in the Haystack’ - was played in unison over four minutes duration and featured a male competitor from each team and a 5m (16ft 5in) high haystack. On the whistle, the competitor had to climb the haystack unaided and collect his national flag from a holder located above the summit. After returning to the ground with the flag, the competitor had to ascend the haystack once more and commence digging from the top downwards to find one of a number of cowbells which had been hidden deep inside the hay. Once located, the competitor had to descend the haystack and place the bell on a podium and then repeat the process. The team collecting the greater number of cowbells would be declared the winners.

On the whistle, the six competitors rushed forward and surprisingly it was the competitor from Great Britain that reached the summit first after just 6 seconds of elapsed time. He grabbed the Union Jack and descended to the ground and placed it in his respective holder on the arena floor. Whilst he began his second climb to the top, the competitor from West Germany had descended to the ground with his flag, followed by France, Switzerland, Belgium and Italy. However, whilst the competitor from France was descending with his flag, he fell badly and twisted his ankle. As a result of his injury and despite all his efforts, it was not until some time later that he was able to re-climb the haystack. In the meantime, and despite Great Britain beginning his search within 15 seconds of the start of the game, it appeared that the teams were finding it difficult to locate any of the bells. However, the breakthrough came after 1 minute 30 seconds of elapsed time when West Germany descended the haystack with the first bell. Belgium were the next to find a bell after 1 minute 55 seconds with Switzerland emulating the feat after 2 minutes 15 seconds. Although he had reached the summit to start searching first it was not until 2 minutes 23 seconds into the game that the competitor from Great Britain descended the haystack with a bell. There was another long wait until Switzerland found their second bell after 3 minutes 13 seconds followed by Belgium after 3 minutes 55 seconds. At the end of the game, France and Italy had been unable to find their quarries.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Zofingen (CH) (6pts awarded / 45pts total) =2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (6pts / 43pts) ▲ =2nd Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (4pts / 43pts) ▼ 4th Haguenau (F) (1pt / 36pts) 5th New Brighton (GB) (4pts / 28pts) ▲ 6th Trani (I) (1pt / 26pts) ˅

Game 9 (Jeu Handicap) - Chained Ball Balancers

The ninth and final game - ‘Chained Ball Balancers’ - was the Jeu Handicap which was played over three minutes duration and featured eight competitors (four males and four females) from each team. At one end of the course, there was a female competitor standing on a small podium whilst at the other end, a male competitor was standing beyond a white line and in front of a large 3m (9ft 10¼in) high keep-net suspended from a pole. The poles had been staggered at increasing distances away from the white line in order that the team leading the competition had further to travel to complete the task. Between the two of these competitors were the other six competitors with one leg manacled to a chain which was embedded into the ground and each holding aloft 1.5m (4ft 11in) long wooden boards with handles attached to the base. On the whistle, the competitor on the podium placed a ball on top of the board held by her first team-mate whose task it was to keep the ball balanced whilst they moved up the course as far as the chain would permit in order to meet up with the next competitor who did the same in the opposite direction. Once they were together, the competitor lifted the board at one end to allow the ball to roll onto their team-mate’s board. This was repeated by the remainder of the six competitors until the ball had been successfully passed to the team-mate standing behind the line. It was then his task to run to the keep-net and toss the ball into the top of the net to score a goal. The team scoring the greater number of goals would be declared the winners.

At the end of this very straightforward game, West Germany had scored 19 goals, Great Britain had scored 14 goals, Belgium and France had scored 12 goals each, Italy had scored 7 goals and Switzerland had scored 6 goals.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (D) (6pts awarded / 49pts total) ▲ 2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (4pts / 47pts) ▲ 3rd Zofingen (CH) (1pt / 46pts) ▼ 4th Haguenau (F) (4pts / 40pts) 5th New Brighton (GB) (5pts / 33pts) 6th Trani (I) (2pts / 28pts)

Comments: Despite referee Guido Pancaldi clearly announcing that Belgium and France had both tied in third place on the game with 4pts each, he also went on to state ‘Italien mit zwei punkten’ (Italy with two points), but the scoreboard operators added 3pts. The corrected score is shown below.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

With the programme now into its fourth year, the two main referees, Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi, began to be attired in more formal outfits. This year saw them outfitted in white shirts, ties, light-coloured trousers and broad, vertical-pin-striped jackets.

At each of this year’s heats, the commentary teams for each of the countries were presented to the camera by the on-site presenters. Although the programme was not transmitted in France this year, French commentator Simone Garnier was in the ORTF commentary box at this heat.

Additional Information

Members and officials of the British team of New Brighton convened on the morning of Sunday 30th June 1968 at Wallasey Town Hall where they boarded a coach to Manchester Airport. From there they took a short flight to London Heathrow Airport where they caught a connecting flight to Basle, Switzerland. The remainder of the journey to Zofingen, 56.7km (35.2 miles) from Basle, is thought to have been by coach. The team flew home on Thursday 4th July 1968, landing at Liverpool Speke Airport (now Liverpool John Lennon Airport).

The name of the French team of Haguenau was misspelled on the scoreboard with an extra ‘e’ as Hagueneau. The reason for this is not clear, as neither the French nor the German spellings of the town have this extra letter.

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

B

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 2

Event Staged: Wednesday 17th July 1968
Venue: Place du Martyr (Martyr's Square), Verviers, Belgium

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 17th July 1968, 9.00-10.15pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 17th July 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 19th July 1968, 7.30-8.50pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 19th July 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Paule Herreman

Theme: Adults' Playtime

Teams: Verviers (B) v. Bellinzona (CH) v. Homburg im Saarland (D) v.
Saint-Quentin (F) v. Plymouth (GB) v. Terracina (I)

Team Members included:
Homburg im Saarland (D) - Dieter Becker, Hans Grup, Peter Hochstein, Karl-Heinz Jung, Karl-Ludwig Kiensch, Alphonse Schindler;
Plymouth (GB) - Lesley Copp, Frederick Gill;
Terracina (I) - Pietro Tomeucci (Men’s Team Coach), Velia Vella (Women’s Team Coach), Giovanni Bellini, Flora Belotti, Bruna Bianconi, Pierfederica Bizzarri, Piergiorgio Botoni, Giancarla Calerio, Nicola Caltagirone, Francesco Camilli, Alfonso Castelli, Domenico Centurione, Carlo Comelli, Katia Cotella, Guido de Plazer, Patrizia d’Onofrio, Carlo Fazi, Carlo Ferruti, Maria-Grazia Forte, Benedetto Fromone, Maria Garzato, Pietro Grugni, Giancarlo Leopardi, Laura Lombardi, Maurizio Mauri, Claudia Millo, Vittorio Palmadessa, Alessandro Rizzuti, Carmelo Saccà, Maria Stavola, Vincenzo Viaggini, Francesco Viarengo.

Games: The Water Balance, Clowns and Flowers, Bulls and Matadors, Viking Basketball, The Banana Slide, Roller-Skating Waiters, Knights and Toll Gates, The Floral Roundabout and The Border Crossings;
Fil Rouge: Eye of the Needle;
Jokers: Small Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 I • Terracina ● ●
 B • Verviers
 D • Homburg im Saarland
 GB • Plymouth
 CH • Bellinzona
 F • Saint-Quentin

51
48
48
40
34
28

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Verviers (2nd, 48pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts)
West Germany (D) - Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (1st, 49pts)

France (F) - Hagenau (4th, 40pts)
Great Britain (GB) - Plymouth (4th, 40pts)
Italy (I) - Terracina (1st, 51pts)

The Host Town

Verviers, Belgium

Verviers is a city with a population of around 56,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) province of Liège. It is located at the eastern end of the sillon industriel (industrial backbone), 11km (7 miles) north of Spa and 21km (13 miles) east of the city of Liège itself.

The municipality came into being on 1st January 1977, when the old communes of Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain and Stembert were merged with the town. It is also the centre of an agglomeration that includes Dison and Pepinster, making it the second-largest in the province.

The town was once home to a thriving wool and textile industry that was renowned for its quality which contributed greatly to the wealth of the town. The first mention of a textile industry in this area dates from the 15th century'. One century later, the cloth industry took the place of the older metallurgical works, thanks in part to the Eighty Years Wars (1568-1648) which was raging in neighbouring Netherlands.

The end of the 18th century' saw the town troubled by the French Revolution with the province being annexed to France in 1795, causing a steep economic decline and unprecedented misery. The city’s fortunes rose again after the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 when British industrialist William Cockerill (1759-1832) used his know-how to start a new era in Verviers' textile industry. Roads were paved, gas lighting was installed, and the city doubled in size thanks to the Industrial Revolution.

Following World War I (1914-1918), Verviers could share with Bradford in Great Britain, the title of ‘Wool Capital of the World’. However, as of the 1950s, the local factories could not face international competition and started closing one after the other which prompted the economic decline of the area. The economy has been slowly recovering since the mid-1990s but continues to remain fragile. Several commercial complexes have opened in recent years in an attempt to revitalize the most affected areas.

The town is known as Capitale Wallonne de l'Eau (Wallonia’s water capital) due to the vast number of fountains that grace the city.

The Visiting Towns

Bellinzona is a town with a population of around 19,000 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 542km (336 miles) south-east of Verviers.

Homburg im Saarland is a town with a population of around 44,000 inhabitants in the German state of Saarland and is located 175km (109 miles) south-east of Verviers.

Saint-Quentin is a town with a population of around 58,000 inhabitants in the French region of Hauts-de-France and is located 201km (125 miles) south-west of Verviers.

Plymouth is a city with a population of around 250,000 inhabitants in the English county of Devon and is located 708km (439 miles) west of Verviers.

Terracina is a town with a population of around 47,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Lazio and is located 1,180km (733 miles) south-east of Verviers.

The Venue

Place du Martyr (Martyr's Square)

The games were played at the Place du Martyr which includes the Église Notre-Dame-des-Récollets (The Church of Our Lady of the Recollects). The name of the church is taken from a statue of the Virgin Mary, now located inside the church, which is considered miraculous by the faithful Catholics in the wake of an extraordinary event that occurred in 1692.

On the morning of 18th September, a terrible earthquake hit the region of Verviers, with two bad aftershocks following in the afternoon. In fear, the faithful gathered outside the church in front a statue of the Virgin Mary, which had been installed in a niche above the church entrance, asking Heaven to end this punishment. Later some believers entered the church for evening prayers. When they came back out, they noticed that the positions of Mother Mary and Baby Jesus had changed completely. The original statue had displayed the child facing away from his mother at shoulder height, holding a globe in his left hand and with his right arm raised. Although the statue had not broken, the Baby Jesus had now turned towards his Mother's heart and her hand now held his. The faithful took this to mean that their prayers had been answered and the Mother of God had calmed the Lord's wrath.

One hundred and four witnesses of all ages and walks of life were questioned and testified before a notary. Nonetheless, after a few years a spirit of doubt spread again and so, four years after the events, the same witnesses were asked to reconfirm their testimonies. This they dutifully did, again before a notary. After the miracle of 1692, the Madonna was moved to the interior of the church. Since sandstone darkens easily, she must have accrued some patina before that. She was darkened more by the smoke of candles and when the church was burnt during an armed conflict in 1810. Hence she earned her title Black Madonna through miracles and fire. In 1855, the statue was ordered to be cleaned and uniformly painted black. It is a Belgium custom to honour special Madonnas every seven years with a big festival, called Septennales (from the Latin word septem meaning seven). In Verviers, such a festival is celebrated throughout the month of September with religious, cultural, and social events.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Water Balance

The first game - ‘The Water Balance’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and featured three female competitors from each team and a large Perspex box with a funnelled opening hanging above a detonator. On one side of the course, two of the competitors were standing on a very greasy board with both of them holding one end of a rope. The rope had been wrapped over scaffolding and attached to the other end was the Perspex box. On the other side of the course, the side on which the box was hanging, there was a step ladder. On the whistle, an opposing female had to carry two buckets of water up the course and climb the ladder in order to empty the contents into the box via the funnel. Once accomplished, she then had to descend the ladder and run back to the start and repeat the process. The two competitors on the greasy board had to keep the box aloft as long as possible until the weight of the box was too heavy for them to prevent it from lowering onto the detonator and exploding a firecracker. The team maintaining their box above the detonator for the greater time would be declared the winners.

With all teams playing in unison, it was a simple matter of just waiting to see the teams falter and eliminated from the game. Unfortunately, the first team to be eliminated was Great Britain after 42 seconds of elapsed time and they were followed by West Germany after 50 seconds, France after 55 seconds and Switzerland after 1 minute 13 seconds. The remaining two teams followed quickly afterwards with Italy setting off their firecracker after 1 minute 20 seconds and Belgium keeping their box aloft for 1 minute 24 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Verviers (B) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Terracina (I) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Bellinzona (CH) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Saint-Quentin (F) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Homburg im Saarland (D) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Plymouth (GB) (1pt / 1pt)

Game 2 - Clowns and Flowers

The second game - ‘Clowns and Flowers’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and six large metal-stemmed flowers weighing 50kg (110lb) each in individual holders at one end of the course. On the whistle, the two competitors had to transport one of the flowers across an obstacle comprised of elasticated ropes stretched in a lattice pattern across the full length of the course. On reaching the end, the flower had to be placed into a holder and then the two competitors had to return to the start in the same fashion and then repeat the game until all six flowers had been successfully transported across. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was another straightforward game which saw Italy finishing in 2 minutes 3 seconds followed by Belgium in 2 minutes 16 seconds and West Germany in 2 minutes 19 seconds. Great Britain finished in 2 minutes 28 seconds followed by Switzerland in 2 minutes 46 seconds and France in 2 minutes 47 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (12pts awarded / Joker / 17pts total) ▲ 2nd Verviers (B) (5pts / 11pts) ▼ =3rd Bellinzona (CH) (2pts / 6pts) =3rd Homburg im Saarland (D) (4pts / 6pts) ▲ =5th Saint-Quentin (F) (1pt / 4pts) ▼ =5th Plymouth (GB) (3pts / 4pts) ▲

Comments: For some unknown reason, the scoreboard operators denoted the two teams in equal 5th place as being in equal 6th place - and this continued after the next game, too!

Game 3 - Bulls and Matadors

The third game - ‘Bulls and Matadors’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured two female competitors from each team. Whilst one of the competitors was dressed as a Spanish matador and equipped with a small go-kart with 20 balloons attached, the other was equipped with a unicycle, bedecked out to represent a bull, complete with a pair of horns on the front. On the whistle, it was basically a free-for-all with the six matadors trying to evade the five opposing bulls and preventing the balloons on the back of their karts from being burst. The team with the greater number of balloons intact at the end of the game would be declared the winners.

This was a very simple and straightforward game which ended with Switzerland, West Germany and Italy each having 5 balloons intact whilst France and Great Britain had 4 balloons intact and Belgium with 3 balloons intact.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (6pts awarded / 23pts total) =2nd Verviers (B) (1pt / 12pts) =2nd Bellinzona (CH) (6pts / 12pts) ▲ =2nd Homburg im Saarland (D) (6pts / 12pts) ▲ =5th Saint-Quentin (F) (3pts / 7pts) =5th Plymouth (GB) (3pts / 7pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - Eye of the Needle

The next game - ‘Eye of the Needle’ - was the Fil Rouge which was played over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor and a small pool, complete with floating ducks and fish, over which was stretched two wires that were attached to a podium at either side. The wires had been set so that they were slightly wider apart at the far end of the pool than at the start. Hanging above the competitor, there were seven small rings (numbered 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9) and another two (numbered 2 and 8) that were hanging down so that they were beneath the wires but remaining above the water. On the whistle, the competitor standing on the podium and armed with a 3m (9ft 10¼in) length of plastic tubing had to make his way across the pool on the wires, whilst passing the piece of tubing through each of the rings as he went. The team completing the greater number of rings would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Great Britain and their competitor was only able to pass the tubing through 3 rings within the time permitted.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Plymouth (GB) (3)

Comments: This was the first ever Fil Rouge in Jeux Sans Frontières and would be played individually between each of the regular games (in this case after Games 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8). It was first introduced during the 1967 series of Jeux Sans Frontières in the guise of the Jeu Divisée. The game would also be known as the Jeu Intermédiaire during the 1969 and 1970 series, before becoming a permanent feature as the Fil Rouge from the 1971 series onwards. However, in 1979 the Fil Rouge would begin to be played by more than one country consecutively and this would continue for the remainder of the first run of Jeux Sans Frontieres. The Fil Rouge would return during the second run of the programme in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999 when it would once more be contested individually. A draw had taken place before the programme to decide the order of participation, the result of which was Great Britain, Belgium, West Germany, Italy, France and Switzerland. In later years, a draw would not be needed as the teams would participate in country ident order (i.e. B, CH, D, F, GB, I, NL) with the country first in alphabetical order after the host nation participating first and the host nation itself participating last. Switzerland played their Joker on this Fil Rouge, but in later competitions this would not be permitted. Interestingly, Switzerland also played their Joker on the Fil Rouge in this year’s International Final (purely by the fact that the game originally intended to be used was abandoned) and they would be recorded as the only country ever to play their Joker on a Fil Rouge! Whilst Great Britain were participating, West German commentator Camillo Felgen informed viewers that Plymouth was the place that Francis Chichester (1901-1972) had commenced his solo circumnavigation of the world on 27th August 1966 in his yawl (a two-masted sailing craft) Gipsy Moth IV. Returning 226 days later on 28th May 1967, having travelled the globe with just one stop (in Sydney, Australia), he had become the first person to achieve a true solo circumnavigation of the world from west to east via the great Capes (Cape Horn and Cape of Good Hope). Chichester was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in July 1967, using the same sword that her predecessor Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) had used when bestowing the same honour on Francis Drake (1540-1596) in 1581.

