Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

European International Series

Entrants 1969: Belgium (B) • Switzerland (CH) • West Germany (D) •
Great Britain (GB) • Italy (I)

Presenters / Commentators of International Heats:
Paule Herreman (RTB - B)
Jan Theys (BRT - B)
Georges Kleinmann and Madeleine Stalder (Heat 4) (SSR - CH)
Jan Hiermeyer (Heats 2, 3 and 4) (SRG - CH)
Mascia Cantoni (Heats 2 and 5) (TSI - CH)
Tim Elstner and Camillo Felgen (ARD-WDR - D)
David Vine and Eddie Waring (BBC - GB)
Giulio Marchetti, Renata Mauro and Enzo Tortora (Heat 3) (RAI - I)

International Referees:
Gennaro Olivieri, Guido Pancaldi

Collaborator / Assistant Referee:
André Lange

National Referees:
Marcel LeFavre (B)
Hans Jenne (CH)
Hans Ebersberger, Hubert Gunsin, Peter Hochrath, Helmut Konrad,
Karl Niermeyer and Werner Treichel (D)
Arthur Ellis and Paul Ridyard (GB)
Gian Paolo Carusi, Livio Orvani, Alessandro Trapassi (I)

Production Credits:

National Producers: Pierre Chevreuille, André Lange and Diane Lange (RTB - B), Nest Jansen and Herman Verelst (BRT - B), Jean-Luc Balmer and Marius Berger (CH), Marita Theile (D), Barney Colehan (GB), Luciano Gigante (I); National Directors: Michel Rochat (RTB - B), Etienne d'Hooghe (RTBF - B), Walter Plüß (CH), Günther Hassert (D), Philip S. Gilbert (GB), Piero Turchetti (I)

Produced by the European Broadcasting Union and
RTB-BRT (B), SSR-SRG-TSI (CH), ARD-WDR (D),
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)

B

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 1

Event Staged: Wednesday 25th June 1969
Venue: Grote Markt (Great Market), Brugge, Belgium

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 25th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 25th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 25th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 25th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 27th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 27th June 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Audience Figures:
BBC1 (GB): 8,000,000 viewers

Teams: Brugge-Zeebrugge (B) v. Interlaken (CH) v. Lauingen an der Donau (D) v.
Hastings (GB) v. Adria (I)

Team Members included:
Lauingen an der Donau (D) - Werner Gabsdiel, Albert Groß, Erich Kimmerle, Lothar Kleinle, Adolf Ziegelmüller;
Hastings (GB) - Tom Hogarth (Team Manager), Roger Dennett (Deputy Team Manager), Ken Nesh (Team Coach), Paul Adams, Stephanie Dale, William Farnfield;
Adria (I) - Aldo Pasini (Team Captain), Franco Monti (Vice Team Captain), Robert Amà, Licia Barzan, Gianfranco Bellato, Adriana Bevilacqua, Franco Costantini, Gastone Carraro, Luigi Carraro, Maria Pia Cavallari, Virgilio Crema, Nelko Domeneghetti, Andrea Facco, Raffaella Franzoso, Giorgio Freghina, Elena Maltarello, Tullio Malusa, Renzo Martello, Maria Mazzariol, Rino Moda, Pietro Morandin, Donatella Pastore, Paolo Persuin, Giorgio Pozzati, Lucia Ranzato, Giovanni Rinaldi, Leandro Riondato, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Vanna Vanni, Paolo Vianello, Luciano Vomiero, Christina Zanchi.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 I • Adria ● ●
 CH • Interlaken
 D • Lauingen an der Donau
 GB • Hastings
 B • Brugge-Zeebrugge ●

33
32
29
24
20

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Brugge-Zeebrugge (5th, 20pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Interlaken (2nd, 32pts)
West Germany (D) - Lauingen an der Donau (3rd, 29pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Hastings (4th, 24pts)
Italy (I) - Adria (1st, 33pts)

The Host Town

Brugge, Belgium

Brugge has a population of around 125,000 inhabitants and is the capital and largest city in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) province of West-Vlaanderen, the only Belgian province with a coastline. It is located 16km (10 miles) south of Knokke-Heist, 21km (13 miles) east of Oostende, 38km (24 miles) north-west of Gent and 44km (27 miles) north of Kortrijk.

The area covered by the city is oval in shape and is known locally as the 'egg'. It is covered by a network of canals and, along with a few other canal-based northern cities such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, it is sometimes referred to as The Venice of the North. Brugge has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once the chief commercial city in the world. Its name has had several incantations over the centuries probably deriving from the Dutch word Brug meaning bridge and received its charter on 27th July 1128.

Since about 1050, gradual silting had caused the city to lose its direct access to the sea. However this access was re-established after the Zwin inlet was formed by a storm that broke through the Flemish coast in 1134. This created a tidal channel that reached some 15km (9¼ miles) inland and was also connected, through another channel, to the mouth of the River Scheldt further north-east. The new waterway offered access to the sea to the inland city of Brugge, which consequently rose to become one of the foremost medieval port cities of Europe. However, from the late 13th century' onwards, the channel was affected by progressive silting once more, which ultimately caused the waterway to become unusable and cut off the harbour of Brugge from the sea.

From 1200 to 1400, Brugge was the economic capital of Europe, north of the Alps. The Brugge fair was established in 1200 and contacts with Britain were the first to develop, particularly related to wool. This was followed by other regions such as northern Europe, the German countries, and the Mediterranean. The growing prosperity of the city was reflected in the construction of public buildings, such as the imposing belfry in the Grote Markt, and Brugge was quickly established as an economic capital. The palace of the Van der Buerse family became the monetary centre, giving its name to the concept of the Bourse (stock exchange) in 1309.

From the late 15th century', Brugge gradually entered a period of stagnation. The Flemish regions were integrated into the Habsburg Empire, and the discovery of America displaced economic interests from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. Brugge continued dealing with the textile industry and retained its Spanish connections, but its role in maritime trade was soon replaced by that of Antwerpen. From 1600 to 1800, as a result of the construction of canal systems, Brugge re-established its maritime connection, but only at a modest level. Building activities continued however, and a ban of 1616 on the use of wood in building façades led to renovations in more substantial materials. The population of Brugge remained relatively small all through this period and the need to extend beyond the medieval city walls only arose much later. During the 1650s, the city was the base for Charles II of England (1630-1685) and his court in exile.

The historic centre of Brugge has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. Many of its medieval buildings are notable, including the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekerk (Church of Our Lady), whose brick spire reaches 122.3m (401ft 3in), making it the second highest brick tower in the world, beaten only by Martinskerk (St. Martin’s Church) in Landshut, Germany at 130.6m (428ft 5½in). Equally impressive is the Sint-Salvatorskathedraal (Saint Saviour's Cathedral), a Gothic church dating back to the 10th century and completed in the 13th. Initially designated a parish church, it became the seat of the bishopric of Brugge at the beginning of the 19th century, after the Sint-Donaaskathedraal (Cathedral of Saint-Donatien) was destroyed in 1799 during the French occupation in the wake of the dissolution of the Diocese of Bruges.

Brugge is known for its decorative lace and its beers and many are named after the city, such as Brugge Blond, Brugge Tripel, Brugse Straffe Hendrik and Brugse Zot. However, only Brugse Zot and Brugse Straffe Hendrik are still brewed in the city itself, in the Halve Maan Brouwerij (Half Moon Brewery).

The city has featured in many films and television productions over the years including the 1959 film, The Nun's Story, directed by Fred Zinnemann (1907-1997) and starring Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993), Peter Finch (1916-1977) and Edith Evans (1888-1976), In Bruges, a 2008 black comedy from British director Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and Floris, a 1969 Dutch television action series, written by Gerard Soeteman and starring Dutch actor Rutger Hauer (1944-2019).

The Visiting Towns

Zeebrugge is a town with a population of around 4,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of West-Vlaanderen and is located 13km (8 miles) north of Brugge.

Interlaken (CH) is a town with a population of around 6,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic / francophonic (German / French-speaking) Swiss canton of Bern and is located 607km (377 miles) south-east of Brugge.

Lauingen an der Donau (D) is a town with a population of around 11,000 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 594km (369 miles) south-east of Brugge.

Hastings (GB) is a town with a population of around 100,000 inhabitants in the English county of East Sussex and is located 190km (118 miles) west of Brugge.

Adria (I) is a town with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Veneto and is located 948km (589 miles) south-east of Brugge.

The Venue

Grote Markt

The games were played at the market square which is located in the heart of the city and covers an area of about one hectare. Some historical highlights around the square include the Provincial Court (originally the Waterhall), which in 1787 was demolished and replaced by a classicist building that served as provincial court from 1850. Following a fire in 1878, it was rebuilt in a neo-Gothic style in 1887.

The square also houses the Craenenburg, a historic building from which the Counts of Flanders, with the lords and ladies of their Court, used to watch the tournaments and pageants for which Brugge was celebrated. However the Craenenburg, once the most magnificent private residence in the market square, lost every trace of its original splendour many years ago, and is now an unattractive hostelry and the headquarters of a smoking club. In the centre of the market stands the statue of Jan Breydel and Pieter de Coninck, a butcher and a weaver who led Brugge in a violent uprising against Philip IV of France (1268-1314) in May 1302.

However, the most famous landmark in the square is the 13th century' belfry, which has a narrow, steep staircase of 366 steps, accessible by the public, leading to the top of the 83m (272ft 3½in) high building, which leans about a metre of the perpendicular to the east. At the end of the 19th century', the tower housed a municipal carillon comprising 48 bells. Today, the bells number 47 and together weigh a total of about 27,500kg (541cwt or 60,627lb) with individual bells ranging in weight from 0.9kg (2lb) to 4989.5kg (11,000lb). The city still employs a full-time carillonneur, who gives free concerts on Sundays, holidays and market days.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Six members of the Italian team, Adria - Virgilio Crema, Maria Mazzariol, Aldo Pasini, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto and Ruggero Stragliotto - represented their country on several occasions. With the exception of Aldo Pasini, they all participated again as members of the 1970 Bassano del Grappa team and with the Jesolo team of 1971. Maria Mazzariol and Ruggero Straglioto also represented Marostica in 1974, whilst brother and sister Paolo and Daniela Scagnetto featured in the Jesolo team in 1976. Paolo returned as co-team coach for Rosolina Mare in 1993 and Porte Tolle (Donzella) in 1994. At the age of 39, Maria Mazzariol participated again with the Treviso team in 1990! Team captain Aldo Pasini returned as co-team coach for Rosolina Mare in 1993 as well as both the Porte Tolle (Donzella) and Comacchio teams in 1994!

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

The outfits for the two main referees Gennaro Olivieri and Guido Pancaldi were virtually the same as the previous year, with each of them attired in a white shirt, tie, light-coloured trousers and a broad vertical pin-striped jacket.

Additional Information

Five minutes before the start and with the Eurovision Network ready to feed pictures across the continent, there was a complete power failure and all the lights went out. One quarter of the medieval town had been blacked out, but the other three-quarters were lit as normal. It's testament to the programme's profile that when the producers contacted the electricity suppliers, power was restored to the town centre... and for the rest of the programme, three-quarters of Brugge was in total darkness.

The main scoreboard this year was manually operated and the leading teams were displayed in position order after each game (as would later be the case in the 1980s). Each of the five name-places was made up of a roller which had all five teams’ names printed on it along with the ident letters of the country represented, so that each of the teams could be displayed at any of the five positions, despite their position and score. Jokers were displayed on the scoreboard as small white boxes next to the teams’ running totals, as opposed to later series’ when these were replaced by an ‘X’.

The second game, in this and each subsequent edition, would be the first of five consecutive games which would see only four teams competing. The team missing out would then immediately participate in the Jeu Intermédiaire, with the conclusion and result declared after the sixth game. Although only four teams would participate, the winner would continue to score 5pts, 2nd place would get 4pts, 3rd place would get 3pts and 4th place would get 2pts. No team would be awarded 1pt in any of these 5 games.

The Belgian team of Brugge-Zeebrugge qualified for the International Final from this, their home heat, despite finishing in last place. The team must have thought their qualification hopes were dead in the water, but as the 1969 series progressed, every subsequent Belgian team finished in last place too! The team from Gosselies equalled Brugge-Zeebrugge's 'achievement' of last place with 20 points, but lost out as they had not won a single game, whereas their rivals had one 1st place finish.

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

GB

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 2

Event Staged: Wednesday 9th July 1969
Venue: The Playground, George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh, Scotland, Great Britain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 9th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 9th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 9th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 9th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 11th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 11th July 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry with a Strong Breeze

Winners' Trophy presented by: Allan McDonald, Headmaster of George Eliot's School

Theme: Games in the Playground

Teams: Ixelles / Elsene (B) v. Lausanne (CH) v. Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) v.
Shrewsbury (GB) v. Lecco (I)

Team Members included:
Lausanne (CH) - James Davre;
Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) - Hans Badhorn (Co-Team Coach), Lothar Höhn (Co-Team Coach), Maritha Alecks, Krista Behr, Werner Bartung, Hans-Werner Friedrichs, Rosie Gewahlt, Norbert Greisbacher, Krista Herrmann, Rosemarie Hinckel, Rita Rauchenecker, Jens Schäffer, Gerd Schmid, Monica Schüler, Eva Schwartz, Hans Sperrer;
Shrewsbury (GB) - Stuart Lister (Team Manager), Glyn Ashton, Stephen Bryant, Ken Bryars, Jackie Chidlow, Jean Clark, Malcolm Cowdrey, Bernice Davies, Robert Davies, Gerald Downes, Ruth Elcock, Gail Evans, Tove Fjeld, Charles Frank, Mike Franks, Geoffrey Hunt, Malcolm Ibbotson, John Jones, Penny Kinsella, Olwen Lea, Kelvin Macdonald, Chris Maydew, Dave Moore, Denise Parry, Philip Poole, Margaret Ratcliffe, Roger Ratcliffe, Maureen Roberts, Bill Thelwell, Philip Wardle, Brian Wenlock, Diane Whitney.

Games: The Lauriston Grand Prix, Flying High, The Pupils' Pillow Fight, The Scottish Steeplechase, Lassoing the Clowns, Balls from the Bell Tower and The Ghost Riders;
Jeu Intermédiaire: The Pelican Roulette;
Jokers: Small Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
2nd
4th
5th

 GB • Shrewsbury ● ●
 I • Lecco
 D • Weiden in der Oberpfalz
 CH • Lausanne
 B • Ixelles / Elsene

32
30
30
29
19

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Brugge-Zeebrugge (5th, 20pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Interlaken (2nd, 32pts)
West Germany (D) - Weiden in der Oberpfalz (=2nd, 30pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Shrewsbury (1st, 32pts)
Italy (I) - Adria (1st, 33pts)

The Host Town

Edinburgh, Great Britain

Edinburgh has population of around 500,000 inhabitants and is the capital city of Scotland. It is located in the council area of Lothian on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, 8 miles (13 km) south of Burntisland, 21 miles (34km) north of Peebles, 27 miles (44km) west of Dunbar and 42 miles (68km) east of Glasgow, the country’s largest and most populous city. Although it is the capital, it is only the second most populous city in Scotland (after Glasgow) and the seventh most populous in the United Kingdom.

Edinburgh has been recognised as the capital of Scotland since at least the 15th century', but political power moved south to London after King James VI of Scotland (1566-1625) succeeded to the English throne, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England in a personal union known as the Union of the Crowns in 1603, although Scotland remained in all other respects, a separate kingdom. In 1638, King Charles I (1600-1649) attempted to introduce Anglican Church forms in Scotland but encountered stiff Presbyterian opposition culminating in the conflicts of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639-1651). Subsequent Scottish support for Charles Stuart (1630-1685) to be restored to the throne of England resulted in Edinburgh's occupation by Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and the Commonwealth of England forces - the New Model Army - in 1650.

