Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

European International Series

Entrants 1971: Belgium (B) • Switzerland (CH) • West Germany (D) •
France (F) • Great Britain (GB) • Italy (I) • Netherlands (NL)

Presenters / Commentators of International Competitions:
Paule Herreman (RTB - B)
Willy Delabastita (Heats 4, 7), Rik de Saedeleer (Heat 3) and Jan Theys (Heats 1-2, 5-7) (BRT - B)
Georges Kleinmann (SSR - CH)
Dorothea Furrer (Heat 2) and Jan Hiermeyer (SRG - CH)
Ezio Guidi (Heats 2-7, International Final) (TSI - CH)
Hartmut Brühl (Heats 1-2, 4, 6-7), Tim Elstner (Heat 5, International Final),
Camillo Felgen (Heats 1, 3-5, 7, International Final) and Kurt Gerhardt (Heats, 2-3, 6) (ARD-WDR - D)
Simone Garnier, Pierre Louis (Heat 6), Guy Lux (Heats 1-2, 4-7, International Final)
and Leon Zitrone (Heat 3) (ORTF - F)
David Vine and Eddie Waring (BBC - GB)
Giulio Marchetti and Rosanna Vaudetti (RAI - I)
Barend Barendse and Dick Passchier (Heat 3) (NCRV - NL)

International Referees:
Gennaro Olivieri
Guido Pancaldi

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

Production Credits:

National Producers: Pierre Chevreuille and Diane Lange (RTB - B), Nest Jansen, Jef Savenberg and Herman Verelst (BRT - B), Felix Rogner (CH), Marita Theile (D), Roger Lago, Guy Lux and Claude Savarit (F), Barney Colehan and Keith Phillips (GB), Luciano Gigante (I), Piet Hooy and Dick van 't Sant (NL); National Directors: Etienne D’Hoog (RTB - B), Marco Blaser (CH), Günther Hassert (D), Jean Cohen and Bernard Deflandre (F), Ian Smith (GB), Piero Turchetti (I), Dick van 't Sant (NL)

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

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

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 1

Event Staged: Wednesday 9th June 1971
Venue: Piazzale Roma Spiaggia (Rome Square Beach),
Lungomare Repubblica (Republic Waterfront), Riccione, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 9th June 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Thursday 24th June 1971
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 30th June 1971
BBC1 (GB): Friday 30th July 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Very Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Giulio Marchetti

Theme: The Cube

Teams: Ougrée (B) v. Courrendlin (CH) v. Idar-Oberstein (D) v.
Alès (F) v. Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) v. Riccione (I) v. Linne (NL)

Team Members included:
Idar-Oberstein (D) - Bernd Cullmann (Co-Team Coach), Horst Eckel (Co-Team Coach), Heinz Hoffmann (Co-Team Coach), Issolde Franks, Brunhilde Germar, Lutz Henze, Gisela Kramer, Manuela Müller, Gerdi Schäfer, Jurgen Walsch, Friedrich Wiederkopf, Joachim Woszinski;
Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) - Leslie Shepherd (Team Manager), Fred ‘Tiger’ Wilson (Team Coach), G Alsop, Jackie Anderson, Barbara Barker, A Davies, C Davies, G Dyson, Howard Ellis, Catherine Evans, K Evans, Jack Fuller, David Gathern, Dennis Griffiths, E Griffiths, Bill Gulston, Don Hanson, John Hewitt, G Hodgeson, Eric Howells, Beverley Jackson, G Jones, Janet Kersey-Brown, Ted Kersey-Brown, Tony Locket, David Mitchell, Stuart Owen, K Rice, A Roberts, J Roberts, Richard Roberts, Dai Rowlands, Pat Rushton, Vanessa Saunders, Susan Webb, J Whitehouse;
Riccione (I) - Eugenio Pagnini (Team Captain), Antonietta Bologna, Patrizia Bombardieri, Leopoldi Carlini, Davide Casadei, Clara degli Espositi, Paolo Fabbri, Margherita Dasparini, Franco Geminiani, Giorgio Gentile, Minea Giavolucci, Maria Mancinelli, Olinto di Mario, Graziella Minuzzoli, Gabriella Moretto, Tiziano Mulazzoni, Santo Rossi, Gianluigi Sciboni, Maurizio Sorci, Lidia Tonti
Linne (NL) - Sjef Simons (Team Manager), Andreas Suntjens (Team Coach), Harrie Beurskens (Team Captain).

Games: The Weighted Cube, The Paved Walkway, Balance and Speed, Take a Chance, Cubes in the Air, The Carousel Chain, Through the Cube and The Cube Race;
Fil Rouge: The Pogo Stick;
Jokers: Cubes on Poles.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 I • Riccione ● ●
 D • Idar-Oberstein
 NL • Linne
 CH • Courrendlin
 GB • Colwyn Bay
 B • Ougrée
 F • Alès

48
42
40
31
31
21
20

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Ougrée (6th, 21pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Courrendlin (=4th, 31pts)
West Germany (D) - Idar-Oberstein (2nd, 42pts)
France (F) - Alès (7th, 20pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (=4th, 31pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Linne (3rd, 40pts)

The Host Town

Riccione, Italy

Riccione is a town and holiday resort with a permanent population of around 36,000 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region. It is located 82km (51 miles) north-west of Ancona, 100km (62 miles) north-east of Perugia, 114km (71 miles) east of Firenze and 140km (87 miles) south of Chioggia. Riccione is situated on the Adriatic coast and is famous for exporting food all over the world e.g. Parmesan cheese, Parma ham and Ragu Bolognese.

The area around Riccione dates back to the 2nd century BC, although it was most likely that settlements had appeared earlier. At the time of the Roman Republic, it was known as Vicus Popilius and after a period of obscurity, it was acquired by the Agolanti family in 1260, which was connected to the lords of Rimini, the Malatesta. During the 17th century, watchtowers were built along the coast in order to prevent attack from pirates.

Origins of the tourist fame of Riccione date to the late 19th century, mostly spurred by the construction of residences by rich Bolognese people. In the 1930s, the resort attracted around 30,000 tourists a year and had around 80 existing hotels. It gained the status of a main destination of summer tourism on the Adriatic Riviera of Romagna. After World War II (1939-1945), tourism was further increased after it became a chosen vacation resort of numerous famous people, such as Brazilian footballer Pelè (1940-2022, real name Edson Arantes do Nascimento) and a variety of Italian celebrities including singer Mina Mazzini, film director Vittorio de Sica (1901-1974), film actor and director Ugo Tognazzi (1922-1990) and Maria Scicolone (younger sister of actor Sophia Loren).

Today, tourism in Riccione is massive and, together with Rimini, it is one of the best known and largest seaside resorts in Northern Italy. The Emilia-Romagna coast is called Riviera Romagnola and has plenty of night clubs and is therefore very attractive to young adults. However, Riccione is also family-friendly, thanks to its hotels that offer baby-sitting facilities all day in the hotel and on the beach and the nearby theme parks. The main streets of Riccione, Viale Dante and Viale Ceccarini, although having numerous hotels, nightclubs and bars, are also the best places for shopping and eating during the day. The seafront is a long boulevard comprised of a wide cycle lane with a pedestrian only walkway on either side and is decked out with numerous flower beds, green areas, plants and wooden benches for resting. Along parts of the promenade, there is no longer any road between the hotels and the beach and cars are subjected to going underground to car parks which are open 24 hours a day.

Along with the miles of golden sands and the nightlife, the main sights on offer include the ancient Roman Ponte di Tiberio (Tiberio Bridge) dating to 20 AD and Villa Mussolini (originally called Villa Margherita when it was constructed in 1890), the holiday home of Benito Mussolini (1883-1945) which he purchased in 1934. Used as a summer retreat by his family, the Villa Mussolini is now used by the town of Riccione for exhibitions and other events.

One of the main events in Riccione is ‘Pink Night’, where the town becomes pink for an entire week. The whole coastline 110km (68 miles), stretching from the Ferrara Lidos to Cattolica, is painted in a single colour. Pink is the colour used to symbolise the Riviera as a place of friendship, hospitality and kindness, good relationships and feelings. It encourages people to meet others and to be warm and spontaneous. To this end, there are parties on the beaches all through the night for the entire week and it is possible to see the Adriatic coast becoming pink from all the magnificent firework displays.

The Visiting Towns

Ougrée, with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants, is a suburb of the city of Seraing in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Liège and is located 909km (565 miles) north-west of Riccione.

Courrendlin is a town with a population of around 3,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Swiss canton of Jura and is located 555km (345 miles) north-west of Riccione.

Idar-Oberstein is a town with a population of around 33,000 inhabitants in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz and is located 753km (468 miles) north-west of Riccione.

Alès is a town with a population of around 40,000 inhabitants in the French region of Occitanie and is located 686km (426 miles) west of Riccione.

Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn is a town with a population of around 30,000 inhabitants in the Welsh county of Denbighshire and is located 1,582km (983 miles) north-west of Riccione.

Linne is a town with a population of around 4,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Limburg and is located 943km (586 miles) north-west of Riccione.

The Venue

Piazzale Roma Spiaggia

The games were played on the beautiful golden sands and seafront of Riccione’s Piazzala Roma beach which form part of a 66km (41 miles) long, unbroken stretch of beach running from Lido di Savio in the north to Cattolica in the south, taking in the resorts of Cesenatico, Bellaria, Rimini, Misano Adriatico and Riccione.

At the height of the summer vacation season, the beaches are teeming with sunseekers and tourists. As is such, for safety and security measures, the colossal stretch of sands are split in 151 bathing-stations or sections and individually numbered with Riccione’s Roma Beach starting at 66 and running through to 85. There are a total of 41 lifeguard towers, all highly visible, with an intercom system connected to all the bathing-stations and there are special pet-friendly beaches at numbers 32, 122 and 138. The whole coastline from the waterline up to the hotels is mapped out with military precision. Closest to the water’s edge are nine rows of deck-chairs, sun-loungers and umbrellas. Moving backwards and towards the town are the chalets / lockers, relaxation areas and small children’s pools. These are followed by a row which includes lifeguard lookouts (known as casa bagninos), bicycle parking areas and public showers. After this come the beach sports areas entertaining beach volleyball and football etc. After these comes the lungomare (or promenade) and finally the hotels.

Every two years, (‘even numbered’), the town plays host to the Festival del Sole, the largest international ‘gymnastics for all’ exhibition in the Mediterranean area. For a whole week, the seafront is turned into a huge stage where more than 4,000 athletes from around the world perform at their best. Floor exercises and aerobics, acrogym and acrobatics, rhythmic and artistic gymnastic, classical and modern dance, hip-hop and funky are a few of the forms of gymnastics and dances taking place at the festival. There are no limits regarding age or ability and anyone with the desire to perform in front of a large audience in one of the four arenas on the seafront can join the festival. There are no judges or points awarded and the only winner is the pleasure of being together and practicing sport.

This same beach-side venue was used again for the Italian International heat in 1975. In addition to these two visits, the only other on-beach locations in the history of Jeux Sans Frontières were Senigallia (again on the Adriatic coast) in Italy in 1973, and Grömitz (on the Baltic Sea) in West Germany in 1978.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Weighted Cube

The first game - ‘The Weighted Cube’ - was played individually over one minute duration and featured eight male competitors from each team. In opposition, there was a female competitor from each of the other five competing teams and floating in the middle of a large pool there was a 2m (6ft 6¾in) high cube which was anchored to the floor of the pool. Hanging 4m (13ft 1½in) directly above this and attached by wire to a pulley, was another cube being counterweighted to a measuring scale at the other end. On the whistle, the eight competitors had to dive into the pool and whilst some of them remained in the water to keep the cube balanced, the other members had to climb up to the top of the cube. They then had to organise themselves by piggy back, human pyramid etc. in order to reach the hanging cube. Once accomplished, the cube had to be pushed upwards as far as possible so that the counterweighted end dropped and the distance measured. Each team could make as many attempts within the permitted time. The opposition members would attempt to hamper the competitors’ progress by throwing tennis balls at them. The team raising the cube the greatest distance would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Italy and, although they were able to make two successful attempts, they could only raise the cube a total of 19cm (7½in).

The second heat featured France, but whilst they were only able make one attempt within the time due to many of the team being unable to climb the cube, they accomplished a greater score than their predecessors, registering a distance of 34cm (13¼in).

The third team to participate was Great Britain and although it appeared that they had lifted the cube a short distance, the scale’s pointer had not moved and the team were given a zero score and thus doomed to 1pt on the game.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Switzerland who adopted a different style to the previous three teams and it appeared to have been successful, registering a distance of 1m 12cm (3ft 8in).

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they registered a distance of 31cm (12¼in).

The sixth and final heat featured West Germany, and it appeared that they would run out of time after struggling to climb to the top of the cube. However with just enough time to make one further attempt, the team accomplished the greatest distance with 1m 51cm (4ft 11½in) in 59 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Idar-Oberstein (D) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Courrendlin (CH) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Alès (F) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Linne (NL) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Riccione (I) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Ougrée (B) (--- / 0pts)

Game 2 - The Paved Walkway

The second game - ‘The Paved Walkway - was played in unison over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured two female competitors from each team standing behind a stack of 10 polystyrene paving stones on the water’s edge. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to remove one of the stones and place it on the sand in front of the stack and then had to jump on top of the remaining stones and then jump down onto the stone on the sand. The second competitor then had to pass the second of the stones to the first competitor who had to place it on the sand in front of the one she was standing on and then jump onto that. The second competitor then had to jump over the stack and assist her team-mate with the movement of stones. This then had to be repeated until all 10 stones had been laid down on the sand. Each of the competitors’ ankles had been tied together to hamper their performance and each stone that was laid down had to be stepped on before returning along the course to collect the next stone. The team moving the greatest distance from the water’s edge would be declared the winners.

From the outset it appeared to be a closely run race between Italy and France but during the latter stages, Netherlands pushed their stones further forward with each throw and closed the gap, eventually overhauling Italy on their very last stone, to finish in 1st place. Although not appearing to be in the running, Great Britain also closed the gap during the final stages and grabbed 3rd place from France in the final seconds of the game. Belgium and Switzerland had struggled to make significant progress throughout the game and finished in the bottom two places.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Linne (NL) (6pts awarded / 9pts total) ▲ =2nd Alès (F) (3pts / 7pts) ▲ =2nd Riccione (I) (5pts / 7pts) ▲ =4th Courrendlin (CH) (1pt / 6pts) ▼ =4th Idar-Oberstein (D) (--- / 6pts) ▼ 6th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (4pts / 5pts) 7th Ougrée (B) (2pts / 2pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - The Pogo Stick

The next game - ‘The Pogo Stick’ - was the Fil Rouge which was played over one minute duration, three heats in unison and one individually. It featured a female competitor equipped with a pogo-stick assisted by two male team-mates. On the whistle, the competitor had to bounce up and down on the pogo-stick moving from a starting podium onto the first of two large cubes in front of her. She then had to move onto the second cube whilst her team-mates moved the first cube in front of the second. She then had to move onto the relocated cube whilst her team-mates moved the second cube in front of that. The process was then repeated throughout until the end of permitted time. If the competitor stepped off the pogo-stick, her team-mates had to wait until she remounted before continuing. The team moving the greater distance along the course would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Belgium and West Germany and it was a story of differing fortunes. Whilst West Germany stayed aloft throughout the game, their rival appeared to have difficulty keeping her balance and motion, continually stepping off the pogo-stick.

The results were announced and West Germany had traversed 18.6m (61ft ¼in) along the course whilst Belgium had only covered a distance of 6.1m (20ft).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Idar-Oberstein (D) (18.6) 2nd Ougrée (B) (6.1)

Comments: For this year, there was a change to the format of the Fil Rouge. Until now, the Fil Rouge (originally called the Jeu Intermédiaire) had been played on separate occasions after each of the games. However, 1971 saw the majority of the Fils Rouge being played by two teams consecutively (and on the odd occasion, together) after Games 2, 4 and 6 with the home team of each heat playing their Fil Rouge individually after Game 7. However, on this occasion the competitor would be an expert or someone experienced in the field of the theme and would be hindered with a greater degree of difficulty. It should be noted that in the seventh heat staged in Belgium, the Fil Rouge would return to its original format of being interspersed between each of the seven main games.

Game 3 - Balance and Speed

The third game - ‘Balance and Speed’ - was played individually and featured two male competitors from each team, one on roller-skates and the other barefooted. In the middle of the arena there was a large wooden circular base with a pole at its centre which was attached to a rope stretching out across the radius. On one side of the base, halfway between the circumference and the centre, there were four large sponges, on top of which there was a tower of eight cubes of decreasing size. Before the game started, the barefooted competitor had to stand on the largest of the eight cubes and hold the remaining seven cubes in his hands. On the whistle, the second competitor had to circumnavigate the perimeter of the circle and on the approach to his team-mate, had to slow down in order for him to step over the rope. Once completed, the game would then be repeated until three circumnavigations had been made. If the cubes were dropped by the competitor, no further progress could be made until he had recomposed himself. The team completing three successful circumnavigations in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Italy and they completed the game without mishap in 24 seconds.

The second heat featured Great Britain and they also completed the game without mishap but in a slower time of 26 seconds.

The third team to participate was Switzerland and, although they played at a slower pace, completed the game without mishap in 32 seconds.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was West Germany and they completed the game, as had the previous three teams, without mishap in 25 seconds.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Belgium and their competitor on roller-skates was not as adept as the previous four competitors and, in addition, also dropped the rope on the second circumnavigation which had to be retrieved before continuing. Although the team completed the game, their time was slower than the others at 41 seconds.

The sixth and final heat featured Netherlands and their competitor, akin with the competitor from Belgium, was not so adept on roller-skates. However, they completed the game without mishap in 31 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (6pts awarded / 13pts total) ▲ 2nd Linne (NL) (3pts / 12pts) ▼ 3rd Idar-Oberstein (D) (5pts / 11pts) ▲ 4th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (4pts / 9pts) ▲ 5th Courrendlin (CH) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ 6th Alès (F) (--- / 7pts) ▼ 7th Ougrée (B) (1pt / 3pts)

Game 4 - Take a Chance

The fourth game - ‘Take a Chance’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 15 seconds duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a female competitor from each team equipped with a set of large needles, strapped face down on a large foam rubber cube which was located on a small rail bogie and set of tracks. The course comprised an incline with numbered sections and on the whistle, three male team-mates had to push the cube up the incline in order for the competitor to stick a needle in one of the six sections valued at 1pt, 2pts, 4pts, 6pts, 8pts and 10pts. The teams had to be adept at their pushing as the 8pts and 10pts sections were actually on the declining side of the course and if they pushed too hard, the bogie would descend to the end of the course and be deemed out of play. However, the teams could utilise the descent for their last run to boost their score. The team scoring the greater total of points would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland and West Germany and ended with West Germany making seven runs and scoring 30pts (2 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 10) and Switzerland making seven runs and scoring 24pts (2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 2 + 6).

The second heat featured Belgium and France and ended with France making seven runs and scoring 24pts (2 + 4 + 6 + 4 + 2 + 4 + 2) and Belgium making seven runs and scoring 22pts (2 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 6).

The third and final heat saw the participation of Great Britain and Italy and ended with Italy making seven runs and accruing the highest score with 34pts (2 + 2 + 4 + 6 + 6 + 4 + 10) and Great Britain making six runs and accruing the lowest score with 18pts (2 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 2 + 6).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (6pts awarded / 19pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (5pts / 16pts) ▲ 3rd Alès (F) (8pts / Joker / 15pts) ▲ =4th Courrendlin (CH) (4pts / 12pts) ▲ =4th Linne (NL) (--- / 12pts) ▼ 6th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (1pt / 10pts) ▼ 7th Ougrée (B) (2pts / 5pts)

Comments: Unusually, the referees informed the teams when the game was reaching its final 15 seconds, so that the teams could push their cubes a little harder and take it over the summit of the incline for the chance of scoring 8pts or 10pts.