Game 4 - Viking Basketball

The fourth game - ‘Viking Basketball’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured five male competitors from each team, one who was dressed as a Viking warrior complete with fabled horned headwear, standing on a litter. On the whistle, the four other competitors had to lift the litter and run with him to the far end of the course in order to collect a ball which was hanging down from a high wire. Once collected, the team had to race back to the start and then the Viking had to toss the ball into a basketball net. If the ball failed to score but was caught by the Viking before falling to the ground, a further attempt could be made with the same ball. The game was then repeated and the team scoring the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, Switzerland and France and when the result was declared, Belgium had scored 5 baskets, France had scored 3 baskets and Switzerland had scored 1 basket.

The second heat featured the remaining three teams from West Germany, Great Britain and Italy and ended with West Germany scoring 5 baskets, Italy scoring 3 baskets and Great Britain, who had been unable to get a single ball into the net, given a score of 0.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (4pts awarded / 27pts total) 2nd Homburg im Saarland (D) (12pts / Joker / 24pts) 3rd Verviers (B) (6pts / 18pts) ▼ 4th Bellinzona (CH) (2pts / 14pts) ▼ 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (4pts / 11pts) 6th Plymouth (GB) (1pt / 8pts) ▼

Comments: At the precise moment the whistle was blown to start the game, it could be seen that the West German team captain had come forward and presented their Joker to referee Gennaro Olivieri. Although the presentation was by now out of camera shot, eight seconds after the start of the game, the camera quickly panned back to Gennaro and the West German captain holding the Joker! At the blackboard before the results of the first round were announced, Gennaro told presenter Jean-Claude Mennessier that the West German team were fortunate to have had their Joker accepted, as they had literally left it to the last moment.

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - Eye of the Needle

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and their competitor appeared to be more agile on his feet than the one from Great Britain in previous round. Whilst crossing the wires he passed the piece of tubing through five rings with 15 seconds of the game remaining. Although he had part-threaded the tube through the sixth ring, the whistle was blown before he could pull it through completely. Referee Guido Pancaldi announced and posted a score of 5 on the mini-scoreboard.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Verviers (B) (5) 2nd Plymouth (GB) (3) ▼

Comments: The home crowd, expecting a score of 6, showed their disappointment of this announcement with loud boos and jeers which overspilled into the start of the following game. Co-referee Gennaro Olivieri, along with presenter Jean-Claude Mennessier, attempted to pacify the crowd somewhat by explaining that the tube had to be clear of the ring to be validated. Although this dampened down the jeering, Guido returned to the microphone to explain his decision once more, which in turn made the situation worse and set the crowd off once more, the rumblings of which could still be heard well into the next game.

Game 5 - The Banana Slide

The fifth game - ‘The Banana Slide’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured a male competitor from each team. At one end of the short 5m (16ft 4¾in) course there was a frame from which were hanging numerous bananas, whilst at the other end the competitor was attached to an elasticated rope. In between the two ends of the course, there was a greased carpet which the competitor had to traverse in order to collect the bananas. The team collecting the greater number of bananas would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, France and Great Britain and, whilst it produced a few hilarious moments, it ended with Great Britain collecting 11 bananas, Belgium collecting 8 bananas and France collecting 6 bananas.

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and Italy and was again played without mishap. It ended with Italy collecting 23 bananas, Switzerland collecting 22 bananas and West Germany collecting 16 bananas.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (6pts awarded / 33pts total) 2nd Homburg im Saarland (D) (4pts / 28pts) 3rd Verviers (B) (2pts / 20pts) 4th Bellinzona (CH) (5pts / 19pts) 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (1pt / 12pts) 6th Plymouth (GB) (3pts / 11pts)

Comments: This was a somewhat slapstick affair with the game resembling one that was more suited to a Domestic competition rather than the more lavish International version of the programme.

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - Eye of the Needle

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and despite a couple of heart-stopping moments whereby the contestant lost his footing, it passed without incident and their score was confirmed as 5 rings.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Verviers (B) (5) =1st Homburg im Saarland (D) (5) 3rd Plymouth (GB) (3) ▼

Game 6 - Roller-Skating Waiters

The sixth game - ‘Roller-Skating Waiters’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team dressed as waiters and a course comprising a wooden podium with four troughs interspersed between five flat platforms, with two tables located on either side of the course at the second to fifth platforms. On the whistle, the first competitor carrying a tray of eight glasses climbed a small set of three steps to reach the first platform and then had to roller-skate down the trough to reach the second platform, at which point he had to stop himself and place a glass of water upright on each of the two tables. On completion, and whilst his team-mate started his run, he had to move onto the third platform in the same manner stopping at each of the remaining platforms. After reaching the fifth platform, he then had to dismount the podium and roller-skate back to the start whilst his team-mate continued and completed his run. The maximum score for each run was 8 glasses and although both competitors could be on the course at the same time, there had to be at least one platform between them at any one time. If a competitor tumbled before reaching the end of the course, he had to return to the start to pick up a new tray of glasses and only upright glasses on the trays could be placed on the tables. The team placing the greater number of glasses in total would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany, France and Great Britain and passed without incident, with West Germany placing 26 glasses, France placing 21 glasses and Great Britain placing 17 glasses.

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and Italy and ended with Belgium placing 27 glasses, Italy placing 23 glasses and Switzerland placing 13 glasses.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (4pts awarded / 37pts total) 2nd Homburg im Saarland (D) (5pts / 33pts) 3rd Verviers (B) (12pts / Joker / 32pts) 4th Bellinzona (CH) (1pt / 20pts) 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (3pts / 15pts) 6th Plymouth (GB) (2pts / 13pts)

Comments: The French title for this game was 'Tangage', which is translated into English as ‘pitch’ and relates to the ‘pitch or rotational movement about the transverse axis of a moving object’!

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - Eye of the Needle

The fourth round of the Fil Rouge featured Italy and, although it had first appeared that the competitor had threaded 5 rings within the permitted time and equalled the scores of Belgium and West Germany, when the result was announced he was given a score of just 3 rings. The reason for this anomaly was that instead of ‘threading’ the tubing through the rings whilst either of his hands were in contact with the tube, he had actually thrown the tubing through two of the rings.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Verviers (B) (5) =1st Homburg im Saarland (D) (5) =3rd Plymouth (GB) (3) =3rd Terracina (I) (3)

Game 7 - Knights and Toll Gates

The seventh game - ‘Knights and Toll Gates’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a knight sitting on a moped and armed with a jousting lance. On the whistle, the competitor had to set off along a 25m (82ft) course comprising three small speed humps and hinged barrier gates. As he approached each of the three barriers, he had to use the end of the lance to raise the gate arm to allow him to pass under, after which the arm ultimately closed behind him. On reaching the end of the course, he had to turn the moped around and a female team-mate had to place two square bowls on the parcel carrier at the back. He then had to return to the start in the same manner as his outward journey. Once back at the starting point, he again had to turn the moped around whilst a second female team-mate removed the bowls and filled one with water and placed it back on the vehicle. The competitor then had to traverse the course once more and at the other end of the course, the other team-mate removed the bowl and emptied any contents into a measuring cylinder. The game was then repeated until the end of permitted time. The containers would then be removed and taken to a set of scales to be weighed. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

At the end of an uneventful straightforward game, the results revealed that Great Britain had collected 25.2kg (55lb 9oz) of water, Belgium had collected 21.3kg (46lb 15¼oz), Italy had collected 19.9kg (43lb 14oz), France had collected 17.3kg (38lb 2¼oz), Switzerland had collected 14kg (30lb 13¾oz) and West Germany had collected 12.7kg (28lb).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (4pts awarded / 41pts total) 2nd Verviers (B) (5pts / 37pts) ▲ 3rd Homburg im Saarland (D) (1pt / 34pts) ▼ 4th Bellinzona (CH) (2pts / 22pts) 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (6pts / Joker / 21pts) 6th Plymouth (GB) (6pts / 19pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 5 - Eye of the Needle

The fifth and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured France but their competitor would prove to be the less adept at keeping his balance during the game and the only competitor to get wet after falling from the wires and into the pool of water below. Having only successfully threaded 2 rings, it put them at the foot of the standings.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Verviers (B) (5) =1st Homburg im Saarland (D) (5) =3rd Plymouth (GB) (3) =3rd Terracina (I) (3) 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (2)

Game 8 - The Floral Roundabout

The eighth and penultimate game - ‘The Floral Roundabout’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team lying face-down inside a caged pod / module, mounted on an automated make-shift carousel, with their arms and legs dangling below. Beneath the carousel, and encompassing the complete circumference on either side, were two rows of potted flowers. After the carousel had reached the correct speed, the whistle was sounded and the competitor inside the pod had to grab the flowers from below and, as they passed their allotted area of the game, throw them into a large container. The team collecting the greater number of flowers would be declared the winners.

Although this was a straightforward game, it was difficult to judge from a viewer’s point of view as the camera shots and speed at which the pots were collected and thrown were somewhat of a blur. Great Britain, in high spirits following the result of the previous game, were to be greeted with even better news when the results of this game were revealed. Although no actual scores of the game were announced, they were declared as finishing in 1st place. France finished in 2nd place, Italy in finished 3rd place, West Germany finished in 4th place, Switzerland finished in 5th place and Belgium finished in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (4pts awarded / 45pts total) 2nd Verviers (B) (1pt / 38pts) 3rd Homburg im Saarland (D) (3pts / 37pts) 4th Plymouth (GB) (12pts / Joker / 31pts) ▲ 5th Saint-Quentin (F) (5pts / 26pts) 6th Bellinzona (CH) (2pts / 24pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 6 - Eye of the Needle

The sixth and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and their competitor, akin with that of France in the previous round, was not so adept on the wires. Although he reached the fifth ring and threaded the tubing through it, referee Guido Pancaldi, having conferred with the touch-judge, declared that the final 5cm (2in) had not been pulled through the ring before the whistle was sounded. His score of 4 rings which, although securing them 3rd place on the game overall, was to be a major blow for the team as they were playing their Joker which they had presented 50 minutes earlier at the start of the first round.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Verviers (B) (5) =1st Homburg im Saarland (D) (5) 3rd Bellinzona (CH) (4) =4th Plymouth (GB) (3) ▼ =4th Terracina (I) (3) ▼ 6th Saint-Quentin (F) (2) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (3pts awarded / 48pts total) 2nd Verviers (B) (6pts / 44pts) 3rd Homburg im Saarland (D) (6pts / 43pts) 4th Plymouth (GB) (3pts / 34pts) 5th Bellinzona (CH) (8pts / Joker / 32pts) ▲ 6th Saint-Quentin (F) (1pt / 27pts) ▼

Comments: With just 5pts now separating Italy, Belgium and West Germany, and the remaining three teams out of contention, it was now just a three-horse race as to destination of the Jeux Sans Frontières Silver Trophy. However, with a 4pt lead only a disaster on the final game would prevent Italy from being victorious.

Game 9 (Jeu Handicap) - The Border Crossings

The ninth and final game - ‘The Border Crossings’ - was the Jeu Handicap which featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team and a course comprising seven enclosures separated by eight barrier gates. On the whistle, the two male competitors had to lift the female competitor up so that she could jump over the first barrier into the first enclosure and then they had to jump over the same barrier unassisted in order to join her. This then had to be repeated seven times until all three competitors had jumped ‘free’ from the final enclosure at the other end of the course. Once completed, the team collected two wood saws and turned around to traverse the course in the opposite direction. However, on this occasion, once the female competitor had been lifted over into the first enclosure, the male competitors had to saw through the wooden barrier whilst she steadied it from the other side. Once completed, they then had to join her in the enclosure. This was then repeated until the team were ‘free’ once more at the starting line and then the female had to release a balloon to get a finishing time. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

As this was the Jeu Handicap, the teams set off on a staggered start with France starting 3 seconds before Switzerland who in turn set off 3 seconds ahead of Great Britain. These were followed by West Germany, Belgium and Italy with the latter commencing the game some 15 seconds after France. Despite the handicap system, West Germany reached the end of the course followed by Great Britain and then it was a two-horse race between these two teams to see which could saw through the wooden barriers the fastest. With West Germany leading until the fifth barrier, Great Britain then took the lead and kept their cool and finished the game in 1st place. West Germany finished in 2nd place followed by Belgium in 3rd place, Italy in 4th place, Switzerland in 5th place and France in 6th place.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Terracina (I) (3pts awarded / 51pts total) =2nd Verviers (B) (4pts / 48pts) =2nd Homburg im Saarland (D) (5pts / 48pts) ▲ 4th Plymouth (GB) (6pts / 40pts) 5th Bellinzona (CH) (2pts / 34pts) 6th Saint-Quentin (F) (1pt / 28pts)

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

As was sometimes the case in Jeux Sans Frontières, if there were two commentators per broadcasting company, one would present from the on-site arena itself, whilst the other would provide commentary for the viewers at home from a box above the arena as per their peers. However in this heat, whilst Jean-Claude Mennessier presented from the on-site arena, co-presenter Paule Herreman remained indoors in a glass-fronted portacabin situated on the arena floor, sipping a glass of champagne with her producer Diane Lange. Throughout the night, long camera shots clearly showed them walking around in the portacabin. When the points were awarded, instead of the scoreboard being shown as normal with the updated scores, the camera panned to Paule and she quite literally announced the positions and points of the countries. The camera then panned to a TV screen scoreboard inside the portacabin itself! However, she did make an appearance on the arena at the end of the programme to present the trophy to the winning team.

Starting with this heat, there were no French television commentary boxes or commentators present at any of the remaining 1968 heats.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Italian competitor Giovanni Bellini made the fifth of his nine appearances in Jeux Sans Frontières at this heat. He had previously participated for both of the successful Montecatini Terme teams in 1966 and 1967 when they appeared in the Semi-Finals and International Final, respectively. He went on to participate again later this year at the International Final. In 1969 he featured as a member of the Frascati team and made further appearances for Ancona in 1970 and Bracciano in 1975.

Additional Information

Before the games began, the teams were introduced individually by presenter Jean-Claude Mennessier with each of them erupting into a team chant as he moved down the line. The national ident letters for each country had been painted on the ground in front of each team but whilst all the others were correct, the Swiss team had been assigned ‘S’ instead of the correct ‘CH’. This could have been explained by the fact that the French name for Switzerland is ‘Suisse’. However if this had been the case, West Germany should have been denoted as ‘A’ and not as ‘D’, as the French name for Germany is ‘Allemagne’!

Whilst Italian team Terracina stormed the first five games and then faltered slightly on the last four games, British team Plymouth appeared to have saved their energy to the end, but left it a bit too late to make it count. The team floundered in the bottom three positions of games throughout the night, but won the last three games, one of which was their Joker game!

The British contingent at this heat included a group of eight female cheerleaders who had been brought along to lend some support to the team. Sportingly attired in sailors’ outfits, each of them carried a board with one of the eight letters of the Plymouth team’s name on it, cheering "We want Plymouth, We want Plymouth!" throughout the programme.

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

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 3

Event Staged: Wednesday 31st July 1968
Venue: Piazza Ducale e Cortile del Castillo (Ducale Square and the Castle Courtyard), Vigevano, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 31st July 1968, 9.00-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 31st July 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 2nd August 1968, 7.30-8.50pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 2nd August 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Renata Mauro

Theme: Attack and Defend

Teams: Bressoux (B) v. Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) v. Landau in der Pfalz (D) v.
Libourne (F) v. Merton (GB) v. Pordenone (I)

Team Members included:
Bressoux (B) - Monique Gillet;
Landau in der Pfalz (D) - Heinz Wensal (Team Coach), Karl Bocker (Team Captain and Physician), Wolfgang Burgmeier, Federic Destier, Norbert Keifer, Josef Hirschmann, Reinhard Holschich, Margarita Kleiner, Günther Rümmel, Paul Westermann, Wolfgang Zunick;
Merton (GB) - Tom Baptie (Team Manager), Jean Bleakley, Gary Collins, Peter Dunckley, Robert Dunckley, Terence Dunseath, Clive Goldsmith, John Hayward, Janet Hillyer, Gillian Hornby, Robin Howard, Carol Jordan, David Malkin, Daniel O’Connor, Rodney Perry, Susan Poulter, Kenneth Roberts, Anita Roll, David Roll, Susan Roll, Tony Roll, Susan Taylor, Roberta Trotman, David Watts and Kathie Williams.

Games: The Equestrians, Defending the Pyramids, The Dart Slide, Spooning the Water, Tractors and Cakes, The High Kickers, The Goalkeepers, Feeding the Dogs, The Hula-Hoop Girls (Jeu Divisée) and The Jockeys’ Silks (Jeu Handicap);
Jokers: Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 B • Bressoux ● ●
 D • Landau in der Pfalz
 F • Libourne
 I • Pordenone
 CH • Estavayer-le-Lac
 GB • Merton

50
43
41
36
34
32

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Bressoux (1st, 50pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts)
West Germany (D) - Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (1st, 49pts)

France (F) - Liborne (3rd, 41pts)
Great Britain (GB) - Plymouth (4th, 40pts)
Italy (I) - Terracina (1st, 51pts)

The Host Town

Vigevano, Italy

Vigevano is a town with a population of around 61,000 inhabitants (known as Vigevanos) in the Lombardia region. It is located 30km (19 miles) south-west of Milano, 95km (59 miles) north-east of Torino and 101km (63 miles) north of Genova. It is predominantly a historic art town although it is renowned for shoemaking and also has its own rice-growing agricultural district in nearby Lomellina.

The town dates back to around the 10th century', when it was favoured for its excellent hunting potential by Arduin (955-1015 AD), King of Lombardy who was later to become King of Italy (1002-1014). It was a Ghibelline commune (one that supported the Holy Roman Emperor rather than the Papacy) and was accordingly besieged and taken by the Milanese in 1201 and again in 1275. The town finally surrendered to Azzone Visconti (1302-1339), Lord of Milan in 1328 and thereafter shared the political fortunes of Milan.