In the 17th century', the boundaries of Edinburgh were still defined by the city's defensive town walls. As a result, expansion took the form of the houses increasing in height to accommodate a growing population. Buildings of 11 storeys or more were common, and have been described as forerunners of the modern-day skyscraper. Most of these old structures were later replaced by the predominantly Victorian buildings seen in today's Old Town.

The Acts of Union were passed by the Parliaments of England (1706) and Scotland (1707), uniting the two kingdoms into the Kingdom of Great Britain. As a consequence, the Parliament of Scotland merged with the Parliament of England to form the Parliament of Great Britain, which sat at Westminster in London. The Union was opposed by many Scots at the time, resulting in riots in the city. However the City Council, keen to emulate London by initiating city improvements and expansion to the north of the castle, re-affirmed its belief in the Union and loyalty to the Hanoverian monarch George III (1738-1820) by its choice of names for the streets of the New Town, for example, Rose Street and Thistle Street, and for the royal family: George Street, Queen Street, Hanover Street, Frederick Street and Princes Street (in honour of George's two sons).

In the second half of the century, the city was at the heart of the Scottish Enlightenment, a period characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments, when figures such as physician and chemist Joseph Black (1728-1799), philosopher and historian David Hume (1711-1776), geologist James Hutton (1726-1797) and moral philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790) were familiar figures in its streets.

Although Edinburgh's traditional industries of printing, brewing and distilling continued to grow in the 19th century', they were joined by a new rubber works and engineering works. However, there was little industrialisation compared with other cities in Britain. By 1821, Edinburgh had been overtaken by Glasgow as Scotland's largest city. The city centre between Princes Street and George Street became a major commercial and shopping district, a development partly stimulated by the arrival of railways in the 1840s. The Old Town became an increasingly dilapidated, overcrowded slum with high mortality rates caused by poor sanitary arrangements resulting in the outbreak of cholera in 1832, 1848 and 1866. Improvements carried out under Lord Provost William Chambers (1800-1883) in the 1860s began the transformation of the area into the predominantly Victorian Old Town seen today. More improvements followed in the early 20th century' as a result of the work of biologist and sociologist Patrick Geddes (1854-1932) but relative economic stagnation during the two World Wars and beyond saw the Old Town deteriorate further before major slum clearance in the 1960s and 1970s began to reverse the process.

The Visiting Towns

Ixelles / Elsene (B), with a population of around 86,000 inhabitants, is a municipality of the francophonic / néerlandophonic (French / Dutch-speaking) city of Bruxelles / Brussels and is located 471 miles (758km) south-east of Edinburgh.

Lausanne (CH) is a city with a population of around 138,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Swiss canton of Vaud and is located 777 miles (1,250km) south-east of Edinburgh.

Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 772 miles (1,243km) south-east of Edinburgh.

Shrewsbury (GB) is a town with a population of around 72,000 inhabitants in the English county of Shropshire and is located 225 miles (362km) south of Edinburgh.

Lecco (I) is a city with a population of around 49,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Lombardia and is located 886 miles (1,426km) south-east of Edinburgh.

The Venue

George Heriot's School

The games were played in the playground of George Heriot’s School located in the Old Town area of Edinburgh. The school was originally founded as George Heriot’s Hospital in 1628 from a £25,000 bequest of the royal goldsmith George Heriot (1563-1624) to found a ‘hospital’ (then the name for this kind of charitable school) to care for the “puir, faitherless bairns” (poor, fatherless children) of Edinburgh.

The hospital opened in 1659, with thirty sickly children in residence and, as its finances grew, it took in other pupils in addition to the orphans for whom it was intended and by the 1880s, it began to charge fees. However, to this day it serves its charitable object, providing free education to fatherless children, referred to as ‘foundationers'. In 1846, there was an insurrection in the hospital and fifty-two boys were dismissed.

The main building of the school is notable for its renaissance architecture, the work of William Wallace, until his death in 1631. He was succeeded as master mason by William Aytoun, who was succeeded in turn by John Mylne (1611-1667). In 1676, Sir William Bruce (1630-1710) drew up plans for the completion of Heriot's Hospital. His design, for the central tower of the north façade, was eventually executed in 1693. The school is a turreted building surrounding a large quadrangle, and built out of sandstone and the foundation stone is inscribed with the date 1628. The intricate decoration above each window is unique (with one paired exception - those on the ground floor either side of the now redundant central turret on the west side of the building). A statue of the founder can be found in a niche on the north side of the quadrangle.

The school also provided funds for the establishment of an institution which later merged with the Watt Institution (named after inventor and engineer James Watt (1736-1819)) in the 1870s to form Heriot-Watt College, a technical college that became Heriot-Watt University in 1966.

In 1979, the school became co-educational with the arrival of the first girls, and now has around 1600 pupils belonging to four houses - Lauriston (green, after the school's address, Lauriston Place), Greyfriars (white, named after the adjacent Greyfriars Kirk), Raeburn (red, after a famous former pupil, portrait painter Sir Henry Raeburn (1756-1823)) and Castle (blue, after Edinburgh Castle to the north).

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Lauriston Grand Prix

The first game - ‘The Lauriston Grand Prix’ - was played in unison and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured five competitors (four males and one female) from each team and a mock-up Formula One racing car. On the whistle, the four male competitors had to stand on top of each of the car’s wheels and then work together to move the car down a 150ft (45.7m) meandering course, whilst the female competitor, who was already sitting in the car, steered it with her feet as it moved along. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Photo © Margaret Ratcliffe (Shrewsbury Team Member), 1969

This was a straightforward race which saw Great Britain leading from the outset and crossing the finish line in 1 minute 25 seconds. They were followed by Italy in 2nd place in 1 minute 44 seconds, West Germany in 3rd place in 2 minutes 1 second and Switzerland in 4th place in 2 minutes 33 seconds. The Belgium team failed to complete the game and were deemed to have finished in 5th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (6pts awarded / Joker / 6pts total) 2nd Shrewsbury (GB) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Lecco (I) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Lausanne (CH) (2pts / 2pts) 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: The title of this game was taken from the name of the street, Lauriston Place, on which George Heriot’s School is located. Whilst this game was being played, long camera-shots gave viewers at home an insight as to how Jeux Sans Frontières events were produced, when stagehands could be seen at the far end of the course dismantling the game’s façade and preparing the area for a later game!

Game 2 - Flying High

The second game - ‘Flying High’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team sitting on swings and facing each other. Above and behind the right-hand competitor, there was a bar from which 12 balls were hanging and between the two swings there was a large target with the centre cut out. On the whistle, two team-mates set the competitors in motion by pulling them backwards and then releasing them so that they would be face to face on their forward swings. The right-hand competitor then had to grab a ball on her backward swing and toss it through the hoop on her forward swing, to be caught by her team-mate on her forward swing. If executed correctly, she would then lean forward on her next forward swing and place the ball in a container on the ground. The team collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium and Switzerland and it ended without incident with Switzerland collecting 3 balls. As was the case in the first game, Belgium had failed to score and were already doomed to pick up 2pts.

The second heat featured West Germany and Great Britain and whilst it appeared that the former had utilised a very good technique, they had only collected 1 ball. Although Great Britain could not beat the highest score from the previous heat, they were able to emulate it and collected 3 balls.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (10pts awarded / Joker / 15pts total) ▲ 2nd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (3pts / 9pts) ▼ 3rd Lausanne (CH) (5pts / 7pts) ▲ 4th Lecco (I) (4pts / 4pts) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (2pts / 3pts)

Comments: Although this game was simple in format, it was more difficult to execute than it first appeared. Not only did the pushers have to time the swings correctly as well as measuring the force at which they pushed them, they also had to allow for a ‘small gap’ of time for the ball to be thrown, to go through the target hole and then drop towards the catcher.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - The Pelican Roulette

The next game - ‘The Pelican Roulette’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) and a mechanical digger. A large revolving roulette-type wheel was set upright at a 90° angle at the base of an incline and although it had a total of sixteen compartments, only four of them were open. On the whistle, the male competitor, who was sitting in the driver’s cabin of the digger, had to position its front claw over a podium which housed a very small football sitting on a small pile of sand. Guided with instructions from his team-mate, he had to pick the ball up with the claws of the digger and then move the vehicle forward until the claw was above the top of the incline. She then had to time the revolution of the roulette wheel and on her signal, he had to open the jaws of the digger’s claw to release the ball and set it in motion down the incline. If she had timed it correctly, the ball met one of the open compartments as the wheel revolved round and would fall inside the wheel. If she failed, the ball would hit one of the twelve closed compartments and ultimately drop to the floor. The team with the highest number of balls collected would be declared the winners.

The first round of this simple game, which would prove interesting and exciting during its closing stages, saw the participation of Italy and they scored a total of 2 balls.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Lecco (I) (2)

Comments: Viewers watching this heat may have been slightly confused by the title of the Jeu Intermédiaire and wondered what part of the game referred to a pelican. In fact, the ‘pelican’ reference was to the large mechanical digger built by Coles of London called The Pelican. The company originally began producing cranes for the construction industry way back in 1878, but branched out in the early 1960s to produce earth-moving vehicles. It was named The Pelican because it was the first of its type to have the large suspended bucket at the front of the overhead hydraulic arm, said to represent a pelican’s large bill.

Game 3 - The Pupils' Pillow Fight

The third game - ‘The Pupils’ Pillow Fight’ - was played over two heats of three minutes duration and featured a maximum of four female competitors from each team armed with bed pillows and a large pool spanned by a wooden beam. The beam had been attached to a metal frame resembling a ladder placed on its side and, in the centre of the beam, set at an equal distance from each side, there were two podia sitting on four large springs. On the whistle, the first competitor from each team made her way to her respective podium and then they had to do battle in a classic pillow-fight and knock their opponent into the pool below. The victorious competitor was permitted to remain on the podium as long as she wanted unless the team felt it would be beneficial for the next one to participate. Any competitor that was victim of a 'foul', resulting in being pushed or pulled into the pool by her opponent after she was dislodged, would not be penalised. The team knocking the greater number of opponents into the pool would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland and Italy with the latter scoring first after 35 seconds of elapsed time and following it up with a second success after 55 seconds. Eight seconds later, the score was 3-1 to Italy after both competitors had dislodged each other and tumbled into the pool. Italy increased their lead further when their competitor dislodged the fourth Swiss competitor after 1 minute 12 seconds. Although both competitors had tumbled into the pool, the Italian competitor had been deemed as being fouled and was therefore not penalised. With all of the competitors from Switzerland now having tumbled into the pool and being soaking wet, Italy increased their lead further to 5-1 following another casualty for Switzerland after 1 minute 34 seconds. The remaining 1 minute 26 seconds ended in stalemate with neither competitor able to dislodge the other. However when the results were declared, whilst the score for Switzerland was confirmed as 1 hit, Italy had only been deemed to have scored 4 hits!

The second heat featured West Germany and Great Britain, with the former getting a flying start after just 15 seconds when the first competitor from Great Britain tumbled into the pool. Not to be outdone, Great Britain levelled the scores within seven seconds when West Germany suffered their first casualty. There was then a long wait for the scores to change with West Germany taking the lead once again after 1 minute 43 seconds, but within four seconds, both of the competitors on the beam were in the water and the score had moved to 3-2 for West Germany. However, the home crowd did not have to wait very long to see Great Britain levelling the score to 3-3 after 2 minutes 6 seconds. With the same competitor having been deemed to have fouled her next opponent whilst tumbling into the pool after 2 minutes 22 seconds, West Germany took the lead for a third time with the scores at 4-3. A final spurt of energy by Great Britain after 2 minutes 36 seconds saw the scores levelled at 4-4. With no further successes by either team, this heat ended in a draw.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (5pts awarded / 20pts total) 2nd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (5pts / 14pts) =3rd Lausanne (CH) (2pts / 9pts) =3rd Lecco (I) (5pts / 9pts) ▲ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (--- / 3pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - The Pelican Roulette

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Belgium, who were slower than Italy in their execution of the game, and were only able to lift two balls from the podium and release them onto the incline. With neither of the balls counting, their score was confirmed as 0 which put them in 5th place and doomed to receive just 1pt at the end of the five rounds.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Lecco (I) (2) 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (0)

Game 4 - The Scottish Steeplechase

The fourth game - ‘The Scottish Steeplechase’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and, featured three competitors (one male and two females) from each team. One of the females was dressed as a clown, wearing cotton gloves and fettered at the ankles with elasticated shackles, and the other was dressed as a jockey mounted on a small wooden horse on wheels attached to a rope. At the far end of the 30ft (9.14m) course, the male competitor was standing behind a castle entrance archway holding on to the end of the rope. On the whistle, the clown had to inflate a large balloon orally until it burst. Once this had been achieved, it was the signal to her male team-mate that he could begin pulling on the rope and moving the horse up the course and over a small ridged incline (to simulate fences) to the archway. Once the horse had reached the top of the incline, the jockey had to collect one of the seven balloons that were attached to the arch. The rope then had to be released in order for it to return back down the incline to the clown, who then burst that balloon by foot. The latter part of the game was then repeated throughout. The team bursting the greater number of balloons by foot would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this simple game saw the participation of Belgium and West Germany and both teams had no trouble in inflating and bursting their balloons - Belgium after 17 seconds of elapsed time and West Germany after 26 seconds. Although Belgium were to first to set off, they encountered some problems whilst descending the incline and this permitted West Germany to close the deficit. At the end of the game, West Germany had burst 3 balloons and Belgium had burst 2 balloons.

The second heat featured Great Britain and Italy and would turn into a nightmare for both of them. Neither of the two females appeared to be able to inflate the balloon to a size that it would burst. After one minute of elapsed time, the balloon of Great Britain began to deflate on its own accord and a replacement was rushed in by a stagehand. Although the game continued, neither of the competitors could burst their balloons within the time limit.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (2pts awarded / 22pts total) 2nd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (5pts / 19pts) 3rd Lecco (I) (2pts / 11pts) 4th Lausanne (CH) (--- / 9pts) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (4pts / 7pts)

Comments: The competitors dressed as clowns wore thick cotton gloves in order that they could not cheat and burst the balloons with their fingernails. At the end of the game, a protest was raised by the British team captain that the original balloon had been faulty but it was overruled. Presenter David Vine stated that there was no question of foul-play as all teams had had an equal chance of which balloon they had been given and that a random draw from a bag had taken place before the start of the game.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - The Pelican Roulette

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and although they did not score on their first attempt, they were more successful with both of their next two balls. With time elapsing fast, the fourth ball could not be deployed from the claw before the whistle was blown. The score was confirmed as 2 balls.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: =1st Lausanne (CH) (2) =1st Lecco (I) (2) 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (0)

Game 5 - Lassoing the Clowns

The fifth game - ‘Lassoing the Clown’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and featured a platform above a large pool and two female competitors from each team dressed as clowns. At the rear of the platform there was an opposing female armed with a rubber tyre attached to a rope and at the other end was a seesaw with one end overhanging the pool. On the whistle, whilst one of the two competitors weighted down the seesaw at one end, the second competitor armed with a small bucket had to edge her way forward to the other end to collect water which was pouring from a pipe. Contemporaneously, the opposing female had to throw the tyre and ‘lasso’ the nearest of the competitors and pull her off the seesaw and thus causing her team-mate to drop into the pool below. To ensure that the second competitor would be unaware of any drop, the rules stated that she had to be facing forward at all times whilst collecting the water at the end of the seesaw. If a competitor tumbled into the water, she had to make her way out by a small ladder and rejoin her team-mate on the platform to repeat the game. Any water that was collected had to be poured into a container. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and Great Britain and whilst the latter had been unable to lasso the Belgian clown at all throughout the game, the same could not be said of Belgium, who lassoed the British competitor on three occasions, sending her team-mate tumbling into the water after 34 seconds, 1 minute 50 seconds and 2 minutes 12 seconds, respectively. When the results were declared they showed that Belgium had collected 25lb 4oz (11.5kg) of water whilst Great Britain had only collected 20lb 4oz (9.2kg).