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - The Pogo Stick

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured France and Netherlands and, as was the case in the previous round, was a story of differing fortunes. Whilst Netherlands progressed up the course with a fanciful technique, France were unable to maintain their balance for more than two hops before coming off the pogo stick and impeding their movement up the course.

The results were announced and Netherlands had traversed 11.6m (38ft ¾in) along the course, whilst France had only covered a distance of 4.5m (14ft 9¼in).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Idar-Oberstein (D) (18.6) 2nd Linne (NL) (11.6) 3rd Ougrée (B) (6.1) ▼ 4th Alès (F) (4.5)

Game 5 - Cubes in the Air

The fifth game - ‘Cubes in the Air’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured ten competitors (five males and five females) from each team equipped with a long wooden pole and a large cube with a hook protruding out from the top. On the whistle, the team had to raise the cube up and then balance it on the ends of the poles whilst traversing a small course with a hurdle. At the end of the course, there was some scaffolding with one pole protruding outwards. The team then had to work together to direct the hook over the pole and then release it from their grasp and allow it to hang voluntarily. However, their task would be made somewhat more difficult by the fact that once underneath the hook, they were working ‘blindfold’, as the cube obscured their view of both ring and hook. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, France and Italy and it was clear from the outset that Italy were the most adept of the three, reaching the scaffolding first and finishing the game, without mishap, in 1 minute 8 seconds. Belgium were the second team to reach the end of the course but permitted the cube to become unbalanced and whilst attempting to lift it onto the pole, it dropped to the ground. However, with France a long way back down the course, it permitted the team to recompose itself and raise the cube for a second attempt and finish the game in 1 minute 34 seconds. Once France had reached the scaffolding, the clock had finally caught up with them and the team were deemed out of time.

The second heat featured Great Britain, West Germany and Netherlands and, from the start, it was a two-horse race between the latter two teams. Although West Germany were the first to reach the scaffolding, the team suffered some difficulty hooking it over the scaffold pole and this permitted Netherlands to sneak in and finish the game in 1 minute 6 seconds. After overcoming their difficulty, West Germany completed the course in 1 minute 15 seconds. Great Britain suffered a similar fate as France in the previous heat and had failed to hook the cube onto the pole before the whistle was blown.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (5pts awarded / 24pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (4pts / 20pts) 3rd Linne (NL) (6pts / 18pts) ▲ 4th Alès (F) (1pt / 16pts) ▼ 5th Courrendlin (CH) (--- / 12pts) ▼ =6th Ougrée (B) (6pts / Joker / 11pts) ▲ =6th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (1pt / 11pts)

Game 6 - The Carousel Chain

The sixth game - ‘The Carousel Chain’ - utilised equipment that had previously been seen in the third game and witnessed West Germany and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game was played individually over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured five competitors (two males and three females) from each team on roller-skates and a large cube on wheels. Before the game started, one of the male competitors had to grasp a rubber handle attached to the pole in the middle of the arena with one hand whilst holding the hand of one of the females with his other. She in turn was grasping a handle attached to the cube with her other hand. On the whistle, the two competitors had to make two circumnavigations of the pole with the cube in tow and as they began the third, a second female had to join them to complete another. This would be followed by a third female joining them for the fourth lap and finally the second male joining them. Once all five competitors were in action, the team had to make two more circumnavigations to complete the game. If the chain was broken, the team would be permitted to recompose itself whilst in motion and the time would be taken once all members of the team had crossed the line. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany and they suffered a mishap on the first of the final two laps when the outside two females lost their grip and the chain broke in two. Whilst the three inner members continued to circumnavigate, the other two recomposed themselves and the team joined up together again to cross the line on the second lap. However, this break had significantly delayed the team on their Joker game, finishing with a time of exactly one minute.

The second heat featured Italy and it appeared at first glance, that they had observed and learned from the error of West Germany. However, disaster was also to strike them on the first of their two final laps when, in their haste, the outside male competitor lost his grip on the cube which resulted in it spinning off the course. This error also cost the team vital seconds but it recomposed itself and crossed the line in 48 seconds.

The third team to participate was Netherlands and they completed the game without mishap in 52 seconds.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Belgium and they also finished the game without mishap in 53 seconds.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Switzerland and, as was the case with the previous two teams, they completed the game without mishap in 50 seconds.

The sixth and final heat featured France and they also finished the game without mishap in 1 minute 5 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (12pts awarded / Joker / 36pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (4pts / Joker / 24pts) 3rd Linne (NL) (4pts / 22pts) ▲ =4th Courrendlin (CH) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ =4th Alès (F) (1pt / 17pts) 6th Ougrée (B) (3pts / 14pts) 7th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (--- / 11pts) ▼

Comments: Although two members of the French team finished the game with only one roller-skate each, the referees deemed it as equipment failure and accepted their time as correct.

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - The Pogo Stick

The third and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and Great Britain and again was witness to two teams with differing fortunes. The competitor from Great Britain was of slim build and was able to maintain her bounce throughout the game whilst the competitor from Switzerland was much larger and heavier and did herself no favours by falling from the pogo stick to the ground after just three seconds into the game.

At the end of the game, the results were announced and Great Britain had traversed 18.1m (59ft 4½in) along the course, wwhilst Switzerland had only covered a distance of 7.0m (22ft 11½in).

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Idar-Oberstein (D) (18.6) 2nd Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (18.1) 3rd Linne (NL) (11.6) ▼ 4th Courrendlin (CH) (7.0) 5th Ougrée (B) (6.1) ▼ 6th Alès (F) (4.5) ▼

Game 7 - Through the Cube

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Through the Cube’- was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a giant wooden cube positioned halfway up a wall. The male competitor was positioned underneath the cube whilst the female competitor was standing on top of it. The top and base of the cube were made of thick polystyrene whilst the cube itself was hollow and filled with small polystyrene balls. On the whistle, the male competitor had to punch his way into the base of the cube whilst the female had to do the same with her feet on the top. Once she had broken through, she then had to remove as much of the ‘filling’ as she could in order to assist her team-mate to break through the base. Once completed, she then had to exit the cube through the hole in the base and the male had to carry her to a podium 10m (32ft 9¾in) up the course. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of France, Switzerland and Netherlands and it was a two-horse contest between the latter two teams. However, it was Netherlands that reached the finish line first in 34 seconds followed by Switzerland in 52 seconds. Contemporaneously, France appeared to be making heavy weather of the game and despite the fact that the female was the first of the three to break through the top of her cube, her team-mate had made very little progress in breaking through the base to assist her exit. With time elapsing fast, she finally made her exit and they reached the finish line in 2 minutes 9 seconds.

The second heat featured Belgium, West Germany and Great Britain and it was a completely different story to that of the first. All of the teams adopted a different style to those of the first heat and instead of the females kicking the top of the cube, they jumped up in the air and crashed their way through. However with the announcement of the times, this apparently had not saved a great deal of time with West Germany finishing in 34 seconds, Belgium finishing in 1 minute 3 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 1 minute 22 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (--- awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (6pts / 30pts) 3rd Linne (NL) (6pts / 28pts) 4th Courrendlin (CH) (8pts / Joker / 25pts) 5th Alès (F) (1pt / 18pts) ▼ 6th Ougrée (B) (3pts / 17pts) 7th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (2pts / 13pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - The Pogo Stick

The fourth and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Italy with their competitor having to accomplish her goal by bouncing within a circle marked out on the top of the cube. If she bounced outside this area, her team-mates had to stop moving the other cube until she resumed her position inside. The cubes also had to be positioned tightly against each other, as opposed to the other teams, who were permitted to leave a gap of their choice. On the whistle, the hopes of the home crowd were deflated somewhat after she made slow progress down the course. Despite her athleticism, she appeared to make smaller bounces than the other competitors. At the end of the game, the result was announced and Italy had traversed 12.5m (41ft) down the course and had finished in 3rd place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Idar-Oberstein (D) (18.6) 2nd Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (18.1) 3rd Riccione (I) (12.5) 4th Linne (NL) (11.6) ▼ 5th Courrendlin (CH) (7.0) ▼ 6th Ougrée (B) (6.1) ▼ 7th Alès (F) (4.5) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (5pts awarded / 41pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (7pts / 37pts) 3rd Linne (NL) (4pts / 32pts) 4th Courrendlin (CH) (3pts / 28pts) =5th Ougrée (B) (2pts / 19pts) ▲ =5th Alès (F) (1pt / 19pts) =5th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (6pts / 19pts) ▲

Comments: As previously stated, the final round of the Fil Rouge this year would feature the home team participating in the game but with a higher degree of difficulty than the previous six teams. However, in order to compensate them for this difference, they were permitted to select a professional participant to accomplish their goal. The experienced ‘guest’ Italian competitor in the Fil Rouge was local gymnast Graziella Minuzzoli, who was regarded at the time as a good prospect for a gold medal at the XXth Olympic Games to be staged at München, West Germany, the following year. The scoreboard operators made a blunder after the Fil Rouge points were awarded, Instead of adding 4pts to the total of Netherlands to take their score up to 32pts, they inadvertently deducted 6pts and displayed their score as 22pts!

Game 8 - The Cube Race

The eighth and final game - ‘The Cube Race’ - was played in unison over 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Great Britain and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured three competitors (two males and one female) from each team and a giant foam rubber cube. On the whistle, the two male competitors, each equipped with a pole, had to roll the cube to the end of the course where the female competitor was waiting. She then had to mount the cube and whilst her team-mates rolled it back to the start, she had to manoeuvre herself in order to stay on top of it. Once the cube had been transported back to the start, the female had to climb a rope in order to set off a firecracker. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

Despite two teams playing their Joker, it appeared that Italy had got the better start and began the return leg ahead of the other teams. However, Netherlands began to close the deficit and eventually overtook Italy at the halfway mark and it appeared that they would win their Joker game. Unfortunately, whilst climbing the rope, their competitor lost her grip and fell to the beach below and this permitted Italy to overtake and win the game. This disaster was also good news for Great Britain and West Germany who sneaked in to finish in 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. After recomposing herself, the competitor from Netherlands eventually finished the game in 4th place and was followed by Switzerland and Belgium. France were deemed out of time just seconds before their competitor reached the top of the rope.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Riccione (I) (7pts awarded / 48pts total) 2nd Idar-Oberstein (D) (5pts / 42pts) 3rd Linne (NL) (8pts / Joker / 40pts) =4th Courrendlin (CH) (3pts / 31pts) =4th Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (GB) (12pts / Joker / 31pts) ▲ 6th Ougrée (B) (2pts / 21pts) ▼ 7th Alès (F) (1pt / 20pts) ▼

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

Following the introduction of colour transmissions last year, the referees donned the same outfit for each programme throughout the entire series. Their outfits for this year, comprised light-blue jackets, white shirts with floral motifs, white trousers and brown/beige footwear.

Team Personnel

One of the Riccione team members was Italian basketball player Santo Rossi, who was born in nearby Fruili on 7th March 1940. He had arrived at Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro (known locally as Vuelle or VL) in 1969, after having played at Virtus Bologna and later in Forlì. On his arrival at Pesaro, he was trained for the next four seasons by coach Boris Sinkovic.

Rossi continued to play at Pesaro until his retirement from the game after the 1973-74 season and along the way was chosen to wear the national team shirt on seventeen occasions. He had also won a gold medal at the Mediterranean games staged at Naples in 1963.

Rossi, standing at 2.12m (6ft 11½in) tall, had a real passion for basketball, which he also passed on to his children - Giulio grew up in the youth of Victoria Libertas and then Francesca who had a brilliant career in the top women's championship.

On 31st March 2020, it was announced in local newspaper Il Resto del Carlino (Pesaro) that Rossi had succumbed to Coronavirus and had died, 24 days after celebrating his 80th birthday.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Four of the Italian team members - Gabriella Moretto, Tizino Mulazzoni, Santo Rossi and Maurizio Sorci - all participated again for Riccione in 1975. Franco Geminiani returned to participate for Riccione in 1975 and Rimini & Co. in 1988. Leopoldi Carlini returned as the team coach for the Riccione team in 1975 and also for the Rimini & Co. team in 1988. Davide Casadei returned as team captain for Rimini & Co. in 1988.

Reunions

Idar Oberstein (D)

On the evening of Saturday 25th November 2017, the former team-mates of the successful Idar-Oberstein team gathered for a reunion in Stadenhalle.

Even before the start of the event, there was an atmosphere of a school reunion. Some of those attending had not seen each other for over 46 years. After the welcome by TuS chairman Michael Brill, Lutz Henze looked back on the events of that time as one of the athletes and especially the selection process and the exhausting training programme under the direction of Olympic champion Bernd Cullmann, athlete Heinz Hoffmann and soccer world champion Horst Eckel. But above all he remembered the great solidarity within the team. “I still meet one or the other today, and we hug,” he stated.

After a meeting with Heinz Hoffmann, they discussed a public screening of the two films that the then vice-chairman of TuS, Karl-Heinz Schäfer, had made. Gerdi Schäfer, herself a competitor, was happy to provide the films her husband had made. “Back then, Karl-Heinz meticulously documented everything, the training, the preparations for the television teams and the competitors – both in Staden and in Riccione,” reported Hoffmann. “He even drove to Riccione in his car to film the arrival of the plane that brought the team to Italy and the train that took the battle-goers (supporters).”

The audience was able to enjoy the two films with a total playing time of around 50 minutes. Comments and heckling showed that the participants could still remember the events of that time very well. The screening went by in a flash and ended with great applause from those assembled.

“I was so happy that this event took place and that I was able to see the films and participants again,” explained Gisela Kramer, who lives in Eppstein im Taunus and came back to Idar-Oberstein for the evening. As a memento of the reunion there was a photograph together, and of course a lot of memories were exchanged afterwards.

Additional Information

Fortunately for the Italian TV organisers, there is no significant tide on the Adriatic Sea (part of the Mediterranean Sea) and were therefore not doomed to the same fate as the British organisers in 1966, when the first ever It’s a Knockout was held on the beach at Morecambe. On that occasion, the tide came in unexpectedly and washed away the games with commentators and cameramen up to their knees in water.

This heat saw the introduction of the blue Jeux Sans Frontières master scoreboard that became a familiar fixture of the programme up until 1977. However, in its first year it was used in a way that was repeated in no other year - it displayed the teams in order of Fil Rouge participation and this resulted in every country appearing in every position on the scoreboard.

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

CH

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 2

Event Staged: Wednesday 23rd June 1971
Venue: Spielfeld (Playing Field), Baselstraße (Basel Street), Solothurn, Switzerland

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
Nederland 1 (NL): Wednesday 23rd June 1971, 9.55-11.15pm
RAI Due (I): Thursday 1st July 1971
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 7th July 1971
BBC1 (GB exc. Wales): Friday 6th August 1971, 9.20-10.35pm
BBC1 Wales (CYM): Sunday 8th August 1971, 2.45-4.00pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Jan Hiermeyer

Theme: The Legends and Attractions of Switzerland

Teams: Sint-Niklaas (B) v. Willisau (CH) v. Schwabach (D) v.
Mulhouse (F) v. Kendal (GB) v. Melfi (I) v. Drachten (NL)

Team Members included:
Schwabach (D) - Hans Zuleeg (Team Coach), Werner Schrödel (Team Captain), Hannelore Bindl, Heide Blank, Hermann Botz, Monika Döll, Helmut Gerhardt, Klaus Goller, Werner Großer, Hanne Hauselt, Werner Kammerloher, Hans Katheder, Ilse Katheder, Karl-Heinz Kaufmann, Rainer Leuthold, Alfons Matula, Fritz Meier, Walter Ryschka, Richard Sichert, Helmut Steinbauer, Arthur Weiß;
Mulhouse (F) - Jacques Lakermance (Team Captain), Nicole Bringel, Daniel Bruder, Claire Centlivre, Edith Foucal, Marc Gimenez, Francine Grzelak, André Heinrich, Charles Herrmann, Daniel Himbert, Jean-Jacques Horny, Serge Kaczala, Gabrielle Klinzing, Pierre Knopf, Daniel Maeder, Roland Metzger, Régine Oser, René Schirmeyer, Mireille Tischmacher, Miles Michèle Ulrich;
Kendal (GB) - David Moorhouse (Team Manager), Tony Gill (Team Coach), John Bell, James Blacow, Frazer Broomby, Joan Brown, Alan Campbell, Hilary Campbell, Brian Cox, Peter Greenbank, Malcolm Hendrie, Judith Houghton, Colin Hunter, George Inchmore, Jean Malkin, Terence O'Laughlin, Sheila Proctor, George Rigg, Beryl Smith, Clive Wilson, George Wilson, Marjorie Wilkinson and Bob Bethell (Reserve);
Drachten (NL) - Wim Ensing (Co-Team Coach), Jan Valkenburg (Co-Team Coach), Chris Rota (Team Captain), Elisabeth Bergsma, Sytske de Boer, Gaitzen Debreczeny, Kanne Debreczeny, Jan Dolstra, Ruurd Ettema, Chris Jaasma, Chris de Jong, Errit Klaver, Harm Kooiker, Janneke Korthof, Peter van Leeningen, Fokje van der Meer, Truida Seinstra, Froukje van de Veen, Aaltje Veenstra, Frans van der Vinne.

Games: The Hands of Time Wait for No Man (Well, Almost!), Collecting Edelweiss, The Wood Cutter, William Tell and his Son, The Cathedral’s Bells, The Irrigation Channels, The Solothurn Buffoon, The Jousting Damsels;
Fil Rouge: The Snowmen’s Hats;
Jokers: Country Coloured Joker Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Schwabach ●
 CH • Willisau ●
 NL • Drachten
 I • Melfi
 F • Mulhouse
 GB • Kendal
 B • Sint-Niklaas

47
44
41
35
30
28
24

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Ougrée (6th, 21pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Willisau (2nd, 44pts)
West Germany (D) - Schwabach (1st, 47pts)
France (F) - Mulhouse (5th, 30pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Colwyn Bay / Bae Colwyn (=4th, 31pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Drachten (3rd, 41pts)

The Host Town

Solothurn, Switzerland

Solothurn is a town with a population of around 17,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic (German-speaking) canton of the same name. It is located on the 295km (183¼ miles) long River Aare, 29km (18 miles) north of the capital city of Bern, 32km (20 miles) east of Tramelan, 40km (25 miles) south of Basel and 61km (38 miles) north-west of Luzern.

The oldest records of Solothurn probably date from the Palaeolithic era. The remains of a Mesolithic camp were also discovered in 1986. The Roman settlement at Solothurn was probably built around 15-25 AD as a road station and bridge head with a small neighbourhood or settlement quickly developing around the land reserved for use as a military defensive position.

During the Early Middle Ages, Solothurn was part of the Kingdom of Lorraine. After the collapse of the Kingdom, it became part of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy. In 1033, the Kingdom of Burgundy became part of the Holy Roman Empire and Solothurn gained some independence. In 1038, Emperor Conrad II (990-1038) held court at Solothurn and it was here that he crowned his son and future king, Henry III (1017-1056). The royal court resided in Solothurn on several occasions until 1052, however there is no evidence of a permanent royal palace.

During the 13th and 15th centuries, the citizens of the town slowly emancipated themselves from the higher nobility. In 1276 and 1280, Emperor Rudolf I (1218-1291) codified the previously poorly defined rights of the town and granted it the privilege de non Evocando or the right that their citizens were protected from trial in foreign courts. After the alliance with Bern in 1295, it became part of the Swiss Confederation and in 1382, the Habsburgs attacked the town, which involved Solothurn in the Battle of Sempach on 9th July 1386. By the treaty of two years later, the Habsburgs renounced all claims to the territory of the town and it expanded by acquisition of neighbouring lands in the 15th century, roughly up to today's canton area. In 1481, it obtained full membership in the Swiss Confederation.