The town’s cathedral was begun in 1532 under Duke Francesco II (1495-1535), who commissioned the design to Antonio da Lonate (1456-1540), and is dedicated to Saint Ambrose (AD 340-397). The interior is on the Latin cross plan, with a nave and two aisles, and houses works by Macrino d'Alba (1460-1520), Bernardino Ferrari (1495-1574) and others, as well as tempera (fast drying) polyptych (divided into sections) of the school of Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). In the 17th century, one end of the Piazza Ducale was enclosed by the concave Baroque façade of the cathedral, cleverly adjusted to bring the ancient duomo into a line perpendicular to the axis of the piazza and centred on it.

The cathedral is best known for the "treasury" donated to it by Francesco II Sforza in 1534 which encompasses more than 100 precious objects. These, along with other items, are on display in a museum inside the cathedral known as the Museo del Tesoro del Duomo Vigevano. Of note in the collection are several Flemish tapestries, seven of which were made by tapestry makers in Brussels in 1520 and five of which were woven in Oudenaarde at the beginning of the 17th century. Also on exhibit are an ornate crosier in ivory, a gold-plated silver reliquary of the Lombardy school of goldsmiths from 1530, numerous precious corals, missals, codices and manuscripts dating from the late 15th century, and many chalices, goblets and monstrances. Also of interest is a 16th century' wall-hanging embroidered in gold which was used in Monza in 1805 for the coronation of Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821).

The town is crowned by the Castello Sforzesco, a stronghold which was rebuilt between 1492 and 1494 for Ludovico Maria Sforza (1452-1508), the great patron who was born in the town. The old castle has a unique raised covered road, high enough for horsemen to ride through, which provides communication between the new palace and the old fortifications.

Following a donation by the Bertolini family in 1972, the town was able to open a shoe museum dedicated to the history and techniques of the industry. Today the museum houses around 300 pairs of shoes including a pair of green satin pumps which belonged to American actor and singer Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).

Despite is beautiful and architectural heritage, Vigevano has been virtually ignored by film and television companies over the years, as has been the case for many other historical Italian town and cities. In saying this however, the town did make it to the big screen when the Italian comedy-drama Il Maestro di Vigevano (The Teacher of Vigevano) was filmed there in 1963.

The Visiting Towns

Bressoux is a town with a population of around 11,500 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Liège and is located 640km (398 miles) north-west of Vigevano.

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 230km (143 miles) north-west of Vigevano.

Landau in der Pfalz is a town with a population of around 47,000 inhabitants in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz and is located 436km (271 miles) north of Vigevano.

Libourne is a town with a population of around 25,000 inhabitants in the French region of Nouvelle-Acquitaine and is located 714km (444 miles) west of Vigevano.

Merton is a borough with a population of around 210,000 inhabitants in the English county of Greater London and is located 951km (591 miles) north-west of Vigevano.

Pordenone is a town with a population of around 52,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and is located 306km (190 miles) south-west of Vigevano.

The Venue

Piazza Ducale e Cortile del Castillo
(Ducale Square and the Castle Courtyard)

The games were played at two locations with just a row of buildings separating the two. The majority of the games were played within the confines of the castle courtyard (details of which can be seen above) with the remainder being played in Piazza Ducale, the town’s main tourist attraction.

Designed by Italian architect Donato Bramante (1444-1514) during the Renaissance (15th-17th century'), Piazza Ducale is one of Italy’s most picturesque piazzas. Construction work began in 1492 under the orders of Duke Ludivico and is in the shape of an elongated rectangle measuring 134m x 48m (439ft 8ins x 157ft 6in). It is enclosed with arched porticos supported by 84 columns with each of the porticos having carved capitals, all of which are different.

The pavement of the piazza is laid out with Ticinese pebbles and slabs of metamorphic gneiss rock. Originally at the foot of the tower, where a flight of steps now leads up into the castle, there was a gap in the chain of porticos and a ramp, which could be crossed on horseback as well as on foot, rose from the centre of the piazza to the main castle gate, the grand entrance to the royal palace. In 1680, Bishop Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz (1606-1682) had the ramp removed and porticos built in its place so that the chain ran uninterrupted. The baroque façade of the cathedral was erected, thus enclosing the fourth side of the square. This façade is curved and aligned with the axis of the piazza, hiding the fact that the church building behind is off-centre.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Equestrians

The first game - ‘The Equestrians’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration within the confines of the castle courtyard and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a female competitor on horseback from each team with a candelabra-shaped hoop-la frame attached to her back and armed with a number of hoops attached to the saddle-bags. Each of the hoops had a small tag annotated with the ident of the country on it. On the whistle, the competitors were given a free-for-all to hook the hoops on the frames of any of the other five competitors. Once a team had exhausted their hoops, they could ride to the perimeter of the ring and collect a further supply from a team-mate. The team scoring the greater number of hoops would be declared the winners.

Although this was a very straightforward game to watch, it was somewhat difficult to ascertain which team was leading, as the tags on the hoops were not large enough to be identified. However, at the end of the permitted time France had scored 6 hoops, Belgium had scored 1 hoop and the other four teams had all failed to score.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Libourne (F) (12pts awarded / Joker / 12pts total) 2nd Bressoux (B) (5pts / 5pts) =3rd Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1pt / 1pt) =3rd Landau in der Pfalz (D) (1pt / 1pt) =3rd Merton (GB) (1pt / 1pt) =3rd Pordenone (I) (1pt / 1pt)

Game 2 - Defending the Pyramids

The cameras remained in the castle courtyard for the second game - ‘Defending the Pyramids’ - which was played in unison over three minutes duration. It featured a male competitor from each team standing on a podium in front of three pyramids each built of 95 aluminium tins in the formation, from bottom to top, of one tier of 6 x 4, three tiers of 5 x 3, two tiers of 4 x 2, one tier of 4 tins, one tier of 3 tins, one tier of 2 tins and one tier of 1 tin (24 + 15 + 15 + 15 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 95 x 3 = 285 in total). Each competitor was armed with a shield and, on the whistle, he had to defend his three pyramids from a high powered water jet which had been set up in front of the game and which would be moved back and forth by a member of the production team. Tins could be repositioned by the competitor at any time but after 2 minutes 30 seconds of elapsed time, the water would be switched off to permit the competitor to use the remaining time to rebuild his stack. The team with the greater number of tins that remained in an upright position would be declared the winners.

At the end of the straightforward game, the scores revealed that West Germany had 16 tins upright and Belgium had 15 tins upright whilst Switzerland, France and Great Britain had 13 tins upright each and Italy had 12 tins upright.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Libourne (F) (4pts awarded / 16pts total) 2nd Bressoux (B) (5pts / 10pts) 3rd Landau in der Pfalz (D) (6pts / 7pts) ▲ =4th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (4pts / 5pts) ▼ =4th Merton (GB) (4pts / 5pts) ▼ 6th Pordenone (I) (1pt / 2pts) ▼

Comments: From a viewing position, it appeared that some of the teams actually had more tins standing than their declared score. This was simply due to the fact that the bottom row of 24 tins was fixed to the podium and therefore did not count towards the final total. Although Italy were one of the four teams to have scored just 1pt on the previous game, their score miraculously increased to 5pts after this game, despite the fact that they also scored 1pt again. This anomaly continued to be part of their score until the fourth game when it was finally corrected! A scoreboard error meant that the Italian team of Pordenone, who scored just 1pt in each of the first two games, were mistakenly given a running total of 5pts at this point in the programme.

Game 3 - The Dart Slide

The third game - ‘The Dart Slide’ - was played in unison over four rounds in the Piazza Ducale and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team armed with a large plastic dart and a large pool of water above which a large polystyrene ball with three marked scoring sections was hanging. On the outside of the perimeter of the pool was a large playground slide which had been greased. On the whistle, each competitor in turn (Switzerland, Great Britain, West Germany, Belgium, Italy and France), had to descend the slide in a crouched down position and at a point of his choice, jump up and lunge forward in order to stick the dart in the polystyrene ball. At the end of each round, the ball would be raised an additional 5cm (2in). The team with the greater number of darts impaled on the ball would be declared the winners.

The first round witnessed West Germany, Belgium and Italy all scoring with their first dart and the other three teams missing the target completely. The second round was almost a replica of the first with just West Germany and Italy able to score. The third and penultimate round saw the second competitor from each country taking position at the top of the slide and witnessed only Italy and France able to score. The fourth and final round was a disaster for five of the six countries with Italy being the only one able to score. The confirmed results showed that Italy had finished in 1st place (4 darts scoring), West Germany in 2nd place (2 darts) and Belgium and France (1 dart each) both finished in 3rd place. Switzerland and Great Britain, having both failed to score on any of their four darts, finished in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Libourne (F) (4pts awarded / 20pts total) 2nd Bressoux (B) (4pts / 14pts) 3rd Landau in der Pfalz (D) (5pts / 12pts) 4th Pordenone (I) (6pts / 8pts) ▲ 5th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (2pts / Joker / 7pts) ▼ 6th Merton (GB) (1pt / 6pts) ▼

Comments: To make things a little more difficult and for parity, the ball was swung from side to side before each attempt by Belgium touch-judge Marcel LeFavre. The misreporting of Pordenone's points total on the scoreboard continued uncorrected at this point (showing 11pts rather than the correct 8pts).

Game 4 - Spooning the Water

The cameras remained in the piazza for the fourth game - ‘Spooning the Water’ - which was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a large scaffold support beam on top of which a small carousel comprised of six seats had been built some 4m (13ft 1½in) off the ground. In each of the seats was a competitor from each team holding a large bowl of water and a ladle. Around the base of the support beam there was a greased inclined ramp and around this was a perimeter of sponge mattresses. On the whistle, the second competitor armed with a funnel and container had to time his run up the ramp in order to meet his team-mate as he revolved around above his head. The team-mate then had to spoon water into the funnel using the ladle and then the first competitor had to return to the perimeter of the game and empty any contents in the container. The game was then repeated until the end of permitted time. The team with the greater amount of water collected were declared the winners.

At the end of this straightforward game, the water collected in the containers was weighed and the results revealed that West Germany had collected 14.86kg (32lb 12¼oz) of water, Italy had collected 13.59kg (29lb 15¼oz), Switzerland had collected 10.47kg (23lb 1¼oz), France had collected 7.77kg (17lb 2oz), Great Britain had collected 6.52kg (14lb 6oz) and Belgium had collected 6.30kg (13lb 14¼oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Landau in der Pfalz (D) (12pts awarded / Joker / 24pts total) ▲ 2nd Libourne (F) (3pts / 23pts) ▼ 3rd Bressoux (B) (1pt / 15pts) ▼ 4th Pordenone (I) (5pts / 13pts) 5th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (4pts / 11pts) ▼ 6th Merton (GB) (2pts / 8pts) ▼

Game 5 - Tractors and Cakes

The fifth game - ‘Tractors and Cakes’ - was played over three heats in the castle courtyard and featured six competitors (one male and five females) and a farmyard tractor which had a vinyl carpet attached to the rear. On the whistle, the male competitor had to drive the tractor forward whilst his five female team-mates, each holding two gateaux, had to step onto the moving carpet and hold their places whilst the tractor was driven around a course of small humps. Any cakes or competitors that failed to stay on the carpet played no further part in the game. The scoring would be decided on the time taken to complete the course with a bonus deduction of 3 seconds being awarded for each gateau delivered intact. The team with the fastest overall time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland and Great Britain and whilst the quintet from Switzerland held their positions, the team from Great Britain were not so agile and lost two of their competitors and five gateaux before the turnaround point. Switzerland completed the course in 39 seconds with all ten gateaux intact and were awarded the full bonus of 30 seconds, reducing their overall time to just 9 seconds. Although Great Britain had finished the course in a faster time of 37 seconds, they were only awarded a bonus of 15 seconds for five gateaux intact and finished with an overall time of 22 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium and Italy with the tractor driver from Belgium getting off to a poor start when he was unable to get the vehicle in gear. Contemporaneously, Italy raced ahead, but in their haste lost three of the five females before the turnaround point. After overcoming their earlier mishap, Belgium took their time and returned to the start with all five females and 10 gateaux intact. Italy had completed the course in 37 seconds but were only awarded a bonus of 12 seconds for four gateaux and finished with an overall time of 25 seconds. Although Belgium had taken 45 seconds to complete the course, they were awarded the full bonus of 30 seconds and finished with an overall time of 15 seconds.

The final heat saw the participation of West Germany and France and whilst both teams completed the game without mishap, the former had crossed the finish line first. When the results were announced, West Germany had completed the game in an incredible time of 34 seconds and with the full bonus of 30 seconds, their overall time was reduced to just 4 seconds. France were slower to finish in 42 seconds but they were also awarded the full bonus and their overall time was reduced to 12 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Landau in der Pfalz (D) (6pts awarded / 30pts total) 2nd Libourne (F) (4pts / 27pts) 3rd Bressoux (B) (3pts / 18pts) 4th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (5pts / 16pts) ▲ 5th Pordenone (I) (1pt / 14pts) ▼ 6th Merton (GB) (2pts / 10pts)

Game 6 - The High Kickers

The sixth game - ‘The High Kickers’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 45 seconds duration in the piazza and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team at either end of an inclined board which was supported on a frame. Standing at the higher end of the board was the female competitor holding a small laundry basket filled with crazy foam, whilst beneath the lower end, the male competitor was lying on his back facing away from his team-mate with his legs in the air so that his toes were touching the board. In front of this equipment was a large basketball net and on the whistle, the female competitor had to lower the basket to her team-mate who then had to toss the basket with his feet into the net. The team had a total of 22 baskets to play with and the team with the greater number of baskets in the net would be declared the winners.

A straightforward, but closely fought game saw Belgium finish in 1st place with 17 baskets and Switzerland finish in 2nd place with 16 baskets. Italy finished in 3rd place with 15 baskets whilst both West Germany and Great Britain both finished in 4th place with 13 baskets. France were declared as finishing in 6th place with just 7 baskets.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Landau in der Pfalz (D) (3pts awarded / 33pts total) 2nd Libourne (F) (1pt / 28pts) 3rd Bressoux (B) (6pts / 24pts) 4th Pordenone (I) (8pts / Joker / 22pts) ▲ 5th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (5pts / 21pts) ▼ 6th Merton (GB) (3pts / 13pts)

Game 7 - The Goalkeepers

The seventh game - ‘The Goalkeepers’ - was played individually over 30 seconds duration in the castle courtyard and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team standing in front of a set of goalposts, whilst five barefooted opposing male competitors were standing in a greased circular area 5m (16ft 4¾in) in front of him with a pile of footballs. On the whistle, the opposition had to score as many goals as possible within the permitted time, but all balls had to be kicked from within the greased circle to be counted as valid. The team with the least goals scored against them would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very fast and straightforward game saw the participation of Great Britain and their competitor had two goals scored against him. The second heat featured Switzerland and their competitor was blitzed with 9 goals. The next three heats featuring West Germany, France and Belgium ended with the same score of 5 goals being scored against each. The final heat saw the participation of Italy and they suffered the same fate as national neighbours Switzerland, being bombarded with 9 goals.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Landau in der Pfalz (D) (5pts awarded / 38pts total) 2nd Libourne (F) (5pts / 33pts) 3rd Bressoux (B) (3pts / 29pts) 4th Merton (GB) (12pts / Joker / 25pts) ▲ 5th Pordenone (I) (2pts / 24pts) ▼ 6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (2pts / 23pts) ▼

Comments: The scoring was carried out by three touch-judges standing behind the goal. At the end of each heat the three would indicate the score to the main referees by a show of fingers. After the second of the heats judged by British touch-judge Eddie Waring, he adamantly showed six fingers whilst the other two judges showed five following the participation of Belgium!

Jeu Divisée, Part 1 - The Hula-Hoop Girls

The next game - ‘The Hula-Hoop Girls’ - was the Jeu Divisée which was played individually over two rounds in the piazza. It featured a female competitor from each team equipped with a hula-hoop standing on a podium on one side of a pool of water which was spanned by a narrow beam of wood. On the whistle, the competitor had to begin twirling the hoop around her waist and at the point she felt most comfortable, she rang a small bell hanging above the podium. She then had to begin crossing the beam whilst keeping the hoop twirling. If the hoop fell down whilst crossing, the competitor was permitted to stop and begin at the exact spot. Once across, she had to turn around and signal that she was ready by ringing a second bell and then making the return journey. Once both crossings had been completed, she then had to ring the original bell and the clock would be stopped. The time for the better of the two rounds would be used by each team as their final score but if a competitor fell into the pool, they were automatically given a 0:00 time. The team with the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of France but their competitor did not have the rhythm to keep the hoop aloft and although she retrieved the hoop after it dropped, she succumbed to the pool after losing her balance after 23 seconds of elapsed time.

The second heat featured Switzerland and their competitor fared even worse and tumbled into the pool after just 7 seconds.

The third team to participate was Belgium and despite a couple of mishaps, their competitor completed both crossings in 1 minute 41 seconds.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was West Germany and although their competitor completed the first crossing in 14 seconds, she was deemed to have failed to keep the hoop twirling during the final stages of the crossing and was eliminated.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Italy and their competitor completed both crossings without mishap in an incredible time of 21.7 seconds.

The sixth and final heat featured Great Britain and although their competitor made one successful crossing, she tumbled into the pool after 25 seconds during her return crossing.