The second heat featured Switzerland and Italy and would witness some unsportswoman-like tactics from the former. Within seven seconds of the start, the opposition from Italy had successfully lassoed her quarry. However, the Swiss competitor had already begun her descent and was fortunate enough not to be dropped into the water. This was followed by another successful lasso after 41 seconds and once again she descended the seesaw in the nick of time. However, referee Gennaro Olivieri realised that the competitor was not looking straight ahead when she was on the seesaw, but in fact at a 90° angle to the platform and was able to see any successful lasso through the corner of her eye. He removed a bucketful of water from the container and instructed her to jump into the pool. A further three successful lassos by the Italy followed after 1 minute 3 seconds, 2 minutes 15 seconds and 2 minutes 29 seconds, respectively, although the second of these saw a repeat of the original, whereby the competitor had already started her descent and was able to add water to the container. In the meantime, Italy who had abided by the rules, were fortunate to make two successful descents of the seesaw (despite her team-mate having been lassoed) as she had begun her descent just in the nick of time. When the results of the second heat were declared, Italy had collected exactly 31lbs (14kg) of water and Switzerland had collected 18lb 12oz (8.5kg).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (3pts awarded / 25pts total) 2nd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (--- / 19pts) 3rd Lecco (I) (5pts / 16pts) =4th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (4pts / 11pts) ▲ =4th Lausanne (CH) (2pts / 11pts)

Comments: Whilst Health and Safety was not such an issue at the time of transmission, to prevent any injury to the competitors whilst falling, the opposition did not in fact dislodge the clown if successfully lassoed. A referee would shout to the competitor collecting the water and then get the lassoed clown to step off the seesaw so that her team-mate could fall safely into the water below and avoid hitting the platform edge.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - The Pelican Roulette

The fourth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured West Germany and before the start, British presenter Eddie Waring stated that the team were favourites to win the game following their very good rehearsal performances. As had been expected, the team did not disappoint their supporters and achieved a score of 4 balls.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (4) =2nd Lausanne (CH) (2) ▼ =2nd Lecco (I) (2) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (0)

Game 6 - Balls from the Bell Tower

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘Balls from the Bell Tower’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Belgium, Switzerland and Italy presenting all their Jokers for play. The game featured three male competitors from each team and a castle wall façade. On the whistle, the first competitor had to collect a ball and run up a small carpet to the battlements and then climb some steps to the bell tower of the castle. He then had to release the ball through a hole in the wall in order for it to roll down a hockey stick-shaped incline. Contemporaneously, he had to lower himself down a fireman’s pole to the ground and then run forward and catch the ball as it exited the incline and then place it into a box. The game then had to be repeated by the second and third competitors and they continued in rotation until the end of permitted time. The team collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Belgium and Italy and ended with Italy having collected 7 balls and Belgium having collected 5 balls.

The second heat featured Switzerland and West Germany and this ended with Switzerland having collected 9 balls and West Germany having collected only 1 ball.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (--- / 25pts total) 2nd Lecco (I) (8pts awarded / Joker / 24pts) ▲ =3rd Lausanne (CH) (10pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ =3rd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (2pts / 21pts) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (6pts / Joker / 17pts) ▼

Comments: Communication problems returned to haunt the programme at this heat. As the scores for the penultimate game were being announced, the live audio and visual link from Edinburgh was lost and a placard was placed on-screen stating, ‘We regret this breakdown’. However, the audio link from the West German commentary box was not lost and audio continued on the WDR transmission accompanied by some musak (piped or elevator music). Fortunately, the breakdown only lasted just over a minute before normal service was resumed.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - The Pelican Roulette

The fifth and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Great Britain and, despite a shaky start, they outshone their rehearsal performances and equalled the score of 4 balls set by West Germany in the previous round and finished in joint 1st place on the game.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: =1st Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (4) =1st Shrewsbury (GB) (4) =3rd Lausanne (CH) (2) ▼ =3rd Lecco (I) (2) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (0)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (5pts awarded / 30pts total) 2nd Lecco (I) (3pts / 27pts) 3rd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (5pts / 26pts) 4th Lausanne (CH) (3pts / 24pts) ▼ 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (1pt / 18pts)

Game 7 - The Ghost Riders

The seventh and final game - ‘The Ghost Riders’ - was played over three minutes duration and featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team wearing roller-skates and dressed as ghosts. On the whistle, the first male competitor had to make his way up a 50ft (15.24m) course which comprised two small hillocks and when he reached the other end, he had to circumnavigate a small podium and roller-skate back to the start. He then had to attach himself to the first of the female competitors by a chain around his waist and they repeated the course together. They then attached themselves to the second male competitor and then on the fourth run to the second of the female competitors. Once all four runs had been completed, the last competitor (the second female) uncoupled herself and the other three then had to complete another circumnavigation of the course. This was followed by just two competitors and the final return journey was completed by the original male competitor. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Apart from the first run when Great Britain was in the lead, Switzerland took control of this fast-moving and straightforward race and completed the game in 2 minutes 1 second just ahead of West Germany in 2nd place in 2 minutes 2 seconds. Italy crossed the finish line in 3rd place in 2 minutes 8 seconds followed by Great Britain in 4th place in 2 minutes 11 seconds. Although it appeared that Belgium had completed the game momentarily after Great Britain, they still had one more run to complete and whilst the referees announced the finishing positions, the team could be observed finishing the game in 2 minutes 30 seconds.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Shrewsbury (GB) (2pts awarded / 32pts total) =2nd Weiden in der Oberpfalz (D) (4pts / 30pts) ▲ =2nd Lecco (I) (3pts / 30pts) 4th Lausanne (CH) (5pts / 29pts) 5th Ixelles / Elsene (B) (1pt / 19pts)

Memories of Jeux Sans Frontières

Two members of the Weiden in der Oberpfalz team, 78-year-old former competitive athlete Norbert Griesbacher and judo champion and long-time Weiden city councillor Hans Sperrer, met in July 2019 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their participation in Jeux Sans Frontières. They had been due to be joined by one of the team's female competitors, but she unfortunately had to cancel at short notice due to illness. As the duo rummaged through old photos and newspaper reports, the memories came flooding back. Griesbacher recalled the team's misfortune on the 'Balls from the Bell Tower' game: "We had to bring a medicine ball up to the castle, put it on a slide, then slide down a pole ourselves and catch the ball before it hit the ground. It worked out great in training but shortly before the start, the games designer had the concrete floor around the bar covered with straw, to eliminate the risk of injury. We couldn't compete so quickly. Our opponents, on the other hand, jumped off the pole earlier, missed the straw and ran. We should have done that, too." Meanwhile, Sperrer reflected on the disappointment of being outscored by Wolfsburg, meaning that Weiden in der Oberpfalz did not qualify for the 1969 International Final: "It didn't matter. It was a huge experience when we ran in to the Eurovision tune at the castle [sic] in Edinburgh. [And when we returned home to Weiden], the whole pedestrian zone was full of people when we stood on the steps at the old Rathaus (town hall)."

Viewer Cad Delworth has a fascinating memory of this Jeux Sans Frontières heat, which he kindly related to JSFnetGB: "One heat of the show was held in Edinburgh, in the grounds of the school I attended (George Heriot's School). Anyway, at the time we had a TV set which did both VHF (405 lines) and UHF (the new-fangled 625-line colour service). I lived probably within a couple of miles of the school, and being that kind of 'techie child', I found that by turning the UHF tuning barrel right down to channel 21 or probably more like 20, I could hear one side of the on-site communications! I listened enthralled to the familiar voices of the presenters - and some of the crew - for hours, since this was during school holidays, and working in TV or radio was my ambition. So far, so ordinary, but during one of the breaks between games, where presumably some female contestants were changing into or out of swimming costumes behind a screen, I distinctly heard one of the presenters say, "Oooh! What do we have here?! It's some young ladies undressing! It's the George Heriot's strip club!" followed by laughter."

Reunions

Shrewsbury (GB)

When it was first suggested that Shrewsbury enter a team into It’s A Knockout there was great enthusiasm and locals, including members of the rugby club, flocked to take part. Shrewsbury team members Bernice Williams (née Davies), 67, and Denise Williams (née Parry), 68, remember the build-up to their participation in the programme.

Speaking to local newspaper The Shropshire Star in April 2019, Bernice explained why the programme held a particular attraction for her. “I wanted to go to another country and couldn’t see another possibility of my going abroad. Ours was an ordinary family and I had been to Wales on holiday and Scotland in a caravan.”

Denise, who was working at the town’s Silhouette lingerie factory at the time also commented: “It sounded good fun. I was very sporty and liked anything I thought was going to be sporty.” However, one thing that still eludes the two of them is a fountain that was to be erected in the town, as Bernice revealed: “If you ask anybody of a certain age in Shrewsbury about It’s A Knockout, it’s a landmark thing. Everybody remembers it. And everybody asks what happened to the fountain.” There was supposed to have been a celebratory fountain installed in The Square, but the idea disappeared under red tape.

Following months of posting notices and placing adverts in newspapers, Bernice was able to track down many of her former team members and cheerleaders. On Saturday 25th May 2019, exactly 50 years and 7 days after their original appearance in It’s A Knockout, they all met for a 50th anniversary reunion at the Lord Hill Hotel in Shrewsbury.

Additional Information

The heat was opened by the Hawick Pipers playing Scotland the Brave and school children from Edinburgh danced the traditional Scottish sword dance in national costume.

As the teams were introduced, Camillo Felgen commented to the West German audience at home that although the British team's name was spelt as 'Shrewsbury' (like shoes-berry) it was pronounced ‘shrowsbury’ (like crows-berry). He then went on to repeat this later in the programme adding that this was an example of the peculiarities of the English language. However, the pronunciation is an ongoing topic of debate among locals in the town, with a 2015 vote hosted by the University Centre Shrewsbury resulting in a resounding win for the 'shroosbury' pronunciation (58%), with 'shrowsbury' registering a third of the poll (33%), other pronunciations gaining 7% of the vote, and the remaining 2% being spoilt papers. Camillo also informed West German viewers about the number of famous people associated with the city. These included Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922), inventor of the first telephone; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930), author of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832), author of Ivanhoe, and Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), author of Treasure Island and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

The scoreboard for this edition featured both alternate spellings for the Brussels suburb representing Belgium - Ixelles being the French version and Elsene being the Flemish version.

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

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 3

Event Staged: Wednesday 23rd July 1969
Venue: Peschiera Grande e Palazzo Cortile (Large Fishing Lake and Palace Courtyard),
Palazzo Reale di Caserta (Royal Palace of Caserta), Caserta, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 23rd July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 23rd July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 23rd July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 23rd July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 25th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 25th July 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Mayor of Caserta

Theme: Arts and Crafts

Teams: Andenne (B) v. Arth-Goldau (CH) v. Kempen (D) v.
Cardiff (GB) v. Frascati (I)

Team Members included:
Arth-Goldau (CH) - Josef Gasser (Team Manager), Aldo Contratto (Co-Team Coach), Oskar Steiner (Co-Team Coach), Karl Betschart, Hilda Heinzer, Vital Heinzer, Josef Kunz, Franz Weber, Othmar Willisegger;

Kempen (D) - Udo Luchtger, Ralf Schumacher, Heinz von Überbrücken;
Cardiff (GB) - J.W. Colley, W. Payne;
Frascati (I) - Giovanni Bellini.

Games (Official Titles): Acrobats, Pulcinella, Florists, Sculptors, Dolls, Jugglers, Spaghetti;
Jeu Intermédiaire: Pinball Machine;
Jokers: Country Coded Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
3rd
5th

 CH • Arth-Goldau ●
 I • Frascati
 D • Kempen
 GB • Cardiff
 B • Andenne

33
32
28
28
17

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Brugge-Zeebrugge (5th, 20pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Arth-Goldau (1st, 33pts)
West Germany (D) - Weiden in der Oberpfalz (=2nd, 30pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Shrewsbury (1st, 32pts)
Italy (I) - Adria (1st, 33pts)

The Host Town

Caserta, Italy

Caserta is a town with a population of around 80,000 inhabitants in the Campania region. It is located 27km (17 miles) north of Napoli, 181km (113 miles) south-east of Roma, 211km (131 miles) west of Bari and 291km (181 miles) south of Ancona.

The town was established around the defensive tower built by Pando the Rapacious, Prince of Capua. The tower is now part of the Palazzo della Prefettura which was once the seat of the counts of Caserta, as well as a Royal residence. The original population moved from Casertavecchia (a former bishopric seat) to the current site in the 16th century'. The town and surrounds were the property of the Acquaviva family, who, being pressed by huge debts, sold all the land to the royal family. The royal family then selected Caserta for the construction of their new palace, which, being inland, was seen as more defensible than the previous palace fronting the Bay of Naples.

The three main tourist attractions in Caserta are the 18th century' Aqueduct of Vanvitelli, the Palazzo Vecchio (Old Palace) - a construction of the 14th century' renovated by Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-1773) - and the Palazzo Reale di Caserta (The Royal Palace), the venue of the programme.

The Visiting Towns

Andenne (B) is a town with a population of around 27,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Namur and is located 1,268km (788 miles) north-east of Caserta.

Arth-Goldau (CH) is a town with a population of around 16,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic (German-speaking) Swiss canton of Schwyz and is located 810km (513 miles) north-east of Caserta.

Kempen (D) is a town with a population of around 35,000 inhabitants in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 1,296km (805 miles) north-east of Caserta.

Cardiff (GB) is a city with a population of around 350,000 inhabitants in the Welsh county of the same name and is located 1,770km (1,100 miles) north-east of Caserta.

Frascati (I) is a town with a population of around 22,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Lazio and is located 163km (110 miles) north-west of Caserta.

The Venue

Palazzo Reale di Caserta

The games were played in the grounds of the Palazzo Reale di Caserta, a former royal residence constructed for the Bourbon kings of Naples. The construction of the palace was begun in 1752 for Charles VII of Naples (1716-1788), who worked closely with his architect Luigi Vanvitelli (1700-1773). When Charles saw Vanvitelli's grandly scaled model for Caserta, it filled him with emotion "fit to tear his heart from his breast". In the end, he never slept a night at the Reggia, as he abdicated in 1759 to become King of Spain, and the project was carried to only partial completion for his third son and successor, Ferdinand IV of Naples (1751-1825).

The palace has around 1,200 rooms, including two dozen state apartments, a large library, and a theatre modelled after the Teatro San Carlo in Napoli. A monumental avenue that would run 20km between the palace and Napoli was planned but never realised. It has a rectangular plan, measuring 247m x 184m (810ft 4in x 603ft 8in) with the four sides connected by two orthogonal (perpendicular) arms, forming four inner courts, each measuring more than 3,800m2 (40,903ft²). Of all the royal palaces in the world, Caserta is by far the largest in terms of volume, with more than 2,000,000m³ (70,000,000ft³). Behind the façades of its matching segmental ranges of outbuildings that flank the giant forecourt, a jumble of buildings arose to facilitate daily business.

The gardens are a typical example of the baroque extension of formal vistas, stretching for 120 hectares, partly on hilly terrain, taking inspiration from the park of Versailles in Paris. The park starts from the back façade of the palace, flanking a long alley with artificial fountains and cascades. There is a botanical garden, called The English Garden, in the upper part designed in the 1780s by Carlo Vanvitelli (1739-1821) and the German-born botanist, nurseryman and designer Johann Graeffer (1746-1802).

From 1923 to 1943, and also during World War II (1939-1945), the palace was the location of the Accademia Aeronautica, the Italian Air Force Academy. From 1943, during the allied invasion, the royal palace served as the seat of the Supreme Allied Commander, Field Marshal Henry Maitland Wilson (1881-1964) and later Field Marshal Harold Alexander (1891-1969). On 29th April 1945, the palace was the site of the signing of terms of the unconditional German surrender of forces in Italy. The agreement covered between 600,000 and 900,000 soldiers along the Italian Front, including troops in sections of Austria. The first Allied war crimes trial took place in the palace in 1945, when German general Anton Dostler (1891-1945) was sentenced to death and executed nearby, in Aversa.