Solothurn has a special affinity for the number 11. The canton was the eleventh to become part of the Swiss Confederation. There are eleven churches and chapels, as well as eleven historical fountains and eleven towers. The Kathedrale St. Urs und Viktor (St. Ursus Cathedral) has eleven altars and eleven bells, and the stairs in front of the cathedral have levels between every eleven steps. A local brewery has named itself Öufi, which is Swiss German for eleven, and produces a beer with the same name.

The town gives its name to the Solothurn S18-1000 20 mm Anti-Tank rifle which was used during the Second World War (1939-1945). With a barrel length of 1.3m (4ft 3in), it was a variant of the earlier S-18/100 with modifications for a higher muzzle velocity, as well as a larger cartridge size. As a result of its large, powerful ammunition, the gun had tremendous recoil and its size made portability difficult. It was adopted by the Royal Italian Army in 1940, when a first batch was bought from Switzerland and was employed in North Africa. It was manufactured in the town by the Solothurn firearms company which today is owned by the German firm, Rheinmetall. It employed the Swiss company to produce the arms which were prohibited to be manufactured by any German firm under arms limitations imposed by the Versailles Treaty at the end of the First World War (1914-1918).

The Visiting Towns

Sint-Niklaas is a town with a population of around 75,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of Oost-Vlaanderen and is located 504km (313 miles) north-west of Solothurn.

Willisau is a town with a population of around 8,000 inhabitants in the teutophonic (German-speaking) Swiss canton of Luzern and is located 37km (23 miles) east of Solothurn.

Schwabach is a town with a population of around 40,000 inhabitants in the German state of Bayern and is located 351km (218 miles) north-east of Solothurn.

Mulhouse is a city with a population of around 115,000 inhabitants in the French region of Grand Est and is located 63km (39 miles) north of Solothurn.

Kendal is a town with a population of around 30,000 inhabitants in the English county of Cumbria and is located 1,072km (666 miles) north-west of Solothurn.

Melfi is a town with a population of around 18,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Basilicata and is located 948km (589 miles) south-east of Solothurn.

Drachten is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Friesland and is located 663km (412 miles) north of Solothurn.

The Venue

Spielfeld, Baselstraße

The games were played on a small grassed playing field located just outside the entrance to Solothurn’s cathedral which is dedicated to Roman martyrs Sankt Urs and Viktor. Following the Swabian War in 1499, master builder Hans Gibelin replaced the oak wood gate with the Baseltor (Basel Gate) constructed from Solothurn stone (Jura limestone) in 1504.

Together with the cathedral’s tower, the gate forms a magnificent architectural ensemble. The teams entered the arena from inside the cathedral’s walls and through the portcullis entrance.

The Rehearsals

The twenty-strong British team of Kendal departed for Switzerland from Manchester Airport by Swiss Air at 5.30am on Sunday 20th June 1971. Despite the early hour and the cold and wet weather conditions, the team were seen off by a small contingent of well-wishers at the airport. Their plane stopped briefly in Rotterdam and then continued on to Zürich, from where the team completed their journey by coach.

The activities for the teams commenced on Sunday evening with a torchlight parade through the streets of Solothurn. Teams sang national songs as they walked, reportedly drowning out the performance of the local bands that formed a part of the procession. The parade's destination was the town square, where a reception for the teams was staged, introductions made and gifts shared among the teams. Monday saw the teams gather for a demonstration of the games by local teams and limited practice was permitted that evening with about fifteen minutes allocated to each team.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Hands of Time Wait for No Man (Well, Almost!)

The first game - ‘The Hands of Time Wait for No Man (Well Almost!)’ - was played individually over one minute duration and witnessed France and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team and in opposition was a barefooted male competitor from each of the other five teams. Laid out on the floor of the arena was a giant pocket watch with the minute hand attached to a set of wheels and the area in the middle of the watch was heavily greased. On the whistle, the competitor, standing behind the minute hand, had to run around the watch’s numbered perimeter pushing the minute hand in front of him. As he did so, the hour hand would rotate as in the normal function of a watch. Contemporaneously, the five opposing team members standing in the greased central area, attempted to hamper his efforts by clinging on to the hand and pulling it backwards. However, with the greased floor below their feet as well as having to jump over the hour hand as they passed, their efforts were somewhat hampered also. The team moving the hands the greatest distance from the starting point of 12 o’clock would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Great Britain and although their competitor got off to a good start, he began to show signs of fatigue after just two circumnavigations of the watch face. Despite this, he went on to complete a further 1½ revolutions and ended up with the hands of the watch showing a time of 3:35. However, this score would soon prove to be weak compared to those of the latter teams.

The second heat featured Netherlands and they fared somewhat better on the game, with the hands showing a time of 4:18.

The third team to participate was Switzerland and, as was the case with Great Britain, their competitor got off to a fast start but also began to tire after two circumnavigations. At the end of the one minute, the hands of the watch were showing a time of 3:57.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was West Germany and their competitor appeared to have a great deal of stamina and did not show any signs of fatigue until after the third circumnavigation of the watch. However, after this he began to slow his pace and eventually finished with the hands showing a time of 4:35.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of France and their competitor also did extremely well and circumnavigated the watch four times and ended with the hands showing a time of 4:02.

The sixth and final heat featured Belgium and their competitor would prove to be the weakest of the six after the hands of the watch showed a time of just 2:56.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Drachten (NL) (10pts awarded / Joker / 10pts total) 2nd Mulhouse (F) (8pts / Joker / 8pts) 3rd Schwabach (D) (6pts / 6pts) 4th Willisau (CH) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Kendal (GB) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Sint-Niklaas (B) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Melfi (I) (--- / 0pts)

Comments: The game was delayed for several minutes between each participant's run as the hands of the watch had to be returned to their original starting point of 12 o’clock. This had to be done manually by stagehands in the reverse direction to that taken by the actual participant and was a somewhat laborious affair. Additionally, the inner part of the watch face was re-greased at the end of each heat, so that subsequent teams did not gain an unfair advantage. The touch-judges were really put through their paces on this game, running around the outside of the game with a marker which had to be stuck in the ground at the exact point where the minute hand of the clock was at the time of the whistle. Despite the fact that a number of them were not young or fit (some of them were in their late 50s), they did extremely well! Eagle-eyed viewers would notice that the marker board used to denote the distance travelled by West Germany in this game was coloured green and not in their usual colour of light blue. This was the case for many of the insignia used to denote West Germany in this heat (marker boards, Joker, areas of play etc) and also those of others later in this year’s series. The reason for this is thought to be that the darker green would be more distinct for viewers watching in monochrome (colour transmissions were still in their infancy - or not yet started at all - in some of the competing countries). However, despite this anomaly, the team donned dossards in their normal light blue colour throughout the heat.

Game 2 - Collecting Edelweiss

The second game - ‘Collecting Edelweiss’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two male competitors from each team and a large flagpole on which there were 10 edelweiss flowers attached along its length. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to raise the other, who was bare-footed, up the flagpole to collect the edelweiss by means of a rope attached around his waist. Only one edelweiss flower could be collected on each attempt and they had to be dropped to the floor for the land-based competitor to collect. He then had to run 25m (82ft) to a podium and deliver the flowers to a female team-mate. The competitor then had to run back to the pole and repeat the game. If the ‘climbing’ competitor was unable to cling to the pole at the point where they had collected the edelweiss, he could opt to drop to the ground. However, he would have to start a fresh climb on his team-mate’s return. The team collecting the greater number of edelweiss flowers would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, West Germany and France, with the latter having the better technique. In contrast, Belgium appeared to be very inept at climbing and was hindered in part by their land-based competitor being weak and having difficulty pulling the rope. At the end of the heat, France had collected 5 flowers, West Germany had collected 4 flowers and Belgium had failed to score.

The second heat featured Switzerland, Italy and Netherlands and in contrast with the first heat was a very closely run contest. Switzerland and Netherlands appeared to have the edge and were almost neck and neck on each run. However, neither of the two had bargained for Italy, whose competitors worked well together and, whilst both their rivals made errors on their climbs, held their nerve and composure throughout the game. At the end of the heat, Italy had collected 6 flowers whilst Switzerland and Netherlands had both collected 5 flowers each.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Drachten (NL) (5pts awarded / 15pts total) =2nd Willisau (CH) (10pts / Joker / 13pts) ▲ =2nd Mulhouse (F) (5pts / 13pts) 4th Schwabach (D) (2pts / 8pts) ▼ 5th Melfi (I) (6pts / 6pts) ▲ 6th Sint-Niklaas (B) (1pt / 2pts) 7th Kendal (GB) (--- / 2pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Rounds 1 and 2 - The Snowmen's Hats

The next game - ‘The Snowmen’s Hats’ - was the Fil Rouge played individually over 45 seconds duration and was rather a strange game as it appeared to have very little competitiveness. The game featured a male competitor wearing skis and a 4m (13ft 1½in) dry ski run which had a wide conveyer belt moving from bottom to top. On the whistle, the skier had to maintain his balance whilst moving from side to side of the belt and had to collect hats from plastic snowmen being loaded by two female team-mates at the bottom of the run. The hats had to be collected one-at-a-time from each side of the belt and the competitor was not permitted to move from one side to the other until he had successfully collected a hat. The team collecting the greater number of hats would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Italy with their competitor collecting 5 hats.

The second round featured Great Britain collecting just 3 hats.

Game 3 - The Wood Cutter

The third game - ‘The Wood Cutter’ - was a cleverly devised but simple game which required eye and hand co-ordination from the competitors and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game was played individually over three runs by a male competitor from each team equipped with an axe and featured a 5m (16ft 5in) incline with an arched ring set close to its base and three 3kgs (6lbs 9¾oz) logs painted yellow at one end and white at the other. On the whistle, a female team-mate had to release a log from the top of the incline and as it exited the ring at the base, the competitor had to use his skill and chop it in half as close to the middle as possible. The two halves would then be collected by the touch-judges and placed on a set of scales at the end of the course. All pieces that were completely yellow in colour would be placed on the left-hand side of the scale and those that were white or white/yellow would be placed on the right-hand side. Any log that failed to break would be deemed as white/yellow and placed on the right-hand side of the scale. The game would require a great deal of skill and accuracy in order that each log was chopped as close to its centre as possible in order that the scales remained level. After the three runs had been completed, the referees would counter-balance the scales with additional weights and the team which had the smallest difference of weight between the two sides of the scales would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and following a success on their first attempt, the second was not so good after the competitor missed the log completely, and embedded the axe blade into the actual wooden incline itself! At the end of his three runs, the ‘difference’ for Netherlands was announced as 2.4kgs (5lbs 4¾oz).

The second heat featured Great Britain and their competitor was extremely accurate with his chopping skills, hitting the second and third logs dead centre. The score was announced and the weight difference was 1.9kgs (4lbs 3oz).

The third team to participate was Switzerland and after making two almost-perfect chops, their competitor failed to break the third log, finishing with a weight difference of 3.5kgs (7lbs 11½oz).

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Belgium and their competitor failed to break the second log on its descent. However, with the log embedded on the blade, he slammed the log onto the descent and it broke into three pieces. The judges deemed that this breached the rules and all three pieces were placed on the right-hand side of the scale and announced that the final score for Belgium was 4.1kgs (9lbs ½oz).

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Italy and they ended with the worst score of 7.3kgs (16lbs 1½oz).

The sixth and final heat featured France and they faired slightly better than Italy with a score of 6.6kgs (14lbs 8¾oz).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Drachten (NL) (5pts awarded / 20pts total) 2nd Willisau (CH) (4pts / 17pts) 3rd Mulhouse (F) (2pts / 15pts) ▼ 4th Kendal (GB) (12pts / Joker / 14pts) ▲ 5th Schwabach (D) (--- / 8pts) ▼ 6th Melfi (I) (1pt / 7pts) ▼ 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (3pts / 5pts) ▼

Game 4 - William Tell and his Son

The fourth game - ‘William Tell and his Son’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured two male competitors from each team, one equipped with a crossbow and a bucket of water-filled sponges and the other standing 5m (16ft 5in) in front of him. On the whistle, a team-mate had to start inflating yellow balloons manually and handing them one-at-a-time to the unarmed competitor who placed it above his head and through a podium which had a spike set at its rear. The armed competitor then had to aim the crossbow and release the wet sponges towards the balloon to push it against the spike and burst it. The team bursting the greater number of balloons within the permitted time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands and ended with West Germany bursting 3 balloons, Netherlands bursting 2 balloons and Great Britain bursting just 1 balloon.

The second heat featured Belgium, Switzerland and Italy and whilst the other two teams were hitting their targets sporadically, Switzerland were so accurate with their aim that the assisting team-mate could not keep up with the pace and was continually delaying their scoring whilst he inflated balloons. The results revealed that Switzerland had burst 5 balloons whilst Belgium and Italy had burst 2 balloons each.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Drachten (NL) (4pts awarded / 24pts total) 2nd Willisau (CH) (6pts / 23pts) =3rd Mulhouse (F) (--- / 15pts) =3rd Kendal (GB) (1pt / 15pts) ▲ 5th Schwabach (D) (5pts / 13pts) 6th Melfi (I) (4pts / 11pts) 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (4pts / 9pts)

Comments: To ensure parity for all teams, the spikes on the podia used to burst the balloons were set at different heights according to that of the team-mates standing underneath them. Before the start of each heat, they would stand erect underneath the platforms whilst a stagehand adjusted each of the heights. The points awarded by referee Guido Pancaldi were incorrect on this game. After awarding the winners of the game (Switzerland) 6pts, the second placed team (West Germany) were awarded 4pts (instead of 5pts), the three third placed teams (Belgium, Italy and Netherlands) were all awarded 3pts each (instead of 4pts) and the sixth placed team, Great Britain, were awarded 1pt. This error was corrected by the referees before the start of the fifth game, awarding Belgium, West Germany, Italy and Netherlands an extra 1pt each.

Fil Rouge, Rounds 3 and 4 - The Snowmen's Hats

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and, after losing one of his skis within the first four seconds of the game, their competitor had to restart the game. However, once he had recomposed himself he made an almost faultless performance and collected a total of 8 hats.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Schwabach (D) (8) 2nd Melfi (I) (5) ▼ 3rd Kendal (GB) (3) ▼

The fourth round featured France and their competitor collected 5 hats.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Schwabach (D) (8) =2nd Mulhouse (F) (5) =2nd Melfi (I) (5) 4th Kendal (GB) (3) ▼

Game 5 - The Cathedral's Bells

The fifth game - ‘The Cathedral’s Bells’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed West Germany and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a female competitor from each team wearing roller-skates and safety helmet and a large cathedral bell hanging from wooden scaffolding. On the whistle, a male team-mate had to pull on a rope in order to set the bell in motion whilst the competitor skated down the course. The competitor had to time her approach to the bell so that she met the mouth of the bell as it swung towards her in order for her to get underneath and to exit the bell as the mouth was raised on its backward swing. Once she had completed this, she had to collect one of ten small cowbells from the far end of the course and complete the return journey in the same manner as the outward. The game had to be repeated throughout and the team collecting the greater number of cowbells would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and from the outset it appeared that Italy were the more agile on roller-skates and timed her runs perfectly with the swing of the bell. Although both Belgium and Great Britain kept pace with their rival, neither was as adept nor able to match her pace. The scores were announced and Italy had collected 7 cowbells, Great Britain had collected 6 cowbells and Belgium had collected 5 cowbells.

The second heat featured Switzerland, West Germany and France and, as was the case in the previous heat, from the outset it was apparent as to which team would be the more successful. Whilst Switzerland and France set a steady pace, West Germany stormed the game without any errors. The scores were announced and West Germany had collected 8 cowbells, Switzerland had collected 7 cowbells and France had collected 6 cowbells.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Willisau (CH) (5pts awarded / 28pts total) ▲ 2nd Schwabach (D) (12pts / Joker / 25pts) ▲ 3rd Drachten (NL) (--- / 24pts) ▼ 4th Melfi (I) (10pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ =5th Mulhouse (F) (3pts / 18pts) ▼ =5th Kendal (GB) (3pts / 18pts) ▼ 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (1pt / 10pts)

Comments: Four seconds before the end of the second heat, the French competitor could be seen being knocked unconscious by the back lip of the bell as she made her exit and she slumped to the ground. Surrounded by touch-judges, she was dragged from the course to receive medical attention. All indications showed that although she received a nasty blow to the back of her head, there were no major injuries and that she made a full recovery from the incident.

Game 6 - The Irrigation Channels

The sixth game - ‘The Irrigation Channels’ - was played over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and was one which appeared in many guises over the programme’s history. It featured four female competitors from each team, three standing on rocking semi-circular podia and a fourth standing on the ground in front of them adjacent to a large Perspex container. Each of the competitors was equipped with a large plastic drainage channel which was open at one end and which had to be held above their head. On the whistle, a male team-mate standing on a high podium behind the competitors had to pump water from a container and direct it into the closest drainage channel. The competitors then had to direct the water from one channel to the other whilst maintaining their balance on the podia. Any water that was collected in the fourth channel had to be deposited into the Perspex container marked with centimetre graduations. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of France, Italy and Netherlands and was a straightforward affair with Netherlands filling their container to a height of 22cm (8½in) of water, France to 16cm (6¼in) and Italy to 8cm (3in).

The second heat saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and Great Britain and once again was straightforward with Switzerland collecting sufficient water to fill the container to the 16cm (6¼in) mark on the graduated scale, West Germany to 12cm (4¾in) and Great Britain to 5cm (2in).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Willisau (CH) (5pts awarded / 33pts total) 2nd Drachten (NL) (6pts / 30pts) ▲ 3rd Schwabach (D) (3pts / 28pts) ▼ =4th Mulhouse (F) (5pts / 23pts) ▲ =4th Melfi (I) (2pts / 23pts) 6th Kendal (GB) (1pt / 19pts) ▼ 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (1pt / 10pts)

Fil Rouge, Rounds 5 and 6 - The Snowmen's Hats

The next round of the Fil Rouge featured the first of two countries not renowned for their skiing skills. The fifth team to participate was Netherlands and their competitor provided the crowd with some hilarious entertainment. Although finding himself off the ski run more time than actually on it, he still managed to collect 2 hats.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Schwabach (D) (8) =2nd Mulhouse (F) (5) =2nd Melfi (I) (5) 4th Kendal (GB) (3) 5th Drachten (NL) (2)

In the same vein, the sixth and penultimate round featured Belgium and, like their predecessor, was not too skilful at skiing and he also collected 2 hats.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Schwabach (D) (8) =2nd Mulhouse (F) (5) =2nd Melfi (I) (5) 4th Kendal (GB) (3) 5th Sint-Niklaas (B) (2) 5th Drachten (NL) (2)

Game 7 - The Solothurn Buffoon

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘The Solothurn Buffoon’ - was played individually over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four male competitors from each team equipped with a large net and a stuffed mannequin buffoon. On the whistle, the team had to work together to toss the buffoon over three high bars set at 4m (13ft 1½in), 5m (16ft 5in) and 6m (19ft 8¼in) along the course and catching it in the net on its descent. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and they completed the game in 6 attempts in 28 seconds, failing twice on the second bar and once on the third bar.

The second heat featured France and they completed the game in 7 attempts in 52 seconds after failing once on the first bar and three times on the third bar.

The third team to participate was West Germany and they completed the game without mishap in 3 attempts in 17 seconds.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Netherlands and they completed the game in 4 attempts in 26 seconds after failing once on the first bar.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Great Britain and they completed the game in 6 attempts in 37 seconds after failing three times on the third bar.