Running Jeu Divisée Standings: =1st Pordenone (I) (21 seconds) =1st Libourne (F) (1 minute 41 seconds) =6th Bressoux (B) (0) =6th Estayer-le-Lac (CH) (0) =6th Landau in der Pfalz (D) (0) =6th Merton (GB) (0)

Game 8 - Feeding the Dogs

The cameras remained in the piazza for the eighth and penultimate game - ‘Feeding the Dogs’ - which was played in unison over 2 minutes 45 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a large open-topped cage in which 14 stray dogs had been placed after being rounded up by production company, RAI. Standing outside one side of the cage was the female competitor whilst on the opposite side was the male competitor. Built into the floor of the cage were six rubber runners which had small discs attached to them at regular intervals. On the whistle, the female had to place a meat pellet onto one of the discs and the male competitor had to pull the runner through the cage whilst attempting to prevent the dogs, which had clearly been starved for the purpose, from eating the pellets. The team collecting the greatest number of pellets would be declared the winners.

At the end of this straightforward game, Belgium had collected 6 pellets, France had collected 5 pellets, Switzerland had 4 pellets, West Germany and Great Britain had collected 3 pellets each whilst Italy had collected just 1 pellet.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Bressoux (B) (12pts awarded / Joker / 41pts total) ▲ =1st Landau in der Pfalz (D) (3pts / 41pts) 3rd Libourne (F) (5pts / 38pts) ▼ 4th Merton (GB) (3pts / 28pts) 5th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (4pts / 27pts) ▲ 6th Pordenone (I) (1pt / 25pts) ▼

Comments: This game would be remembered for two very different reasons. The first is that had the game been designed to be played today it would have been deemed as cruel by Animal Rights Activists and probably banned. The second is that although Belgium had been victorious on a very risky game, unfair tactics had been in play, which were later revealed by British referee Eddie Waring in 1977. (See ‘Memories of Jeux Sans Frontières’ section below). In order that the dogs reacted correctly whilst the game was being played, an overhead camera shot clearly showed a stagehand enticing the dogs by throwing small pellets of food into the cage before the game started.

Jeu Divisée, Part 2 - The Hula-Hoop Girls

The second round of the Jeu Divisée played out as an almost exact replica of the first round and was the final game to be played in the piazza. The teams competed in the same order as before and, as was the case in the first round, neither of the competitors from the first two teams was able to make a single crossing of the pool - France tumbling into the pool after 15 seconds and Switzerland doing the same likewise. The third heat featured Belgium and their competitor displayed her hula-hoop skills once again and, despite a few heart-stopping moments, bettered her time from the first round after crossing the pool in both directions in 1 minute 32.5 seconds. She was followed by West Germany who, like the first two teams failed to cross the pool for a second time after tumbling into the water after 10 seconds. The fifth and penultimate heat featured the competitor from Italy who had had the fastest time of the first round. However, she was unable to emulate her previous effort after she tumbled into the pool after just 7 seconds during the first crossing. The sixth and final competitor was from Great Britain and although she successfully made one crossing, she succumbed to her fate after tumbling into the pool after 24 seconds.

Final Jeu Divisée Standings: =1st Pordenone (I) (21 seconds) =1st Libourne (F) (1 minute 32 seconds) =6th Bressoux (B) (0) =6th Estayer-le-Lac (CH) (0) =6th Landau in der Pfalz (D) (0) =6th Merton (GB) (0)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Bressoux (B) (5pts awarded / 46pts total) 2nd Landau in der Pfalz (D) (1pt / 42pts) 3rd Libourne (F) (1pt / 39pts) 4th Pordenone (I) (6pts / 31pts) ▲ 5th Merton (GB) (1pt / 29pts) ▼ 6th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (1pt / 28pts) ▼

Game 9 (Jeu Handicap) - The Jockeys' Silks

The ninth and final game - ‘The Jockeys’ Silks’ - was the Jeu Handicap which was played in the castle courtyard on a specially constructed circular racetrack. It featured a male competitor on horseback from each team waiting underneath a bridge which spanned the track. On the bridge was a female team-mate armed with four items of clothing - a waistcoat, a sash, a ruff and a feathered cap - and a small flag of her country. On the whistle, the competitors had to set off and each time they went underneath the bridge, an item of clothing was passed to them from their team-mate which they had to don whilst completing the next lap. If the rider failed to don the clothes correctly before going underneath the bridge after completing the lap, he was not permitted to take the next item but instead make a further lap of the track until attired correctly. After all items of clothing were correctly attired and the flag had been handed to the jockey, he had to make one final lap and pass underneath the bridge to end the game. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was another straightforward game but as it was the Jeu Handicap it had a staggered start with the teams starting at 2 second intervals behind each other, resulting in the leading team on the scoreboard starting 10 seconds after the last placed team. It ended with Switzerland finishing in 1st place in 1 minute 12 seconds, Italy in 2nd place in 1 minute 14 seconds and Belgium in 3rd place in 1 minute 15 seconds. Great Britain were next to finish in 4th place in 1 minute 16 seconds and were followed by France in 5th place in 1 minute 19 seconds. West Germany failed to complete the final lap of the course and were deemed as out of time (0:00) and finished in 6th place.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Bressoux (B) (4pts awarded / 50pts total) 2nd Landau in der Pfalz (D) (1pt / 43pts) 3rd Libourne (F) (2pts / 41pts) 4th Pordenone (I) (5pts / 36pts) 5th Estavayer-le-Lac (CH) (6pts / 34pts) ▲ 6th Merton (GB) (3pts / 32pts) ▼

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Whenever West German commentators Tim Elstner and Camillo Felgen explained to viewers the location of Merton, they always referred to it as “the area of London that has the tennis place, Wimbledon”!

Memories of Jeux Sans Frontières

This heat featured the game which was highlighted by the BBC's Eddie Waring in the 1977 It’s A Knockout Annual, where he recalled, “We were in Italy and one of the games involved a cage of stray dogs with a conveyor belt running through the centre of the cage. The idea was to put a plate of meat on the belt and then try and distract the dogs so that they didn’t eat too much of the meat. When the plate came out the other side, the meat was weighed and the team that had managed to slip the most through was declared the winner. Several teams had tried all kinds of methods to distract the dogs but to no avail. Then on the night, the Belgians played their Joker and everyone thought they were mad. But sure enough the dogs did not seem to eat so much of theirs. It wasn’t until a few days later when I was in conversation with a fellow West German commentator that he told me how they had done it. Apparently before the game, the team had poured petrol on the hands of the team member who placed the meat on the tray. Of course nobody thought of checking something like that!"

Additional Information

At the end of this heat, Belgium and West Germany were seemingly riding on a high. Belgium had finished the previous two heats in 2nd place and had chalked up a victory in this heat. West Germany had finished in 1st and 2nd places in the previous two heats and again in 2nd place in this heat. Whilst the Belgian performances in the following heats would prove disastrous, the West Germans would go on and claim four consecutive victories!

This programme was also transmitted to viewers in Austria, Denmark, Luxembourg and Netherlands by the West German television service.

The town of Vigevano hosted Jeux Sans Frontières again twenty-three years later, when two Italian heats were staged in the town in 1991.

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

GB

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 4

Event Staged: Wednesday 14th August 1968
Venue: West Park Stray, Harrogate, North Yorkshire, Great Britain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 14th August 1968, 9.00-10.00pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 14th August 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Wednesday 14th August 1968, 9.05-10.25pm (Live - DST)
RAI Due (I): Thursday 15th August 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Weather Conditions: Cold with Heavy Rain Showers

Winners' Trophy presented by: Alan Mayes, Mayor of Harrogate

Theme: Fun and Games

Teams: Mons (B) v. Stans (CH) v. Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) v.
Vannes (F) v. Dundee (GB) v. Ascoli Piceno (I)

Team Members included:
Stans (CH) - Margherite Schwitzer;
Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) - Heinrich Hallfeldt (Co-Team Coach), Karl-Wilhelm Herlinghaus (Co-Team Coach), Hans Lucht (Co-Team Coach), Heikel Cordet, Erhard Cronjäger, Thomas Dürler, Jorgen von Dursten, Frank Farbien, Hilga Gatsker, Karl Geldinger, Daniel Hofkletter, Walter Maran, Harold Rauchen, Claus von Rönn, Marie Stellien, Anna Schwau, Anna Verschach, Ingrid Wolfe;
Vannes (F) - Christiane Portugal;
Dundee (GB) - Stewart Allen, Joseph Brady, Joyce Carberry, Ross Elder, Angus Hartley, Muriel Hutchinson, Evelyn Keyes, Hazel Mason, Alistair Nicholl, Derek Tomlinson.

Games (Official Titles): The Moon Rocket, Three's a Crowd, Water on the Brain, Wheelbarrow Jousting, Swinging Words, The Barrel Game, Trampoline Netball, Roundabout Waiters, Knights in Armour (Jeu Divisée) and The Nursery Stakes (Jeu Handicap);
Jokers: Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Osterholz-Scharmbeck ●  ●
 CH • Stans ●
 F • Vannes  ●
 GB • Dundee
 I • Ascoli Piceno
 B • Mons

47
40
38
38
37
28

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Bressoux (1st, 50pts, Average 5.00pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts, Average 4.60pts)
West Germany (D) - Osterholz-Scharmbeck (1st, 47pts, Average 5.22pts)

France (F) - Vannes (=3rd, 38pts, Average 4.22pts)
Great Britain (GB) - Dundee (=3rd, 38pts, Average 4.22pts)
Italy (I) - Terracina (1st, 51pts, Average 5.10pts)

The Host Town

Harrogate, Great Britain

Harrogate is a spa town with a population of around 71,600 inhabitants in the English county of North Yorkshire. It is located 13 miles (21km) north of Leeds, 19 miles (30km) west of York and 46 miles (74km) north-east of Manchester.

The town was originally created in the 17th century' out of two existing settlements, High Harrogate and Low Harrogate, with the name Harrogate first being attested in the 1330s as Harwegate, deriving from Old Norse ‘hǫrgr’ (a heap of stones or cairn) + ‘gata’ (street), in which case the name presumably meant 'road to the cairn'.

The town became known as 'The English Spa' during the Georgian era, after its waters containing iron, sulphur and common salt were discovered in 1596 by William Slingsby (1563-1634). Slingsby found that water from the Tewit Well in High Harrogate, the site of which is marked by a dome on the Stray, possessed similar properties to that from the springs of the Belgian town of Spa, which gave its name to spa towns. The medicinal properties of the waters were publicised by Edmund Deane (1582-1640) in his book, Spadacrene Anglica, or the English Spa Fountain, published in 1626. In the 17th and 18th centuries, further chalybeate (i.e. containing iron) springs were uncovered in High Harrogate, and both chalybeate and sulphur springs were discovered in Low Harrogate. These discoveries attracted many visitors to the town for their health-enhancing properties and, during the 17th century, a number of inns were opened for them to reside at, most notably The Queen’s Head, The Granby, The Dragon and The World’s End.

To provide entertainment for the increasing numbers of visitors, the Georgian Theatre was built in 1788. The Royal Bath Hospital (formerly Bath Hospital) was built in 1826 and the Royal Pump Room was built in 1842. In 1870, engineer and industrialist Samson Fox (1838-1903) perfected the process of creating water gas in the basement laboratory of Grove House. After constructing a trial plant at his home on Scarborough Road, making it the first house in Yorkshire to have gas lighting and heating, he built a town-sized plant to supply Harrogate. After he made Parliament Street the world's first route to be lit by water-gas, newspapers commented that “Samson Fox has captured the sunlight for Harrogate.” After donating the town’s first fire engine and building the town's theatre, he was elected mayor for three successive one-year terms between 1890 and 1892, an unbroken record to this day.

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Harrogate was popular among the English elite and frequented by nobility from mainland Europe but, following World War I (1914-1918), its popularity declined. However, during the Second World War (1939-1945), Harrogate’s large hotels were used to accommodate government offices that had been evacuated from London, paving the way for the town to become a commercial, conference and exhibition centre.

Former employers in the town included the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) and the Milk Marketing Board. Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) occupied offices and laboratories at Hornbeam Park, where the man-made fabric Crimplene was invented in the 1950s and named after the nearby Crimple Valley.

The town is a dormitory for commuters working in Leeds, Bradford and York. It is very prosperous and has some of the highest property prices in England, with many properties valued at £1 million or more.

In 1982, the Harrogate International Centre was chosen as the host venue for the 27th annual Eurovision Song Contest. The grand convention and exhibition centre opened a short time prior to the contest and it was the first big event held in the main 2000-seat auditorium. To assist Europeans as to where Harrogate was, the opening of the contest showed a map of Europe, with the words "Where is Harrogate?" popping up on-screen, translated into the various languages of the competing countries.

More recently, a 10th century' Viking treasure hoard was discovered by two metal detectives in 2007. The hoard, containing almost 700 coins and other items from as far away as Afghanistan, was described by the British Museum as “the most important find of its type in Britain in 150 years".

The Visiting Towns

Mons is a city with a population of around 95,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Hainaut and is located 337 miles (543km) south-east of Harrogate.

Stans is a town with a population of around 8,500 inhabitants in the teutophonic (German-speaking) Swiss canton of Nidwalden and is located (652 miles (1,050km ) south-east of Harrogate.

Osterholz-Scharmbeck is a town with a population of around 31,000 inhabitants in the German state of Niedersachsen and is located 427 miles (687km) east of Harrogate.

Vannes is a town with a population of around 55,000 inhabitants in the French region of Bretagne and is located 441 miles (710km) south of Harrogate.

Dundee is a city with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants in the Scottish council area of Dundee City and is located 180 miles (289km) north of Harrogate.

Ascoli Piceno is a town with a population of around 50,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Marche and is located 1,033 miles (1,662km) south-east of Harrogate.

The Venue

West Park Stray

The games were played at West Park Stray which is part of the Stray, an area of open parkland encompassing the main urban ‘old town’ of Harrogate. It was created in 1778 to link most of Harrogate's springs in one protected area by an Act of Parliament which fixed its area at 200 acres (0.81km²).

Under the Act, the size of the parkland would never be diminished and even now if any part is removed (e.g. due to road widening), it must be replaced elsewhere. During the Victorian period, there was also a racecourse for horses there.

The Stray today exists for the people of the town and is a popular spot for picnicking, kite-flying, outdoor games and local football matches. It is covered by a 15-page Act of Parliament, The Stray Act 1985, which determines how the Stray can be used, whilst protecting the land, enabling the preservation of this beautiful open space. Annual events on the Stray include the two fairs that are held during the May and August Bank Holiday weekends. Circuses are also permitted and take place periodically but must be authorised by Harrogate Borough Council and are to be non-animal events. During early spring, the Stray comes alive with crocuses blooming in the grass areas. With an estimated approximately 6-7 million crocus planted over the years it creates an eye-popping floral treat.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Moon Rocket

The first game - ‘The Moon Rocket’ - was played in unison over 3 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured a male competitor from each team with a parachute harness around his waist which was attached to a rope above. In front of each competitor was a board representing a vertical-standing rocket with a series of 17 light bulb fittings along its length, with the lowest five bulbs already in place and illuminated. At the top of the rocket was a large circular moon with 16 smaller bulbs around its circumference but not illuminated. On the whistle, a male team-mate had to pull on the rope to assist the competitor to climb the outside of the rocket in order to insert a light bulb into the first vacant fitting. He then had to descend back to the ground and then repeat the process until all the other 12 bulbs had been inserted and illuminated. After achieving this, it would set the moon aglow with its lights flashing. Bulbs that were broken by accident in the fittings could not be replaced. However, if any (or all) of the original 5 bulbs were broken by the competitors, they would incur a penalty score of 1, irrespective of the number broken. Any of the bulbs inserted by the competitors that suffered the same fate would not incur any penalty. The team completing the game in the faster time or the team with the greater overall number of bulbs illuminated would be declared the winners.

Although it appeared somewhat convoluted, this was a straightforward game which ended with Switzerland, West Germany, Great Britain and Italy illuminating 9 of the required 12 bulbs (giving each a total of 14). Belgium had illuminated only 8 bulbs (a total of 13) and although France had also illuminated 9 bulbs, their competitor had broken 3 of the lower bulbs with his feet on one of his descents and had incurred the penalty and given the team an overall total score of 13 (14-1) also.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Stans (CH) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (6pts / 6pts) =1st Dundee (GB) (6pts / 6pts) =1st Ascoli Piceno (I) (6pts / 6pts) =5th Mons (B) (2pts / 2pts) =5th Vannes (F) (2pts / 2pts)

Game 2 - Three's a Crowd

The second game - ‘Three's a Crowd’ - was played over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team sitting on a bicycle in front of an obstacle course. On the whistle, the male competitor had to cycle up the course with one female sitting side-saddle on the crossbar or over the handlebars whilst the other stood astride the rear wheel hub. The first element of the course required the team to negotiate an army scramble net leading on to an inclined podium which they had to descend on the bicycle. Once back on level ground, they had to zigzag around two cones which led on to a large upright block of wood with a smaller square cut out of the middle. In order to negotiate the block, the team had to dismantle the bicycle into three parts - two wheels and the frame - and pass them through the hole. Once all three competitors and parts of the bicycle were through to the other side of the block, the bicycle had to be reassembled before the team could continue. The final element of the outward journey was to cycle across a set of small corrugated hillocks and then onto the turnaround point. On the return journey, the elements had to be negotiated in the opposite direction with one exception. Although all the competitors had to pass through the hole in the block, the bicycle was passed over the top of the block intact. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this fast-moving game saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and Italy and ended with only two of the teams completing the course within the permitted time. West Germany completed the game in 1 minute 59 seconds and Italy finished in 2 minutes 14 seconds Although Belgium also finished the game, it was two seconds after the whistle blown and they were given a time of 0:00.