The palace was inscribed as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) World Heritage site in 1997, described in its nomination as "the swan song of the spectacular art of the Baroque, adopting all the features needed to create the illusions of multidirectional space". Noted for its splendour, it is no surprise that the palace has been used as a filming location in a number of movie productions. In 1955, the palace featured in the French-Italian comedy Beautiful But Dangerous, starring Gina Lollobrigida and also in the opening scenes of the 1968 war film Anzio, starring Robert Mitchum (1917-1997). Since then, it has served as a filming location for the fourth instalment of director George Lucas’s Star Wars franchise, when it was used as the setting for Queen Amidala's royal palace on Naboo for the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. It also featured in the fifth film in the series, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones in 2002 as Queen Jamilla's palace. In the 2006 film Mission: Impossible III, starring Tom Cruise, a Lamborghini car is blown up in a square inside the palace and the main staircase of the palace doubled for that of the Vatican in the 2009 mystery thriller Angels & Demons, directed by Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks and Ewan McGregor.

Team Selection and Training

The municipality of Arth in the canton of Schwyz, Switzerland, applied to Swiss television in November 1968 with a view to participating in Jeux Sans Frontières during the following year. The broadcasters came back with good news, albeit four months later, when they confirmed that Arth had been chosen to represent Switzerland on 23rd July. Preparations began immediately and Josef Gasser presented himself as team manager. Together with Oskar Steiner, Aldo Contratto and Josef Kunz, he selected athletes from local sports clubs. Intensive training was subsequently carried out in the outdoor lido of the Seebad Arth on the south-east shore of Lake Zug, at a gymnasium in Zwygarten and on the Union-Wiese meadow in Goldau (one of the three towns in the municipality along with Arth and Oberarth). While travel and accommodation was paid for by Swiss television, the community of Arth covered the costs for gifts on official occasions and other expenses. Thanks to a sponsorship campaign, the Arth-Goldau team was able to compete dressed in uniform training kit. The then mayor Franz-Anton Kennel took part in the trip as the official community representative.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Acrobats

The first game - ‘Acrobats’ - was played over four rounds in the fishing lake and featured a male competitor from each team and ten floating podia. On the whistle, each competitor took it in turn to jump from a springboard on the side of the lake to reach the first of the podia and then had to jump from podium to podium in order to cross the lake. The total number of podia crossed by each of the competitors over the four rounds would be added together to give an aggregate score. Only podia that were landed on by foot would be counted towards the total score. The team with the greater aggregate score would be declared the winners.

West Germany were the first team to participate in this very straightforward game and their competitor crossed 10 podia and were followed in turn by Italy (2 podia), Great Britain (10 podia), Switzerland (10 podia) and Belgium (2 podia).

The second round saw West Germany cross 8 podia (running total 18), Italy cross 7 podia (9), Great Britain cross 4 podia (14), Switzerland cross 10 podia (20) and Belgium cross 3 podia (5).

The third round saw West Germany cross 6 podia (running total 24), Italy cross 3 podia (12), Great Britain cross 3 podia (17), Switzerland cross 10 podia (30) and Belgium cross 7 podia (12).

The fourth and final round saw West Germany cross a further 7 podia (aggregate score 31), Italy cross 7 podia (19), Great Britain cross 6 podia (23), Switzerland cross 8 podia (38) and Belgium cross 2 podia (14).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Arth-Goldau (CH) (5pts awarded / 5pts total) 2nd Kempen (D) (4pts / 4pts) 3rd Cardiff (GB) (3pts / 3pts) 4th Frascati (I) (2pts / 2pts) 5th Andenne (B) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: The final round of this game is missing from European archives. Nevertheless, the score achieved by each of the teams could be seen displayed on the mini-scoreboard as the points were awarded.

Game 2 - Pulcinella

The second game - ‘Pulcinella’ - was played in the palace courtyard over two heats of two minutes duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team. The male competitor, dressed in a white costume with their wrists tied to large straps, was standing on a greased, inclined podium in front of a table which was stacked with items of pottery. The other ends of the straps were attached to pieces of wood which would be manipulated by an opposing male team member located on another podium above their heads. On the whistle, the competitor had to collect the items of pottery from the table and hand them to his female team-mate who had to place them on a smaller circular table whilst the opposition pulled on the straps tied to his hands to prevent them from doing so. Only items that were fully intact would be counted in the final score. The team collecting the greater number of items would be declared the winners.

Photo © RAI, 1969

The first heat of this simple and hilarious game saw the participation of Switzerland and West Germany but it was stopped after 1 minute 35 seconds of elapsed time when one of the straps of West Germany became detached. The game was restarted and ended 25 seconds later with Switzerland having collected 11 items of pottery and West Germany having collected 6 items of pottery.

The second heat featured Great Britain and Italy and whilst the former struggled to collect the items of pottery, their performance was not assisted in any way by their competitor in opposition, who appeared to do very little to prevent Italy from piling the items onto their table. However, when the results were announced it was not as dire as expected. Whilst Italy had collected 16 items of pottery, Great Britain were deemed to have collected 13 items.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Arth-Goldau (CH) (3pts awarded / 8pts total) =2nd Cardiff (GB) (4pts / 7pts) ▲ =2nd Frascati (I) (5pts / 7pts) ▲ 4th Kempen (D) (2pts / 6pts) ▼ 5th Andenne (B) (--- / 1pt)

Comments: The title of this game, ‘Pulcinella’, derives from the name of a classical 17th century character that originated in the commedia dell'arte (meaning "comedy of the profession", an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italy, that was popular in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century) and became a stock character in Neapolitan puppetry.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - Pinball Machine

The next game - ‘Pinball Machine’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over two minutes duration on the fishing lake and featured a male competitor and a dinghy equipped with an outboard motor. On the lake, there were four large rafts, inside each of which were two opposition members (one male and one female) from each of the four other teams standing on a single 80cm (2ft 7½in) high block and each holding a large beach ball. On the whistle, the competitor had to steer the dinghy towards the rafts, in any order of his choice, and then knock into the side of them to unbalance the opposition. Once down, the opposition had to reposition themselves onto the block. In order that there was no foul-play, they were permitted just 15 seconds to reposition themselves and hold the ball at arm’s length, otherwise they would be deemed to have been knocked off for a second time. The team with the greater number of knock downs would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Belgium and they achieved a total of 20 knock downs within the time permitted.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Andenne (B) (20)

Game 3 - Florists

The third game - ‘Florists’ - was played individually on the lake and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team dressed as florists holding a wooden board on which there were 10 flowerpots and an arched bridge. On the whistle, the competitors had to walk across the bridge, which became narrower the further they ascended to the top, and then descend to the other side. In opposition, there were three males (one from each of the other teams) standing inside a large floating raft and armed with a number of balls. As the competitors crossed the bridge, they had to throw the balls at the pots in order to dislodge them. The team with the greater number of pots intact after reaching the opposite side of the bridge would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and they only had 2 pots intact at the end of the crossing.

The second heat featured Great Britain and they had a credible total of 6 pots intact at the end of their run.

The third and penultimate team to participate was Italy and they went one better and finished with a total of 7 pots intact.

The fourth and final heat featured West Germany and although they only had 5 pots intact after their competitors had reached the other side, one of the other pots was deemed to have fallen off the board after the competitor had crossed the finish line and therefore were given a total of 6 pots.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Kempen (D) (8pts / Joker / 14pts) ▲ 2nd Frascati (I) (5pts / 12pts) 3rd Cardiff (GB) (4pts / 11pts) ▼ 4th Arth-Goldau (CH) (--- / 8pts) ▼ 5th Andenne (B) (2pts / 3pts)

Comments: Although it was apparent that there were four male opposition members in the raft, only three of them participated in each round, with the additional one being from the competing side. Despite the fact that Belgium scored 2pts on this game, the scoreboard operators incorrectly added 1pt and displayed their score incorrectly as 2pts!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - Pinball Machine

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and they finished with a score of 30 knock downs.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Arth-Goldau (CH) (30) 2nd Andenne (B) (20) ▼

Game 4 - Sculptors

The fourth game - ‘Sculptors’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and staged on terra firma in the palace courtyard. It featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a sculptor armed with a hammer, two chisels and a large rectangular sandstone block set on a podium. On the whistle, the competitor had to simply chip away at his block in order to reveal a statue enclosed within. The finishing time was taken once all of the loose sand had been removed from every nook, cranny and crevice. The team completing the task in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It appeared from the outset, that it did not take a great deal of ‘chipping away’ to reveal the statues and, in the case of Italy, the block just fell apart after one tap of the hammer. When the timings were announced of this very simple game, it could be seen that the permitted duration was over-estimated. Italy had completed the game in 1st place in 40 seconds, with Switzerland finishing in 44 seconds. Belgium were awarded 3rd place after fully revealing the statue in 57 seconds, whilst Great Britain were awarded 4th place having completed the game in 1 minute 4 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Frascati (I) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ 2nd Kempen (D) (--- / 14pts) ▼ 3rd Cardiff (GB) (2pts / 13pts) 4th Arth-Goldau (CH) (4pts / 12pts) 5th Andenne (B) (3pts / 6pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - Pinball Machine

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured West Germany and they scored a total of 32 knock downs which put them in 1st place at this point.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Kempen (D) (32) 2nd Arth-Goldau (CH) (30) ▼ 3rd Andenne (B) (20) ▼

Game 5 - Dolls

The fifth game - ‘Dolls’ - was played on the lake over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed Belgium and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a large dressmaker’s mannequin comprised of three polystyrene balls of varying size encased in a cage with a small oblong polystyrene head. On the whistle, whilst the mannequin was being counterbalanced in the water by two male team-mates, the male competitor armed with a large necklace had to climb to the top of the mannequin and place it over the head and around its neck. He then had to descend to a point where he could be handed a second necklace and then repeated the game. Once he had placed four necklaces around the mannequin’s neck, he then had to descend for a final time and get into the water, whilst his female team-mate armed with a spiked crown had to climb up the mannequin and place it onto the head. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and West Germany and whilst Belgium made heavy weather of the game and only completed four elements in limit time, West Germany completed the game in 1 minute 27 seconds.

The second heat featured Switzerland and Italy, but Switzerland fell foul of their own determination. Whilst all the other three females had held the crown in one hand and climbed using the other, she had hung the crown around her neck to free up both hands to assist the climb. However, in her haste, one of the crown’s points had become entangled with her country ident dossard and she struggled to free it. Eventually, she had to untie the dossard from around her neck to release the crown and thus lost valuable time. This delay permitted Italy to overtake and complete the game in 1 minute 17 seconds. Contemporaneously, although the Swiss competitor had placed the crown on the head, she failed to implant the spikes deep enough and it dropped out and they were deemed to have only completed four elements of the game.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Frascati (I) (10pts / Joker / 27pts) 2nd Kempen (D) (4pts / 18pts) 3rd Arth-Goldau (CH) (3pts / 15pts) ▲ 4th Cardiff (GB) (--- / 13pts) ▼ 5th Andenne (B) (6pts / Joker / 12pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - Pinball Machine

The fourth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Great Britain and although they appeared to get off to a poor start, they finished the game with a total of 33 knock downs.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Cardiff (GB) (33) 2nd Kempen (D) (32) ▼ 3rd Arth-Goldau (CH) (30) ▼ 4th Andenne (B) (20) ▼

Game 6 - Jugglers

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘Jugglers’ - was played individually on the grassed lawns over one minute duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed in a clown costume, armed with a choice of baseball bat, cricket bat, tennis racket or skillet (frying pan). In front of him was an upright target board with three holes cut out and each with a different points value - top hole valued at 1pt, centre hole valued at 2pts and the bottom hole valued at 3pts. In front of the target, and crouched down on top of a thin pole, was a female team-mate, also dressed as a clown. On the whistle, balls had to be placed one at a time onto a golf tee by a team-mate and the clown had to hit them at the target to score points. If the crouching female was knocked off the pole by an errant ball or became unbalanced, all points scored up to that point would be nullified. The team scoring the greater score would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland and their competitor opted for the baseball bat and scored 7pts.

The second heat featured Belgium and their competitor utilised the cricket bat and scored just 5pts.

The third and penultimate heat saw the participation of West Germany and their choice was also the cricket bat and they scored 6pts.

The fourth and final heat featured Great Britain utilising the baseball bat and they scored 5pts.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Frascati (I) (--- / 27pts) 2nd Kempen (D) (4pts / 22pts) 3rd Arth-Goldau (CH) (5pts / 20pts) 4th Cardiff (GB) (6pts / Joker / 19pts) 5th Andenne (B) (3pts / 15pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - Pinball Machine

The fifth and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Italy and, despite their efforts, they could only achieve a total of 25 knock downs and finished in 4th place overall.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Cardiff (GB) (33) 2nd Kempen (D) (32) 3rd Arth-Goldau (CH) (30) 4th Frascati (I) (25) 5th Andenne (B) (20) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Frascati (I) (2pts / 29pts) 2nd Kempen (D) (4pts / 26pts) 3rd Cardiff (GB) (5pts / 24pts) ▲ 4th Arth-Goldau (CH) (3pts / 23pts) ▼ 5th Andenne (B) (1pt / 16pts)

Game 7 - Spaghetti

The seventh and final game - ‘Spaghetti’ - was played on the grassed lawns and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed as a chef and armed with a large pitchfork and a large bowl containing 10km (6¼ miles) of spaghetti made of a heavy duty nylon material set on a high podium. On the whistle, the chef had to run to the bowl and, using only the pitchfork, lift and carry as much spaghetti as he could to a large basket and then repeat the game until all the spaghetti had been removed from the bowl. The baskets were then weighed and the team with the greater weight would be declared the winners.

Italy were full of confidence before the start as they had a 3pt lead on their nearest rival and only a total disaster could ruin their chance of victory. However as events unfolded, it was a small oversight that would cost them overall victory. After the results were announced, there appeared to be some confusion as the weights shown on the scales were not reflected in the ‘official’ scores on the mini scoreboard. However, the ‘official’ weights were those used to determine the allocation of points and Switzerland had collected 89.5kg (197lb 5oz), Great Britain had collected 82.1kg (181lb), Italy had collected 78.9kg (173lb 15oz), West Germany had collected 74.2kg (163lb 9¼oz) and Belgium had collected 69.9kg (154lb 1¾oz) of spaghetti.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Arth-Goldau (CH) (10pts / Joker / 33pts) ▲ 2nd Frascati (I) (3pts / 32pts) ▼ =3rd Kempen (D) (2pts / 28pts) ▼ =3rd Cardiff (GB) (4pts / 28pts) 5th Andenne (B) (1pt / 17pts)

Returning Teams and Competitors

Italian competitor Giovanni Bellini made the seventh 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 as well as Terracina in 1968 (all of which reached either the Semi-Final (1966) or the International Final (1967 and 1968). He made further appearances as a member of the Ancona team in 1970 and Bracciano in 1975.

Associated Events

After the Arth-Goldau team's historic victory - the first for a Swiss team in Jeux Sans Frontières - they travelled home where they were greeted with an enthusiastic reception. However, the proceedings didn't go quite to plan. The team's flight on Friday 25th July 1974 was due to land at Zürich-Kloten airport at 10.30pm but was delayed by half an hour. This led to the victory reception, complete with brass band, not starting until about half past midnight and the assembled crowd at the lido on Zugerstrasse was by then becoming impatient. Half an hour earlier they had lit their torches and applauded vociferously as the conductor of the Musikkorps of Arth and Goldau struck up the band at the sight of a bus, which it transpired contained a group of bemused tourists from the Black Forest and not the Arth-Goldau team!