The sixth and final heat featured Italy and they completed the game without mishap in 3 attempts in just 12 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Drachten (NL) (4pts awarded / 34pts total) ▲ =2nd Willisau (CH) (--- / 33pts) ▼ =2nd Schwabach (D) (5pts / 33pts) ▲ 4th Melfi (I) (6pts / 29pts) 5th Mulhouse (F) (1pt / 24pts) ▼ 6th Kendal (GB) (2pts / 21pts) 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (6pts / Joker / 16pts)

Comments: In addition to the anomaly of having green coloured insignia throughout this heat, the West German team donned full green costumes for this game! This game was based on Der Narrenzeit (translated as ‘the time of fools’) which begins at 11:11am on November 11th each year in Catholic areas of Switzerland and Germany. It is a time when carnival takes over and witnesses the local population dressing up as buffoons, mummers and peddlers and painting their faces with a multitude of iridescent colours.

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Snowmen's Hats

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and, as they had somewhat of an expert skier to compete for them, the conveyer belt was speeded up. However despite this, their competitor collected a total of 8 hats to equal the highest total set by West Germany in the third round and they finished in joint 1st place.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: =1st Willisau (CH) (8) =1st Schwabach (D) (8) =3rd Mulhouse (F) (5) ▼ =3rd Melfi (I) (5) ▼ 5th Kendal (GB) (3) ▼ 6th Sint-Niklaas (B) (2) ▼ 6th Drachten (NL) (2) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Willisau (CH) (7pts awarded / 40pts total) ▲ =1st Schwabach (D) (7pts / 40pts) ▲ 3rd Drachten (NL) (2pts / 36pts) ▼ 4th Melfi (I) (5pts / 34pts) 5th Mulhouse (F) (5pts / 29pts) 6th Kendal (GB) (3pts / 24pts) 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (2pts / 18pts)

Game 8 - The Jousting Damsels

The eighth and final game - ‘The Jousting Damsels’ - was played in unison over 1 minute 20 seconds duration on the walls of the cathedral and featured four competitors (three males and one female) from each team. The female competitor, equipped with a lance, was located high on a terrace whilst the four males were on the ground standing in front of a large catapult and a pile of 12 balls. On the whistle, one of the male competitors had to load the catapult whilst the other two aimed the balls at the female. If she made contact with the ball, it would be deemed as counting towards their score. The running scores were displayed on large boards behind each of the female competitors and were operated by touch-judges standing behind them. The team making contact with the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

This was a straightforward game which was dominated by the skill of West Germany. When the scores were confirmed, they revealed that West Germany had finished with a score of 8 balls, Belgium with 4 balls, Netherlands with 3 balls, Switzerland and Great Britain with 1 ball each whilst France and Italy had failed to score.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Schwabach (D) (7pts awarded / 47pts total) 2nd Willisau (CH) (4pts / 44pts) ▼ 3rd Drachten (NL) (5pts / 41pts) 4th Melfi (I) (1pt / 35pts) 5th Mulhouse (F) (1pt / 30pts) 6th Kendal (GB) (4pts / 28pts) 7th Sint-Niklaas (B) (6pts / 24pts)

Comments: The scoreboard operators made a complete hash of displaying the points once they had been awarded. Belgium were awarded 6pts but instead their score was reduced by 2pts (to display 16pts), Netherlands were awarded 5pts but only 3pts were added (39pts) and Great Britain were awarded 4pts but 5pts were added to the scoreboard (29pts). After a short period of recalculating, the correct scores were displayed on the scoreboard.

Media Attention

After the competition, which saw British team placed a lowly 6th, the teams gravitated into the town for celebrations which carried on into the early hours. Despite their poor performance in competition, the Kendal team made many friends in Solothurn and were reported to have lead the dancing and singing in the town. The following day, both German and English newspapers referred to the Kendal team as "the team that won hearts instead of glory" and "the team that won the hearts of Europe, if not the field."

Memories of Jeux Sans Frontières

The British team from Kendal quickly realised that their rivals were highly trained and well qualified. Team members Fraser Broomby and Jean Malkin take up the story. "We were all determined to do our best, which, when competing against professional sportsmen, roller skating, skiing and crossbow champions, was going to have to be extremely good. Our team also boasted champions, although somehow they were not in quite the same category as those champs of the Europeans. We had a world champ - wait for it - his prowess was concentrated in eating 1lb (454g) of cheese quicker than anyone else in the world. Unfortunately, this rather unique skill was not required for the games. We had however in our ranks, three judo black belt holders, a weight lifting champ, a parachutist, two county tennis competitors, the Lakes ski champion, a sprinter who had run for Lancashire and many more athletes in their own right, all of which intended to do their utmost for Kendal."

Reunions

Schwabach (D)

Six surviving members of the Schwabach team were reunited in their home town on Tuesday 5th March 2019. They had gathered in the editorial office of Schwabacher Tagblatt, a local newspaper, to announce a screening of the 1971 Domestic Spiel Ohne Grenzen programme on Sunday 10th March in the Luna-Kino, which was made possible by Klaus Huber, an organiser of film matinées. The get-together was a bit like a class reunion; the six former Schwabach team members had not seen each other for many years and yet the mood was very friendly as they reminisced about how they had won the Spiel Ohne Grenzen Domestic Heat in their home town and qualified for the Swiss International Heat, staged on Wednesday 23rd June 1971.

“The time arrived, the Eurovision music played and provided us all with goosebumps for the live broadcast. We had the most fans with us and we even had Mecki Wagner with the MusikZug des TV 48 [a local brass band located in Schwabach]," remembered team member Karl-Heinz Kaufmann, who also revealed that he had picked up and kept memorabilia from the Solothurn competition.

The Schwabach team won on the night, registering four game wins, and Hanne Hauselt was seen raising the trophy into the Swiss night sky by millions of viewers across Europe. The trophy is now in the city museum. “The photograph of us winning shows that you cannot laugh any brighter. Yes, that was a nice moment. On the way home, we had a banner on the bus, people waved at us in the cities - it was like a triumph. The reception we received in front of the town hall is unforgettable. The market square was full," Hanne recalled.

"Both events were a great experience," said Ilse Müller (née Katheder). Her fellow team member Erika Rohrmayr (née Kommenda) added, "It's just a very nice memory." Their colleague Hermann Botz, however, summed up everyone’s feelings perfectly: "For me, Spiel Ohne Grenzen holds a great importance, but the most beautiful thing is that we all met again."

Additional Information

Following the team’s victory in the Domestic series, some of the West German competitors did not participate further. In order to improve the team’s chances of a second victory, the coaches wanted to bring in stronger competitors to contest the International programme and this resulted in nine of the original team members not travelling to Switzerland. Whilst on the subject of team coaches, Rainer Leuthold and Werner Schrödel decided that they wanted to be part of the action and demoted themselves to competitors for this International programme, with Schrödel assuming the role of team captain.

Due to the National Eisteddfod of Wales taking place in Bangor during the week of the BBC's intended transmission of this Jeux Sans Frontières programme, BBC Wales broadcast this heat two days later than the rest of Great Britain.

The British team donned white outfits at this heat instead of the normal red. However, the T-shirts and shorts worn by the competitors had red hems on their sleeve and leg ends.

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

NL

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 3

Event Staged: Wednesday 7th July 1971
Venue: Sportpaleis 'Ahoy' (Sports Palace 'Ahoy'), Zuidwijk,
Rotterdam, Netherlands

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.50pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 7th July 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Thursday 8th July 1971
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 14th July 1971
BBC1 (GB): Friday 13th August 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Not applicable as event was staged indoors

Winners' Trophy presented by: Dick Passchier

Theme: Co-ordination / Working Together

Teams: Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) v. Biasca (CH) v. Rheinbach (D) v.
Le Mans (F) v. Tewkesbury (GB) v. L’Aquila (I) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL)

Team Members included:
Le Mans (F) - Michelle Boulloir, Justine Gillier;
Tewkesbury (GB) - George Wilkinson (Team Manager), Ian Rodger;
L’Aquila (I) - Daniella Furmante;
Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) - C. Boer (Co-Team Coach), W.N. Verkerk (Co-Team Coach), S. van 't Wout (Team Physio), Ad van Ommen (Team Captain), Peter Britting, Jos Goedhart, Riet Heemskerk, Dini de Heij, Piet de Jong, Pinie de Jong, Juanita Kiliaan, Jim Koster, Margriet Peters-Bongers, Ria van Rietschoten, Ria Rietveld, Jan Rijvers, Marlène Spek, Kees Veenswijk, Cock Verkade, Dick Verkade.

Games: The Flying Dolphins, The Leaning Tower of Boxes, The High Seas, The Dog and the Cat, The Knight and the Damsel, Miss 'Jeux Sans Frontières' Contest, They’ve Got the Whole World in Their Hands, The Rocket Launch;
Fil Rouge: The Hairdresser’s Dummies;
Jokers: Abstract Works of Art.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 NL • Alphen aan den Rijn ● ●
 GB • Tewkesbury
 F • Le Mans ●
 I • L'Aquila
 CH • Biasca
 B • Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde
 D • Rheinbach

44
37
36
35
33
31
28

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (6th, 31pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Willisau (2nd, 44pts)
West Germany (D) - Schwabach (1st, 47pts)
France (F) - Le Mans (3rd, 36pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Tewkesbury (2nd, 37pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Alphen aan den Rijn (1st, 44pts)

The Host Town

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Rotterdam is the second largest city in Netherlands with a population of around 630,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Nieuwe Maas river in the province of Zuid Holland, 21km (13 miles) south-east of Den Haag, 50km (31 miles) north of Bergen-op-Zoom, 58km (36 miles) south-west of Amsterdam and 98km (61 miles) west of Arnhem. Its port is the largest cargo port in Europe and the 10th largest in the world. Its logistic success is based on its strategic location on the North Sea, directly at the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas, permitting waterway access into the heart of Western Europe, including the highly industrialised Ruhr region.

The city dates from at least 900 AD, with a settlement at the lower end of the fen stream Rotte (or Rotta, as it was then known, from ‘rot’ (muddy) and ‘a’ (water), thus 'muddy water'). Around 1150, large floods in the area ended development, leading to the construction of protective dikes and dams along the northern banks of the present-day Nieuwe Maas. A dam on the Rotte or 'Rotterdam' was built in the 1260s and was located at the present-day Hoogstraat (High Street). On 7th July 1340, Count Willem IV of Holland (1307-1345) granted city rights to Rotterdam, which then had approximately 2,000 inhabitants.

The port of Rotterdam grew slowly but steadily into a port of importance, becoming the seat of one of the six 'chambers' of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (VOC), the Dutch East India Company. The greatest spurt of growth, both in port activity and population, followed the completion of the Nieuwe Waterweg in 1872. The city and harbour started to expand on the south bank of the river.

During World War I (1914-1918), the city was the world's largest spy centre because of Dutch neutrality and its location in between England, Germany and occupied Belgium. During World War II (1939-1945), the German army invaded the Netherlands on 10th May 1940. Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) had hoped to conquer the country in just one day, but his forces met unexpectedly fierce resistance. On 15th May 1940, the Dutch army was finally forced to capitulate, following Hitler's bombing of Rotterdam the previous day and his threats to bomb other Dutch cities. The heart of Rotterdam was almost completely destroyed by the Luftwaffe. Some 80,000 civilians were made homeless and 900 were killed.

Rotterdam was gradually rebuilt from the 1950s through to the 1970s. It remained quite windy and open until the city councils from the 1980s on began developing an active architectural policy. Daring and new styles of apartments, office buildings and recreation facilities resulted in a more 'liveable' city centre with a new skyline.

One of the two most popular tourist attractions of the city is the Zomercarnaval (Summer Carnival) which takes place annually in late July or early August. The first carnival was staged on 4th August 1984 and it offers residents and tourists, the opportunity to experience a taste of those celebrated in Latin America and the Cape Verde Islands albeit some what dampened down by the cooler north European climate. Although the street parade attracts the most visitors, the carnival is a multi-day event and attracts almost one million people a year to the city. On Saturday, a week prior to the parade, a new Carnival Queen is elected at the Cruise Terminal Building on the Wilhelmina Pier. The following Thursday, a Beach Party is held at the Strand aan de Maas, an large open area on the opposite side of the Nieuwe Maas river to the Cruise Terminal Building, at which several brass bands, DJ's and the newly chosen Queen attend. On Friday evening, the Battle of Drums is staged, an event in which several brass bands compete to be named the official Zomercarnaval brass band and earn a spot in the street parade, as well as being invited to take part in the famous Notting Hill Carnival in London during the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The second of the top attractions is the Diergaarde Blijdorp (Blijdorp Zoo) which was designed by architect Sybold van Revesteyn (1889-1983) following damage sustained to the old zoo building during bombing raids on 10th May 1940. Constructed slightly north of its original location, street names such as Diergaardesingel (Zoo Lane) still recall the old zoo. Despite current trends for animal rights, the zoo houses a vast variety of animals and birds from all over the globe. However, with funding from the city being reduced annually, its survival is in jeopardy.

The Visiting Towns

Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde, with a population of around 25,000 inhabitants, is a municipality of the francophonic / néerlandophonic (French / Dutch-speaking) city of Bruxelles / Brussels and is located 121km (75 miles) south of Rotterdam.

Biasca is a town with a population of around 6,500 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 695km (432 miles) south-east of Rotterdam.

Rheinbach is a town with a population of around 28,000 inhabitants in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 220km (137 miles) south-east of Rotterdam.

Le Mans is a city with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants in the French region of Pays de la Loire and is located 528km (328 miles) south-west of Rotterdam.

Tewkesbury is a town with a population of around 11,000 inhabitants in the English county of Gloucestershire and is located 457km (284 miles) west of Rotterdam.

L’Aquila is a city with a population of around 72,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Abruzzo and is located 1,255km (780 miles) south-east of Rotterdam.

Alphen aan den Rijn is a town with a population of around 150,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland and is located 29km (18 miles) north of Rotterdam.

The Venue

Sportpaleis 'Ahoy'

The games were played at the Sportspaleis ‘Ahoy’ (part of the Ahoy Rotterdam complex), an indoor sporting arena standing in the Dijkzigtterrein, part of the reconstructed Rotterdam port area which had been severely damaged by bombing in the Second World War (1939-1945).

The site had been home to an exhibition hall which had been built to celebrate the reconstruction work with a special 'Rotterdam Ahoy!' exhibition. Amusingly, for some years after, when the dot of the exclamation mark had dropped off the sign, the exhibition hall became known as the Ahoy-Hal and no-one seemed to mind. The hall staged many national and international events, including a notable exhibition of the work of celebrated American architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959). It also proved its worth as a reception centre for the victims of the North Sea flood, a major natural disaster on the night of Saturday 31st January 1953 that affected the coastlines of the Netherlands, Belgium and England, claiming over two thousand lives and displaced thousands more.

Building work on the Ahoy Rotterdam commenced in 1968 and by 1970, three exhibition halls and the Sports Palace were completed. The first event to be staged at the new facilities was the Femina family fair, held in September 1970. Three months later, on Thursday 15th January 1971, the Ahoy was officially opened by HRH Prince Claus (1926-2002). Audience capacity of the arena was set at 10,000 spectators and the complex's impressive design by architects Van der Stoep and Groosman garnered a number of international awards for the special steel structures used in the arena's construction.

Since the Ahoy's auspicious opening, it has been the venue for the 1975 European Final of the BBC / Transworld Sport programme Superstars (hosted by British Jeux Sans Frontières presenter, David Vine (1935-2009)), the 2007 Junior Eurovision Song Contest and has played host to ATP World Tennis Tour and International Dog Show events for many years. It is also popular as a concert venue and has seen the likes of Elton John, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Alanis Morissette, Rush, Shakira and the popular Dutch singer Lee Towers play and make live concert video programmes there. The Ahoy has been expanded on a number of occasions, including major renovation in 1998 to create today's multifunctional venue.

In May 2020, the semi-finals and final of the annual Eurovision Song Contest was scheduled to have been staged at the arena, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was ultimately cancelled, for the first time in the competition’s 65-year history. The event was re-scheduled and eventually took place between the 18th and 22nd May 2021.

The Ahoy celebrated its 50th Anniversary in January 2021.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Flying Dolphins

The first game - ‘The Flying Dolphins’ - was played individually over a duration of 45 seconds and featured five competitors (three males and two females) from each team standing on a dirigible on one side of a net. On the other side of the net was a line of 30 inflated weighted dolphins and an opposing male team member from each of the other five teams. On the whistle, the opposing team members had to toss the dolphins over the net into the playing area and it would be the competing team’s task to return them back over the net as quickly as possible. This continued throughout the game and any dolphins on the playing side of the net when limit time was reached would be counted against the team. The team with the lesser number of dolphins in the playing area would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and they ended with a total of 6 dolphins on their side of the net.

The second heat featured France who had 4 dolphins remaining when the final whistle sounded.

The third team to participate was Italy and at the end of permitted time they had 6 dolphins remaining.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Great Britain and they had just 3 dolphins remaining at the end of permitted time.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of West Germany and they had 6 dolphins remaining.

The sixth and final heat featured Belgium and they had removed all but 3 dolphins on their side of the net when the whistle sounded.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =1st Tewkesbury (GB) (6pts / 6pts) 3rd Le Mans (F) (4pts / 4pts) =4th Rheinbach (D) (3pts / 3pts) =4th L'Aquila (I) (3pts / 3pts) =4th Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (3pts / 3pts) 7th Biasca (CH) (--- / 0pts)

Game 2 - The Leaning Tower of Boxes

The second game - ‘The Leaning Tower of Boxes’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Netherlands presenting their Joker for play. The game featured two female competitors from each team dressed in Dutch national costume and a stack of 25 upturned cucumber boxes. On the whistle, the first competitor had to lift the stack and carry it down the first half of the 30m (98ft 5¼in) course and then hand it over to the second competitor. She then had to complete the second half of the course in the same manner. At the end of the course, there was an inclined chute with sections numbered 1-25 along its length. On reaching this, the competitor had to lean the stack forward and guide it into the chute with the help of a team-mate. Any boxes that fell to the ground could be replaced by raising the stack and inserting them. Any boxes not in the chute at the end of permitted time would incur a 5-second penalty. The team completing the game in the faster overall time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, France and Italy with the former getting off to the better start. However, by the halfway mark, France had gained some ground on Switzerland but it was not enough to stop them from guiding their boxes into the chute first. Despite the top box coming adrift from the pile, it remained in the chute and was deemed to be valid. France were not so lucky after the top seven boxes tumbled to the ground as their competitor leant the stack forward.

Whilst the team rapidly recomposed itself and rebuilt the stack, it gave Italy the opportunity to overtake them and place their stack perfectly into the chute. The times were announced and Switzerland had finished in 48 seconds, Italy had finished in 59 seconds and France had finished the game in 1 minute 23 seconds.

The second heat featured West Germany, Great Britain and Netherlands and it was a completely different story to that of the first. Whilst Netherlands got the better start, their competitor appeared to be holding her stack at a precariously forward angle. However, she miraculously held her nerve and handed the stack to her team-mate who completed the game without mishap. Contemporaneously, West Germany lost the balance of the stack and, whilst trying to rectify it, their competitor found herself off the course and onto the cambered cycle track of the arena. Unable to prevent a calamity, she dropped the entire stack of boxes to the ground, almost hitting the assembled spectators in the process. This delay permitted Great Britain to overtake and place their stack perfectly into the chute. After running back and forth to collect the dropped boxes, West Germany ran out of time with just 12 boxes in the chute. The times were announced and Netherlands had finished the game in 45 seconds, Great Britain had finished in 1 minute 10 seconds and West Germany were given a time of 3 minutes 5 seconds (2 minutes + 13 x 5-second penalties).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (12pts awarded / Joker / 15pts total) ▲ 2nd Tewkesbury (GB) (3pts / 9pts) ▼ 3rd L'Aquila (I) (4pts / 7pts) ▲ =4th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (--- / 6pts) ▼ =4th Le Mans (F) (2pts / 6pts) ▼ 6th Biasca (CH) (5pts / 5pts) ▲ 7th Rheinbach (D) (1pt / 4pts) ▼

Comments: Before this game commenced, Dutch team captain Ad van Ommen approached referee Gennaro Olivieri and the two men could be seen deep in conversation while presenter Dick Passchier announced the first heat of the game. It soon became clear what was being discussed when Olivieri explained to Passchier that the Dutch team captain wished to play the Alphen aan den Rijn Joker on this game - but that it was not possible for him to present the team's Joker board as it had been stolen! After Passchier had explained to the audience about the situation, the camera cut away to the scoreboard. When it cut back, the truth was revealed: the Joker board had now been delivered to Van Ommen, who was holding it aloft. It had not been stolen, merely mislaid!