The second heat featured the three remaining teams of Switzerland, France and Great Britain and it ended with Switzerland crossing the finish line in 1 minute 54 seconds, France finishing in 2 minutes 2 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 2 minutes 35 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Stans (CH) (6pts awarded / 12pts total) 2nd Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (5pts / 11pts) ▼ 3rd Vannes (F) (8pts / Joker / 10pts) ▲ 4th Ascoli Piceno (I) (3pts / 9pts) ▲ 5th Dundee (GB) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (1pt / 3pts) ▼

Game 3 - Water on the Brain

The third game - ‘Water on the Brain’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured five competitors (one male and four females) from each team armed with stirrup pump and four pieces of hosepipe. On the whistle, the male competitor had to pump water along three pieces of the hosepipe which were being held together end-to-end by two of the females, with the end of the third piece being held aloft the third female’s head. This competitor had to aim the water into an inverted top hat being worn by the fourth female, located 6ft 6in (1.83m) further up the course. Any water collected could be released via the fourth piece of pipe through the bottom (or the top as it was inverted) into a small designated container on a moving carousel in front of her. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Italy and, at the end of the permitted time, Italy had collected 1lb 7oz (650g) of water, Switzerland had collected 1lb 3oz (540g) and France had collected 1lb 2oz (510g).

The second heat featured the three remaining teams from Belgium, West Germany and Great Britain and ended with West Germany collecting 2lb 2oz (960g) of water, Great Britain collecting 1lb 8oz (680g) and Belgium collecting 1lb 2oz.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (6pts awarded / 17pts total) ▲ 2nd Stans (CH) (3pts / 15pts) ▼ =3rd Dundee (GB) (5pts / 13pts) ▲ =3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (4pts / 13pts) ▲ 5th Vannes (F) (2pts / 12pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (2pts / 5pts)

Comments: This was the first of two games played at this event that had been recycled from Heat 1 of the British Domestic series staged at Cheltenham Spa earlier in the year, when its original title was ‘The Fireman’s Hose’.

Game 4 - Wheelbarrow Jousting

The fourth game - ‘Wheelbarrow Jousting’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team. Whilst the male competitor was armed with a lance and standing aloft the inclined podium utilised earlier in the second game, the female competitor was standing inside a garden wheelbarrow located at its base. Hanging from above in front of the teams, there was a series of six round polystyrene targets declining in size, each with a small hole bored through its middle. On the whistle, the male descended the podium and handed the lance to his team-mate and then pushed the wheelbarrow up the course. As they encountered each target, the female had to pierce the holes and once they collected all six targets on the lance they had to turn around, race back up the course zigzagging around a series of cones. The female then had to remove the targets and place them on top of the starting podium. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and Italy and witnessed West Germany annihilating their opposition by finishing the game in just 48 seconds, whilst Italy finished in 1 minute 8 seconds and Belgium finished in 1 minute 13 seconds.

The second heat featured Switzerland, France and Great Britain and this was a much closer fought contest with Switzerland finishing in 54 seconds, France finishing in 59 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 1 minute 8 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (6pts awarded / 23pts total) 2nd Stans (CH) (5pts / 20pts) =3rd Vannes (F) (4pts / 16pts) ▼ =3rd Dundee (GB) (3pts / 16pts) =3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (3pts / 16pts) 6th Mons (B) (1pt / 6pts)

Game 5 - Swinging Words

The fifth game - ‘Swinging Words’ - was played over three heats of two minutes duration and featured a male competitor from each team and a large scaffolding frame from which was hanging a makeshift swing. On one side of the equipment there was a board with the 26 letters of the alphabet whilst on the other side was a clear board. On the whistle, the competitor sitting on the swing was set in motion by a male team-mate and once in motion, he had to swing from one side of the game to the other in order to collect a total of 6 letters and then place them on the other board to spell out a word. The word was unknown to the competitors until the start of the game and all 6 letters had to appear in the correct order of the nominated word. The word nominated by the production team was ‘MEXICO’. The team completing the game in the faster time or the one with the greater number of correctly positioned letters would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and West Germany and, following a slow start, West Germany built up a good rhythm and correctly positioned 4 letters (M, E, X and I) whilst Belgium were only able to manage 2 letters (X and O).

The second heat featured Switzerland and Italy, and whilst Italy completed the game in 1 minute 8 seconds, Switzerland could only place 3 letters in their correct positions (X, I and O).

The third and final heat saw the participation of France and Great Britain and it ended with France correctly positioning 4 letters (M, E, X and O) whilst Great Britain could only place 2 letters (E and X).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (5pts awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Stans (CH) (3pts / 23pts) 3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (6pts / 22pts) 4th Vannes (F) (5pts / 21pts) ▼ 5th Dundee (GB) (2pts / 18pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (2pts / 8pts)

Comments: This was the second of two games played at this event that had been recycled from Heat 1 of the British Domestic series staged at Cheltenham Spa earlier in the year, when its original title was ‘Pick a Letter’.

Game 6 - The Barrel Game

The sixth game - ‘The Barrel Game’ - was scheduled to be played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland, West Germany and Italy presenting all their Jokers for play. However, it would succumb to the adverse weather conditions which would ultimately lead to the game being declared null and void. It featured two female competitors from each team, a large open-ended wooden barrel and a set of two narrow taut-wired runners. The runners, running from one end of the course to the other, were designed so that they were wide enough for only the bottom rim of the barrel to fit. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to climb into the barrel and walk her way up the course negotiating six obstacles along its length - an arch, a small raised podium, a greased wooden tray, a greased inclined podium, two small blocks and finally a smaller arch. On reaching the end of the course, the competitor had to climb out of the barrel and roll it back to the start in order for her team-mate to repeat the process. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, France and Italy but the competitors had only got halfway up the course when an unexpected problem materialised. The adverse weather had resulted in the wood in the barrels to expand and become very tight-fitting between the runners and affecting the teams’ ability to move them along the course. Although Belgium and France had managed to make one journey each, the heat finished with none of them able to complete the game in full. Referee Gennaro Olivieri stated that although this was the case, they would play the second heat to see if the other teams suffered the same fate and then make a decision.

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and Great Britain and although all of the teams made one journey each, it was clear that the game had been affected by the weather and was not permitting the teams to complete it in the prescribed manner. After the whistle was blown, Gennaro Olivieri announced that they would not be ‘counting the game’ and would declare it null and void and that they would ‘make the medium (the average) on nine games’.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (0pts awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Stans (CH) (0pts / 23pts) 3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (0pts / 22pts) 4th Vannes (F) (0pts / 21pts) ▼ 5th Dundee (GB) (0pts / 18pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (0pts / 8pts)

Comments: With the cancellation of this game, and still with no plans in place for a reserve game, the qualifying criteria for the International Final of some teams would be based on average points per game for the second consecutive year. The three teams playing their Jokers were informed that they would be accepted for play on another game of their choice. This was a little unfortunate for these three teams as they would have deliberated previously which game would have given them the better chance of points and now all these preparations had been thrown into disarray.

Game 7 - Trampoline Netball

Following the nullification of the previous game, the programme went to the seventh game - ‘Trampoline Netball’ - which was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration. It featured three male competitors from each team and a large board on which three nets were attached, located at different heights and each with a different point value. The lowest net (on the left of the game) was valued at 1pt, the highest net (on the right) was valued at 3pts and the middle net (located halfway between the other two) was valued at 2pts. In front of the board, there was a cloth slide leading up to a podium and a trampoline. On the whistle, each of the competitors grabbed a football and climbed the cloth slide and once on the podium, jumped onto the trampoline and after bouncing back up they had to toss the ball into one of the three nets. The team accumulating the highest score would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and France and ended with West Germany accumulating 11pts (3 x 3pts + 1 x 2pts), France accumulating 7pts (1 x 3pts + 2 x 2pts) and Belgium accumulating 6pts (3 x 2pts).

The second heat featured the remaining teams of Switzerland, Great Britain and Italy and ended with Switzerland accumulating 15pts (1 x 3pts + 6 x 2pts), Italy accumulating 15pts (5 x 3pts) and Great Britain accumulating 7pts (3 x 2pts + 1 x 1pt).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (4pts awarded / 32pts total) 2nd Stans (CH) (6pts / 29pts) 3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (6pts / 28pts) 4th Vannes (F) (3pts / 24pts) 5th Dundee (GB) (3pts / 21pts) 6th Mons (B) (1pt / 9pts)

Comments: At this point in the programme, only one team had officially played their Joker and, with just two games remaining to play (it was not possible to play Jokers on the Jeu Handicap), it would result in several Jokers being played at the same time.

Jeu Divisée, Part 1 - Knights in Armour

The next game - ‘Knights in Armour’ - was the Jeu Divisée which was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration, and witnessed Switzerland (for a ‘second time’) and Great Britain presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured six competitors from each team (five males and one female) with one of the males attired as a knight on horseback armed with a lance bearing his national flag. On the whistle, four of the competitors armed with a battering ram had to break through a castle drawbridge to allow the knight into the castle. Once through the entrance, he had to gallop 110yds (100.58m) to the castle keep and then dismount his horse and tether it to a pole. He then had to remove the flag from his lance and then ascend a ladder and climb to the ramparts to hand the flag to the female competitor. She then had to secure the flag to a flagpole and once completed, he had to descend the ladder with her on his back. After reaching terra-firma, he then had to untie his equine companion and once both the competitors had mounted the horse, they had to race to the finish line, located outside and beyond the drawbridge entrance. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw West Germany, Great Britain and Italy and it came as no surprise that Great Britain finished in 1st place in 1 minute 28 seconds followed by West Germany in 2nd place in 1 minute 46 seconds and Italy in 3rd place in 1 minute 53 seconds.

Running Jeu Divisée Standings: 1st Dundee (GB) (1 minute 28 seconds) 2nd Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (1 minute 46 seconds) 3rd Ascoli Piceno (I) (1 minute 53 seconds)

Game 8 - Roundabout Waiters

The eighth and penultimate main game - ‘Roundabout Waiters’ - was played over two heats of one minute duration and witnessed Belgium, West Germany (for a ‘second time’) and Italy (for a ‘second time’) being presented for play. It featured three female competitors from each team and a large raised bobbin on which one of the competitors was sitting. Her two team-mates were attached by ropes to the bobbin’s spindle, with one of them standing adjacent to the bobbin whilst the other was standing about 20ft (6.09m) away from it on the other side, adjacent to a podium with trays and cups on it. On the whistle, the team-mate standing closest to the bobbin had to move away which would result in her rope to unwind and the bobbin to spin which in turn would wind the rope of her team-mate on to the spindle and pulling her towards the bobbin. Before moving forward, she had to transport a tray with four of the cups and hand it to her team-mate on the bobbin. The competitor who was now furthest away from the bobbin had to pick up a tray and four cups from the other side and the process was reversed. The team with the greater number of cups intact would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, Great Britain and Italy and after the final whistle, referee Gennaro Olivieri declared that all of the three teams had collected 24 cups each.

The second heat featured Belgium, West Germany and France and, having had the advantage of watching the first heat, all the teams achieved higher scores. France had collected 36 cups, Belgium had collected 28 cups and West Germany had collected 25 cups.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (8pts awarded / Joker / 40pts total) 2nd Ascoli Piceno (I) (6pts / Joker / 34pts) ▲ 3rd Stans (CH) (3pts / 32pts) ▼ 4th Vannes (F) (6pts / 30pts) 5th Dundee (GB) (3pts / 24pts) 6th Mons (B) (10pts / Joker / 19pts)

Comments: After West Germany and Italy presented their Jokers for play for a ‘second’ time, Gennaro Olivieri came running into camera shot asking the captain of Belgium if he intended to play their Joker. The team had still not produced their Joker and with just the second round of the Jeu Divisée left to play, he stated that they could not play it on the ‘handicap’ game. Despite a couple of calls, the captain did not come forward. However, a touch-judge could be seen acknowledging to the referees that he had borne witness that it had been presented across the other side of the arena and therefore the game went ahead. Before the second round, Guido confirmed to Eddie Waring that this was the case and that the Belgian Joker was in fact valid.

Jeu Divisée, Part 2 - Knights in Armour

The programme returned to the Jeu Divisée for the second round which featured Belgium, Switzerland and France. Apart from the Swiss knight forgetting to untie his horse before remounting, there were no major mishaps by either of the teams and ended with France finishing in 1st place in 1 minute 40 seconds (2nd place overall), Belgium finishing in 2nd place in 1 minute 43 seconds (3rd place overall) and Switzerland finishing in 3rd place in 2 minutes 17 seconds (6th place overall).

Final Jeu Divisée Standings: 1st Dundee (GB) (1 minute 28 seconds) 2nd Vannes (F) (1 minute 40 seconds) 3rd Mons (B) (1 minute 43 seconds) 4th Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (1 minute 46 seconds) ▼ 5th Ascoli Piceno (I) (1 minute 53 seconds) ▼ 6th Stans (CH) (2 minutes 17 seconds)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (3pts awarded / 43pts total) =2nd Dundee (GB) (12pts / Joker / 36pts) ▲ =2nd Ascoli Piceno (I) (2pts / 36pts) 4th Vannes (F) (5pts / 35pts) 5th Stans (CH) (2pts / Joker / 34pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (4pts / 23pts)

Game 9 (Jeu Handicap) - The Nursery Stakes

With the destiny of the Silver Trophy already determined, the programme moved to the ninth and final game - ‘The Nursery Stakes’ - which was the Jeu Handicap. The game featured a male competitor from each team, dressed as a baby and attired in a nappy (diaper) and bonnet sitting in a pram. The course comprised three straight 100ft (30.48m) long tracks, with each track being shared by two teams. On the whistle, the competitor had to push the pram down the course using his hands after which he had to dismount and position himself into a makeshift high-chair and then drink a bottleful of milk from a baby’s bottle. Once the milk had been consumed, he then had to use his legs to transport the high-chair up the course to the start line. He then had to get out of the high-chair and crouch down in order to sit on a small wooden duck built on castors and, using his legs once more, had to manoeuvre himself back down the course to the finish line. This game, as with the other handicap games in the series, had a staggered start and on this occasion there was a 2 second gap between each team. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The game was started but the competitor from Italy failed to wait for the signal for him to commence and started at the same time as Belgium, instead of the official 6 seconds behind him. Referee Gennaro Olivieri stepped in to prevent further movement and began to push him back. However, time had now moved on to the point where the competitor should have started officially, and as he was not in the correct position, Olivieri declared a false start and stopped the game. The competitor from Belgium was by this time already halfway down the course and appeared oblivious to the stoppage and continued to play. Olivieri raced down the course to stop him and, after stepping out of the pram, he appeared somewhat peeved by this occurrence. Nevertheless, he returned his pram to the start line for a second start. Without any further mishap the game was played to its entirety and ended with Switzerland finishing in 1st place in 1 minute 8 seconds, Belgium finishing in 2nd place in 1 minute 11 seconds and West Germany finishing in 3rd place in 1 minute 13 seconds. France crossed the finish line in 4th place in 1 minute 27 seconds, Great Britain finished in 5th place in 1 minute 29 seconds and Italy finished in 6th place in 1 minute 33 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) (4pts awarded / 47pts total) 2nd Stans (CH) (6pts / 40pts) ▼ =3rd Vannes (F) (3pts / 38pts) ▲ =3rd Dundee (GB) (2pts / 38pts) ▼ 5th Ascoli Piceno (I) (1pt / 37pts) ▼ 6th Mons (B) (5pts / 28pts)

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

British referee Eddie Waring swapped his role to be David Vine’s co-commentator for this heat, after reports that Katie Boyle had been refused payment by BBC producer Barney Colehan to have her hair done!

Waring's promotion to co-commentator had an unexpected benefit for Cecil Korer, who had been the Assistant Producer on the first two BBC It's A Knockout series (and who would later become It's A Knockout's Producer in 1976). Korer had gone to work in London prior to the 1968 series and was not involved in its production. Talking many years later to JSFnetGB, Cecil Korer recalled the day of recording: "Harrogate is twenty minutes from Leeds, where I had lived most of my life, and where my Ma lived. I took advantage of this to stay with my Mother and nipped over to Harrogate just to say hello. I didn't know that it was at this particular programme that Barney Colehan had decided to use Eddie Waring as a commentator rather than as a judge. I arrived in Harrogate just at the time that Barney, Guido and Gennaro were wondering what to do about replacing Eddie as a referee. This was before Arthur Ellis came on the scene. I was pounced on by all three. I was given a stopwatch and was told, 'You are the BBC referee!', and so I was, for that one and only time. So, I have been JSF Assistant Producer, Producer, Executive Producer and a JSF Referee. Beat that!"

Looks Familiar?

Three games in this heat had previously been used in British Domestic heats earlier in the year: ‘Water on the Brain’ and 'Swinging Words' were almost exact copies of ‘Fireman’s Hose’ and 'Pick A Letter' from from Heat 1 staged at Cheltenham Spa, and ‘Knights in Armour’ was an exact copy of that from Heat 4 staged at Wimbledon.

Additional Information

This heat was plagued with problems from the outset when torrential rain fell throughout the night. As well as the Paris student riots which caused the abandonment of the French heat earlier in the year, another problem which first arose during the 1967 series, raised its ugly head once more. As had happened to two of the games the previous year, the sixth game in this heat - ‘The Barrel Game’ - had to be abandoned. However, on this occasion it was not the game itself that resulted in the abandonment, but the inclement weather on the night that had caused the game’s equipment to malfunction. After the game was abandoned, the three countries - Switzerland, West Germany and Italy - that had presented their Jokers for this game were told by referee Gennaro Olivieri that they would be permitted to play them again on any of the remaining three games. This was a little unfortunate for these teams as most would have worked out previously which game would have given them the better chance of victory and now all these preparations had been thrown into disarray. Coincidentally, it was also in International Heat 4 of the previous year that one of the abandoned games had occurred, and Switzerland had also presented their Joker on that game too. Teams should have maybe taken note after this and considered whether to play their Joker at the same time as Switzerland!