At 12.15am, finally the team arrived in a coach bedecked with the municipality's coat of arms. The torches flared up again, the band piped up, the singing of the yodelling clubs of Oberarth and Goldau could be heard, mixed with the vigorous applause - and then the team, their manager, and trainers climbed out of the vehicle, smiling and happy, the female team members lifted aloft on the shoulders of their comrades in joyous high spirits as they danced to the marching music. The event was covered by television and radio and photographers from the press were also present, quite an unusual occurrence for a quiet, down-to-earth village in central Switzerland.

Then the procession started moving towards the village: ahead, as is the custom, drums, followed by a street-wide flower banquet, ladies of honour, footballers with torches and gymnasts in camisoles amid a forest of flags. The procession to the fairground was accompanied by enthusiastic ovations from the spectators lining the route. Flowers even flew down from the windows at the smiling, waving winners. In the presence of Councillor of States Josef Ulrich, Colonel Alois Kessler and other celebrities, the organiser of the more-or-less spontaneous party, Josef Kraft, thanked the victorious team, but also all the helpers. Community vice-president Hans Probst brought warm congratulations, as did Karl Imlig for the Goldau residents' association. It then fell to Arth-Goldau team manager Josef Gasser to introduce each and every one of his protégés to the audience, which filled to the last seat the large festival restaurant under the night sky. The whole festival and reception had been put together within less than 24 hours. Everything was memorably perfect: a warm, dry night, the cafeteria, a bratwurst stand, free beer and - as a symbolic winning dish - spaghetti for everyone.

Additional Information

The games at this heat were held in two locations in the palace grounds. The huge fishing lake built at the extreme north-western corner of the palace’s boundary saw presenters Enzo Tortora and Giulio Marchetti with referee Gennaro Olivieri, whilst presenter Renato Mauro was with referee Guido Pancaldi in the palace courtyard.

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

CH

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 4

Event Staged: Wednesday 6th August 1969
Venue: Piscine Municipale (Municipal Swimming Pool), Martigny, Switzerland

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 6th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 6th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 6th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 6th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 8th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 8th August 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winner's Trophy presented by: Edouard Morand, Mayor of Martigny

Theme: Wild Animals

Teams: Halle (B) v. Martigny (CH) v. Minden an der Weser (D) v.
Dunbar (GB) v. Foggia (I)

Team Members included:
Halle (B) - Pierre Deneef (Team 'Thinker'), Jean Jacmin (Team Captain, non-playing), Christiane Amerijckx, Mariette Devalckeneer, Felix Hauwaert, Guillaume Heyvaert, Gustaaf Roelants;
Martigny (CH) - Etienne Martinyette, Bruno Maurais;
Minden an der Weser (D) - Peter Dracher, Veronica Kind, Klaus Mähler, Ludwig Treisch, Hans Zeller;
Dunbar (GB) - Robin Forrest (Team Manager and Team Coach), William Johnson (Assistant Team Coach), Robert Bisset, Betty Darling, Brian Dickson, Reg Dyer, Lex Horsburgh, Brian Houliston, John Hutchinson, Dick James, Sheila Laird, Alistair Lister, Caroline Pott, Catherine Regan, Douglas Robertson, Stuart Robertson, Patricia Rogerson, Glenda Sanderson, Vera Sembie, Anna Stewart, Jaci Waite, Billy Wilson;
Foggia (I) - Oberdan Marcheggiani (Team Manager), Rino Adamo, Luigi Caiazzo, Silvio Ciampoli, Luigi Corbo, Pietro Fanelli, Annamaria Favino, Aldo Lanave, Rocchina Melchiorre, Francalba Vinciguerra.

Games: The Spanish Bull, The Brown Bears, Diving for the Salmon, The Pollinating Bees, The Skating Penguins, The Thieving Golden Eagles, The Chicken's Eggs;
Jeu Intermédiaire: Feeding Time at the Zoo;
Jokers: Cartoon Mice.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 CH • Martigny ● ●
 I • Foggia
 D • Minden an der Weser
 GB • Dunbar
 B • Halle

34
33
29
24
16

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Brugge-Zeebrugge (5th, 20pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Martigny (1st, 34pts)
West Germany (D) - Weiden in der Oberpfalz (=2nd, 30pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Shrewsbury (1st, 32pts)
Italy (I) - Adria (1st, 33pts)

The Host Town

Martigny, Switzerland

Martigny is a town with a population of around 18,000 inhabitants and is the capital of the teutophonic / francophonic (German / French-speaking) canton of Valais. It is located 38km (24 miles) south of Montreux, 66km (41 miles) west of Saas Fee, 72km (45 miles) east of Genève and 45km (28 miles) north-east of the Italian ski resort of Aosta. It lies on the eastern edge of the Rhône valley, at the point where the south-west flowing Rhône turns 90° northward and heads towards Lac Léman (Lake Geneva).

The town is home to the legendary kennels where St. Bernard dogs are bred, as well as a small local museum dedicated to the many Roman archaeological artifacts found in Martigny. It is also known for its amphitheatre, which was restored in 1978. Cow fights, in which a cow fights another cow (unlike bullfighting, in which humans fight bulls, often to the death), are held in the amphitheatre during early autumn for the ‘Comptoir’.

Historical records of the town are very sparse, but what is known is that the Gaulish name of the settlement in the 1st century BC was either Octodurus or Octodurum (whence Martigny is sometimes also called Octodure in French). Octodurus was conquered by the Roman Empire in 57 BC, and occupied by Servius Galba with the twelfth legion and some cavalry in order to protect the strategically important pass of Poeninus (now known as the Great St. Bernard) which was used by the mercatores (Roman commercial dealers). During the Middle Ages, the town took Martin of Tours (316-397 AD) as its patron saint, and became known by the German name Martinach, recorded in its Latinised form as Martiniacum in 1018. The church of Martigny, presumably at the site of the ancient cathedral, was consecrated to St. Mary in 1177 and then to Notre-Dame-des-Champs in 1420.

The economy of Martigny was traditionally based on agriculture and viticulture. The town was often flooded by the 49km (30 miles) long River Dranse, most severely in 1595 and in 1818. From 1798 to 1802, Martigny was part of the Napoleonic Republic of Valais, then the Rhodanic Republic, which passed to France from 1810 to 1814. The Valais passed to Switzerland in 1815. In the 1840s, Martigny was the stage of a confrontation between the liberal-radical ‘Young Switzerland’ and the conservative ‘Old Switzerland’ movements, culminating in the Battle at the Trient on 21st May 1844, taking place a few kilometres outside of the town.

Most of the population, 30.6% (2008 figures) of which are resident foreign nationals, are known as Martignerains or Octoduriens and speak French as their first language (12,227 people or 85.14% in a 2000 census). Surprisingly, Portuguese was at that time the second most common tongue (602 or 4.19%), with Italian being third (597 or 4.15%). The other 6.52% was made up of teutophones (German-speaking) and a handful who speak Romansh. In the years since this survey, the population of Martigny has risen by just under four thousand to 18,174 in December 2017, an influx which will have made a difference to the figures quoted.

The French holiday resort of Chamonix is accessible from Martigny in 1½ hours using the scenic narrow-gauge tracks of the Mont Blanc Express. Crossing the wild Trient Gorge and ascending to breathtaking heights towards Chamonix, travellers will see waterfalls crashing down and majestic mountain crags rising in the background. Shady forests alternate with cosy villages and ultimately give way onto the grandiose glacier of Mont Blanc, Europe's highest peak. The St. Bernard Express takes passengers from Martigny to Orsières and from there by bus through beautiful mountain countryside to the Great St. Bernard Pass.

The Visiting Towns

Halle (B) is a town of around 37,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of Vlaams-Brabant and is located 557km (346 miles) north-west of Martigny.

Minden an der Weser (D) is a town with a population of around 83,000 inhabitants in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 691km (429 miles) north-east of Martigny.

Dunbar (GB) is a town with a population of around 10,000 inhabitants in the Scottish council area of East Lothian and is located 1,288km (800 miles) north-west of Martigny.

Foggia (I) is a city with a population of around 155,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Apulia and is located 854km (531 miles) south-east of Martigny.

The Venue

Piscine Municipale

The games were played in and around the open-air municipal lido located in the south-east corner of the town. The complex comprises two pools with the larger of the two being a 50m (164ft) six-lane pool for the experienced swimmer, complete with four diving boards at heights of 1m, 3m, 5m and 10m.

The second is a smaller 17m x 13m (55ft 9in x 42ft 8in) pool for non-swimmers and families with small children and has a 50m water slide. With modernisation taking place over recent years, other facilities in place provide for volleyball, basketball, pétanque, table tennis, football and a revamped picnic area.

Associated Events

Dunbar team member Douglas Robertson recalled: The British team of Dunbar flew to Switzerland for this Jeux Sans Frontières contest and for many of the team, including the cheer girls, this was their first ever flight, and this added to the excitement of the trip. Team member Douglas Robertson, speaking in 2020 to the Dunbar & District History Society website, commented that “After the flight, we had two bus journeys to get to Martigny. The scenery from the airport to Martigny was very new to us and the mountains were quite spectacular. We went on a bus trip into the mountains before the games. We then got a ski lift to the top of the mountain and there was a café at the top. We were surrounded by mountains and of course, this being Switzerland, the mountains were much, much higher than any of us had seen before – and certainly not in Scotland. The views across the mountains were tremendous." The team were accompanied on their excursion by BBC It's A Knockout producer Barney Colehan, who can be seen at the centre of the picture above.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Spanish Bull

The first game - ‘The Spanish Bull’ - was played in unison over four minutes duration on an area at the western side of the main pool and was the first of two to utilise live animals. It featured a live bull and two male competitors from each team, who were armed with a total of 10 country-coded polystyrene cubes, standing inside a caged arena. In the centre of the arena there were five pendulums, each attached to a bell hanging from wires above. On the whistle, the bull was released from a pen and the competitors had to run with a cube from one side of the cage to the centre, knock a pendulum to ring a bell and then run to the opposite side of the cage and place the cube on the ground. The competitors had to build a tower of 10 cubes whilst avoiding being attacked by the bull and possible injury, in addition to preventing the bull from knocking down their tower. Only cubes stacked in a tower at the final whistle would be counted. The team with the tower built of the greater number of cubes would be declared the winners.

As the game progressed, the teams that appeared to be doing well were subjected to tactical play by the other lesser-successful teams as they enticed the bull away from their towers and towards those of the teams with the tallest. At the end of this straightforward game, the scores revealed a very close finish with Switzerland having 8 cubes intact whilst Belgium, Great Britain and Italy each had 7 blocks and West Germany had 6 blocks.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Martigny (CH) (5pts awarded / 5pts total) =2nd Halle (B) (4pts / 4pts) =2nd Dunbar (GB) (4pts / 4pts) =2nd Foggia (I) (4pts / 4pts) 5th Minden an der Weser (D) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: In order to protect the competitors from any serious injury, the horns of the bull had been covered with strong insulation tape. Speaking about this game on the Dunbar & District History Society website, Dunbar team member Douglas Robertson remembered: "We had to carry polystyrene blocks from one side of the ring to the other. To make sure you went across the middle, you had to ring a bell. It sounds very easy, but there was a bull in the ring! You had to encourage the bull to knock down the opposition’s pile of blocks. It wasn’t a friendly bull at all and I had a wee contretemps with the bull. It got me up against the fence, with a horn on either side of me and it started butting me against the fence. Dick James came to my rescue and got hold of the bull’s tail and pulled it away. When I climbed on to the fence, I looked down and there was poor Dick under the bull’s feet! He managed to get away and climb the fence. This was the last [year in which] they had live animals in Jeux Sans Frontiéres." In all, a very dramatic experience for Douglas and Dick and it was fortunate that both of them had experience of working with animals on farms around Dunbar.

Game 2 - The Brown Bears

The second game - ‘The Brown Bears’ - was played in unison by four of the five teams (with West Germany missing the game) over four minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game was played across the small pool, which had been drained and filled with foam, and featured a male competitor from each team dressed in a brown bear costume. A wooden beam, supported from below, spanned the pool’s width and at the far end there were 10 bunches of grapes hanging down from wires. On the whistle, the competitor had to make his way across the beam in order to collect a bunch of grapes and then return to the start. Any competitor falling into the foam had to return to the start and repeat the run again. The game was repeated throughout and the team collecting the greater number of bunches would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward game saw Italy complete the game with all 10 bunches of grapes in 3 minutes 55 seconds, Switzerland and Great Britain had collected 8 bunches each and Belgium had collected 7 bunches.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Foggia (I) (10pts awarded / Joker / 14pts total) ▲ 2nd Martigny (CH) (4pts / 9pts) ▼ 3rd Dunbar (GB) (4pts / 8pts) ▼ 4th Halle (B) (2pts / 6pts) ▼ 5th Minden an der Weser (D) (--- / 1pt)

Comments: This game was made more difficult with the far end of the beam not being supported and gave a springboard effect making it more demanding for the competitors to reach up and grab the grapes.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - Feeding Time at the Zoo

The next game - ‘Feeding Time at the Zoo’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration underneath the diving board of the main pool and was the second game to include live animals. It featured three male competitors dressed as zookeepers armed with two trays each bearing a fish. On the whistle, each of the competitors had to take it turn to walk across a narrow beam spanning the pool. Once across to the other side, the fish had to be handed to a stagehand who would then feed the fish to five penguins in a small fenced pool. In opposition on the pool’s edge, there were four opposing females (one from each of the other teams) each armed with a sack hanging from above and they had to use the sack to dislodge the competitors from the beam as they crossed and thus plunging them into the water. The team with the greater number of fish carried across the pool would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of West Germany and they collected a total of 12 fish within the time permitted.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Minden an der Weser (D) (12)

Comments: Although this game featured live animals, they were merely used for cosmetic purposes. However, later rounds would see their presence abused by some eager competitors.

Game 3 - Diving for the Salmon

The third game - ‘Diving for the Salmon’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from four of the five teams (with Great Britain not participating) and was played underneath the water. In the pool, there was a large Perspex rectangular wall with four large holes cut out of it and on the other side there were seven salmon, constructed out of wire, attached to a frame. On the whistle, one competitor from each team dived into the pool and had to swim through the hole to grab a salmon from the frame and then return to the pool’s edge via the same route. The salmon was then handed to the second competitor who tossed it into a large net and then dived into the pool to repeat the game whilst the previous competitor exited. The game then had to be repeated throughout. The team collecting all seven salmon in the faster time or the greater number within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

At the end of the game, it was no surprise when West Germany were declared to have collected all seven of their salmon in 2 minutes 48 seconds. The remaining teams had failed to complete the game in its entirety with Italy collecting 6 salmon, Switzerland collecting 5 salmon and Belgium collecting 3 salmon.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Foggia (I) (4pts awarded / 18pts total) 2nd Martigny (CH) (3pts / 12pts) 3rd Minden an der Weser (D) (10pts / Joker / 11pts) ▲ =4th Halle (B) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ =4th Dunbar (GB) (--- / 8pts)

Comments: This was the first and only time that a game took place underneath the water surface and out of sight of the assembled crowd. In order for the action to be viewed, television cameras had been put in place to capture the action beneath the surface. However, with the action being viewed in monochrome, it was at times difficult to determine which team were leading the game. It was only when the teams exited the pool, that viewers were able to ascertain this information.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - Feeding Time at the Zoo

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Great Britain and it appeared that the team’s strategy was to fire on all guns and race across the beam instead of going slow and avoiding the sacks. However, this tactic backfired on them because the stagehands could not keep up with the pace and soon ran out of trays to use. The referees swiftly brought in more trays and, to ensure parity and fairness, added an additional 15 seconds to their playing time. At the end of this extended time, the team had collected a total of 7 fish.