Fil Rouge, Rounds 1 and 2 - The Hairdresser's Dummies

The next game - ‘The Hairdresser’s Dummies’ - was the Fil Rouge played individually over roughly 1 minute 10 seconds duration. It featured two podia, set at a 90° angle to each other on which 30 hairdresser’s dummy heads had been laid out, and a female competitor from each team equipped with a tennis racket standing behind a wooden stile. On the whistle, the competitor had a total of 25 tennis balls delivered to her from an automatic tennis ball machine located behind the line of dummies. Each ball was delivered at intervals of 2½ seconds and she had to try and knock down as many of the dummy heads as possible. The team with the greater number of heads knocked down would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Switzerland and their competitor could only dislodge two of the heads.

The second round featured Belgium and their competitor went one better and dislodged three heads.

Game 3 - The High Seas

The The third game - ‘The High Seas’ - was played over three heats of one minute duration and featured two male competitors from each team standing on a platform above two large metronomic swinging buckets decked out in the guise of sailing ships. On the whistle, the first competitor would be handed a lifebuoy by a female team-mate and then he had to swing the bucket in tempo with the second competitor in order to pass the lifebuoy to him. Once passed, the second competitor had to swing the bucket and toss the lifebuoy over a pole located a short distance away on the other side. The game then had to be repeated continuously until the end of permitted time. The team securing the greater number of lifebuoys over the pole would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Belgium and West Germany, with the latter displaying the better technique. At the end of the one minute, West Germany had secured 8 lifebuoys whilst Belgium could only secure 3 lifebuoys.

The second heat featured Switzerland and Netherlands and from the outset, it was apparent that Netherlands would be victorious with the second of their competitors being somewhat of an expert at tossing the lifebuoys. Although the game only lasted a short time, he was passed 11 lifebuoys in total, all of which he secured onto the pole. During the same period, Switzerland could only secure 5 lifebuoys.

The third and final heat saw the participation of France and Italy, with the latter getting off to the better start. However, France made a recovery in the latter stages of the game and secured a total of 6 lifebuoys whereas Italy could only secure 4 lifebuoys.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (6pts awarded / 21pts total) 2nd Le Mans (F) (4pts / 10pts) ▲ =3rd Rheinbach (D) (5pts / 9pts) ▲ =3rd Tewkesbury (GB) (--- / 9pts) ▼ =3rd L'Aquila (I) (2pts / 9pts) 6th Biasca (CH) (3pts / 8pts) 7th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (1pt / 7pts) ▼

Comments: With the angle of the bucket reaching upwards to 90° to the ground and standing on podia above the buckets, the competitors wore support belts which they attached to the upright pole of the podium by a hook. Each of the four metronomic buckets and sails had a code painted on them - KW23, UK44, UM56 and SCH11. However, the significance of these and their meanings are unclear.

Game 4 - The Dog and the Cat

The fourth game - ‘The Dog and the Cat’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured six male competitors from each team, four dressed in a large bloodhound costume and two in a large cat costume. In the middle of the arena there were two large oversized kennels adjacent to each other with a hut assigned to the opposing team located directly in front of each. At the end of the course, hanging above the cambered track, were two large fish. On the whistle, the bloodhounds exited the kennel and then turned left or right, dependant from which kennel they had started, and then through a gate built of straw bales. They then had to race around the inner lane of the track, passing each other en route, and returning through the opposite gate to which they had exited. The team then had to enter the rear of their assigned hut in order to ‘scare’ their cat into exiting through the front of the hut. The cats then raced up the course to where the fish were located and then had to climb a rope in order to grab one of them and set off a firecracker. It should be noted that the cat could not be released until the bloodhound was completely inside the hut and the door behind it had been closed. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of France and Netherlands and from the outset Netherlands took the lead, but despite France having a faultless run, they could not keep up with the pace of their rivals. The results revealed that Netherlands had completed the game in 50 seconds and France had finished in exactly one minute.

The second heat and penultimate featured Switzerland and Great Britain and, unlike the previous heat, it was a neck and neck race until the teams re-entered the central area of the arena after which Switzerland gained a slight lead. Taking full advantage of this, Switzerland exited the hut first, reaching the fish and finishing the game in 50 seconds with Great Britain just behind them in 53 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Belgium and Italy and, as was expected on their Joker game, Italy stormed the race. By the halfway mark on the track run, they were 5m (16ft 5in) ahead of their rivals. Although reaching the rope six seconds ahead of Belgium, Italy lost time with their inept climbing ability and permitted their rivals to make up some of the deficit. Italy completed the game in a time of 53 seconds and Belgium finished in 55 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (6pts awarded / 27pts total) 2nd Biasca (CH) (12pts / Joker / 20pts) ▲ 3rd L'Aquila (I) (8pts / Joker / 17pts) 4th Tewkesbury (GB) (4pts / 13pts) ▼ 5th Le Mans (F) (1pt / 11pts) ▼ =6th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (2pts / 9pts) ▲ =6th Rheinbach (D) (--- / 9pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Rounds 3 and 4 - The Hairdresser's Dummies

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain and although their competitor was somewhat haphazard in her style, she dislodged five of the heads.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Tewkesbury (GB) (5) 2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) ▼ 3rd Biasca (CH) (2) ▼

The fourth round featured West Germany but their competitor could only dislodge one of the heads.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Tewkesbury (GB) (5) 2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) 3rd Biasca (CH) (2) 4th Rheinbach (D) (1)

Game 5 - The Knight and the Damsel

The fifth game - ‘The Knight and the Damsel’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four male competitors from each team, three dressed in a horse costume and the fourth as a knight, and a course comprising two wooden gates, a drawbridge and a castle turret. On the whistle, the knight had to mount the horse and, as he exited the castle, had to grab a lance. The horse then had to run down the course until it reached a wooden barrier, at which point the knight had to dismount and remove the blockage. He then had to remount the horse and then run to the next barrier. The knight then had to dismount for a second time and again remove the barrier, but on this occasion he had to run with it up the course and utilise it to cross a small moat. Once across the moat, he had to release the drawbridge which would permit him to return to the horse and remount. Together they had to cross the drawbridge to reach a castle turret, at the top of which was a dummy damsel. In order for him to ‘rescue’ his damsel, the knight had to use the lance and hit a target through the turret’s window, which would release and drop the damsel into his arms. Once the damsel had been ‘rescued’, he could then relinquish the lance and race back to the start via the drawbridge. On reaching the castle’s walls, the knight had to carry his damsel up a ladder and climb inside 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 Belgium and Netherlands and it was a closely run contest until the Belgium attempted to release their drawbridge. The base of the drawbridge appeared to be faulty after the locking catch, which was used to keep it open, failed and resulted in the drawbridge raising itself. After another try it re-occurred but on his third attempt he was finally able to keep it locked in position. Contemporaneously, Netherlands had completed the game in 1 minute 3 seconds with Belgium eventually completing the game in 1 minute 25 seconds.

The second and penultimate heat featured Switzerland and Italy and, as was the case in the previous heat, was a closely run race. However, on this occasion, both of the drawbridges remained in position after being released. Switzerland was the first of the two to complete the game in exactly one minute with Italy finishing in 1 minute 7 seconds.

Before the start of the next heat, referee Gennaro Olivieri announced that Belgium had clearly been hindered by the failure of the drawbridge and would be permitted a re-run at the end of the game.

The third and final heat saw the participation of West Germany and Great Britain and was the closest run of the three heats. However, West Germany tumbled to the ground in the last 10m (32ft 9¾in) of the game and their knight ran to the castle wall on foot. Contemporaneously, Great Britain had reached the top of the ladder and finished the game in 1 minute 1 second. West Germany were given a time of 0:00 for breaching the rules and not remounting the horse to complete the game.

This was followed by the re-run for Belgium and on this occasion they completed it without any hindrance, finishing in a time of 1 minute 2 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (3pts awarded / 30pts total) 2nd Biasca (CH) (6pts / 26pts) 3rd L'Aquila (I) (2pts / 19pts) 4th Tewkesbury (GB) (5pts / 18pts) 5th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (8pts / Joker / 17pts) ▲ 6th Le Mans (F) (--- / 11pts) ▼ 7th Rheinbach (D) (1pt / 10pts) ▼

Comments: Eagle-eyed viewers would have noticed that when Belgium participated in the re-run, they utilised the horse costume of Italy, the reason for which remains unclear.

Game 6 - Miss 'Jeux Sans Frontières' Contest

The sixth game - ‘Miss ‘Jeux Sans Frontières’ Contest’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed France presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a female competitor from each team in swimwear and a wooden beam spanning a large pool, on each side of which was a beauty queen’s throne. On the whistle, the competitor had to make her way across the beam to a marked area. Once she reached this point, she had to keep her balance whilst a male team-mate tossed plastic containers to her. Inside the containers were items of clothing and regalia ascribed to a beauty queen - a sash (with the word ‘Miss’ and the name of the team printed on it), a wig, a robe, an orb, a tiara and a small bouquet of flowers - all of which she had to attire herself with. Once the final item had been caught, the competitor had to run back to the side of the pool and seat herself on the throne which set off a firecracker. A second competitor was on standby to restart the procedure should the first tumble into the pool. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this very straightforward game saw the participation of Switzerland and West Germany and was completed without mishap with West Germany finishing in 43 seconds and Switzerland finishing in 49 seconds.

The second and penultimate heat featured France and Great Britain also ended without mishap with France finishing in 40 seconds and Great Britain finishing in 47 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Belgium and Netherlands and finished with Netherlands completing the game in 36 seconds and Belgium finishing in 52 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (6pts awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Biasca (CH) (2pts / 28pts) =3rd Le Mans (F) (10pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ =3rd Tewkesbury (GB) (3pts / 21pts) ▲ 5th L'Aquila (I) (--- / 19pts) ▼ 6th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (1pt / 18pts) ▼ 7th Rheinbach (D) (4pts / 14pts)

Fil Rouge, Rounds 5 and 6 - The Hairdresser's Dummies

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge saw the participation of France and their competitor dislodged three of the heads which equalled the score of Belgium.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Tewkesbury (GB) (5) =2nd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) =2nd Le Mans (F) (3) 4th Biasca (CH) (2) ▼ 5th Rheinbach (D) (1) ▼

The sixth and penultimate round featured Italy and their competitor went one better and dislodged four of the heads.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Tewkesbury (GB) (5) 2nd L'Aquila (I) (4) =3rd Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) ▼ =3rd Le Mans (F) (3) ▼ 5th Biasca (CH) (2) ▼ 6th Rheinbach (D) (1) ▼

Game 7 - They've Got the Whole World in Their Hands

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘They’ve Got the Whole World in Their Hands’ - was played in three heats of two minutes duration and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured six competitors (three males and three females) from each team, a very large inflated globe and a 2m (6ft 6¾in) high eggcup. On the whistle, the three male competitors had to transport the globe over a dirigible and then toss it over a net. The female competitors then had to lift the globe above their heads and, working together, simply guide it into the egg cup which was much more difficult than it sounded 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 whilst West Germany successfully completed the game in 44 seconds, Great Britain struggled and failed to finish the game and were given 0:00.

The second and penultimate heat featured Belgium and Italy and was completely different to that of the first. Both teams used better tactics, in particular Belgium who stormed the game and finished in just 23 seconds with Italy completing the game in 36 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Switzerland and France and, although they were not as sleek in their execution of the game as the previous heat, France were still able to complete the game in 27 seconds. Contemporaneously, Switzerland were struggling to get the globe off the ground but eventually lifted it into the mouth of the eggcup, but had to hold their breath as it rolled around the rim three times before dropping in, after 1 minute 46 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (--- awarded / 36pts total) 2nd Biasca (CH) (2pts / 30pts) 3rd Le Mans (F) (5pts / 26pts) 4th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (6pts / 24pts) ▲ 5th L'Aquila (I) (4pts / 23pts) 6th Tewkesbury (GB) (1pt / 22pts) ▼ 7th Rheinbach (D) (6pts / Joker / 20pts)

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Hairdresser's Dummies

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge saw the participation of Netherlands and, with their competitor having only 24 dummy heads (instead of 30) to aim at, was able to dislodge four of them with the 25 balls delivered to her and they finished in joint 2nd place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Tewkesbury (GB) (5) =2nd L'Aquila (I) (4) =2nd Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (4) =4th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3) ▼ =4th Le Mans (F) (3) ▼ 6th Biasca (CH) (2) ▼ 7th Rheinbach (D) (1) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (6pts awarded / 42pts total) 2nd Biasca (CH) (2pts / 32pts) 3rd Le Mans (F) (4pts / 30pts) =4th Tewkesbury (GB) (7pts / 29pts) ▲ =4th L'Aquila (I) (6pts / 29pts) ▲ 6th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (4pts / 28pts) ▼ 7th Rheinbach (D) (1pt / 21pts)

Comments: The experienced ‘guest’ competitor for Netherlands was tennis player Els Veentjer-Spruyt who had represented Netherlands at the Wimbledon Championships between 1965 and 1969. Born in December 1943 as Elsie Spruyt, she married Piet Venntjer in 1965, and her greatest year was in 1967 after reaching the fourth round of the tournament and found herself drawn against the top seeded player, Billie-Jean Moffitt (later to be known as Billie-Jean King). After four years in the top flight, Veentjer-Spruyt retired from competitive sport to concentrate on starting a family, giving birth to two daughters Pamela (in 1970) and Linda (1973). After the points had been awarded from the Fil Rouge, Netherlands had accumulated sufficient points to secure overall victory, no matter the outcome of the final game. Although Great Britain had yet to play their Joker, a victory for them on the final game (14pts) and a last position for Netherlands (1pt) would result in a tied contest with both teams having amassed 43pts each. At the bottom of the scoreboard, the result of the Fil Rouge had determined that West Germany, now trailing by 7pts on their closest rival, were fated to finish the contest in 7th place overall, the first-ever occasion that the country had finished at the foot of the Jeux Sans Frontières scoreboard (other than in the 1965 and 1966 competitions that featured only two teams per event).

Game 8 - The Rocket Launch

The eighth and final game - ‘The Rocket Launch’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and witnessed Great Britain presenting their Joker for play. The game featured five male competitors from each team and a silver polystyrene space rocket. On the whistle, the competitors had to lift the rocket off its mountings and then line up in front of each other, raising the rocket above their heads and moving it forward whilst remaining stationary. Once the rocket had been released by the last competitor in the line, he had to run forward to get in front of the first and then the fourth competitor, who was now the last in line, did the same and this had to be repeated throughout until the teams reached the halfway mark of the course. At this point, the teams would be permitted to carry the rocket for the remainder of the course and then, with the assistance of a team-mate, had to place it nose up in a launch pad to set off a firecracker. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward game but very difficult to judge from a viewer’s aspect. It was neck and neck until the halfway point after which West Germany took control and finished the game in 41 seconds followed by both Italy and France in 43 seconds and Great Britain in 44 seconds. On camera, it appeared that Netherlands had finished in 5th place (47 seconds), with Belgium behind them in 6th place (48 seconds), and Switzerland bringing up the rear in 7th place (49 seconds). However, when the results were announced the placings of Netherlands and Belgium had been reversed.

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) (2pts awarded / 44pts total) 2nd Tewkesbury (GB) (8pts / 37pts) ▲ 3rd Le Mans (F) (6pts / 36pts) 4th L'Aquila (I) (6pts / 35pts) ▲ 5th Biasca (CH) (1pt / 33pts) ▼ 6th Watermael-Boitsfort / Watermaal-Bosvoorde (B) (3pts / 31pts) 7th Rheinbach (D) (7pts / 28pts)

Comments: Viewers watching the programme may have felt that some bias was taking place by one of the referees in this game. British referee Arthur Ellis had been assigned to watch Netherlands and those with an eagle-eye would have seen him continuously stopping them and pushing them back. Even their positional finishing order was arguably subject to a time-keeping error (see above for details). If the Dutch team harboured suspicions that they were being held back in order to help Great Britain tie the contest, it was all in vain as the Tewkesbury team did not help their own cause by finishing in 4th place on the game! It should be said that Arthur was a notorious stickler for the rules, both in the Domestic and International competitions, and his reputation as a hard but fair, impartial referee was second to none. When the Silver Jeux Sans Frontières trophy was presented to the winning team of Alphen aan den Rijn, it was hidden away inside a wooden casket. It would not have been seen by the cameras but for the officials prompting the team captain to open it up. On all other occasions, the winners’ trophy had always been handed over in full view of the cameras and audience and the reason for this anomaly remains unclear.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Ad van Ommen, team captain for Alphen aan den Rijn, would participate again in the same role for the Dutch national teams at consecutive Jeux Sans Frontières Christmas specials staged in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, in 1973, and Aviemore, Scotland, in 1974.

Records and Statistics

This event had the distinction of being the first summer Jeux Sans Frontières competition to be held indoors, being staged at the Sportpaleis ‘Ahoy’. The venue had only been opened in 1970 - a year before Jeux Sans Frontières visited. The only other two occasions that the summer games were staged indoors were at the Eisstadion Allmend in Bern, Switzerland in 1972 and the Palazzo dello Sport in Milano, Italy in 1976. It should be noted that the first-ever event to be staged indoors was during the 1968 Interneige series when the final programme was broadcast from the Centre Sportif des Vernets (Vernets Sports Centre) at Bâtie-Acacias in Genève, Switzerland.

This was the first occasion in 31 Jeux Sans Frontières programmes (excluding 1965 and 1966 when only two teams competed in each heat) that West Germany found themselves finishing in the bottom position. Rheinbach would be one of only three West German teams that would ever find themselves in this position - the others being Hof in 1973 (47th programme) and Bad Sobernheim at the International Final of 1978 (92nd programme). Finishing in the bottom position on just three occasions in 110 programmes over 14 years between 1967 and 1980 is an amazing record!

Additional Information

The Belgian team in this heat represented one of the nineteen municipalities that comprise its capital city. The city is the only territory in the country that is bilingual and for that reason all the municipalities are known by both the French (Walloon) and Dutch (Flemish) names. However, the scoreboard designers appeared to have got the two mixed up (or diplomatically tried to show no bias) by displaying the name as Watermaal-Boitsfort. However, in reality the French name is Watermael-Boitsfort whilst the Dutch version is Watermaal-Bosvoorde!

This International Heat in Rotterdam cost 80,000 guilders (approx. £9,200, or £91,000 today) to stage, an increase of 5,000 guilders (approx. £500 or £4,945 today) over the cost of the previous year's Dutch International Heat from Groningen.

Props and equipment for this International Heat included 50,000 litres (11,000 gallons) of water, 500 plastic dolphins, 1,000 tennis balls, 535 cucumber boxes, 12 tins of explosive confetti, 56 helmets, 54 wigs and 10 suits of armour which were made from foam rubber.