Also like last year, there were no reserve games scheduled (something that was to change from 1969) and consequently, the qualification criteria for the International Final was amended as per Jeux Sans Frontières rules of the time. The rule was also used last year and it stated that to preserve parity for all teams, average game points (total points scored divided by number of games played) would be used to establish qualification rights for the International Final. However, unlike the previous year (when no teams in practice were actually affected), the abandoned game in this heat had wider implications. This was due to the fact that other teams with the same finishing positions had scored higher points during this series, but failed to qualify for the International Final because their average scores per game were less than those involved in this heat. This explained how the West German team Osterholz-Scharmbeck with just 47pts qualified for the International Final ahead of Inzell (52pts), Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (49pts) and Siegen (48pts) and why French team Vannes (with 38pts) qualified instead of Libourne (41pts). This resulted in the following averages:

As can be seen, West German team Inzell lost out on a place in the International Final by just 0.02pts per game and French team Libourne by 0.12pts per game! From 1969, reserve games were always scheduled to cover for any such unforeseen incidents.

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

D

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 5

Event Staged: Wednesday 28th August 1968
Venue: Leimbachstadion (Leimbach Stadium), Siegen, West Germany

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 28th August 1968, 9.00-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 28th August 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 30th August 1968, 7.30-8.50pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 30th August 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Camillo Felgen

Theme: Games from Around the World

Teams: Gembloux (B) v. Mendrisio (CH) v. Siegen (D) v.
Épinal (F) v. Cheltenham Spa (GB) v. Biella (I)

Team Members included:
Mendrisio (CH) - Ezio Bellati (Co-Team Coach), Elio Sala (Co-Team Coach), Otello Sédran (Co-Team Coach), Claudia Bernasconi, Giancarlo Bernasconi, Mario Camponovo, Flavio Casellini, Stelio Conconi, Fiorenzo Croci, Verena Croci, Guiseppi Dalcò, Bruno Daldini, Orlando Guanziroli, Gert Kühn, Jacques Lecanellier, Renato Lordelli, Nelda Lurà, Pietro Mazzola, Rita Monzani, Fiorella Porlezza, Riccardo Prada, Francesco Pusterla, Renzo Quattropani, Giancarlo Rusca, Matilde Rusca, Renato Sala, Gianfranco Silini, Ivana Tettemanti, Ermolao Valsangiacomo;

Siegen (D) - Kurt Engelhardt (Co-Team Coach), Rolfgünter Jabs (Co-Team Coach), Walter Link (Co-Team Coach), Günter Erichs, Rolf Issler, Werner Narres, Gert Stein, Jürgen Uhr;
Cheltenham Spa (GB) - Alderman Aimbury Dodwell (Team Manager / Team Captain), Bill Spragg (Team Coach), Susan Amos, Susan Arkell, Pam Bocquet, Lynn Davies, Jackie Grace, Robert Herbert, Paul Millman, Catherine Phillips, Ian Rodger, Sue Rogers, Michael Sutton, Ron Tapsell, John Taylor, John Truss, Peter Wootton.

Games: The Crinolines (United States of America), Mountaineers and Rucksacks (Switzerland), The Kangaroos (Australia), Coolies and Rickshaws (China), The High-Wire Acrobats (Italy), The Bridge Builders (Great Britain), The Dickerschön Twins (West Germany), Irrigating the Polders (Netherlands), Emperor Penguin Basketball (Antarctica), The Vikings' Grand Prix (Scandinavia) (Jeu Handicap);
Jokers: Playing Cards

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

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

 D • Siegen ●
 GB • Cheltenham Spa
 I • Biella
 CH • Mendrisio
 B • Gembloux
 F • Épinal

48
44
39
37
36
36

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Bressoux (1st, 50pts, Average 5.00pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts, Average 4.60pts)
West Germany (D) - Osterholz-Scharmbeck (1st, 47pts, Average 5.22pts)

France (F) - Vannes (=3rd, 38pts, Average 4.22pts)
Great Britain (GB) - Cheltenham Spa (2nd, 44pts, Average 4.40pts)
Italy (I) - Terracina (1st, 51pts, Average 5.10pts)

The Host Town

Siegen, West Germany

Siegen is a university city with a population of around 105,000 inhabitants in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. It is located in the basin of the upper reaches of the River Sieg, 84km (52 miles) south of Hagen, 93km (58 miles) east of Köln, 105km (65 miles) north-east of Koblenz and 125km (78 miles) north-west of Frankfurt am Main.

With roughly 60% of the city's land being wooded, Siegen is one of Germany's greenest cities. It lies on the German-Dutch holiday road called the Orange Route, a 2,400km (1,941 miles) long route that crosses the Netherlands and ten of the sixteen German states joining towns, cities and regions associated with the House of Orange-Nassau.

Its history is markedly shaped by mining, which locally began as far back as the 1st century. Bearing witness to this long time industry are the many mines that can be found within the city’s boundaries. During the 16th century', the town of Siegen bore a formidable defensive look. It was surrounded by mighty walls with 16 towers and three town gates, and was home to a great castle. In 1536, in the buildings that had once housed a Franciscan Monastery, Heinrich the Rich built a paedagogium (a training school for page boys), out of which later grew the school at Siegen's Löhrtor (gate). The town was stricken several times by huge conflagrations. Municipal documents record such fires in 1592 and 1695, with the latter burning for 11 days.

In 1734, transfer of power in the territory was passed to the Prince of Orange and the Prince of Nassau-Diez. Under their leadership, mining, the main source of wealth, blossomed, along with agriculture and silviculture (growing of forests). When Prince William of Orange refused to join the Confederation of the Rhine, founded by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), he found himself unseated by the French leader and the Siegerland passed to the Grand Duchy of Berg. After Napoleon's downfall in 1813 however, William I regained his former German inheritances, but in 1815 he ceded them to the Kingdom of Prussia for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Siegen was assigned to the Siegen district, first in the Koblenz region, and as of 1817 in the Arnsberg region within the Prussian Province of Westphalia. Under Prussian rule, Siegen developed into the South Westphalian centre that it is today.

Visitors to the city can visit the Beatles Museum in Geisweid which is run by local fan Harold Krämer. According to the 2000 edition of The Guinness Book of Records, the 27m² (290ft²) museum is the smallest public museum in the world devoted to the four Liverpudlian musicians. The collection consists of more than 17,000 sound storage media, souvenirs, film posters, autographs and quite a few other things. Visitors are also urged to sample the local cuisine which includes Siegerländer Krüstchen (Breaded boneless pork chop on toast and egg sunny side up on top) and Riewekooche (Potato pancakes).

One of Siegen’s famous sons was renowned Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). Despite his Flemish nationality, he was actually German by birth. Born to Flemish parents Jan Rubens and Maria Pypelincks in Siegen, he grew up in Köln and then later in Antwerpen in Belgium. Trained as an artist in Italy from the age of 23, he was esteemed in France and acted as a diplomat in Spain and England!

The Visiting Towns

Gembloux is a town with a population of around 26,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Namur and is located 237km (148 miles) west of Siegen.

Mendrisio is a town with a population of around 15,500 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 563km (350 miles) south of Siegen.

Épinal is a town with a population of around 38,000 inhabitants in the French region of Grand Est and is located 322km (200 miles) south of Siegen.

Cheltenham Spa is a town with a population of around 115,000 inhabitants in the English county of Gloucestershire and is located 710km (441 miles) west of Siegen.

Biella is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Piedmont and is located 592km (368 miles) south of Siegen.

The Venue

Leimbachstadion (Leimbach Stadium)

The games were played at the Leimbachstadion, home to local club Sportfreunde Siegen. The club was founded on 25th July 1899 as the football department of a gymnastics club called Turnverein Jahn von 1879 Siegen, being one of the first clubs in Western Germany to offer organized football to its members. In 1923, it merged with Sportverein 07 Siegen to become an independent football club called Sportfreunde Siegen von 1899 e.V.

On 22nd September 1957, the Leimbachstadion with a natural grass pitch, was inaugurated as part of a larger sporting programme in front of over 12,000 spectators, although at the time, the stadium had yet to been completed. Its opening allowed the former venue in Schemscheid in the north-west of the city to be replaced after 34 years service.

Over the following years, the standing terraces were built and in 1974, the grandstand roof was built on the side of the main entrance. Primarily a football stadium capable of accommodating 25,000 spectators, the stadium also featured a 400m running track which provided athletes and local schools ideal facilities for national championships and school sports days. Since the installation of floodlights in 2003, the Friday night games are particularly popular among active competitors and the spectators.

Many major sporting events have been staged at the stadium over the years which have included the celebrated West German amateur national team’s 2-0 victory over England in 1959 led by its captain and Sportfreunde competitor Herbert Schäfer.The finals of the German Women's Football Championship took place from 1990 to 1992 in Leimbachstadion which attracted large attendances and in 2006 it was used for the semi-final of the Women's European Football Championship between Germany and Italy.

The Rehearsals

Speaking to JSFnetGB, Cheltenham Spa team member Ian Rodger recalled: "One thing that I do remember well is the German guy at Siegen going up the inclined pole to collect water. During rehearsals he went up and down like a mountain goat and we were convinced that he had special shoes on. On the night, he slipped going up the first time, panicked, lost his nerve and came in last, with the Joker on him too!

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Crinolines (United States of America)

The first game - ‘The Crinolines’ (United States of America) - was played in unison over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a female competitor from each team supporting a large cage crinoline (similar to a farthingale or pannier) represented by a polystyrene disc around her neck. Sitting on top of the disc, there were a number of water-filled balloons and a number hanging down from strings underneath representing the dress material. On the whistle, the competitor had to race up a straight course and negotiate two small hurdles, whilst preventing any of the balloons from being lost or burst. A penalty of 1 second would be incurred for each balloon not intact at the end of the game. The team with the faster overall time would be declared the winners.

Despite the penalties that would occur, it appeared from the outset that the competitors’ sole aim was to get to the end of the course as fast as possible, as none of them attempted to prevent their balloons from being lost. West Germany reached the finish line first in 34 seconds but had lost all the balloons on top of the disc. Italy crossed the line in 40 seconds followed by France in 44 seconds and Great Britain in 45 seconds. The remaining two teams to cross the line were Switzerland in 50 seconds and Belgium in 55 seconds. However, the result of the game was not decided as it was now dependant on the number of penalty seconds incurred by each of the teams. Unfortunately, the referees did not reveal the number of penalties incurred and only announced the finishing order. West Germany had won the game whilst Great Britain and Italy had both finished in 2nd place. France had finished in 4th place, Switzerland had finished in 5th place and Belgium had finished in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Cheltenham Spa (GB) (10pts awarded / Joker / 10pts total) 2nd Siegen (D) (6pts / 6pts) 3rd Biella (I) (5pts / 5pts) 4th Épinal (F) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Mendrisio (CH) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Gembloux (B) (1pt / 1pt)

Game 2 - Mountaineers and Rucksacks (Switzerland)

The second game - ‘Mountaineers and Rucksacks’ (Switzerland) - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed West Germany and France presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team wearing a bucket shaped rucksack on his back and a large striped pole inclined between the ground and a high platform on which there was a large barrel of water. On the whistle, the competitor had to climb the pole to reach the platform and then jump into the barrel to fill up his rucksack. Once completed, he then had to climb out of the barrel and carefully slide down the pole to the ground and empty any contents from the bucket into a container located on a set of weighing scales. The competitor could climb the pole in any manner of his choice, but if he fell off and into the safety net below, he would have to return to the start and commence the run again. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and France and, from the outset, it appeared that the decision for West Germany to play their Joker on this game was a good one. However, after collecting 3.8kg (8lb 6oz) of water on the first run, compared to France with 3.7kg (8lb 2½oz) and Belgium with 3.1kg (6lb 13¼oz), their competitor had some difficulty climbing the pole and this permitted his rivals to storm ahead. Unable to make another successful run, whilst Belgium made a total of two runs and France three runs, the Joker of West Germany appeared to be in danger of being wasted. The results were announced with France collecting 9.4kg (20lb 11½oz) of water, Belgium collecting 7.1kg (15lb 10½oz) and West Germany collecting 3.8kg. With France emptying their third bucket on the stroke of permitted time, it appeared that their total amount would be somewhat difficult to emulate.

The second heat featured Switzerland, Great Britain and Italy, and after the first run, Italy were ahead after collecting 5.3kg (11lb 11oz) of water - a figure that was far superior to that of any of the other five at this point - compared to Great Britain with 3.0kg (6lb 9¾oz) and Switzerland with 1.5kg (3lb 5oz). However, with the teams having taken longer to complete their runs than the first heat and with time elapsing, it resulted in each only able to make a total of two runs of the game within the permitted time. The results were announced with Italy collecting 8.7kg (19lb 2¾oz) of water, Great Britain collecting 7.4kg (16lb 5oz) and Switzerland collecting 5.9kg (13lb).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Épinal (F) (12pts awarded / Joker / 15pts total) ▲ 2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (14pts / 14pts) ▼ 3rd Biella (I) (5pts / 10pts) 4th Siegen (D) (2pts / Joker / 8pts) ▼ =5th Gembloux (B) (3pts / 4pts) ▲ =5th Mendrisio (CH) (2pts / 4pts)

Game 3 - The Kangaroos (Australia)

The third game - ‘The Kangaroos’ (Australia) - was played in unison and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team dressed in kangaroo costumes complete with long back legs and pouches. On the whistle, the competitors had to race up a small course, laid between two small hillock obstacles, collecting small balls in their pouches. The teams had to collect a total of 12 balls laid out in three piles of four balls. However, the front legs of the kangaroo, in which the competitors had their hands, had been fixed to the chest and could not be utilised by them. The only way to collect the balls was for one of them to kneel down and bend forward whilst the other directed the balls into the pouch with his long feet. Once all the balls had been collected, the competitors had to cross a line and then turn around and race back to the start. The team collecting all 12 balls in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was straight race which saw Belgium take an early lead but by the turnaround point, Great Britain and Switzerland had all but caught them up. It was then a straight race between the three teams to cross the finish line. Unfortunately for Belgium, one of their competitors tripped after crossing the second hillock and tumbled to the ground, scattering all his collected balls onto the arena floor. This mishap permitted Great Britain to cross the line in 1st place in 1 minute 17 seconds and Switzerland to finish in 2nd place in 1 minute 26 seconds. Belgium recovered to finish in 3rd place in 1 minute 33 seconds and were followed by West Germany finishing in 4th place in 1 minute 53 seconds. Italy finished in 5th place in 2 minutes 2 seconds with France trailing in 6th place in 2 minutes 5 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Cheltenham Spa (GB) (6pts awarded / 20pts total) ▲ 2nd Épinal (F) (1pt / 16pts) ▼ =3rd Gembloux (B) (8pts / Joker / 12pts) ▲ =3rd Biella (I) (2pts / 12pts) 5th Siegen (D) (3pts / 11pts) ▼ 6th Mendrisio (CH) (5pts / 9pts) ▼

Comments: The costumes utilised in this game had originally been used earlier in the year during the West German Domestic series of Spiel Ohne Grenzen, when the programme was staged at Troisdorf. They would again be utilised, but in glorious colour, during the 1972 Domestic series when the programme was staged at Weihl.

Game 4 - Coolies and Rickshaws (China)

The fourth game - ‘Coolies and Rickshaws’ (China) - was played in unison and featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team and a vehicle with an elongated body balanced on a fulcrum on wheels. On the whistle, the two female competitors climbed onto each end of the vehicle in order to counterbalance the rickshaw so that the male competitor (the coolie) could turn the wheels and push the vehicle forward up the 50m (164ft) course. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

A very simple and straightforward game saw West Germany, whose female competitors had perfect balance, storm the game at an incredible speed and finished in 1st place in just 34 seconds. Switzerland crossed the finish line in 2nd place in 37 seconds followed by France in 3rd place in 42 seconds. The fourth team to finish were Italy in 53 seconds followed by Belgium in 5th place in 58 seconds and Great Britain in 6th place in 1 minute 4 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Cheltenham Spa (GB) (1pt awarded / 21pts total) 2nd Épinal (F) (4pts / 20pts) 3rd Siegen (D) (6pts / 17pts) ▲ 4th Biella (I) (3pts / 15pts) ▼ =5th Gembloux (B) (2pts / 14pts) ▼ =5th Mendrisio (CH) (5pts / 14pts) ▲

Game 5 - The High-Wire Acrobats (Italy)

The fifth game - ‘The High-Wire Acrobats’ (Italy) - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team wearing spiked sport shoes standing on a high podium and above his head was a wire from which were hanging 24 water-filled balloons. On the whistle, the competitor had to cross the wire using his hands and burst the balloons with his feet and once accomplished continue along the wire and place both his feet on a finishing podium. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was another fast and straightforward game which saw Italy finish in 1st place in 1 minute exactly, just ahead of West Germany in 2nd place in 1 minute 1 second. Great Britain finished in 3rd place in 1 minute 3 seconds, Belgium finished in 4th place in 1 minute 19 seconds and France finished in 5th place in 1 minute 21 seconds. Switzerland were last team to finish the game in a time of 1 minute 23 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Biella (I) (12pts awarded / Joker / 27pts total) ▲ 2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (4pts / 25pts) ▼ =3rd Siegen (D) (5pts / 22pts) =3rd Épinal (F) (2pts / 22pts) ▼ 5th Gembloux (B) (3pts / 17pts) 6th Mendrisio (CH) (1pt / 15pts) ▼

Game 6 - The Bridge Builders (Great Britain)

The sixth game - ‘The Bridge Builders’ (Great Britain) - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team and a number of large and small blocks, planks of wood and wooden ladders. On the whistle, the first female competitor had to start by laying two of the large blocks and one of the smaller blocks on the course. She then had to step forward onto the first (nearest) one and then move to the third block, turn around and then pick up the first block and place it in front of the one she was standing. She then had to move to that block and pick up the original second block and place that in front of that one and then repeat the process. At a given point, she had to place the smaller block to the left of the game and then wait whilst more blocks were passed to her by her female team-mate, who had moved up the course in the same manner. Once two of the smaller blocks had been placed in position, a plank of wood or ladder could then be spanned between them and this could then be utilised as a bridge to enable them to move further up the straight course. This procedure was repeated until a bridge with a possible maximum length of 40m (131ft 2¾in) had been built. Once completed, the male competitor then had to bring a wheelbarrow of materials along the bridge from one end to the other. The team constructing the longest bridge within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