Photo © Rob Bissett / Dunbar & District History Society, 1969

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Minden an der Weser (D) (12) 2nd Dunbar (GB) (7)

Comments: In this and the following round of the Jeu Intermédiaire, some of the competitors threw their two trays into the small pool which housed the penguins, instead of handing them to stagehands and caused injury and stress to the birds. Following complaints from animal welfare authorities that this - and the use of a bull in the first game - constituted cruelty, live animals were never used again in Jeux Sans Frontières after the 1969 series. However, their use continued in Intervilles, the French Domestic series and certain international series based on the Intervilles format.

Game 4 - The Pollinating Bees

The fourth game - ‘The Pollinating Bees’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from four of the five teams (with the Italians taking a break) dressed in a bee costume located in a cable car frame 30m (98ft 6in) above the ground. On the whistle, the competitor had to descend to earth by a zip wire and then run to a floating platform spanning the width of the pool to join the female inside a rubber dinghy. Whilst he removed all the safety gear from his descent and then attach high-powered magnets to his knees with straps, she had to row the dinghy to the opposite side of the pool, where her team-mate had to disembark. He then had to make his way across a safety carpet to a high wall where he had to attach a further two magnets to his hands. He then had to climb up to the top of the metallic wall in order to ‘pollinate’ (in reality by releasing a catch) and reveal a large flower. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although it appeared at first glance to be a difficult game to play, it was a very closely fought contest with all the teams climbing the wall with ease. Despite a small delay in their climb at the start, West Germany went from fourth to first place and were the first to reach the top and release their flower in 1 minute 25 seconds. They were followed by Great Britain in 2nd place in 1 minute 28 seconds, Switzerland in 3rd place in 1 minute 31 seconds and Belgium in 4th place in 1 minute 33 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Foggia (I) (--- / 18pts total) 2nd Minden an der Weser (D) (5pts awarded / 16pts) ▲ 3rd Martigny (CH) (3pts / 15pts) ▼ =4th Halle (B) (4pts / Joker / 12pts) =4th Dunbar (GB) (4pts / 12pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - Feeding Time at the Zoo

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Italy and they collected 16 fish.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Foggia (I) 16) 2nd Minden an der Weser (D) (12) ▼ 3rd Dunbar (GB) (7) ▼

Game 5 - The Skating Penguins

The fifth game - ‘The Skating Penguins’ - was played by four of the five teams (the Belgians taking their turn for a breather) over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed Switzerland and Great Britain presenting their Jokers for play. The game was played on an artificial ice rink laid out over the picnic area to the west of both pools and featured two male competitors from each team dressed in penguin costumes on ice skates. The competitors were attached to opposite ends of the course by large elastic cords. On the whistle, the competitors had to skate towards each other and pass a large fish from one to the other. The game was made more difficult due to the fact that the competitors hands were inside the wings of the penguin costume and the fish could only be passed by cupping the wing around the fish. The team passing the greater number of fish would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland and Great Britain and whilst Switzerland were able to pass 3 fish, Great Britain suffered disaster and failed to score.

The second heat featured West Germany and Italy and, as was the case with Great Britain, both teams were unable to score.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Martigny (CH) (10pts awarded / Joker / 25pts total) ▲ 2nd Foggia (I) (2pts / 20pts) ▼ 3rd Minden an der Weser (D) (2pts / 18pts) ▼ 4th Dunbar (GB) (4pts / Joker / 16pts) 5th Halle (B) (--- / 12pts) ▼

Comments: Great Britain chose to play their Joker on this game but finished in last place. Ironically, it was the only game up to Game 7 (ignoring Game 3 which they sat out) that they didn’t finish in second place!

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - Feeding Time at the Zoo

The fourth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Belgium and, after making just three full crossings of the beam throughout the game, they collected a total of 4 fish.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Foggia (I) 16) 2nd Minden an der Weser (D) (12) 3rd Dunbar (GB) (7) 4th Halle (B) (4)

Game 6 - The Thieving Golden Eagles

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘The Thieving Golden Eagles’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and featured a male competitor from four of the five teams (with the Swiss not competing) dressed as a golden eagle attached to a pulley on a rope and standing on a podium. In front of the competitor was a diagonal zip wire which had been embedded into the ground and was supported from wires high above. Along the length of the wire there were four large balloons (representing eggs) attached at varying heights. On the whistle, the competitor had to jump forward and off the podium and then had to build up speed by swinging back and forth in order to reach the first egg which he had to burst with a pin attached to his shoe. Once achieved, several male team-mates had to raise him up by pulling on the rope so that he could reach the second of the balloons. This had to be repeated until all four balloons had been burst. The team bursting all four balloons in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and Great Britain with the latter bursting all four balloons in an incredible time of 28 seconds. Contemporaneously, Belgium had been penalised as their competitor had burst the third balloon with his hand and had also lost momentum which resulted in him being unable to reach the final balloon. The team lowered him to the ground so that he could restart his swing and then be raised up again to attempt the fourth balloon. However, he was unable to complete his task within the permitted time and were given a score of just 2 balloons.

The second heat featured West Germany and Italy with the former bursting all four balloons in 27 seconds. As was the case with Belgium, Italy had lost momentum whilst bursting the third balloon and were unable to reach the fourth balloon. However, their competitor was lowered to the ground to restart his momentum and on his second attempt was able to burst the final balloon in 1 minute 17 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Martigny (CH) (--- / 25pts total) ▲ =2nd Minden an der Weser (D) (5pts awarded / 23pts) ▲ =2nd Foggia (I) (3pts / 23pts) 4th Dunbar (GB) (4pts / 20pts) 5th Halle (B) (2pts / 14pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - Feeding Time at the Zoo

The fifth and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and they collected a total of 15 fish and finished in 2nd place on the game.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Foggia (I) 16) 2nd Martigny (CH) (15) 3rd Minden an der Weser (D) (12) ▼ 4th Dunbar (GB) (7) ▼ 5th Halle (B) (4) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Martigny (CH) (4pts awarded / 29pts total) 2nd Foggia (I) (5pts / 28pts) 3rd Minden an der Weser (D) (3pts / 26pts) ▼ 4th Dunbar (GB) (2pts / 22pts) 5th Halle (B) (1pt / 15pts)

Game 7 - The Chicken's Eggs

The seventh and final game - ‘The Chicken’s Eggs’ - was played over four minutes duration and, along with the rampaging bull, took place in the caged arena utilised in the first game. It featured a male competitor from each team sitting on a trapeze swing hanging from a carousel canopy inside the cage and a giant artificial chicken located outside the perimeter of its fence. Protruding out from underneath the rear of the chicken, there was a ramp from where eggs (small footballs) would be released to roll down towards the ground. On the whistle, the bull was released and the competitors had to jump out of the way of the bull by using the trapeze swings and lifting their legs. It was then their task to motivate the carousel by running around whilst holding on to the swings and jumping up as the bull approached them. When the competitors had moved round to the area where the end of the ramp was located, they could grab an egg and, after keeping possession of it, toss it into a net on the opposite side of the arena as they passed on the next circumnavigation. The team collecting the greater number of eggs would be declared the winners.

At the end of this very simple game, the results revealed that Switzerland and Italy had collected 5 eggs each, West Germany had 4 eggs, Great Britain had 3 eggs and Belgium had 2 eggs.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Martigny (CH) (5pts awarded / 34pts total) 2nd Foggia (I) (5pts / 33pts) 3rd Minden an der Weser (D) (3pts / 29pts) 4th Dunbar (GB) (2pts / 24pts) 5th Halle (B) (1pt / 16pts)

Comments: As has been the case in the first game, in order to protect the competitors from any serious injury, the horns of the bull had been covered with strong insulation tape.

Additional Information

Electrical power supplies seem to have been something of an Achilles heel for Jeux Sans Frontières in 1969. After the problems encountered in the first heat from Brugge, Belgium, which caused three quarters of the picturesque Flemish city to be blacked out, a similar crisis struck this programme from Martigny. Interviewed in 1977 for the Swiss press, Jean Bovon - the director of this and the 1977 heat for SSR - revealed that due to power supply problems, the rest of Martigny had to be blacked out to allow the recording and Eurovision transmission to continue.

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

D

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 5

Event Staged: Wednesday 20th August 1969
Venue: VfL Stadion am Elsterweg (VfL Stadium on the Elsterweg),
Wolfsburg, West Germany

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 20th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 20th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 20th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 20th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Friday 22nd August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 22nd August 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Weather Conditions: Warm with a Strong Breeze and Intermittent Rain Showers

Winner's Trophy presented by: Camillo Felgen, ARD-WDR Presenter

Theme: German Funfair Attractions

Teams: Gosselies (B) v. Chiasso (CH) v. Wolfsburg (D) v.
Coleraine (GB) v. Alba (I)

Team Members included:
Wolfsburg (D) - Bärbel Auweiler, Bernd Auweiler, Volker Auweiler, Wolfgang Auweiler, Bertram Beorg, Josef Korn, Sigried Müller, Ulrika Müchtiger, Monika Plaat, Werner Prante, Maria Skritek, Leo Sprey, Ulrich Steecher, Leo Zimmermann;
Coleraine (GB) - Ray Rankin (Team Manager), Betty McWhirter (Women's Team Captain), Ronnie Cameron, Rosemary Lagan, Richard Lyons, Philip McGarvey;
Alba (I) - Bruno Sola (Team Captain), Roberto Bisotti, Flavio Bordizzo, Piercarlo Rosa Brusin, Giovanni Cane, Tina Chapel, Roberto Gabutti, Oreste Gamba, Enrico Giannini, Antonio Miletto, Luisella Sciolla, Pina Torello, Franco Vione.

Games: Push-Me Pull-Me Llamas, The Fat Ladies, The Spinning Tea-Cups, Taking Pigs to Market, The Giant Pugilists, The Candy Floss Sellers, The Wheel of Death;
Jeu Intermédiaire: The Gymnastic Footballer;
Jokers: Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 D • Wolfsburg ● ●
 I • Alba
 CH • Chiasso
 GB • Coleraine
 B • Gosselies

33
32
28
25
20

International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Brugge-Zeebrugge (5th, 20pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Martigny (1st, 34pts)
West Germany (D) - Wolfsburg (1st, 33pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Shrewsbury (1st, 32pts)
Italy (I) - Adria (1st, 33pts)

The Host Town

Wolfsburg, West Germany

Wolfsburg is a city with a population of around 125,000 inhabitants and is the fifth largest in the state of Niedersachsen. It is located on the 211km (131 miles) long River Aller, 24km (15 miles) north-east of Braunschweig, 63km (39 miles) south of Uelzen, 72km (45 miles) east of Hannover and 178km (111 miles) west of Berlin.

The Schloß Wolfsburg, a Weser renaissance castle was first mentioned in 1302 in a document as the domicile of the noble lineage of Bartensleben. Originally a keep next to the Aller, it was protected by a moat some centuries later. In 1372, the first documentary reference to the Burg Neuhaus (Castle of Neuhaus) near Wolfsburg appeared. After the extinction of the Bartensleben line in 1742, the property and its castle were passed on to the Earls of the Schulenburg. The communal manor was an important employer for the nearby settlements of Rothenfelde and Heßlingen.

Wolfsburg was founded on 1st July 1938 as the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben translated as ‘City of the KdF Cars at Fallersleben’ with KdF being an abbreviation for Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy). It was planned as a town centred on the village of Fallersleben and built to house workers of the Volkswagen factories erected to assemble what was to become the Volkswagen Beetle. The city is famous for the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group and the biggest car plant in the world.

At the urging of the British occupying power, the city was renamed Wolfsburg on 25th May 1945, after the eponymous castle. Ironically, 'wolf' was the nickname of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) amongst his closest colleagues and also his sister's adopted name. The emblem of Wolfsburg shows a silver two-tower castle with a closed gate on red ground over a green base with silver waved timbers. Over the battlement of the castle paces a golden wolf with a blue tongue.

In 1950, Wolfsburg was twinned with the town of Luton in Bedfordshire, a link that remains intact to this day, and in 1955, the one-millionth VW Beetle was manufactured in Wolfsburg. During the years of the German economic miracle, Wolfsburg experienced a large influx of immigrant workers, especially from Italy. From about 1,000 inhabitants in 1938, the population of the city increased to 100,000 on 1st July 1972 because of the suburbanization of several villages which made Wolfsburg a major city. In 1973, the population reached its highest level of 132,000.

The centre of Wolfsburg is unique in Germany whereby, instead of a medieval town centre, it features a new and modern attraction called the Autostadt, a visitor attraction adjacent to the Volkswagen factory with a prime focus on automobiles. It features pavilions for the principal automobile brands in the Volkswagen Group, a museum and a customer centre where visitors can collect their new cars and take a tour through the enormous factory. It is also home to the largest glass doors in the world and the longest printed line. The line starts from outside Wolfsburg and travels through the Autostadt to a point on adjacent farmland and is about 6.4km (4 miles) long!

The Visiting Towns

Gosselies (B) is a town with a population of around 12,500 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgium province of Hainaut and is located 492km (306 miles) south-west of Wolfsburg.

Chiasso (CH) is a town with a population of around 9,000 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 745km (463 miles) south of Wolfsburg.

Coleraine (GB) is a town with a population of around 26,000 inhabitants in County Londonderry (Derry) in Northern Ireland and is located 1,183km (735 miles) north-east of Wolfsburg.

Alba (I) is a town with a population of around 33,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Piemonte and is located 883km (549 miles) south of Wolfsburg.

The Venue

VfL Stadion am Elsterweg

The games were played inside the VfL stadium, a 20,500 capacity stadium with a six-lane athletics track which at the time of transmission was home to football club VfL Wolfsburg (Verein für Leibesübungen, translating into English as ‘Association for Physical Education’). The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city and is still a wholly owned subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group.

The first football club affiliated with the auto-works was known as BSG Volkswagenwerk Stadt des KdF-Wagen, a workers’ team. They played in the first division Gauliga Osthannover in the 1943-44 and 1944-45 seasons. At 7pm on 12th September 1945, in the aftermath of World War II (1939-1945), a new club was formed in a hut on the Straße Reislinger (Reislinger Road) by one woman and eleven men (Irma Dziomba and Herbert Chall, Sepp Dietz, Alois Dilla, Willi Hilbert, Kurt Lindner, Heinz Schacht, Arthur Schickl, Erich Schilling, Adam Schröck, Fritz Walb and Rudolf Zenker) and was known briefly as VSK Wolfsburg. This side began playing in the green and white still worn by VfL today and the colours which feature on the city’s flag. Local youth coach Bernd Elberskirch had ten green jerseys at his disposal and white bed sheets donated by the public were sewn together by local women to make the shorts.

On 15th December 1945, the club went through a crisis that almost ended its existence after just three months, when all but one of its competitors were disgruntled and left to found 1. FC Wolfsburg. The only remaining competitors, Josef Meyer and Willi Hilbert, worked together to rebuild the side by signing new competitors. Within a few days, a motley crew were put together, a few of whom had never played football. Hermann Heuser (handball competitor), Heinz Walter (Boxer), Ernst Buchert, the Brothers Schwarzenbart, Heinz Birg and others formed the new team and in their first game against an English army side promptly lost 0-8. The new group adopted the moniker Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg, which they immediately truncated to VfL Wolfsburg.

The VfL stadium was inaugurated on 10th October 1947, becoming the new home of the first men's team of VfL. On 1st May 1961, the newly roofed concrete grandstand was officially completed. It was designed by the Wolfsburg-based architect Hans Tiedemann, with the construction costs of 720,000 DM (approximately £65,000 in 1971 and just over £1 million in 2019) being shared between the city of Wolfsburg and the Volkswagen plant.