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

F

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 4

Event Staged: Wednesday 21st July 1971
Venue: Lac et Quai d'Allier (Lake Allier and Quayside), Vichy, France

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
Nederland 1 (NL): Wednesday 21st July 1971, 9.45-11.05pm

RAI Due (I): Thursday 22nd July 1971
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 25th August 1971
BBC1 (GB): Friday 27th August 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Simon Garnier

Theme: The Animated Characters of Walt Disney

Teams: Tournai (B) v. Brig-Glis (CH) v. Bockum-Hövel (D) v. Vichy (F) v.
Prestwick (GB) v. Forio (Ischia) (I) v. Zoetermeer (NL)

Team Members included:
Bockum-Hövel (D) - Dieter Ende;
Vichy (F) - Michel Denis, Benedine Duche, Christian de la Presse, Jean Lafevré, Jean-Michel Mourelle, Rogier Waszkier;
Prestwick (GB) - Jim Innes (Team Manager), Johnny Hubbard (Team Coach), Hugh Alexander, Ann Beaton, Bill Collin, John Colville, Jim Doolan, Jim Ferguson, Jim Fields, Laurence 'Laurie' Hood, Linda Hubbard, Donald McKechnie, Brian Morrison, Brian Picken, Pat Slessor, Morag Thow.

Games: Baloo and Mowgli, The Six Dwarfs and the Daisies, Pluto’s Bones, Donald Duck and the Metronome, The Jousting Cats, Peter Pan, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, The Witches;
Fil Rouge: The Three Little Pigs;
Jokers: Peter Pan Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 B • Tournai ●
 CH • Brig-Glis
 D • Bockum-Hövel
 NL • Zoetermeer
 GB • Prestwick
 F • Vichy
 I • Forio (Ischia)

41
36
35
34
34
31
29

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Tournai (1st, 41pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Willisau (2nd, 44pts)
West Germany (D) - Schwabach (1st, 47pts)
France (F) - Le Mans (3rd, 36pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Tewkesbury (2nd, 37pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Alphen aan den Rijn (1st, 44pts)

The Host Town

Vichy, France

Vichy is a town with a population of around 26,000 inhabitants in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. It is located almost in the centre of the country, 32km (20 miles) north of Thiers, 50km (31 miles) south of Moulins, 101km (63 miles) west of Villefranche-sur-Saône and 121km (75 miles) east of Guéret.

On returning from their defeat at the Battle of Gergovia (52 BC) by the Gallic legions of Vercingetorix, the Romans established a township at the crossing on the Flumen Elaver (Allier). These Roman settlers had acknowledged the therapeutic value of the springs in the area and were eager to exploit them. During the first two centuries AD, Vichy was very prosperous because of these thermal springs.

By the end of the 16th century, the mineral baths had obtained a reputation for having quasi-miraculous curing powers and attracted patients from the noble and wealthy classes. These included the Marquise de Sévigné (1626-1696) who would popularize Vichy's thermal baths through the written descriptions in her letters. The Vichy waters were said to have cured the paralysis in her hands, thus enabling her to take up letter-writing. In 1761 and 1762, Princesses Adélaïde (1732-1800) and Victoire (1733-1799), the daughters of Louis XV (1710-1774), came to Vichy for the first time and returned in 1785. The bath facilities seemed extremely uncomfortable to them because of the muddy surroundings and insufficient access. When they returned to Versailles, they asked their nephew Louis XVI (1754-1793) to build roomier and more luxurious thermal baths, which were subsequently completed in 1787.

By the 19th century, Vichy was a station à la mode (fashionable resort), attended by many celebrities. But the stays of Napoleon III (1808-1873) between 1861 and 1866 were to cause the most profound transformation of the town. Dikes were built along the Allier River, 13 hectares (32 acres) of landscaped gardens replaced the old marshes, and along the newly laid out boulevards and streets, chalets and pavilions were built for the Emperor and his court. Recreational pursuits were not spared, with a large casino being built by the architect Badger in 1865. The emperor would be the catalyst of the development of a small rail station which multiplied the number of inhabitants and visitors by ten in fifty years with la vie thermale (the spa life) finding its heyday in the 1930s.

The 1950s and 1960s would become the most ostentatious period for Vichy, complete with parading personalities, visits from crowned heads (The Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakech (1879-1956) and Prince Rainier of Monaco (1923-2005)) and profits from a massive influx of North African French clients who holidayed in Vichy, spending lavishly. It was at this period that the station would take the title of 'Reine des villes d'eaux' (Queen of the Spa Towns). From June to September, there were so many French-Algerian tourists arriving that it almost seemed like there had been an airlift set up between Vichy-Charmeil and the airports of Algeria.

The war in Algeria (1954-1962), which led to decolonization, marked once again a halt in the prosperity of the town, which from then on had to deal with much less favourable conditions. The need to continue to pay the debts incurred by the considerable investments that had been made in more prosperous times obligated the new mayor, Jacques Lacarin (1912-2009), the successor of Pierre Coulon (1913-1967) following his death in office, to adopt a much more careful policy of management.

The town's inhabitants are called Vichyssois and lend their name to a thick soup made of puréed leeks, onions, potatoes, cream, and chicken stock. However, there is some debate by culinary experts as to whether or not this was just an American invention or it stems from the town from which it takes its name.

The Visiting Towns

Tournai is a city with a population of around 70,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of Hainaut and is located 499km (310 miles) north of Vichy.

Brig-Glis is a town with a population of around 13,500 inhabitants in the teutophonic / francophonic (German / French-speaking) Swiss canton of Valais and is located 351km (218 miles) east of Vichy.

Bockum-Hövel, with a population of around 36,000 inhabitants, is a suburb of the city of Hamm in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 695km (432 miles) north-east of Vichy.

Prestwick is a town with a population of around 16,000 inhabitants in the Scottish council area of South Ayrshire and is located 1,185km (736 miles) north-west of Vichy.

Forio (Ischia) is a town with a population of around 18,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Campania and is located 1,033km (642 miles) south-east of Vichy.

Zoetermeer is a city with a population of around 125,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland and is located 665km (413 miles) north of Vichy.

The Venue

Lac d'Allier

The were played on the banks of the town’s river on Lac d’Allier, an artificial lake commissioned on 10th June 1963, by the then mayor, Pierre Coulon (1913-1967). Due to the popularity of the thermal resort by clients from the North African countries, he decided to build a bridge-dam across the river to create the lake. Le Pont d’Europe (The Bridge of Europe), which regulates the flow of the river and the level of the water of the lake, was officially opened on 1st September 1963, by French politician Maurice Herzog (1919-2012) on the occasion of the European rowing championships.

The lake stretches for 2.5km (1½ miles) in length and has a maximum width of 170m (557ft 9in) and is encompassed by a 6km (4 miles) long pathway. It is approved as an international rowing and canoeing basin and has its own artificial beach called Celestine. Along with the Omnisports Park, completed in 1968, both projects gave the town a new look, one that continues to this day.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Baloo and Mowgli

The first game - ‘Baloo and Mowgli’ - was played individually over 50 seconds duration and featured two male competitors from each team, one attired as Baloo the bear and the other as Mowgli the man-cub. It comprised six large automatic cranes which supported podia that were connected by a 50m (164ft) wooden slatted bridge overhanging the water’s edge. At the start of the game, the competitor representing Mowgli had to stand on the quayside whilst the other, attired as Baloo, made his way to the third (middle) podium located 25m (82ft) along the bridge. On the whistle, the land-based competitor had to make his way onto the bridge whilst the cranes raised and lowered the platforms in a random manner and his task was to travel as far along his 25m stretch within 25 seconds. After this, a second whistle would sound and release the second competitor, who then had to repeat the process along the latter part of the bridge in the exact time frame. The measurements of distances traversed by each competitor would be taken and totalled. The team travelling the greater overall distance would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of West Germany and their first competitor failed to make it to the halfway mark before the second whistle and the second fared no better and ran out of time. The two distances covered were 21m (Mowgli) and 19m (Baloo) = 40m (131ft 2¼in).

The second heat featured France and they completed the game in 38 seconds with the first competitor covering his half of the course in 18 seconds and tagging his team-mate, who then covered his half of the course in 20 seconds. The total distance for France was declared as the maximum 50m and had guaranteed the team 6pts.

The third team to participate was Switzerland and both of their competitors failed to make it across their respective halves and were deemed to have covered 19m + 12m = 31m (101ft 8½in).

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Great Britain and, although they did not complete both halves, their competitors covered 18.5m + 22m = 40.5m (132ft 10½in).

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Italy and with both of their competitors losing their footing on the second of their respective three sections, their total distance was declared as 15m + 13m = 28m (91ft 10¼in).

The sixth and final heat featured Belgium and they fared worst of the six teams, covering just 7.5m + 17.5m = 25m.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Vichy (F) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Bockum-Hövel (D) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Brig-Glis (CH) (3pts / 3pts) 5th Forio (Ischia) (I) (2pts / 2pts) 6th Tournai (B) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Zoetermeer (NL) (--- / 0pts)

Inspiration for the Game: This game was based on the Walt Disney Productions 1967 animated version of The Jungle Book, adapted from the book of the same name penned by Indian-born English writer Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936).

Game 2 - The Six Dwarfs and the Daisies

The ssecond game - ‘The Six Dwarfs and the Daisies’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 15 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland and Great Britain presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed as one of the dwarfs, a 10m (32ft 9¾in) greased ramp and a vase of large marguerite daises enclosed within an area surrounded by straw bales. On the whistle, the dwarf had to pick up a tray with a glass of water on it and then slide with it down the ramp and over the straw bales at the bottom. Once completed, he had to grab a daisy from the vase and run with it back to the start. He then had to climb a ladder to the top of the ramp and place the daisy into a pot and then repeat the game. The glass could not be held in place with his other hand and it had to be standing upright on the tray as he exited the confines of the game in order for a daisy to be collected. The team collecting the greater number of daisies would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland and France and it got off to a false start when the competitor from France lost his balance whilst anticipating the whistle and ultimately slid down the ramp. After recomposing himself at the top of the ramp, the whistle was sounded and it was Switzerland that got the better start with their competitor completing his descent without mishap. Although France suffered a mishap after their competitor fell down on to his posterior on his descent, he got up and returned to the top of the ramp at the same time as Switzerland. The second, third and fourth descents were a repeat of the first with Switzerland being successful whilst France returned to the top of the ramp flowerless. The result was declared as Switzerland collecting 4 daisies and France failing to score.

The second and penultimate heat featured Belgium and West Germany and the first descent saw Belgium being successful whilst West Germany failed to arrive with the glass upright. The second and third descents proved successful for both teams and although the fourth had the same outcome, neither of the competitors was able to make it to the top of the ramp before the final whistle sounded. The result was declared as Belgium collecting 3 daises and West Germany collecting 2 daises.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Great Britain and Netherlands and on the first descent whilst the latter was successful, Great Britain appeared to be too confident and slipped on the greased ramp. The second descent saw Great Britain try and flaunt the rules when their competitor handled the glass as he exited the scoring area. His misdemeanour was spotted by referee Guido Pancaldi, who waved at him and instructed him to return to the top of the ramp flowerless. Contemporaneously, Netherlands slipped on the descent and also returned to the top of the ramp for the next descent. Great Britain were first to depart on the fourth run and, although the glass toppled over just as the competitor exited the playing area, but had already been disqualified for handling the glass as he started his descent and was again instructed to return to the top of the ramp. Netherlands had been successful for a second time and returned to the top of the ramp. With the time ticking by, Great Britain made a fifth descent and on this occasion completed it without mishap and raced back to the start with a daisy and began a sixth descent. But the clock had reached 1 minute 11 seconds of elapsed time at this point and before he had reached the base of the ramp, the whistle sounded. The result was declared as Netherlands collecting 2 daisies and Great Britain collecting 1 daisy.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Brig-Glis (CH) (12pts awarded / Joker / 15pts total) ▲ 2nd Prestwick (GB) (4pts / Joker / 9pts) 3rd Bockum-Hövel (D) (4pts / 8pts) 4th Vichy (F) (1pt / 7pts) ▼ 5th Tournai (B) (5pts / 6pts) ▲ 6th Zoetermeer (NL) (4pts / 4pts) ▲ 7th Forio (Ischia) (I) (--- / 2pts) ▼

Inspiration for the Game: This game was based on the 1937 animated version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which was an adaptation of the German fairytale written by the brothers Jacob Grimm (1785-1863) and Wilhelm Grimm (1786-1859). Whilst in the story and film there had been seven dwarfs, the game only utilised six of them. Before the start of the game, presenter Guy Lux explained tongue-in-cheek that Sleepy, the seventh dwarf from Italy, was actually fast asleep in bed and would not be competing. The cameras then panned to a large bed in which Sleepy was indeed asleep.

Fil Rouge, Rounds 1 and 2 - The Three Little Pigs

The next game - ‘The Three Little Pigs’ - was the Fil Rouge and was played individually. It featured three male competitors on water-skis wearing pig masks and three large ringed basketball nets attached to an upright pole on the quayside. The nets had been set at an incline of 45° towards the oncoming skiers and each had a different value. The top net was valued at 5pts, the middle net was valued at 3pts and the bottom net was valued at 1pt. On the whistle, the speedboat pulled the skiers, each equipped with a football, from the middle of the lake into the playing arena at a speed of 50kph (31mph). Each of the competitors was pulled by a rope of differing length - the first was pulled by an 18m (59ft ¾in) rope, the second by a 28m (91ft 10¼in) rope and the third by a 38m (124ft 8in) rope. A few metres before the targets, there was a ramp in the water which the competitors had to ascend and jump to give them extra height and it was at this point they had to toss the ball into one of three nets. The competitors only had one attempt at the game and the team with the greater total would be awarded the points.

The first round saw the participation of Netherlands and their competitors failed to score with any of their three balls. With a total of 0pts they would be destined to finish in 7th place in the Fil Rouge.

The second round featured Italy and, with each of their competitors hitting the targets (5pts + 5pts + 3pts), accumulated a total of 13pts.

Game 3 - Pluto's Bones

The third game - ‘Pluto’s Bones’ - was played individually over one minute duration and featured two separated parallel floating platforms in the lake and three male competitors from each team on small bicycles dressed as Mickey Mouse’s dog, Pluto. On the quayside, there was a kennel and on the farther of the two platforms there was a ‘washing line’. On the whistle, the first of the competitors had to exit the kennel and cycle across a broad plank of wood to reach the first platform and then across a much narrower plank to reach the second platform. Above the second plank of wood there was a line of eight bones and, as he crossed, he had to reach up and grab one and then continue to the second platform to hang it on the line. He then had to make his way back across to the quayside via another two planks further along the platform. Once the bone had been hung, the second competitor could then begin his run and after this, the third competitor would do likewise. The game would then be repeated throughout until the end of permitted time. If any of the competitors tumbled into the water, his run would finish and he had to swim back to the quayside whilst the next available competitor started a new run. The team collecting the greater number of bones would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Netherlands and on the first run their competitor tumbled into the water and although the second competitor was not so unfortunate, he was unable to grab a bone in passing. The third run proved to be more fruitful with the competitor collecting a bone and hanging it on the line. With the first competitor still in the water, the game continued with just two members of the team but neither was able to improve on the score of 1 bone.

The second heat featured France and despite the team completing seven crossings without mishap, only 3 bones were collected within the time permitted.

The third team to participate was Great Britain and they made a total of six crossings and collected a total of 4 bones, which would prove to be the best score attained.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was West Germany and although they made a total of seven crossings without mishap, they were only able to collect 2 bones.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Switzerland and they made eight crossings within the time permitted and collected 4 bones. However, the fourth bone was hung on the line after the whistle and therefore only 3 bones were deemed as valid.

The sixth and final heat featured Italy and they were very inept with their cycling and balancing skills. With the first two competitors both tumbling into the water and out of the game, it was left for the third competitor to continue solo for the remainder of the game. However, he did not take any chances of suffering a similar fate as his team-mates and made no attempt to collect any bones and the team ended with a score of 0.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Brig-Glis (CH) (5pts awarded / 20pts total) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (6pts / 15pts) 3rd Vichy (F) (5pts / 12pts) ▲ 4th Bockum-Hövel (D) (3pts / 11pts) ▼ =5th Tournai (B) (--- / 6pts) =5th Zoetermeer (NL) (2pts / 6pts) ▲ 7th Forio (Ischia) (I) (1pt / 3pts)

Comments: This game was originally designed to be played in three heats of two teams over two minutes duration. However, during rehearsals it was found that the closeness of the two competing teams was deemed to be somewhat of a hazard should two opposing competitors tumble into the water at the same time and the bicycles coming into contact with either. An aerial view of the game clearly showed this in its design.

Game 4 - Donald Duck and the Metronome

The fourth game - ‘Donald Duck and the Metronome’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and featured three female competitors from each team and a floating barrel with a 5m (16ft 5in) pole at its centre and a crow’s nest at the top. On the whistle, the three competitors had to swim from the quayside and whilst two of them climbed onto the top of the barrel, the third competitor, dressed as Donald Duck, had to climb the pole and into the crow’s nest. The three of them then had to work together to get the metronome in motion by adjusting their positions from one side to the other. Once in motion, they had to ensure that the metronome attained enough swing in order for the competitor in the crow’s nest to be low enough to touch the surface of the water. The team with the greater number of successful oscillations into the water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany and France and ended with both teams having completed 6 oscillations each.

The second and penultimate heat featured Switzerland and Netherlands with both teams applying better techniques than the previous two. The heat ended with Switzerland completing 7 oscillations and Netherlands completing 9 oscillations.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Belgium and Italy with both teams appearing to be faster than the previous four. The results revealed that Belgium had completed 10 oscillations and Italy had completed 8 oscillations.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Brig-Glis (CH) (3pts awarded / 23pts total) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (--- / 15pts) 3rd Vichy (F) (2pts / 14pts) 4th Bockum-Hövel (D) (2pts / 13pts) 5th Tournai (B) (6pts / 12pts) 6th Zoetermeer (NL) (5pts / 11pts) ▼ 7th Forio (Ischia) (I) (4pts / 7pts)

Fil Rouge, Rounds 3 and 4 - The Three Little Pigs

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and although only one of their competitors was able to hit the target, it was the highest valued and they finished with a total of 5pts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Forio (Ischia) (I) (13) 2nd Tournai (B) (5) 7th Zoetermeer (NL) (0)

The fourth round followed and saw the participation of Great Britain, and with two of their competitors hitting the top target and the third missing completely, the team accumulated a total of 10pts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Forio (Ischia) (I) (13) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (10) 3rd Tournai (B) (5) ▼ 7th Zoetermeer (NL) (0)

Game 5 - The Jousting Cats

The fifth game - ‘The Jousting Cats’ - was played over three rounds of three runs and featured two male competitors from each team equipped with lances and sitting on small ski lift chairs. Descending from the roof of the rotunda restaurant to the quayside opposite was a zip wire measuring 60m (196ft 10¼in) and descending from a high scaffold to the base of the rotunda was another measuring 50m (164ft). On the whistle, a stagehand on the rotunda and another on the scaffold would each release an opposing competitor out onto the wire. As they passed each other, they had to hit a small target located to the left of the chair which would send their opponent into the water below. There were three possibilities of scoring - if one of the competitors was successful and the other failed, the winner would be awarded 5pts and the loser would score 0pts; if both competitors were successful, each would be awarded 3pts and if neither competitor was successful, they would score 0pts.

The first run of the first round saw the participation of Italy from the high scaffold and Netherlands from the rotunda and on their first run they both hit their targets and scored 3pts each. The second run featured Belgium from the rotunda and Great Britain from the scaffold and both scored 3pts each after hitting their targets. The third run saw the participation of Switzerland from the scaffold and France from the rotunda and as had been the case in the previous two runs, both teams were successful, scoring 3pts each.

With all the teams equal with 3pts each, the game moved into the second round and saw the teams switching their starting points. Those that had started on the high scaffold on their first run switched to the rotunda roof for their second and those who had previously started from the roof of the rotunda, started from the high scaffold.

The first run of the second round saw the participation of Belgium and Italy and ended with both teams hitting their targets and scoring another 3pts each. The second run featured France and Great Britain with both teams again unseating their opponents and scoring 3pts each. The third run saw the participation of Switzerland and Netherlands and although it appeared that Switzerland had broken the deadlock by unseating Netherlands, he tumbled from his seat before reaching the safety of the quayside and was deemed as having been hit. All teams were now on 6pts each and the game entered its third and final round.