Another straightforward and uneventful game saw West Germany finishing in 1st place after constructing a bridge of 34m (111ft 6½in) followed by Belgium in 2nd place and Switzerland in 3rd place. The final three places saw Great Britain in 4th place, Italy in 5th place and France in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Biella (I) (2pts awarded / 29pts total) =2nd Siegen (D) (6pts / 28pts) ▲ =2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (3pts / 28pts) 4th Épinal (F) (1pt / 23pts) ▼ 5th Gembloux (B) (5pts / 22pts) 6th Mendrisio (CH) (4pts / 19pts)

Game 7 - The Dickerschön Twins (West Germany)

The seventh game - ‘The Dickerschön Twins’ (West Germany) - was played over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team dressed in large ball-like costumes representing two-overweight twin brothers. On the whistle, the two competitors had to work together using only their bodies in order to steer a giant ball along an obstacle course comprised of small hillocks and narrow podia to a turnaround point and then repeat the process for the return journey. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very simple game saw the participation of West Germany, France and Italy and it ended with West Germany finishing in 1 minute 56 seconds, France finishing in 2 minutes 25 seconds and Italy finishing in 2 minutes 34 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and Great Britain and it was apparent from the outset that none of these teams had the same control of the ball as the duo from West Germany. The heat ended with Switzerland finishing in 2 minutes 9 seconds, Belgium finishing in 2 minutes 19 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Siegen (D) (6pts awarded / 34pts total) ▲ =2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (2pts / 30pts) =2nd Biella (I) (1pt / 30pts) ▼ 4th Mendrisio (CH) (10pts / Joker / 29pts) ▲ =5th Gembloux (B) (4pts / 26pts) =5th Épinal (F) (3pts / 26pts) ▼

Comments: The inspiration for this game were two fictional brothers in Germany called ‘Dickerschön und Dünnerschön’ (loosely translated into English as ‘nice thick and nice thin’), who in turn were based on the world famous film stars Stan Laurel (1890-1965) and Oliver Hardy (1892-1957). In this respect, it is worth noting also that Laurel and Hardy have often been known in German-speaking countries as 'Dick und Doof' (Thick and Stupid). A similarly themed game featured in the 1966 International Final (as 'Dickerschön and Dünnerschön', the sixth game on the night). In that instance, it was a more faithful Laurel and Hardy representation, whereas 'The Dickerschön Twins' was effectively 'Hardy and Hardy'! After Game 7, the contest was shaping up as one of the most tightly fought Jeux Sans Frontières programmes, with just 8pts separating the 1st placed and 6th placed teams!

Game 8 - Irrigating the Polders (Netherlands)

The eighth game - ‘Irrigating the Polders’ (Netherlands) - was played in unison over 3 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured nine male competitors from each team and a mini tractor. On the whistle, eight of the competitors had to rush forward onto the course to lift up a small inflated paddling pool containing 40kg (88lb 3oz) of water and then climb onto a podium on springs which itself was positioned on a wheeled podium. Whilst holding the paddling pool above their heads, the ninth competitor, who was sitting on a tractor with a large board protruding from the front, had to push the team up the course to the finish line. Any water still intact at the end of the game had to be emptied into a container which would be weighed. A bonus deduction of 1 second would be awarded for each kilogram of water collected. The team with the slower overall time would be declared the winners.

Although this was not designed to be a straightforward race, Great Britain stormed the game and crossed the finish line in an incredible time of 1 minute 28 seconds (even though the on-screen clock showed them finishing in 1 minute 19 seconds!). The other five teams on the hand appeared to have difficulty with their balance and steering which resulted in their finishing places having a wider gap between them. West Germany finished in 2nd place in 1 minute 58 seconds followed by Switzerland in 3rd place in 2 minutes 23 seconds. France finished in 4th place in 2 minutes 27 seconds and Belgium finished in 5th place in 2 minutes 59 seconds. Unfortunately for Italy, they failed to finish the game within the permitted limit and were awarded 0:00.

The volumes of water were then announced in the same order as the finishing positions with Great Britain having collected 32kg (70lb 8¾oz) of water giving them an overall time of 56 seconds (88 [seconds] minus 32 [kg]). West Germany had collected 24kg (52lb 14½oz) giving them a total of 1 minute 34 seconds (118 minus 24) whilst Switzerland had collected 27kg (59lb 8½oz) giving them a total of 1 minute 56 seconds (143 minus 27). France had collected 26kg (57lb 5¼oz) and they finished with a total of 2 minutes 1 second (147 minus 26) and Belgium had collected 27kg and finished with a total of 2 minutes 32 seconds (179 minus 27). The amount of water collected by Italy was not taken into account as they had failed to complete the game.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Siegen (D) (5pts awarded / 39pts total) 2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (6pts / 36pts) 3rd Mendrisio (CH) (4pts / 33pts) ▲ 4th Biella (I) (1pt / 31pts) ▼ 5th Épinal (F) (3pts / 29pts) 6th Gembloux (B) (2pts / 28pts) ▼

Comments: At the end of this game, whilst accumulating the scores with Guido Pancaldi, presenter Camillo Felgen congratulated the referee for his swiftness in calculating the overall results, but then inadvertently referred to him as Guido Olivieri. Realising his mistake, Guido corrected him and Camillo reiterated his name in the correct form! With the game being played in unison, there were a total of 54 competitors in play at the same time. This was a record at the time and, despite the number of teams competing increasing in later years, it still remains the highest total of competitors in action at any one time.

Game 9 - Emperor Penguin Basketball (Antarctica)

The ninth and penultimate game - ‘Emperor Penguin Basketball’ (Antarctica) - was played over two heats of three minutes duration and featured two male competitors from each team dressed as Emperor penguins. On the whistle, the two competitors had to ascend a flight of 24 steps in order to collect a ball from a barrel on the top step. They then had to descend a slide on the other side which dropped down to a small podium leading out to a ‘sea’ with 5 ice floats. They then had to use the floats to reach the end of the course. Once the competitors had reached the final float, they had to toss the ball into a large ground-based basket on the outside of the game’s boundary and then make their way back to the base of the slide and climb to the top to collect another ball. It should be noted that only one competitor could be on the ice floats at any one time and, irrespective of how many times they tumbled into the water, each penguin had to complete the run to the end of the course before the next one would be able to start. The game became more difficult as time passed as a result of the costumes becoming very heavy after being drenched with water. The team scoring the higher number of baskets would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and ended with Belgium scoring 6 baskets, Great Britain scoring 5 baskets and Italy scoring 4 baskets.

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and France, but unlike the first heat, their final scores were separated by multiples of two, with France scoring 6 baskets, West Germany scoring 4 baskets and Switzerland scoring 2 baskets.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Siegen (D) (3pts awarded / 42pts total) 2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (4pts / 40pts) 3rd Épinal (F) (6pts / 35pts) ▲ =4th Gembloux (B) (6pts / 34pts) ▲ =4th Mendrisio (CH) (1pt / 34pts) ▼ =4th Biella (I) (3pts / 34pts)

Comments: At the beginning of this game, whilst he was explaining the rules of the game, Camillo Felgen enquired how tall the British competitor was. With Great Britain still using the old imperial scale of measurement, he replied with an answer of 5ft 9ins. This left Camillo with a small dilemma, since the rest of Europe used the metric scale and viewers would not easily understand measurements in feet and inches. Never to be flummoxed, Felgen quickly rubbed his face and explained to the audience that the competitor was about 1.7m tall, which in reality was a very accurate calculation, as 5ft 9ins is in fact equivalent to 1.75m!

Game 10 (Jeu Handicap) - The Vikings' Grand Prix (Scandinavia)

The tenth and final game - ‘The Vikings' Grand Prix’ (Scandinavia) - was the Jeu Handicap which utilised an elongated rocket-shape car with a unique means of propulsion. It featured three male competitors from each team, two dressed as Vikings complete with fabled horned helmets standing inside and one as a racing car driver wearing a crash helmet in the driving seat. Inside the body of the car there was a large groove which had been cut from front to rear, through which a handled pole with a concrete base had been set. On the whistle, the two competitors dressed as Vikings had to move the pole from the rear of the car to the front, and then push against it to propel the car forward up the 80m (262ft 5in) course. They then had to repeat the process until the car reached the finish line. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

At the beginning of this straightforward game, the three teams in 4th place - Belgium, Switzerland and Italy - all started in the same position of 1.5m (4ft 11in) ahead of the 3rd place team of France. They in turn were 1.5m ahead of Great Britain who were the same distance ahead of West Germany. However, it was not long before West Germany had nullified the 4.5m (14ft 9¼in) deficit and overtaken all the teams to complete the game in 1 minute 32 seconds, ahead of Italy in 2nd place in 1 minute 40 seconds and Great Britain in 3rd place in 2 minutes 5 seconds. Switzerland finished in 4th place in 2 minutes 9 seconds, Belgium finished in 5th place in 2 minutes 18 seconds and France could be seen finishing in 6th place in 2 minutes 46 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Siegen (D) (6pts awarded / 48pts total) 2nd Cheltenham Spa (GB) (4pts / 44pts) 3rd Biella (I) (5pts / 39pts) ▲ 4th Mendrisio (CH) (3pts / 37pts) =5th Gembloux (B) (2pts / 36pts) ▼ =5th Épinal (F) (1pt / 36pts) ▼

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

As had been the case on three occasions during the 1967 International series, British referee Eddie Waring's name was again shown incorrectly as 'Eddie Warring' in this programme's closing credits. Unfortunately, this error would be repeated at both the remaining West German Internationals of the 1960s - at Schwäbisch Hall (1968) and Wolfsburg (1969). The error was finally corrected in time for the 1970 West German International in West-Berlin!

However, Cheltenham Spa team member Peter Wootton recalls that Waring's behaviour had caused the team to air their disapproval at one point during the stay in Siegen: "I remember us all on a coach giving Eddie Waring a lift to his hotel as it was raining. He insisted that the hotel send someone to carry his case to the hotel as it was a long walk and the coach could not get near enough. The hotel sent a slip of a girl to help him which he let her do. We all booed him for his chauvinistic attitude."

Returning Teams and Competitors

Swiss team coach Elio Sala returned to coach the Mendrisio team in 1994, whilst team member Mario Camponovo’s daughter Lavinia and Verena Croci’s son David both participated as members of the Mendrisio team in 1994.

Additional Information

Unlike the previous four International Heats, there was no Jeu Divisée played at either of the two West German Heats. No explanation was given for this fact.

There were several problems with the coaches taking the Cheltenham team to Germany. Two suffered mechanical failure and a third was required to get them there. Twenty thousand German fans at Siegen were joined by a small contingent of supporters from the Gloucestershire Regiment stationed in West Berlin.

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

D

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

Heat 6

Event Staged: Wednesday 4th September 1968
Venue: Marktplatz (Market Square), Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 4th September 1968, 9.00-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 4th September 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 6th September 1968, 7.30-8.50pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 6th September 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Weather Conditions: Cold and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Camillo Felgen

Theme: Miscellany of Games

Teams: Bastogne (B) v. Neuchâtel (CH) v. Inzell (D) v.
Cancale (F) v. Worthing (GB) v. Alghero (Sardegna) (I)

Team Members included:
Inzell (D) - Manfred Ellmann, Oliver Stirnemann, Günther Traube, Jürgen Traube;
Worthing (GB) - Michael Coates, John Monger, John Press;
Alghero (Sardegna) (I) - Bruno Ralca.

Games: Header Basketball, The Moon Hoppers, The Hedgehogs, The Chimney Showers, Net of Balls, Erecting the Antenna, The Money Trail, The Water Carriers, The Conjoined Clowns and Pedal Power (Jeu Handicap);
Jokers: Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Inzell ●
 GB • Worthing ●
 I • Alghero (Sardegna)
 F • Cancale
 B • Bastogne
 CH • Neuchâtel

52
46
40
39
35
31

International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Bressoux (1st, 50pts, Average 5.00pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Zofingen (3rd, 46pts, Average 4.60pts)
West Germany (D) - Osterholz-Scharmbeck (1st, 47pts, Average 5.22pts)

France (F) - Vannes (=3rd, 38pts, Average 4.22pts)
Great Britain (GB) - Worthing Spa (2nd, 46pts, Average 4.60pts)
Italy (I) - Terracina (1st, 51pts, Average 5.10pts)

The Host Town

Schwäbisch Hall, West Germany

Schwäbisch Hall is a university town with a population of around 37,100 inhabitants in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located in the valley of the 168km (108 miles) long River Kocher, 24km (15 miles) west of Crailsheim, 37km (23 miles) east of Heilbronn, 42km (26 miles) south of Bad Mergentheim and 60km (37 miles) north-east of Stuttgart.

The name of the town is probably derived from ‘schwaben’ referring to the name of the region of Swabia and ‘hall’, a west Germanic word meaning ‘drying something by heating it’, referring to the salt production method of heating salty groundwater common in the area until the middle of the 1920s. Although known officially as Schwäbisch Hall, the town is still simply referred to locally by its previous name of Hall (am Kocher).

Salt had been distilled by the Celts in the area from as early as the 5th century' and continued until the last mine closed in 1925. The village probably belonged first to the Counts of Comburg-Rothenburg and passed from them to the Imperial House of Hohenstaufen (1079-1268) around 1116. It was probably Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa (1122-1190) who founded the imperial mint in the town and started the coining of the so-called Heller, a German coin valued at half a pfennig (1/100 of a Deutsche Mark), taking its name from Hall.

Schwäbisch Hall suffered severely during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), though it was never besieged or the scene of a battle. Between 1634 and 1638, one in five inhabitants died of hunger and diseases, especially from the bubonic plague. The war left the town an impoverished and economically ruined place. But with the help of reorganizations of salt production and trade and a growing wine trade, there was an astonishingly fast recovery.

In 1827, a health spa with the first brine bath was founded on one of the islands in the River Kocher and, following the construction of the railway in 1862, it became a considerable economical factor. There are various health fairs held annually in the town such as Well-Vital Health Fair and Gesundheits und Naturheiltagen (Health and Natural Healing Days) are held throughout the year.

The Visiting Towns

Bastogne is a town with a population of around 16,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Luxembourg and is located 307km (191 miles) north-east of Schwäbisch Hall.

Neuchâtel is a town with a population of around 34,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Swiss canton of the same name and is located 315km (196 miles) south-west of Schwäbisch Hall.

Inzell is a town with a population of around 4,500 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 268km (167 miles) north-east of Schwäbisch Hall.

Cancale is a town with a population of around 6,000 inhabitants in the French region of Bretagne and is located 849km (527 miles) west of Schwäbisch Hall.

Worthing is a town with a population of around 105,000 inhabitants in the English county of West Sussex and is located 748km (465 miles) north-east of Schwäbisch Hall.

Alghero is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the Italian insular region of Sardegna and is located 959km (596 miles) south of Schwäbisch Hall.

The Venue

Marktplatz (Market Square)

The games were played on the uniquely inclined market square in the centre of the town and is one of the finest examples in southern Germany. With its many different architectural styles, it is a gem in the heart of the town. At the head of the marketplace, majestically enthroned, is the 1156 Romanesque-Gothic style church dedicated to St. Michael with its 70m (229ft 8in) wide, 53-step staircase.

Every summer, between early June and the end of August, the square is transformed into the Freilichtspiele (open-air theatre) with the distinctive stage of the Jedermann-Spiele (Everyman Festival) which was founded in 1925 by, the then director of the Haller Kurtheater, Robert Braun (1884-1926). To the east of the church and its staircase, is the imposing Clausnitzerhaus, the largest timber-framed house in the market-place. It originates from the 16th century' from two stone houses, one of which was the residence of the mint master and various Stättmeister (mayors).

The original baroque Town Hall, which stood on the west side of the square, was destroyed by a great fire in 1728. After being rebuilt, it was again destroyed, this time by a bomb, on 16th April 1945 during the latter stages of World War II (1939-1945). Following reconstruction work, which was completed in 1955, it is now the newest building on the market-place. The two strikingly-coloured buildings with beautiful Renaissance portals standing to the left of the Town Hall once belonged to a Franciscan monastery that existed in Schwäbisch Hall between 1236 and 1524.

The fountain at the northern end of the square was built in 1509 by church architect Konrad Schaller. In earlier times, fish were sold directly from ‘fischkasten’ (fish boxes) at this spot and hence derives its name ‘Die Fischbrunnen’ (The Fish Fountain). Characteristic features of the fountain are the three gargoyles depicting Saints Michael, George and Simon as demon slayers fighting lions and dragons.