Since then the club has gone from strength to strength and in 1995, the city council granted the football team a much-needed five million Euro (£3.94 million) loan to build a new stadium on the eastern side of the city. In 2002, the team moved into their new home at the Volkswagen Arena, a multi-purpose stadium which seats a total capacity of 30,000 spectators, and is the site where the club won their first Bundesliga title in the 2008-09 season. The old stadium was initially kept on by the club, which reduced its capacity from 21,600 seats to 17,600, and used it the host VfL Wolfsburg's women's and reserve team (VfL Wolfsburg II) until 2015, when those teams were moved to the AOK Stadion in the city's Allerpark public leisure park, adjacent to the Volkswagen Arena. Currently, the old stadium - known today as the VfL Stadion am Elsterweg (VfL Stadium on the Elsterweg) - is used mostly for the home games of the city’s amateur squad, though its long-term future is uncertain.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Push-Me Pull-Me Llamas

The first game - ‘Push-Me Pull-Me Llamas’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured two male competitors from each team inside a two-headed llama costume with their legs tied together. Whilst one of the competitors was facing forward, the other faced backwards. On the whistle, it was a straightforward return journey race down the 70m (229ft 8in) course with the forward-facing competitor jumping forward whilst his team-mate jumped backwards. At the end of the course, the team had to make the return journey with the original forward-facing competitor now facing backwards and the reverse for this team-mate. Both competitors had to ensure that they jumped in unison otherwise no forward movement would be attained. The team crossing the finish line in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was a closely run race and at the turnaround, there were just seven seconds separating the teams. Italy had reached the halfway point after 40 seconds of elapsed time followed by Great Britain in 42 seconds and West Germany in 43 seconds. Belgium were the fourth to reach the mid-point in 46 seconds with Switzerland close behind in 47 seconds. The return journey saw Italy maintain their lead and they finished the course in 1 minute 41 seconds. Belgium, who had been in 4th place at the halfway point, had made up ground and overtaken their two leaders and finished the course in 2nd place in 1 minute 45 seconds. The third team to cross the line was West Germany in 1 minute 47 seconds followed by Great Britain in 4th place in 1 minute 55 seconds. Switzerland failed to complete the course and were deemed out of time.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alba (I) (5pts awarded / 5pts total) 2nd Gosselies (B) (4pts / 4pts) 3nd Wolfsburg (D) (3pts / 3pts) 4th Coleraine (GB) (2pts / 2pts) 5th Chiasso (CH (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: Although West Germany, Great Britain and Italy all complied with the rules at the halfway point and changed their direction of travel, Belgium and Switzerland failed to do so, and this appeared to go unnoticed by the judges with the awarding of the points! This game was based on the mythical creatures created by author Hugh Lofting (1886-1947) in his 1920 novel Dr Dolittle. The creatures were also to feature in the 1967 musical film version of the book which starred Rex Harrison (1908-1990), Samantha Eggar, Anthony Newley (1931-1999) and Richard Attenborough (1923-2014).

Game 2 - The Fat Ladies

The second game - ‘The Fat Ladies’ - was played in unison over five minutes duration and featured four male competitors from four of the five teams (with the British team absent) standing on top of a podium which housed a female mannequin and a pile of 64 large colour-coded pieces on the ground in front of them. On the whistle, the team had to descend the podium and dive into the pile to retrieve their 16 allocated coloured pieces and then they had to assemble them around the original mannequin on the podium. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Although the game appeared somewhat of an ordeal at first glance, it was in reality quite straightforward with West Germany completing the game in 2 minutes 45 seconds. Although Belgium had believed that they had completed the game soon after this, referee Gennaro Olivieri announced that Italy had finished in 2nd place in 3 minutes 28 seconds. Switzerland were awarded 3rd place in 3 minutes 34 seconds, whilst Belgium were simply awarded 4th place but with no time. Without any given explanation of this, it can only be assumed that there had been an infringement of the rules by the team or that they had failed to complete the task correctly.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alba (I) (4pts awarded / 9pts total) 2nd Wolfsburg (D) (5pts / 8pts) ▲ 3rd Gosselies (B) (2pts / 6pts) ▼ 4th Chiasso (CH (3pts / 4pts) ▲ 5th Coleraine (GB) (--- / 2pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 1 - The Gymnastic Footballer

The next game - ‘The Gymnastic Footballer’ - was the Jeu Intermédiaire which was played over two minutes duration and featured a male competitor and a 3.6m (11ft 9¾in) high horizontal bar similar to that used in gymnastics. On the whistle, the competitor had to make continuous 360° rotations of the bar and, as he descended, had to kick a ball which was being held by a male team-mate crouching down on the ground in front of him. The ball had to be caught by another team-mate (a team choice of either male or female) who was standing on a podium surrounded by four small pools of water, 10m (32ft 9in) in front of the game. Each ball that was successfully caught then had to be thrown into a large wooden cage. The team catching the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Great Britain and whilst their competitor made twenty rotations, his male team-mate was only able to catch a total of 12 balls.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Coleraine (GB) (12)

Comments: During his commentary, West German presenter Tim Elstner explained that there would be a special prize for the visiting competitor with the highest number of goals, but did not reveal any details of what it would be at this point.

Game 3 - The Spinning Teacups

The third game - ‘The Spinning Teacups’ - was played by four of the five teams (the Italians taking time out) over two heats of three minutes duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured three female competitors from each team sitting inside a large teacup which had been fixed to the top of a podium on wheels which itself was mounted on a 75m (246ft) long set of meandering railway tracks. Inside the teacup, there was a fixed steering wheel on the top of a shaft which went through the base of the cup and which was attached to a cog underneath the carousel. On the whistle, the competitors had to turn the steering wheel in order to spin the teacup and set the carousel in motion along the tracks. En route, they had to collect three sets of balloons which were attached to poles and then affix them to hooks located on the rim of the teacup. Once all the balloons had been collected, the competitors had to set the teacup in reverse and return to the start and set off a firecracker. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany and Great Britain and it was to be a very close run race. However, Great Britain had the slight edge on their rivals throughout and finished the game in 2 minutes 20 seconds with West Germany finishing in 2 minutes 28 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium and Switzerland and it was apparent from the outset that Switzerland were the stronger of the two teams. However, it could also be seen that both teams were slower in their execution of the game than those from the first heat and this was confirmed when their times were announced. Switzerland had crossed the finish line in 2 minutes 38 seconds and Belgium finished in 2 minutes 47 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Wolfsburg (D) (4pts awarded / 12pts total) ▲ =1st Coleraine (GB) (10pts / Joker / 12pts) ▲ 3rd Alba (I) (--- / 9pts) ▼ 4th Gosselies (B) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ 5th Chiasso (CH (3pts / 7pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 2 - The Gymnastic Footballer

The second round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Italy and, although their competitor made a total of eighteen rotations, his male team-mate was only able catch a total of 7 balls.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Coleraine (GB) (12) 2nd Alba (I) (7)

Game 4 - Taking Pigs to Market

The fourth game - ‘Taking Pigs to Market’ - was played by four of the five teams (with the Belgians sitting out the game) in unison over three minutes duration along fenced lanes and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team kneeling atop a large contraption in the guise of a mother pig which was balanced on the axle of a large wheel and had a piglet mounted on a small wheel on either side. On the whistle, the competitor had to set the pig in motion by rotating the large wheel via a slot on the pig’s back. On the 90m (295ft 3in) course in front of each lane were four ‘live’ piglets and, using the artificial mother as a shield, he had to steer them along the lane towards a holding pen. On reaching a specified line at 70m (229ft 8in), the competitor could dismount the pig and herd the piglets along the remainder of the course by any means possible. Any piglets that were able to stray behind the contraption had to be rounded up and repositioned in front by the competitor using the normal farming method. The game would be deemed as completed once all four pigs and competitor were inside the pen and the gate locked behind them. The team finishing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

It was apparent from the outset of this rather straightforward game that Italy had played their Joker wisely after leading the game throughout and finishing in 1 minute 35 seconds before any of the other three teams had even reached the 70m line. Switzerland finished the course in 2nd place in 1 minute 59 seconds followed by West Germany in 3rd place in 2 minutes 2 seconds and Great Britain in 4th place in 2 minutes 51 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alba (I) (10pts awarded / Joker / 19pts total) ▲ 2nd Wolfsburg (D) (3pts / 15pts) ▼ 3rd Coleraine (GB) (2pts / 14pts) ▼ 4th Chiasso (CH (4pts / 11pts) ▲ 5th Gosselies (B) (--- / 8pts) ▼

Comments: As was the case in the previous heat, the motion for animal rights was brought to the fore following this game, after the competitors were permitted to slap and kick the piglets used in the game in order to get them to move.

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 3 - The Gymnastic Footballer

The third round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Belgium but their competitor was not adept as the previous two and although he completed 11 rotations, his female team-mate was only able to catch 1 ball.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Coleraine (GB) (12) 2nd Alba (I) (7) 3rd Gosselles (B) (1)

Game 5 - The Giant Pugilists

The fifth game - ‘The Giant Pugilists’ - was played over two heats by four of the five teams (with the Swiss not participating) and witnessed Belgium and West Germany presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team wearing boxing gloves and suitable attire with his ankles connected to his respective wrists by ropes. The lengths of the ropes were limited and designed to hinder the movement of the competitor. At the start of the course, there was an effigy of a giant 250kg (551lb 2½oz) pugilist posing with his boxing gloves in front of his chest standing on a podium and mounted on a set of meandering railway tracks. On one of the gloves there was a target area which had to be ‘punched’ by the competitor in order to move the pugilist down the 90m (295ft 3in) course. On the whistle, the competitor had to lift up one of his legs to enable his respective hand to reach up to the punch area and then repeat with the other leg. This had to be repeated throughout the game until the podium crossed the finish line and set off a firecracker.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and Italy with the former setting off at a rapid pace and completing the course in exactly one minute. The competitor from Italy was not so adept and crossed the finish line in 1 minute 25 seconds.

The second heat featured West Germany and Great Britain and would prove to be the faster of the two. It was no surprise, with the Joker being played and the competitor being a professional heavyweight pugilist, that West Germany stormed the course and finished the game in just 35 seconds. Although the competitor from Great Britain was not quite as adept as his rival, he was able to complete the course in 50 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Wolfsburg (D) (10pts awarded / Joker / 25pts total) ▲ 2nd Alba (I) (2pts / 21pts) ▼ 3rd Coleraine (GB) (4pts / 18pts) 4th Gosselies (B) (6pts / Joker / 14pts) ▲ 5th Chiasso (CH (--- / 11pts) ▼

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 4 - The Gymnastic Footballer

The fourth and penultimate round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured Switzerland and it would witness the first of two astounding performances. The team captain opted to use a 16-year old competitor on the horizontal bar and would be vindicated in his choice after his female team-mate caught a total of 23 balls from the 28 rotations he executed. This result put them in 1st place on the game at this point.

Running Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Chiasso (CH) (23) 2nd Coleraine (GB) (12) ▼ 3rd Alba (I) (7) ▼ 4th Gosselles (B) (1) ▼

Comments: With all the ‘visiting’ gymnasts now having taken part, presenter Tim Elstner revealed that the prize for the highest-scoring visitor was a brand new Volkswagen T1 Transporter (known in Great Britain as the Volkswagen Camper) which was driven into the arena and handed over to the competitor from Chiasso!

Game 6 - The Candy Floss Vendors

The sixth and penultimate game - ‘The Candy Floss Vendors’ - was played in unison by four of the five teams (the Germans not taking part) over three minutes duration and featured two blindfolded female competitors from each team armed with two long wooden sticks and wearing large caricatured papier-mâché heads. On the whistle, the competitors had to work together in order to collect candy floss (or Zuckerwatte) from the machine and, with the assistance of a male team-mate shouting directional instructions, had to transport it to a container on weighing scales, 30m (98ft 6in) further up the course. The team collecting the greater amount of candy floss would be declared the winners.

This was a straightforward game which ended with Italy collecting 24.4kg (53lb 12¾oz) of candy floss, Belgium collecting 24.2kg (53lb 5¾oz), Switzerland collecting 21.4kg (47lb 2¾oz) and Great Britain collecting 17.7kg (39lb ¾oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alba (I) (5pts awarded / 26pts total) ▲ 2nd Wolfsburg (D) (--- / 25pts) ▼ 3rd Coleraine (GB) (2pts / 20pts) 4th Gosselies (B) (4pts / 18pts) 5th Chiasso (CH (3pts / 14pts)

Jeu Intermédiaire, Round 5 - The Gymnastic Footballer

The fifth and final round of the Jeu Intermédiaire featured West Germany and it appeared that the score set by Switzerland in the previous round would be difficult to emulate. However, they were not to be outdone, and their competitor made 29 rotations in total with his team-mate catching 24 of the balls and finished in 1st place on the game.

Final Jeu Intermédiaire Standings: 1st Wolfsburg (D) (24) 2nd Chiasso (CH) (23) ▼ 3rd Coleraine (GB) (12) ▼ 4th Alba (I) (7) ▼ 5th Gosselles (B) (1) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Wolfsburg (D) (5pts awarded / 30pts total) ▲ 2nd Alba (I) (2pts / 28pts) ▼ 3rd Coleraine (GB) (3pts / 23pts) 4th Gosselies (B) (1pt / 19pts) 5th Chiasso (CH (4pts / 18pts)

Game 7 - The Wheel of Death

The seventh and final game - ‘The Wheel of Death’ - was played over three minutes duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game was based on the historic fairground attraction of the same name and featured two male competitors from each team inside a high-netted cage which had been mounted on a carousel and filled with 500 footballs. Before the game was started, the carousel was set in motion by five stagehands and then would continue increasing speed by electromagnets underneath the equipment. Once it had reached the required speed of 48kph (29¾mph), the whistle was sounded and the competitor inside the cage could then start throwing the balls out of the cage to be caught by the second competitor located on a high podium around the outside the cage. The throws had to be timed accurately as the laws of kinetic energy and centrifugal force meant that the balls needed to be released some distance before reaching the podium. The team with the greater number of balls caught would be declared the winners.

At the end of this fast-paced game, the results were announced and Switzerland had collected 58 balls, Italy had 57 balls, West Germany had 56 balls, Great Britain had 28 balls and Belgium had 26 balls.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Wolfsburg (D) (3pts awarded / 33pts total) 2nd Alba (I) (4pts / 32pts) 3rd Chiasso (CH (10pts / Joker / 28pts) ▲ 4th Coleraine (GB) (2pts / 25pts) ▼ 5th Gosselies (B) (1pt / 20pts) ▼

Comments: The equipment used on this game did not operate as planned. After the stagehands had released the carousel it was supposed to continue spinning throughout the game but an unexpected fault with the mechanism caused it to slow down and stop. The stagehands had to rush in to restart it again but after a short while it stopped for a second time and the starting procedure had to be repeated once more.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

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 1970 programme from West-Berlin!

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Despite having been present in the commentary box and providing audio for West German viewers since 1967, this programme saw the debut appearance of Tim Elstner as an on-site presenter and commentator.

As had been the case on three occasions during the 1967 International series and at both the West German Internationals of 1968 in which he featured as a national referee, British presenter / commentator Eddie Waring's name was yet again shown incorrectly as 'Eddie Warring' in this programme's closing credits. Fortunately, this error would finally be corrected for the 1970 West German programme from West-Berlin!

Additional Information

The official title of Great Britain is the ‘United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’. Coleraine became the first of only two teams from the Irish province to participate in Jeux Sans Frontières, although they were denoted throughout this programme as Great Britain (GB). The other team to feature in the series were Londonderry in 1978 and, unlike the Coleraine team, their country code was given in that heat as Northern Ireland (NI). To confuse the matter further, when Coleraine participated and won through to Jeux Sans Frontières for a second occasion in 1980, the ident for the country reverted back to that of Great Britain (GB)!

With their previous four national rivals all having finished in last place in their heats, the Belgian team of Gosselies had high hopes of securing a place in the International Final. However, at the end of the competition they also found themselves in 5th place and although they had equalled Brugge-Zeebrugge's score of 20 pts, they lost out to them as they had not won a single game, opposed to their rival’s solitary 1st place finish which turned out to be priceless!