The first run of the third round saw Italy (from the rotunda) participating against France (from the high scaffold) and the deadlock was finally broken when Italy unseated France whilst remaining intact in his seat. Italy were awarded 5pts (overall total 11pts) and France were awarded 0pts (6pts). The second run featured Belgium (rotunda) participating against Switzerland (high scaffold) with both teams unseating their rivals and scoring 3pts each (9pts each). The final run saw Great Britain (high scaffold) participating against Netherlands (rotunda) and with neither of them hitting their targets, they scored 0pts each (6pts each).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Brig-Glis (CH) (5pts awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (3pts / 18pts) =3rd Tournai (B) (5pts / 17pts) ▲ =3rd Vichy (F) (3pts / 17pts) 5th Zoetermeer (NL) (3pts / 14pts) ▲ =6th Bockum-Hövel (D) (--- / 13pts) ▼ =6th Forio (Ischia) (I) (6pts / 13pts) ▲

Inspiration for the Game: This game was loosely based on Gideon the cat, a character from Disney’s 1940 film Pinocchio, which was adapted from the story of the same name by Italian author Carlo Collodi (1826-1890).

Comments: The success or failure of the teams in this game was somewhat dependant on the timing of the stagehands releasing the competitors. If they were released at exactly the same moment, the competitors had a greater chance of meeting at the midway points of their descents. However, if they timed it incorrectly, the competitors would have very little or no chance of making contact. Whilst most of their releases were accurate, a slight delay by one of them on the final run of the third round clearly showed after both competitors missed their targets completely.

Game 6 - Peter Pan

The sixth game - ‘Peter Pan’ - was played individually and witnessed Belgium and France presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team dressed in a Peter Pan costume wearing boxing gloves and who was standing astride a wooden horse on a train bogey located at the top of a small inclined track. At the base of the incline, there was a course comprising 14 podia of differing heights located on either side of the track, each with a large cube on top. On the whistle, the competitor would be released and as he passed the podia, he had to punch and displace as many of the 28 boxes as possible whilst opposition team members hindered his passage by swinging small flour bags at him. The team displacing the greater number of boxes from their podia would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of France who displaced 23 cubes.

The second heat featured Netherlands and their competitor displaced a total of 16 cubes.

The third team to participate was Italy and their competitor displaced 22 cubes.

The fourth of the six teams to participate was Belgium and they displaced a total of 24 cubes.

The fifth and penultimate heat saw the participation of Great Britain and they displaced 25 cubes.

The sixth heat featured West Germany and their competitor displaced a total of 18 cubes.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Brig-Glis (CH) (--- awarded / 28pts total) 2nd Tournai (B) (10pts / Joker / 27pts) ▲ 3rd Vichy (F) (8pts / Joker / 25pts) 4th Prestwick (GB) (6pts / 24pts) ▼ 5th Forio (Ischia) (I) (3pts / 16pts) ▲ =6th Bockum-Hövel (D) (2pts / 15pts) =6th Zoetermeer (NL) (1pt / 15pts) ▼

Inspiration for the Game: This game was based on the eponymous character from the 1953 film Peter Pan, an animated adaptation of the classic story penned by Scottish author J.M. (James Matthew) Barrie (1860-1937).

Comments: Before the start of the fourth heat, the competitor from Great Britain replaced his feathered cap with a Scottish tam o’shanter bonnet. Although this may have appeared unusual for European viewers, it would not have been such a surprise for those from Great Britain as the team from Prestwick hailed from Scotland. Despite being awarded 6pts following their victory, the scoreboard operators deducted 4pts from the score of Great Britain to show 14pts. However, they had realised their mistake before the result of the fifth round of the Fil Rouge was announced and had corrected the score to show 24pts.

Fil Rouge, Rounds 5 and 6 - The Three Little Pigs

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and, as was the case with Belgium in the third round, only one of their competitors was able to hit the target, albeit the highest valued, and finished with a total of 5pts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Forio (Ischia) (I) (13) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (10) =3rd Tournai (B) (5) =3rd Bockum-Hövel (D) (5) 7th Zoetermeer (NL) (0)

The sixth and penultimate round saw the participation of Switzerland and, with two of their competitors hitting the targets (5pts and 3pts) and the third missing completely, the team accumulated a total of 8pts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Forio (Ischia) (I) (13) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (10) 3rd Brig-Glis (CH) (8) =4th Tournai (B) (5) ▼ =4th Bockum-Hövel (D) (5) ▼ 7th Zoetermeer (NL) (0)

Game 7 - Mickey and Minnie Mouse

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Mickey and Minnie Mouse’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed West Germany and Netherlands presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a course which comprised of two narrow 5m (16ft 5in) balance beams that extended out over the water’s edge on opposite sides of the quay with a gap of about 2m between each one. On the whistle, the male competitor, equipped with a large marguerite daisy, had to edge his way along his beam whilst the female competitor edged empty-handed along her beam. When the two competitors were face to face, they had to stretch across the gap in order for him to pass the daisy to her but, as they were unsupported at the end, the beams were very wobbly and the competitors had to keep their balance without falling into the lake. Once collected, the female had to turn around and return to the quayside and place the daisy into a large pot whilst her team-mate returned empty-handed to his start point. The game was then repeated until the end of permitted time. If either of the competitors fell into the lake whilst carrying the daisy, they had to return to their original starting points and repeat the game. The team collecting the greater number of daisies would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, West Germany and Netherlands and it was apparent that the strongest teams were the two playing their Jokers with West Germany and Netherlands both collecting 3 daises each whilst Switzerland failed to score.

The second heat featured Belgium, Great Britain and Italy and ended with Italy collecting 2 daisies, Belgium collecting 1 daisy and Great Britain unable to score.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Tournai (B) (3pts awarded / 30pts total) ▲ 2nd Brig-Glis (CH) (1pt / 29pts) ▼ =3rd Bockum-Hövel (D) (12pts / Joker / 27pts) ▲ =3rd Zoetermeer (NL) (12pts / Joker / 27pts) ▲ =5th Vichy (F) (--- / 25pts) ▼ =5th Prestwick (GB) (1pt / 25pts) ▼ 7th Forio (Ischia) (I) (4pts / 20pts) ▼

Comments: Although Great Britain had failed to score, their female competitor had been very unfortunate. Despite being handed a total of 3 daisies by her team-mate, disaster befell her on two of the return journeys after she was unable to keep her balance on the wobbling beam and tumbled into the lake. On the third occasion, she simply ran out of time before she reached the safety of the quayside.

Fil Rouge Delayed!

The cameras returned to the Fil Rouge for its final round but there was some delay waiting for the speedboat and water-skiers to arrive. In the background of the screen, it could be seen that an unauthorised craft was encroaching into the area where the game was being played. For obvious safety reasons and, in order not to cause an overrun for those participating countries transmitting ‘live’ broadcasts, it was decided to play the final game first instead of waiting for the craft to sail away. This resulted in the Fil Rouge result being given as the last scores of the contest.

Game 8 - The Witches

The eighth and final regular game - ‘The Witches’ - was based around the plot of the earlier aforementioned story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs wherein the heroine is given a poisoned apple by an old crone and sent into a deep sleep. It was played in unison over two distinct rounds and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The first part of the game featured a female competitor from each team attired in a witch’s costume standing on the rim of a space ball (a rubber ball with a protruding rim around its circumference and imitating the planet Saturn). On the whistle, the competitors, keeping their feet tightly against the ball, had to bounce up the course to a turn round point where they had to grab a besom and then return to the start. Once the finishing order, which would have an important bearing on the second part of the game, had been announced, the competitors had to walk to the end of the course (the original turn around point) with the referees. The second part of the game was played individually with the female competitors behind a Perspex wall pulling balloons of differing sizes above their heads. It would also feature a male competitor from each of the six opposing teams dressed as an archer. The competitor that had finished in seventh place would have a very large balloon to pull along whilst the competitor that had finished in first place would have a very small balloon. The other teams would have balloons in sizes that were in comparison to their finishing positions. On the whistle, the competitor that had finished first in the first round had to run along a small obstacle course with the balloon above the wall whilst the archers aimed arrows to burst it. This would then be repeated by the other teams in order of the earlier finishing positions. The team travelling the greater distance before their balloon was burst would be declared the winners.

The first part of the game was straightforward with the teams finishing in the following order - West Germany, Belgium, Italy, France, Great Britain, Netherlands and Switzerland. This result meant that Switzerland would have the largest of the balloons whilst West Germany would have the smallest. However, the accuracy of the archers would not see the sizes of all the balloons affecting the result.

Belgium, with the second smallest balloon, finished in 1st place followed by Netherlands, with the second largest balloon, in 2nd place. France, with the median balloon, finished in 3rd place and West Germany, with the smallest balloon, finished in 4th place. Great Britain, with the third largest balloon, finished in 5th place and Switzerland, with the largest of the balloons, finished in 6th place. Italy, with the third smallest balloon, finished in 7th place. Looking at the results, the only team that actually finished in the position relating to the size of the balloon was Great Britain, who finished in 5th place with the fifth largest / third smallest balloon!

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Three Little Pigs

The final round of the Fil Rouge featured France and as they were using professional water-skiers, the nets were set so that the rings were parallel with the water. However, the French professionals had to eat humble pie when each of their three skiers failed to score and they finished in joint 7th place!

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Forio (Ischia) (I) (13) 2nd Prestwick (GB) (10) 3rd Brig-Glis (CH) (8) =4th Tournai (B) (5) =4th Bockum-Hövel (D) (5) =7th Vichy (F) (0) =7th Zoetermeer (NL) (0)

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Tournai (B) (4pts awarded / 41pts total) 2nd Brig-Glis (CH) (5pts / 36pts) ▲ 3rd Bockum-Hövel (D) (4pts / 35pts) =4th Prestwick (GB) (6pts / 34pts) ▲ =4th Zoetermeer (NL) (1pt / 34pts) ▼ 6th Vichy (F) (1pt / 31pts) ▼ 7th Forio (Ischia) (I) (7pts / 29pts)

Comments: The experienced ‘guest’ competitors for France were water-skiers Michel Denis, Benedine Duche and Jean-Michel Mourelle from the Vichy water-skiing club.

Additional Information

This heat was televised in Great Britain two weeks after the previous heat, due to the BBC’s live coverage of the 1971 Miss United Kingdom contest being broadcast live from Blackpool on the night of Friday 20th August at 9.20 pm.

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

D

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 5

Event Staged: Wednesday 4th August 1971
Venue: Sportplätze (Sport Courts), Karl-Heitz-Stadion (Karl Heitz Stadium),
Offenburg, West Germany

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Wednesday 4th August 1971, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 1st September 1971
BBC1 (GB): Friday 3rd September 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: Camillo Felgen

Theme: Holidays in the Black Forest

Teams: Namur (B) v. Colombier (CH) v. Offenburg (D) v. Nancy (F) v.
Scunthorpe (GB) v. Jesolo (I) v. Winschoten (NL)

Team Members included:
Offenburg (D) - Dieter Roth (Team Coach), Hubert Beathalter, Christian Blender, Christel Käshammer, Artur Köchlin, Ellen Mundingen;
Scunthorpe (GB) - Peter Wigley (Team Manager), Malcolm Douthwaite (Team Coach), Albert Bettison, Kenneth Booth, Richard Booth, Anne Burdett, Jeffrey Burdett, Alistair Codona, Diane Creswick, Jane Elliott, Betty Ellis, Tony Evans, David Ford, Christopher Gillott, Peter Glover, Malcolm Grace, Brian Harney, Pat Jarvis, Andrew Kress, Geoffrey Mawson, Susan Naylor, David Oldfield, Nicholas Pearson, Nigel Pearson, Leon Pedryc, David Pilmore, Zenka Pryor, Bradley Richardson, Alan Rodgers, Alan Stevenson, Peter Swift, Margaret Toyne;

Jesolo (I) - Paolo Scagnetto (Team Captain), Micaela Bariani, Ausilio Basso, Sergio Biaisin, Adriano Bigioni, Miriam Caputo, Bertillo Casagrande, Mario Coster, Giorgio Crema, Virgilio Crema, Giuseppe Cussellato. Luciana Facchin, Stefano Faggiano, Wilma Fontana, Giuseppe Giacobbo, Claudio Gianese, Maria Mazzariol, Sandra Milani, Renzo Neri, Paolo Pasqualetto, Luisa Razzetti, Giorgio Rossi, Daniela Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Marina Venzo, Roberto Venzo;
Winschoten (NL) - Bauwie Huiting (Team Manager), Andries Lieven (Team Physio), Gerke de Jong (Team Captain, non-playing), Fenneke de Boer, Dinie Buurman, Dick Garst, Henk Haan, Hemmo Lich, Rikus Nanninga, H. Nieboer, Jan Paap, Roel Ploeger, Jan Verbeek.

Games: Crossing the River and Hoisting the Mainsail, Winter Bobsleigh, The Long Jump, The Sailing Boats, Abandon the Beach! Here Comes the Rain, The Rocking Horse Race, Bath Tub Quoits and The Giant Balls;
Fil Rouge: Use Your Head;
Jokers: Flat Wooden Puppets.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 D • Offenburg ● ●
 I • Jesolo
 B • Namur
 GB • Scunthorpe
 NL • Winschoten
 F • Nancy
 CH • Colombier

49
44
33
32
31
28
26

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Tournai (1st, 41pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Willisau (2nd, 44pts)
West Germany (D) - Schwabach (1st, 47pts)
France (F) - Le Mans (3rd, 36pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Tewkesbury (2nd, 37pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Alphen aan den Rijn (1st, 44pts)

The Host Town

Offenburg, West Germany

Offenburg is a town with a population of around 60,000 inhabitants in the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located 38km (24 miles) south-west of Baden-Baden, 96km (60 miles) west of Stuttgart, 127km (79 miles) north-west of Konstanz and just 17km (11 miles) east of the River Rhein and the French border town of Strasbourg.

Offenburg was first mentioned in historical documents dating from 1148. By 1240, Offenburg had already been declared a Free Imperial Town. In September 1689, the town, with the exception of two buildings, was totally destroyed during the Nine Years’ War (1688-1697) by French troops. Due to the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire and the reorganization of the German states in 1803 by Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821), Offenburg lost its status as a Free Imperial Town and fell under the rule of the Grand Duchy of Baden.

During World War I (1914-1918), Offenburg was one of the first cities to experience the effects from aerial bombardment, the operations against the Offenburg railway sidings mostly being flown by aircraft from the Independent Force (strategic bombing squad) out of Ochey aerodrome in eastern France. It is a mostly forgotten fact that in the aftermath of World War I, during the Occupation of the Ruhr (1923-1925), French troops had occupied Offenburg as it fell within the perimeter of the Kehl bridgehead. The French occupation forces entered the town in February 1923 and stayed until 1924, blocking any traffic on the Rhine Valley Railway between Offenburg and Appenweier.

During World War II (1939-1945), owing to the geographical proximity to the French border, Offenburg was either exposed to temporary evacuations during the Battle of France in 1940 or artillery fire towards the final stages of World War II. The French Forces entered Offenburg on 15th April 1945 and hence Offenburg became part of the French Zone of Occupation until the creation of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949. Since then Offenburg has been constantly developing, both in size, inhabitants and prosperity. Between 1971 and 1975, eleven adjacent villages - Bohlsbach, Bühl, Elgersweier, Fessenbach, Griesheim, Rammersweier, Waltersweier, Weier, Windschläg, Zell-Weierbach and Zunsweier) - were incorporated into the commune of Offenburg and are now an integral part of the town.

Most of the buildings in the town are colourful and picturesque and the same can be said of the Baroque-style Town Hall located at the junction of Hauptstraße and Fischmarkt. Dating back to 1741, the building bears the town’s coat of arms above the front balcony and an Austrian double-headed eagle under a flat gable. In recent years, the children’s play area outside the Town Hall has become so popular, that the excessive usage of the rotating ‘birdmen’ had worn out the ball-bearings on which they sit. According to the town’s records, the statues had to be lifted by a crane to exchange the defective parts, at a cost of approximately 1,600 Euro (£1200).

The name of the town literally means ‘open castle’ (from offen and burg) and this is represented on the town’s coat of arms showing open gates. The town is one of only a few that are twinned with one of its own nation (Altenburg). It is also twinned with Borehamwood, Hertfordshire in Great Britain.

The Visiting Towns

Namur is a city with a population of around 111,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Belgian province of the same name and is located 314km (195 miles) north-west of Offenburg.

Colombier is a town with a population of around 6,000 inhabitants in the francophonic (French-speaking) Swiss canton of Neuchâtel and is located 187km (116 miles) south-west of Offenburg.

Nancy is a city with a population of around 110,000 inhabitants in the French region of Grand Est and is located 132km (82 miles) west of Offenburg.

Scunthorpe is a town with a population of around 66,000 inhabitants in the English county of Lincolnshire and is located 827km (514 miles) north-west of Offenburg.

Jesolo is a town with a population of around 25,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Veneto and is located 483km (300 miles) south-east of Offenburg.

Winschoten is a town with a population of around 20,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Groningen and is located 523km (325 miles) north of Offenburg.

The Venue

Karl-Heitz-Stadion

The games were played at the Karl Heitz Stadium Sport Courts complex which is located on the right bank of the 95km (59 miles) long Kinzig river, 200m (656ft) north of Lake Gifiz, a natural lake and haven for German holiday-makers and tourists alike.

The venue comprises four distinct sports courts, one of which is on red-coloured sandstone, two which are on grass and the other being the town’s main football stadium. The stadium was built in 1956 and opened in 1957 and was named after Karl Heitz (1900-1977), local politician and mayor of Offenburg between 1949 and 1975. Between the years of 1970 and 1975, Heitz was also club president of the local football team Offenburger FV 1907 that play their home games at the stadium.

In 1984, the stadium staged the final of the German Football Amateur Championship which saw the local team pitted against SC Eintracht Hamm. The Offenburg team won the game 4-1. Between 2001 and 2002, the stadium was renovated and extended.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - Crossing the River and Hoisting the Mainsail

The first game - ‘Crossing the River and Hoisting the Mainsail’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and a large pool of water. In the middle of the pool there was a floating podium connected by 6 criss-crossing floating ‘bridges’ to the pool’s edge. On the whistle, each of the male competitors had to pick up one of 10 mast sections and cross the pool utilising his designated bridge, traverse the floating podium and then cross the second half of the bridge to reach the other side of the pool. However, he had to do this whilst avoiding his rival competitors that were also crossing their respective bridges. Once across the pool, he had to join his female team-mate who placed the bottom of the mast section in a hole and the top into rigging supporting a mainsail. The male competitor then had to return across the pool to collect the next section of mast and then repeat the game throughout. The team raising the sail with all 10 sections of the mast in the faster time would be declared the winners.

This was a very straightforward game and saw West Germany finishing in 1 minute 58 seconds, Italy finishing in 2 minutes 5 seconds, Great Britain finishing in 2 minutes 27 seconds and Netherlands finishing in 2 minutes 54 seconds. Belgium and Switzerland had both raised the mast nine sections and were on the final runs when the whistle was sounded and, having not completed the game, both were deemed out of time and given 0:00.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) 2nd Jesolo (I) (5pts / 5pts) 3rd Scunthorpe (GB) (4pts / 4pts) 4th Winschoten (NL) (3pts / 3pts) =5th Namur (B) (1pt / 1pt) =5th Colombier (CH) (1pt / 1pt) 7th Nancy (F) (--- / 0pts)

Game 2 - Winter Bobsleigh

The second game - ‘Winter Bobsleigh’ - was played over three heats of two runs and featured two male competitors from each team and a bobsleigh course comprising a descent, two hillocks and a final ascent with 8 large apples on it. On the whistle, one of the competitors had to climb inside the bobsleigh whilst the other had to push it down the course to pick up propulsion and, at a given point, jump inside. The competitors then had to work together to get the bobsleigh over the two hillocks and when they reached the base of the incline had to use their body weight to push it as far up the incline as they were able in order to displace the large apples. Only apples that had been displaced from the incline would score. All the apples would then be repositioned whilst the teams returned to the start for a second run. The team displacing the greater total of apples would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Great Britain and Italy with the latter appearing to have the better technique and speed. The first run saw Italy displacing 4 apples and Great Britain displacing 2 apples. The second of their runs saw Italy remove a further 4 apples and Great Britain equal their first score by removing a further 2 apples. The total scores were confirmed as Italy with 8 apples and Great Britain with 4 apples.