On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the weekly market takes place, offering produce and goods from local farmers and traders. It is also the venue for the annual Haller Christmas market.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Header Basketball

The first game - ‘Header Basketball’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured a male competitor from each team assisted by two male team-mates, a long keep net which was attached to a basketball ring and 12 footballs in a wooden cage. On the whistle, one of the team-mates tossed a football to the competitor who attempted to head the ball into the net and score a basket. The competitors could have as many tries with each ball providing it was kept aloft using only their head. Any balls that fell to the ground could be retrieved by the second team-mate and placed back in the cage to be used again. The team scoring all 12 baskets in the faster time or the team scoring the greater number of baskets within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

A very straightforward game ended with Great Britain and Italy scoring 10 baskets each, West Germany scoring 8 baskets, France scoring 7 baskets. Belgium scoring 4 baskets and Switzerland scoring 3 baskets.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Worthing (GB) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =1st Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (6pts / 6pts) 3rd Inzell (D) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Cancale (F) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Bastogne (B) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (1pt / 1pt)

Game 2 - The Moon Hoppers

The second game - ‘The Moon Hoppers’ - was played in unison and featured two female competitors from each team armed with a moon hopper (known as a space hopper in Great Britain) - a large inflated rubber ball with a  grinning facial motif and with handles protruding from the top. On the whistle, the first competitor already sitting atop the space hopper had to bounce down the inclined course of 28 water-filled balloons bursting as many as she was able. On reaching the finish line, she dismounted the space hopper and ran back to the top of the course and handed it to her team-mate to make a second run and to burst any balloons that had been missed on the first run. The team completing both runs (irrespective if all balloons burst on the first run) in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Another straightforward game ended with West Germany in 1st place having burst all their balloons and completed both runs in 48 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 2nd place in 53 seconds. France finished in 3rd place in 55 seconds and Belgium finished in 4th place in 1 minute 15 seconds. Both Switzerland and Italy had failed to burst all their balloons within two runs and were both given a score of 0:00.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Worthing (GB) (5pts awarded / 11pts total) 2nd Inzell (D) (6pts / 10pts) ▲ =3rd Cancale (F) (4pts / 7pts) ▲ =3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (1pt / 7pts) ▼ 5th Bastogne (B) (3pts / 5pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (1pt / 2pts)

Game 3 - The Hedgehogs

The third game - ‘The Hedgehogs’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds and featured six male competitors from each team wearing gloves and lying face down inside a giant hedgehog costume mounted on wheels. The upper body of each of the competitors was protruding out from one of six holes built into the circumference of the costume allowing movement during the game. On the whistle, they had to work as a team to push and pull with their hands in order to move the contraption up the inclined course to collect up to 15 footballs which had been placed on rubber hoops in a ‘V’ formation on ground and then toss them into a basket built into the top of the costume. The team completing the game in the faster time or the one collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany, Great Britain and Italy and although it appeared at first glance to be a straightforward game, it soon transpired that the incline on the market square would prove difficult for some teams to manoeuvre the costume. It ended with West Germany collecting 13 balls, Italy collecting 7 balls and Great Britain collecting 2 balls.

With the home crowd in joyous mood, the second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and France and ended with Belgium collecting 12 balls, France collecting 9 balls and Switzerland collecting 4 balls.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (6pts awarded / 16pts total) ▲ 2nd Worthing (GB) (1pt / 12pts) ▼ 3rd Cancale (F) (4pts / 11pts) =4th Bastogne (B) (5pts / 10pts) ▲ =4th Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (3pts / 10pts) ▼ 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (2pts / 4pts)

Comments: The costumes utilised in this game had originally been used earlier in the year during the West German Domestic series of Spiel Ohne Grenzen, when the programme was staged at Troisdorf. They would again be utilised, but in glorious colour, during the 1972 Domestic series when the programme was staged at Weihl.

Game 4 - The Chimney Showers

The fourth game - ‘The Chimney Showers’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed Belgium, West Germany and Italy presenting all their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team and a large chimney stack set at a 75° degree angle with a support bar at the top. Above the bar there was a shower head set at a 45° degree angle away from the game which was spraying water into a column at the rear of the stack. On the whistle, the competitor armed with a bucket had to climb the chimney and when he reached the support bar had to collect water from the shower. Once the bucket was full, he had to descend the chimney and empty any contents into a large bowl at the base of the game. The process then had to be repeated until the end of permitted time. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

This was another simple and straightforward game which ended with Great Britain collecting 29kg (63lb 15oz) of water, Belgium collecting 26.3kg (57lb 15¾oz) and Italy collecting 26kg (57lb 5¼oz). West Germany had collected 25.2kg (55lb 9oz) of water, France had collected 24kg (52lb 14½oz) and Switzerland had collected 20.2kg (44lb 8½oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (6pts awarded / Joker / 22pts total) 2nd Bastogne (B) (10pts / Joker / 20pts) ▲ =3rd Worthing (GB) (6pts / 18pts) ▼ =3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (8pts / Joker / 18pts) ▲ 3rd Cancale (F) (2pts / 13pts) ▼ 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (1pt / 5pts)

Game 5 - Net of Balls

The fifth game - ‘Net of Balls’ - was played on the cobblestones of the market square over two heats of two minutes duration and featured three female competitors from each team inside a large net along with 41 balls of varying size. On the whistle, the competitors had to jump down a 20m (65ft 7½in) course and on reaching the end, turn around and return uphill to the start using a somersault roll motion. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and Great Britain participating and although the outward journey was played in lanes, the return journey became somewhat of a messy affair with the teams encroaching into their neighbours’ lanes. This had a severe effect on the performance of Great Britain after West Germany blocked their lane and prevented them from making progress. When the result was announced, there had been no penalty for the encroachment and West Germany were declared as having finished in 44 seconds with Great Britain finishing in 1 minute 7 seconds and Switzerland finishing in 1 minute 41 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, France and Italy and appeared at first glance that it would end with the teams emulating the target set by West Germany. However, the return journeys for all three teams were slower than the first heat and resulted in their completion times being outside that of the home team. Italy finished in 45 seconds, France finished in 48 seconds and Belgium finished in 1 minute 1 second.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (6pts awarded / 28pts total) =2nd Bastogne (B) (3pts / 23pts) ▲ =2nd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (5pts / 23pts) ▲ 4th Worthing (GB) (2pts / 20pts) ▼ 3rd Cancale (F) (4pts / 17pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (1pt / 6pts)

Game 6 - Erecting the Antenna

The sixth game - ‘Erecting the Antenna’ - was played on the steps of St. Michael’s Church over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team with two wires tied to either side of their waists and a large antenna comprising 8 hollow sections (4 coloured white and 4 coloured black). On the whistle, the competitor standing on the steps had to place the first section of the antenna across the ropes in front of him and guide it downhill whilst the other competitor standing on the market square below had to keep the ropes taut and widen the gap between the ropes by pulling them apart. Once the antenna section had reached the bottom, a male team-mate had to remove it and place it in an upright holding pen. This process then had to be repeated and each additional section had to be placed on top of those already in the pen. Once the height of the antenna became too great to place any more sections on top, the team then had to lift the top sections in order to add additional sections and raise the antenna higher and higher. Any section that fell to the ground whilst on its journey down the ropes could be retrieved by a second male team-mate and taken back to the top of the game. The antenna could be erected in any order (white or black) of the team’s choosing. The team erecting the antenna in the faster time or the team with the greater number of sections in place at the end of permitted time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of France, Great Britain and Italy and ended with France erecting 7 sections of the antenna whilst both Great Britain and Italy had erected 6 sections each.

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and West Germany and ended with Switzerland erecting 7 sections of the antenna whilst West Germany had erected 6 sections and Belgium had erected just 1 section.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (4pts awarded / 32pts total) 2nd Cancale (F) (12pts / Joker / 29pts) ▲ 3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (4pts / 27pts) ▼ =4th Bastogne (B) (1pt / 24pts) ▼ =4th Worthing (GB) (4pts / 24pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (6pts / 12pts)

Game 7 - The Money Trail

The seventh game - ‘The Money Trail’ - was played in unison over 3 minutes 30 seconds duration on the downward incline, utilised earlier in the second game, and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team. On the whistle, the male competitor had to roller-skate down the incline towards a pile of 30 polystyrene coins - 10 x 1 Deutsche Mark, 10 x 50 pfennig, 5 x 10 pfennig and 5 x 1 pfennig. The competitor then had to pick up one of the 1 Deutsche Mark coins (the larger in size of the four values) and then skate back up the course and lay it on the ground in front of the start line. This process was then repeated until a trail of coins had been laid out at regular marked intervals down the course. Contemporaneously, the female competitor had to frog-hop from each coin as they were laid down. If she failed to land on the coin cleanly, it was removed and she had to retry after the next coin was placed on the ground. The game would become more difficult for the females if they failed in the earlier stages, as the 50 pfennig coins were smaller in size to the Deutsche Marks and those of the 10 and 1 pfennig coins, smaller still. The team reaching the bottom of the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Following a false start, which had been the result of the footwear of the competitor from Belgium becoming loose, the game got under way. Although it was fast-moving, it was a straightforward game and ended with West Germany and Great Britain having placed 11 coins each, France and Italy having placed 9 coins each, Switzerland having placed 8 coins and Belgium having placed 5 coins. However, Great Britain and France were each deemed to have moved further down the course than their equals and were awarded the higher of the two positions.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (5pts awarded / 37pts total) 2nd Cancale (F) (4pts / 33pts) ▲ =3rd Worthing (GB) (6pts / 30pts) ▲ =3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (3pts / 30pts) 5th Bastogne (B) (1pt / 25pts) ▼ 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (2pts / 14pts)

Comments: In order for the competitors not to be injured as they sped down the incline, a wall of hay bales had been erected at the bottom to help them stop.

Game 8 - The Water Carriers

The eighth game - ‘The Water Carriers’ - 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 armed with a small tarpaulin sheet which had four holes in the bottom and a small inflated paddling pool filled with water. On the whistle, the competitors had to immerse the tarpaulin into the pool and fill it with water and then transport it along a small obstacle course of five hurdles, passing under three and over two. They then had to climb up the steps of St. Michael’s Church and empty any contents into a container located on a set of weighing scales. Any hurdle knocked down on the outward journey had to be repositioned by the competitors on the return journey. The team collecting the greater amount of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of France, Great Britain and Italy and ended with Great Britain collecting 40.9kg (90lb 2½oz) of water, Italy collecting 29.8kg (65lb 11oz) and France collecting 27.8kg (61lb 4½oz).

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and West Germany and ended with West Germany collecting 35.9kg (79lb 2¼oz) of water, Switzerland collecting 35kg (77lb 2½oz) and Belgium collecting 17.4kg (38lb 5½oz).

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Inzell (D) (5pts awarded / 42pts total) =1st Worthing (GB) (12pts / Joker / 42pts) ▲ 3rd Cancale (F) (2pts / 35pts) ▼ 4th Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (3pts / 33pts) 5th Bastogne (B) (1pt / 26pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (4pts / 18pts)

Comments: As the results of the second heat of this game were being announced, referee Gennaro Olivieri made one of his rare errors. Having to be fluent in four languages (French, German, Italian and English) for the programme, it was inevitable that he would make the odd gaffe. When he announced the score of the Belgian team, he stated that they had collected “siebzisch (siebzig) comma vier” (70,4). This was quickly corrected by presenter Camillo Felgen as “siebzehn” (17). This was met with a round of laughter from both men and the assembled crowd.

Game 9 - The Conjoined Clowns

The ninth and penultimate game - ‘The Conjoined Clowns’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team standing back to back and attired in a single clown’s outfit. On the whistle, the backward facing competitor had to grab a wheelbarrow (in reality a netted frame attached to two wooden handles and mounted on a single axle wheel) and keep hold of it throughout the game. The competitors then had to move down a course comprising 50 jellies (gel bags) which had been placed on the ground. In order to pick them up, the forward-facing competitor had to bend down which would result in the backward-facing competitor being lifted off the ground. Once the jelly had been collected, he then had to stand upright again whilst his backward-facing team-mate bent forward and cause him to be lifted off the ground. Whilst he was looking skyward on his back, he had to toss the jelly backwards into the net. The team collecting the greater number of jellies would be declared the winners.

At the end of this whimsical but straightforward game, Italy were declared as finishing in 1st place having collected 36 jellies, Belgium finished in 2nd place having collected 34 jellies and both Switzerland and West Germany finished in 3rd place having collected 31 jellies each. Although the results of the final two teams were not announced, the number of jellies not collected could be seen on-screen. Great Britain finished in 5th place having collected 30 jellies and France finished in 6th place having collected 27 jellies.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (4pts awarded / 46pts total) 2nd Worthing (GB) (2pts / 44pts) ▼ 3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (6pts / 39pts) ▲ 4th Cancale (F) (1pt / 36pts) ▼ 5th Bastogne (B) (5pts / 31pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (8pts / Joker / 26pts)

Game 10 (Jeu Handicap) - Pedal Power

The tenth and final game - ‘Pedal Power’ - was the Jeu Handicap which utilised the same course as the second and seventh games but unlike those occasions, this time it was played uphill. It featured a male competitor from each team facing downwards aboard go-karts which had to be pedalled with the hands on the front axle whilst being steered by the feet on the rear axle. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Each team started 1m (3ft 3½in) ahead of the team behind them on the scoreboard, which resulted in Switzerland having a 5m (16ft 4¾in) advantage over West Germany. However, this advantage was just a formality as West Germany finished the game in 20 seconds just ahead of Switzerland in 21 seconds whilst Belgium crossed the line in 26 seconds just ahead of France in 27 seconds. The final two teams to finish the game were Great Britain in 32 seconds and Italy in 55 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Inzell (D) (6pts awarded / 52pts total) 2nd Worthing (GB) (2pts / 46pts) ▼ 3rd Alghero (Sardegna) (I) (2pt / 40pts) ▲ 4th Cancale (F) (3pts / 39pts) ▼ 5th Bastogne (B) (4pts / 35pts) 6th Neuchâtel (CH) (5pts / 31pts)

Comments: Before this game was started, West German presenter Camillo Felgen explained to the television viewers that due to an abandoned game at Harrogate, the current West German team qualifying for the International Final was Osterholz-Scharmbeck with 47pts. At the end of the competition, boos and whistles were heard when he explained to the home crowd that, although Inzell had won the heat with 52pts, they would not be going to the Final because their average points score was just short of that of Osterholz-Scharmbeck. The difference was an incredibly close 0.02pts!

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Guido Pancaldi was unable to attend this heat because of a family bereavement in Italy, and consequently Gennaro Olivieri carried on as the sole main referee.

As had been the case on three occasions during the 1967 International series and again at the previous heat in Siegen, West Germany, British referee Eddie Waring's name was yet again shown incorrectly as 'Eddie Warring' in this programme's closing credits. Unfortunately, this error would be repeated once more in the West German International at Wolfsburg in 1969, before it was finally corrected for the West German programme from West-Berlin in 1970!

Records and Statistics

In the wake of victories by Kaufbeuren im Allgäu (Heat 1), Osterholz-Scharmbeck (Heat 4) and Siegen (Heat 5), Inzell became the fourth team this year from West Germany to win their International Heat. This record number of four heat victories in one series would remain intact for the remainder of the programme’s history. However, along the way it would be equalled by West Germany again (1972), Portugal (1989, 1991, 1992 and 1998), Italy (1993) and Hungary (1994). If International Finals are also taken into account, then Belgium (1966), Portugal (1988 and 1997) and Czech Republic (1995) would also be added to the list. However, in including International Finals, then West Germany (1968) and Portugal (1989) hold the record with five victories in one complete series!

Additional Information

The venue for this heat, the town’s market square, was one of the most unusual the programme had visited in that it is built on an incline. Therefore, with the exception of two games which were played on the only level area of the market square, the games were designed to be played uphill or downhill dependant on the direction the game.

This additional German heat was added to compensate for the cancellation of the planned first heat in France, which was to have featured these teams.

The only disappointing aspect of this heat was the quality of the games, which were somewhat inferior to those seen in the other West German heat two weeks earlier, resembling the type of games used in British Domestic heats. It is quite possible that this was due to the heat having been staged at short notice, the extra costs to ARD-WDR’s budget, and the location’s limited space and accessibility.

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

B

Jeux Sans Frontières 1968

International Final

Event Staged: Wednesday 11th September 1968
Venue: Grand' Place / Grote Markt (Great Square / Great Market),
Bruxelles/Brussel, Belgium

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RTB (B): Wednesday 11th September 1968, 9.00-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 11th September 1968, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 13th September 1968, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Due (I): Friday 13th September 1968
ORTF (F): Not transmitted

Winners' Trophy presented by: Lucien Cooremans, Mayor of Bruxelles / Brussel

Theme: Finale Fun and Games

Teams: Bressoux (B) v. Stans (CH) v. Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) v.
Vannes (F) v. Worthing (GB) v. Terracina (I)

Team Members included:
Bressoux (B) - Monique Gillet;
Stans (CH) - Margherite Schwitzer;
Osterholz-Scharmbeck (D) - Heinrich Hallfeldt (Co-Team Coach), Karl-Wilhelm Herlinghaus (Co-Team Coach), Hans Lucht (Co-Team Coach), Heikel Cordet, Thomas Dürler, Frank Farbien, Hilga Gatsker, Karl Geldinger, Daniel Hofkletter, Walter Maran, Harold Rauchen, Marie Stellien, Anna Schwau, Anna Verschach, Jorgen von Dursten, Ingrid Wolfe;
Vannes (F) - Christiane Portugal;
Terracina (I) - Pietro Tomeucci (Men’s Team Coach), Velia Vella (Women’s Team Coach), Giovanni Bellini, Flora Belotti, Bruna Bianconi, Pierfederica Bizzarri, Piergiorgio Botoni, Giancarla Calerio, Nicola Caltagirone, Francesco Camilli, Alfonso Castelli, Domenico Centurione, Carlo Comelli, Katia Cotella, Guido de Plazer, Patrizia d’Onofrio, Carlo Fazi, Carlo Ferruti, Maria-Grazia Forte, Benedetto Fromone, Maria Garzato, Pietro Grugni, Giancarlo Leopardi, Laura Lombardi, Maurizio Mauri, Claudia Millo, Vittorio Palmadessa, Alessandro Rizzuti, Carmelo Saccà, Maria Stavola, Vincenzo Viaggini, Francesco Viarengo.

Games: Balloon Carousel, The Damsels in the Tower, Football Boot Football, The Pirates' Carousel Trapeze, Bonnie and Clyde, Musical Waitresses, The Flying Insects Legs and The Relay Race (Jeu Handicap);
Fil Rouge: The Telephone Dial;
Jokers: Small Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Osterholz-Scharmbeck ●
 CH • Stans ●
 F • Vannes ●
 GB • Worthing
 B • Bressoux
 I • Terracina

41
39
33
32
27
24