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

GB

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

International Final

Event Staged: Wednesday 3rd September 1969
Venue: South Promenade and Bathing Pool, Blackpool, Great Britain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
BBC1 (GB): Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
RAI Programma Nazionale (I): Friday 5th September 1969, 10.00-11.15pm

Audience Figures:
BBC1 (GB): 12,500,000 viewers
Europe (inclusive): 50,000,000 viewers

Teams: Brugge-Zeebrugge (B) v. Martigny (CH) v. Wolfsburg (D) v.
Shrewsbury (GB) v. Adria (I)

Team Members included:

Martigny (CH) - Etienne Martinyette, Bruno Maurais;
Wolfsburg (D) - Bärbel Auweiler, Bernd Auweiler, Volker Auweiler, Wolfgang Auweiler, Bertram Beorg, Josef Korn, Ulrika Müchtiger, Sigried Müller, Monika Plaat, Werner Prante, Maria Skritek, Leo Sprey, Ulrich Steecher, Leo Zimmermann;

Shrewsbury (GB) - Stuart Lister (Team Manager), Glyn Ashton, Stephen Bryant, Ken Bryars, Jackie Chidlow, Jean Clark, Malcolm Cowdrey, Bernice Davies, Robert Davies, Gerald Downes, Ruth Elcock, Gail Evans, Tove Fjeld, Charles Frank, Mike Franks, Geoffrey Hunt, Malcolm Ibbotson, John Jones, Penny Kinsella, Olwen Lea, Kelvin Macdonald, Chris Maydew, Dave Moore, Denise Parry, Philip Poole, Margaret Ratcliffe, Roger Ratcliffe, Maureen Roberts, Barry Shearman, Bill Thelwell, Philip Wardle, Brian Wenlock, Diane Whitney;
Adria (I) - Aldo Pasini (Team Captain), Franco Monti (Vice Team Captain), Robert Amà, Licia Barzan, Gianfranco Bellato, Adriana Bevilacqua, Franco Costantini, Gastone Carraro, Luigi Carraro, Maria Pia Cavallari, Virgilio Crema, Nelko Domeneghetti, Andrea Facco, Raffaella Franzoso, Giorgio Freghina, Elena Maltarello, Tullio Malusa, Renzo Martello, Maria Mazzariol, Rino Moda, Pietro Morandin, Donatella Pastore, Paolo Persuin, Giorgio Pozzati, Lucia Ranzato, Giovanni Rinaldi, Leandro Riondato, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Vanna Vanni, Paolo Vianello, Luciano Vomiero, Christina Zanchi.

Games included: Sack Race, The Greased Plank, The Gondoliers, The Bottles, The Mallet Trial;

Tie-Break: The Greased Plank.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

1st
1st
3rd
4th
5th

 D • Wolfsburg ●
 GB • Shrewsbury ●
 B • Brugge-Zeebrugge ●
 I • Adria ●
 CH • Martigny

32 (*)
32
31
26
24

(*) Wolfsburg won the tie-break game but after the broadcast sportingly decided to consider
the event a draw and share the Gold Trophy with Shrewsbury

Scores from this event are unconfirmed.
Rankings taken from BBC production team member Brian Clark's contemporary notes.

The Host Town

Blackpool, Great Britain

Blackpool is a seaside town with 7 miles (11km) of sandy beach and a population of around 144,000 inhabitants in the county of Lancashire. It is located on the Irish Sea coast between the Ribble and Wyre river estuaries, 12 miles (19km) north of Southport, 14 miles (22km) north-west of Preston, 20 miles (32km) south-west of Morecambe and 61 miles (98km) west of Leeds.

In medieval times Blackpool emerged as a few farmsteads on the coast, the name coming from "le pull", a stream that drained Marton Mere and Marton Moss into the sea close to what is now Manchester Square. The stream ran through peat bogs that discoloured the water, so the name for the area became "Black Poole". The first house of any substance, Foxhall, was built toward the end of the 17th century by Edward Tyldesley (1635-1685), the Squire of Myerscough and son of royalist Sir Thomas Tyldesley (1612-1651).

Until the middle of the 18th century, Blackpool was simply a coastal hamlet, but the practice of sea bathing to cure diseases was becoming fashionable among the wealthier classes, and visitors began making the arduous trek to Blackpool for that purpose. In 1781, Thomas Clifton (1727-1783) and Sir Henry Hoghton (1728-1795) built a private road to Blackpool and a regular stagecoach service from Manchester and Halifax was established. A few amenities, including four hotels, an archery stall and bowling greens, were developed, and the town grew slowly. The 1801 census records the town's population at 473 inhabitants.

The most significant event in the early growth of the town occurred in 1846, with the completion of a branch line to Blackpool from Poulton on the main Preston and Wyre Joint Railway line from Preston to Fleetwood. Around this time, Fleetwood declined as a resort, as its founder and principal financial backer, Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood (1801-1866), went bankrupt. In contrast, Blackpool boomed. A sudden influx of visitors, arriving by rail, provided the motivation for entrepreneurs to build accommodation and create new attractions, leading to more visitors and a rapid cycle of growth throughout the 1850s and 1860s. By 1851, the town's population had risen to over 2,500.

The growth was intensified by the practice among the Lancashire cotton mill owners of closing the factories for a week every year to service and repair machinery. These became known as ‘wakes weeks’. Each town's mills would close for a different week, allowing Blackpool to manage a steady and reliable stream of visitors over a prolonged period in the summer.

In 1863, the North Pier was completed, rapidly becoming a centre of attraction for elite visitors. Central Pier was completed in 1868, with a theatre and a large open-air dance floor. The town expanded southward beyond what is today known as the Golden Mile, towards South Shore, and South Pier was completed in 1893, making Blackpool the only town in the United Kingdom with three piers. In 1878, the Winter Gardens complex opened, incorporating ten years later the Opera House, said to be the largest in Britain outside London.

Much of Blackpool's growth and character from the 1870s was due to the town's pioneering use of electrical power. In 1879, it became the first municipality in the world to have electric street lighting, as large parts of the promenade were wired. The lighting and its accompanying pageants reinforced Blackpool's status as the North of England's most prominent holiday resort, and its specifically working class character. It was the forerunner of the present-day Blackpool Illuminations. In 1885, one of the world's first electric tramways was laid down as a conduit line running from Cocker Street to Dean Street on the Promenade. The line was operated by the Blackpool Electric Tramway Company until 1892 when their lease expired and Blackpool Corporation took over running the line. A further line was added in 1895, from Manchester Square along Lytham Road to South Shore, and the line was extended north to Fleetwood. In 1899, the conduit system was replaced by overhead wires. The tramway has remained in continuous service to this day and is the United Kingdom’s only surviving first generation tramway stretching 11 miles (18km) from the airport at Squires Gate all the way to Fleetwood.

By the 1890s, the town had a permanent population of 35,000 but could accommodate 250,000 holidaymakers. The number of annual visitors, many staying for a week, was estimated at three million. The decade also saw the opening of two of the town's most prominent buildings, the Grand Theatre on Church Street, and Blackpool Tower on the Promenade.

Documents have been found to suggest that the reason Blackpool escaped heavy damage in World War II (1939-1945) was that Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) had earmarked the town to remain a place of leisure after his planned invasion. Despite this, on 11th September 1940, German bombs fell near Blackpool North railway station and eight people were killed in nearby houses in Seed Street. This site today is occupied by the new Town Hall offices and a Sainsbury's supermarket. No plaque has ever been erected to remember the injured or dead.

The rise of package holidays in the late 1960s and 1970s took many of Blackpool's traditional visitors abroad, where the weather was more reliably warm and dry, and improved road communications, epitomised by the construction of the M55 motorway in 1975, made Blackpool more feasible as a day trip rather than an overnight stay. Despite this, the town’s economy, however, flourishes relatively undiversified and firmly rooted in the tourism sector and remains the most popular seaside resort in the country. However, the town has suffered a serious drop in numbers of visitors which have fallen from 17 million in 1992 to 10 million today.

The three main tourist hotspots in Blackpool originally appeared as part of the flourishing tourist industry. The first is Blackpool Tower which opened in 1894 and has been a dominant landmark of the Blackpool skyline since that time. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, it is 518ft 4in (158m) in height (roughly half the size of its more famous original) and houses a complex of leisure facilities, entertainment venues and restaurants, including the world-famous Tower Ballroom and Tower Circus, at its base.

The second, Pleasure Beach Blackpool, originates back to around 1910 and boasts rides including the Pepsi Max Big One which, between 1994 and 1996, was the world's fastest and tallest complete circuit rollercoaster. It was the country's most popular free attraction with 6 million visitors a year but has lost over a million visitors since 1998 and has recently introduced a £5 entrance fee.

The third is the North Pier, the northern-most of Blackpool's three piers, which includes a small shopping arcade, a small tramway and the North Pier Theatre. The pier end also used to have a helicopter pad, but this was damaged in a Christmas storm in 1997 and collapsed into the sea.

The Visiting Towns

Brugge (B) is located 319 miles (513km) south-east of Blackpool whilst Zeebrugge is located 314 miles (505km) south-east of Blackpool.

Martigny (CH) is located 696 miles (1,120km) south-east of Blackpool.

Wolfsburg (D) is located 581 miles (935km) east of Blackpool.

Shrewsbury (GB) is located 78 miles (125km) south of Blackpool.

Adria (I) is located 907 miles (1,460km) south-east of Blackpool.

The Venue

South Promenade Bathing Pool and Promenade

The games at this International Final were held in two locations along Blackpool’s famous promenade opposite its famous Pleasure Beach and were separated only by the wall of the South Promenade Bathing Pool itself. Built in 1923, the South Promenade Bathing Pool was affectionately referred to as Blackpool’s ‘Jewel in the Crown’ and was frequented by the rich and famous in its early years.

The cost of building the classical-style Coliseum with its Roman pillars around the pool alone was in the region of £75,000. Many stars of the cinema even took time out to bathe in its beautiful surroundings which included Sir Harry Lauder (1870-1950) in 1932 and Hollywood blonde-bombshell Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967) in 1959, and in 1934 Associated Talking Pictures used the pool for scenes in the Gracie Fields (1898-1967) musical Sing As We Go. Within a year of opening the pool had attracted over 94,000 bathers and by the end of the decade the number of visitors had totalled over nine million!

Said to have been the largest pool in the world, it was set amongst the large promenades, nestling on the edge of golden sands within the bracing air. The stadium received the world’s press, television and cinema, as a result of being the venue for the Miss Blackpool and Miss World Contests. The pool had an unusually shaped oval perimeter, the pool itself being D-shaped, and having a concaved pageant platform. There was a ‘cut out’ for the diving boards at one end, where the depth of the water was 15ft (4.57m). The pool area was of huge scale, approximately 376 ft long x 170ft wide (114.6m x 51.8m). The shape necessitated a swimming events area which was partitioned when necessary. There were of course refreshment areas and restaurants. The diving board area was the order of the day, having 2 x 9ft 10¼in (3m) springboards, 2 x 24ft 8in (7.5m) firm boards and a 32ft 9¾in (10m) high-board (which on windy days was claimed to have swayed!).

Sadly the pool and its buildings no longer exist. Due to its very expensive running and maintenance costs and the trend for holidays on the continent, its viability could no longer be sustained, and was closed to the public in 1981 and demolished two years later in 1983. The new leisure complex The Sandcastle Water Park has occupied the site since 1986.

Team Personnel

Shrewsbury team member Barry Shearman was ‘roped-in’ at the last moment to participate in one of the games, ‘The Mallet Trial’. Local Blackpool hotelier Barry was in the crowd during rehearsals and observed the British team were having difficulty in lifting the mallet to ring the bell. He commented to the team captain that he would be able to do it for them if he wanted. He was offered the chance and immediately ‘roped-in’ to compete on the game for Shrewsbury, which on the night of the International Final the team duly won.

Incidentally, 29-year old Barry would return in 1971 to participate for the Blackpool team once more and he also played the Blackpool team’s Joker in 1981 - in the guise of his alter-ego professional wrestler Rex Strong - when the town participated for the final time in the It's A Knockout Domestic Series.

Media Attention

An article in local newspaper The Shropshire Star in April 2019, entitled When 100 million viewers watched Shrewsbury compete in It’s A Knockout Final, reported that being beaten by the West Germans was difficult for the crestfallen Shrewsbury team to accept. Following months of intense training and preparation, the town had been in a state of high excitement.

An estimated 100 million people across Europe watched the programme live on the BBC broadcast as Shrewsbury tied with the team from Wolfsburg. Taken by surprise by the unexpected draw, and with there only being one Golden Trophy, the organisers had to hastily arrange a tie-break in the form of a rerun of the wheelbarrow game ('The Greased Plank'). Unfortunately for the home team, the visitors won and were presented with the trophy.

Shrewsbury team member Bernice Williams (née Davies), 67, then described how the team was somewhat overcome by the goodwill gesture of the West German contingent. “At the end it was a tie, and I don’t think it had happened before and they didn’t have a plan, and only had one trophy. The anticlimax was terrible, absolutely awful,” recalled Bernice. “We went back to the hotel for the after-games bash.” Then something extraordinary happened. She noticed the West German team having a word with Shrewsbury team manager Stuart Lister. “The German team came into the reception with the trophy and handed it to Stuart,” she added. In a remarkable display of sportsmanship, the West German camp, who had felt uncomfortable about how the competition had been decided, had agreed among themselves to hand the winner’s trophy to Shrewsbury, so long as they were given a replica. The organisers agreed later to present Wolfsburg with an exact replica of the Golden Trophy.

Records and Statistics

Shrewsbury performed a rare feat in Jeux Sans Frontières history. On the journey that led to their winning the Golden Trophy, they did not once step outside their home territory. They had played their Domestic heat in Shrewsbury, their International heat in Edinburgh and competed in the International Final in Blackpool. This has only been equalled on four other occasions (albeit that they did not participate in a Domestic heat) - Como (Italy) in 1970, Açores (Portugal) in 1989, Vigevano (Italy) in 1991 and Bolzano Sudtirol (Italy) in 1999. The last instance is not as out of the ordinary as those previous, as all 1999 heats were staged in Italy!

Since the addition of more than two competing teams, West German team Wolfsburg became the first of ONLY four teams ever to win two consecutive International programmes (in recorded or transmitted order), purely by luck of heat allocation. This feat was also achieved by Ettlingen, West Germany in 1976 and TWICE by Keskemét, Hungary in 1993 and again in 1994.

Additional Information

As there was a tied result, it meant that the Belgian team from Brugge-Zeebrugge was promoted to receive the silver trophy instead of the bronze, and the Italian team from Adria received the bronze trophy for their 4th place finish. As there were only five competing countries this year, it resulted in only the Swiss team Martigny not receiving a trophy in this International Final! This situation was to be repeated again in the 1988 International Final.

Both of the silver and golden trophies won by British team Shrewsbury at Edinburgh and Blackpool, respectively, are still on display at the town’s museum and art gallery

The prize money for the team winning the competition was £4,000 (approx. £46,000 today), with £2,000 for finishing in second place. As joint winners, Shrewsbury and Wolfsburg shared £6,000 (£68,000), going home from Blackpool with £3,000 (£34,000) a team.

A photograph of a game from this International Final is featured on Page 53 of the It’s A Knockout Annual 1977 published by World Distributors (Manchester) Limited in the autumn of 1976.

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of Shrewsbury's remarkable joint win, a fictionalised play was staged at the Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury between the 2nd and 5th October 2019. Entitled  Shrewsbury's Finest Hour, it was written by Chris Eldon Lee and produced by Love Lee Productions.

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

JSFnetGB Series Guide pages researched by
Neil Storer and Alan Hayes
with Ischa Bijl, Julien Dessy, Sébastien Dias, David Hamilton, Denis Kirsanov, Paul Leaver, Philippe Minet,
Christos Moustakas, David Laich Ruiz, Marko Voštan and JSFnet Websites