The second and penultimate heat featured Belgium and West Germany with the first run ending with West Germany displacing 4 apples and Belgium displacing 3 apples. The second run saw the scores reversed with West Germany removing 3 apples and Belgium removing 4 apples. The total scores of both teams were confirmed as 7 apples each.

The third and final heat saw the participation of France and Netherlands and it proved a challenge for Netherlands. On the first run, whilst France displaced 2 of their apples, Netherlands had failed to accomplish enough speed or force to get the bobsleigh over the second of the two hillocks. The second run proved just as difficult with the team failing to conquer the second hillock for a second time whilst France had removed a further 4 apples. The total scores were confirmed as France with 6 apples and Netherlands failing to score.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Offenburg (D) (5pts awarded / 11pts total) =1st Jesolo (I) (6pts / 11pts) ▲ =3rd Namur (B) (5pts / 6pts) =3rd Scunthorpe (GB) (2pts / 6pts) ▼ 5th Winschoten (NL) (1pt / 4pts) ▼ 6th Nancy (F) (3pts / 3pts) ▲ 7th Colombier (CH) (--- / 1pt) ▼

Comments: On the first run by Italy, it appeared that they had displaced a total of 5 apples. However, the rules stated that only apples that had been displaced on the ascent would be deemed valid. The fifth apple actually rolled down and off the incline after the team had removed the bobsleigh for the second run and was therefore not counted.

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - Use Your Head

The next game - ‘Use Your Head’ - was the Fil Rouge played in unison over two minutes duration and featured a male competitor on a 10m (32ft 9¾in) unimpeded course. At one end of the course, there was a large basket with a number of footballs inside whilst at the other end, there were two basketball rings with a large conical net hanging from each. On the whistle, the competitors had to collect a ball from the pen and keep it aloft by using their head and moving down the course. They then had to get into the correct position in order to aim the ball into the basketball ring to score. Any balls that fell to the ground would result in the competitor returning to the start to repeat the game but, providing the ball was under the control of the competitor, an unlimited number of attempts could be executed with each ball. The team scoring the greater total of goals within the time permitted would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of Switzerland and France and, with the latter having the better technique, finished with France scoring 4 goals from 7 attempts and Switzerland scoring 2 goals from 11 attempts.

Game 3 - The Long Jump

The third game - ‘The Long Jump’ - was played in unison and witnessed West Germany and France presenting their Jokers for play. The game was an elimination game and featured a male competitor from each team, a small trampoline and a number of very large balloons. On the whistle, the competitors had to take it in turn to run up a 25m (82ft) course and then jump on a small trampoline, which was set at an angle of 45°, in order to jump over two balloons which were attached to a safety mattress on the ground. If successful, each of the competitors would qualify for the second round and then an additional balloon would be added to the mattress. Any competitor that burst a balloon whilst attempting to pass over it would be eliminated and take no further part in the game. However, if anyone made contact with the final balloon in the line and it failed to burst, they were deemed as having cleared it and continued through to the next round. The teams participated in the following order in each round - France, Switzerland, Netherlands, Great Britain, Belgium and West Germany. The team clearing the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

The first run saw France, Netherlands, Great Britain and West Germany all clear both balloons whilst Switzerland made contact with the second balloon but it failed to burst. Although Belgium had not burst any of the two balloons, they were deemed to have made contact with the first balloon in addition to the second and were eliminated.

The second run saw Switzerland eliminated after making a hysterical leap of faith over the balloons and landing head first into the third balloon and bursting it.

The third run saw Great Britain eliminated after the final balloon of the four was burst.

With just three teams remaining, the fourth run commenced and witnessed all the competitors fail to clear the balloons and the game was declared a three-way tie.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (12pts awarded / Joker / 23pts total) 2nd Nancy (F) (12pts / Joker / 15pts) ▲ 3rd Jesolo (I) (--- / 11pts) ▼ 4th Winschoten (NL) (6pts / 10pts) ▲ 5th Scunthorpe (GB) (3pts / 9pts) ▼ 6th Namur (B) (1pt / 7pts) ▼ 7th Colombier (CH) (2pts / 3pts)

Game 4 - The Sailing Boats

The fourth game - ‘The Sailing Boats’ - was played over two heats of 2 minutes 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured an obstacle course comprised of 5 hurdles and a set of steps and six male competitors from each team with flippers on their feet and equipped with an oar standing adjacent to a sailing boat. On the whistle, the six competitors had to lift the boat off its mounting and place it over their heads. They then had to traverse the course by stepping over the small hurdles and going under the larger hurdles and ascending and descending the steps. At the end of the course, they had to turn around and make the return journey in the same manner. Once back at the start, the boat had to be repositioned on its mounting and all the oars had to be inside to finish the game. If any of the competitors came out from under the boat, the team had to stop until he was back underneath before continuing and all the team had to be wearing the flippers and equipped with the oar at the end of the game. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland, Great Britain and Netherlands with all teams neck and neck at the turn around point. With Great Britain becoming trapped whilst traversing the second of the five return hurdles, it permitted Switzerland and Netherlands to use this delay to their advantage and Netherlands completed the game in 1 minute 25 seconds. Switzerland finished in 2nd place in 1 minute 35 seconds whilst Great Britain finally found their rhythm once more and finished in 1 minute 56 seconds.

The second heat featured West Germany, France and Italy and it appeared that it would be a very close race with all three teams neck and neck well into the return journey. However, as West Germany ascended the steps, the camera panned onto the feet of one of the competitors and it clearly showed that he had lost one of the flippers. Nevertheless, the team continued on and finished in 2nd place behind Italy with France finishing in 3rd place. The times were announced and Italy had finished the course in 1 minute 23 seconds and France had finished in 1 minute 37 seconds. Referee Guido Pancaldi then delivered the news which the cameraman had spotted that West Germany had not completed the course within the rules. In addition to losing one of the flippers, the team had exposed their heads from underneath the boat on three occasions and had therefore been disqualified.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (1pt awarded / 24pts total) 2nd Nancy (F) (3pts / 18pts) 3rd Jesolo (I) (6pts / 17pts) 4th Winschoten (NL) (5pts / 15pts) =5th Colombier (CH) (8pts / Joker / 11pts) ▲ =5th Scunthorpe (GB) (2pts / 11pts) 7th Namur (B) (--- / 7pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - Use Your Head

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and Italy and ended with Italy having scored 2 goals from 12 attempts, whilst Belgium, having failed to score from any of their 11 attempts, would be destined to finish in 7th place in the Fil Rouge.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Nancy (F) (4) =2nd Colombier (CH) (2) =2nd Jesolo (I) (2) 7th Namur (B) (0)

Game 5 - Abandon the Beach! Here Comes the Rain

The fifth game - ‘Abandon the Beach! Here Comes the Rain’ - was a straightforward game played over three heats and witnessed Belgium presenting their Joker for play. The game featured eleven competitors (six males and five females) from each team and 27 items - four wooden deckchairs, four beach balls, four towels, four blankets, two Lilos, two sports bags, two transistor radios, two parasols, two large apples and a large pear. Before the game started, all of the competitors had to make themselves comfortable and relax on the ‘beach’. A high-powered water jet was then switched on which sent water raining down on them. The whistle was then sounded and the teams had to grab all of the items and run with them to a small wooden beach chalet which was located underneath the water jet. Once all the team members and items were inside, they had to close the door behind them to register a time. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Switzerland and France and ended with Switzerland completing the game in 25 seconds and France finishing in 33 seconds.

The second and penultimate heat featured Belgium and West Germany and was the faster and closest-run race of the three. It appeared that Belgium had the edge over West Germany and that they would finish ahead of them. However, a small mishap whilst closing the door permitted West Germany to overtake and complete the game in 20 seconds with Belgium finishing behind them in 21 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Italy and Netherlands and it was apparent from the outset that neither would emulate the times of the previous two teams. Italy completed the game in 26 seconds whilst Netherlands finished in 28 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (6pts awarded / 30pts total) 2nd Jesolo (I) (3pts / 20pts) ▲ 3rd Nancy (F) (1pt / 19pts) ▼ =4th Namur (B) (10pts / Joker / 17pts) ▲ =4th Winschoten (NL) (2pts / 17pts) 6th Colombier (CH) (4pts / 15pts) ▼ 7th Scunthorpe (GB) (--- / 11pts) ▼

Comments: With the doors to the chalets being located underneath the water-jet, the touch-judges had to be issued with small white umbrellas in order to protect themselves from getting soaked whilst ensuring that accurate timings could be taken at the moment of their closures.

Game 6 - The Rocking Horse Race

The sixth game - ‘The Rocking Horse Race’ - was played in unison over three minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured a male competitor from each team sitting atop a rocking horse which had wheels attached to the front of its rocker bars. On the whistle, the competitor had to rock his horse back and forth and, on the forward swing, had to use their strength (and the assistance of the wheels at the front) to propel the horse forward. This had to be repeated throughout and at the end of the 50m (164ft) course there was a wooden panel which had to be knocked down by the front of the rockers to signify that the team had completed the game. The team finishing in the faster time would be declared the winners.

For the first 30 seconds of the game, Belgium, Switzerland, West Germany and Italy were neck and neck and also witnessed Great Britain tumbling from the horse and into the path of France. By the 25m (82ft) mark, Italy had started to edge in front of West Germany and the other two teams and gradually opened up a 3-4m (9ft 10¼in-13ft 1½in) gap. Italy, although showing signs of fatigue, kept their rhythm and eventually crossed the line in 1 minute 51 seconds with West Germany finishing in 2nd place in 2 minutes 1 second. Belgium finished in 3rd place in 2 minutes 10 seconds with Switzerland closely behind in 4th place in 2 minutes 16 seconds. Contemporaneously, Great Britain had recomposed themselves and were ahead of France. However, with the earlier delay and still with a distance of about 15m (49ft 2½in) to cover, time was elapsing fast and it was apparent that it would be difficult to cross the line in the permitted time. Both France and Great Britain failed to complete the game and were placed in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (5pts awarded / 35pts total) 2nd Jesolo (I) (12pts / Joker / 32pts) 3rd Namur (B) (4pts / 21pts) ▲ 4th Nancy (F) (1pt / 20pts) ▼ 5th Colombier (CH) (3pts / 18pts) ▲ 6th Winschoten (NL) (--- / 17pts) ▼ 7th Scunthorpe (GB) (1pt / 12pts)

Comments: Although it was apparent that Great Britain had impeded France after tumbling to the ground, both teams were some distance behind the other four at the time of collision. The referees ignored a protest by France and ruled that it did not have any effect on the overall outcome of the game and permitted the result to stand.

Fil Rouge, Round 3 - Use Your Head

The third and penultimate round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain and Netherlands. It witnessed Great Britain being very unfortunate whereby, on three occasions, their competitor positioned himself too close to the basketball ring for his final headers and hit the underside of the ring. The round ended with Great Britain having scored 3 goals from 8 attempts, whilst Netherlands scored just 1 goal from their 10 attempts.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Nancy (F) (4) 2nd Scunthorpe (GB) (3) =3rd Colombier (CH) (2) ▼ =3rd Jesolo (I) (2) ▼ 5th Winschoten (NL) (1) 7th Namur (B) (0)

Game 7 - Bath Tub Quoits

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Bath Tub Quoits’ - was played over three heats of one minute duration and witnessed Great Britain and Italy presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured two competitors (one male and one female) from each team and the large pool utilised in the first game. On the whistle, the female competitor, who was inside a small wooden tub, had to paddle her way across to the middle of the pool. The male competitor, equipped with 30 rubber quoits, was standing on the other side of the pool and when his team-mate was in position, he had to begin hurling the quoits towards her and, utilising the blade end of an oar, she had to catch the quoits. The team catching the greater number of quoits would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of France and Italy and it ended with Italy collecting 17 quoits whilst France collected 15 quoits.

The second and penultimate heat featured Great Britain and Netherlands and it was a very close game with some very accurate throwing and skilful catching. At the end of the permitted time, Netherlands had collected 22 quoits whilst Great Britain had collected 28 quoits, just two short of a maximum score.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Belgium and Switzerland and whilst the latter was not as accurate as the previous two teams and collected 16 quoits, Belgium almost came close to emulating Great Britain after collecting 25 quoits.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Offenburg (D) (--- awarded / 35pts total) =1st Jesolo (I) (3pts / 35pts) ▲ 3rd Namur (B) (5pts / 26pts) 4th Winschoten (NL) (8pts / Joker / 25pts) ▲ 5th Scunthorpe (GB) (12pts / Joker / 24pts) ▲ 6th Nancy (F) (1pt / 21pts) ▼ 7th Colombier (CH) (2pts / 20pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Round 4 - Use Your Head

The fourth and final round of the Fil Rouge featured West Germany and to enhance the difficulty of the game for the competitor, a three-stepped platform had been placed in the middle of the course which he had to ascend and descend whilst keeping the ball aloft. Despite this impediment, he scored 6 goals from 7 attempts and they finished in 1st place on the game. However, in reality, he had in fact played a perfect game and scored 7 goals from 7 attempts. The sixth ball of the seven had actually entered the mouth of the ring and became lodged on the netted edge of the ring. Despite a small protest by the competitor, it had no affect on the result and West Germany had won the Fil Rouge outright.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Offenburg (D) (6) 2nd Nancy (F) (4) ▼ 3rd Scunthorpe (GB) (3) ▼ =4th Colombier (CH) (2) ▼ =4th Jesolo (I) (2) ▼ 6th Winschoten (NL) (1) ▼ 7th Namur (B) (0)

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Offenburg (D) (7pts awarded / 42pts total) 2nd Jesolo (I) (4pts / 39pts) ▼ 3rd Scunthorpe (GB) (5pts / 29pts) ▲ =4th Namur (B) (1pt / 27pts) ▼ =4th Nancy (F) (6pts / 27pts) ▲ =4th Winschoten (NL) (2pts / 27pts) 7th Colombier (CH) (4pts / 24pts)

Comments: The experienced ‘guest’ competitor for West Germany was from local amateur football team Offenburger FV which had been established in 1907. Despite having the led the contest from the outset, West German team Offenburg had still had not accumulated sufficient points to claim victory outright, as would have been expected from this feat. They would have to wait less than two minutes to discover if they would become only the second team to have lead a post-1966 Jeux Sans Frontières event from start to finish.

Game 8 - The Giant Balls

The eighth and final game - ‘The Giant Balls’ - was played in unison over two minutes duration and featured a blindfolded male competitor from each team wearing a large caricatured head and boxing gloves standing inside a ball-shaped cage similar to that used by a pet hamster. In the centre of the playing area was a large solid ball which had been fixed in position. On the whistle, the competitors had to roll their cages to the back perimeter of the playing area and then turn around and roll the cages to the solid ball and make contact with it. The competitors would not be given any assistance and had to establish which way to roll the cage simply by judging where they were after turning around. If the competitors got it incorrect and rolled their cages to other edges of the perimeter, they would hit its raised edge and could be led into thinking that they were in fact in the middle of the course. The team hitting the ball in the faster time would be declared the winners and distances from the ball would come into play should any teams not accomplish their goal.

Although the game would be won more by chance than on skill, West Germany made contact with the ball within 40 seconds and had secured victory overall and this sent the crowd wild. Whilst he remained in his position, the other six competitors rolled aimlessly around the course with many of them stopping at the perimeter’s edge believing that they were in contact with the ball. The final whistle was sounded after two minutes of play and still only one team had finished the game. The touch-judges ran in to halt any further movement by the other competitors whilst their distances from the ball were measured. Belgium were deemed to have been closest to the ball and finished in 2nd place with Italy finishing in 3rd place and Netherlands in 4th place. Great Britain finished in 5th place, Switzerland in 6th place and France finished in 7th place.

Presenters, Officials and Production Team

West German presenter and commentator Frank Elstner was actually born in Linz, Austria in 1942 with the birth name Timm Maria Franz Elstner. For his first few years on television and initially on Jeux Sans Frontières, he took his first name of Tim Elstner. Since 1971, he has been better known as Frank Elstner.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Nine members of Italian team Jesolo had previously participated in Jeux Sans Frontières. Virgilio Crema, Maria Mazzariol, Daniela Scagnetto, Paolo Scagnetto and Ruggero Stragliotto had been members of both the Adria team in 1969 and the Bassano del Grappa team in 1970, whilst Micaela Bariani, Ausilio Basso, Wilma Fontana and Sandra Milani had been members of the Bassano del Grappa team in 1970. Giorgio Crema, Daniela Scagnetto and Paolo Scagnetto returned to feature as members of the Jesolo team in 1976, whilst Maria Mazzariol returned as a team member for the Marostica team in 1974 and at the age of 39 participated as a member of the Treviso team in 1990. Paolo Scagnetto again reappeared as co-team coach for Rosolina Mare in 1993 and Porte Tolle (Donzella) in 1994! Some members of the team also returned to participate in the festive It’s A Christmas Knockout contest later this year.

Reunions

Offenburg (D)

In 2011, the German radio station Hit Radio Ohr reunited members of the Offenburg team to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their participation in the programme. In attendance at Offenburg Rathaus (Town Hall) were 17 members of the original team of 22, with some bringing souvenirs of the event to the reunion.

Original team member Artur Köchlin and team coach Dieter Roth were photographed as part of the media coverage of the reunion. Artur was pictured holding one of the large caricatured heads used in the final game, whilst Dieter held the actual Joker played on the night of the International Heat.

Records and Statistics

Excluding the first two series of Jeux Sans Frontières (1965 and 1966) when only two teams competed in each heat, West German team Offenburg became the second of only seven teams during the first incarnation of the programme (1967-1982) to lead the scoreboard from start to finish. The other members of this exclusive club were Aix-les-Bains, France (1970), Marburg an der Lahn, West Germany (1973), Farnham, Great Britain (1974), Nieuwegein, Netherlands (1977), Willebroek, Belgium (1978) and Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy (1981).

If the second incarnation of the programme (1988-1999) is included, the list of teams increases by twelve: Madeira, Portugal (1988 on two occasions), Trogir, Yugoslavia (1990), Chaves, Portugal (1991), Llanberis, Wales (1991), Vigevano, Italy (1991), Lisboa, Portugal (1992), La Côte, Switzerland (1992), Firenze, Italy (1993), Keskemét, Hungary (1993), Százhalombatta, Hungary (1994) and Brno, Czech Republic (1995).

However, of all of the above, the only one to attain this feat at an International Final was Vigevano, Italy in 1991.

Additional Information

Two members of the Scunthorpe team received minor injuries when participating in this event.

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

GB

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 6

Event Staged: Wednesday 18th August 1971
Venue: South Promenade Bathing Pool and Promenade, Blackpool, Great Britain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.00-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)

Nederland 1 (NL): Wednesday 18th August 1971, 9.50-11.10pm
ORTF 1 (F): Saturday 4th September 1971

BBC1 (GB): Friday 10th September 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Warm and Dry

Winners' Trophy presented by: David Vine

Theme: A Water Wonderland

Teams: Tielt (B) v. Ascona (CH) v. Wetter an der Ruhr (D) v. Saint-Malo (F) v.
Blackpool (GB) v. Canelli (I) v. Rolde (NL)

Team Members included:
Le Mans (F) - Jean Olivier;
Blackpool (GB) - Bob Battersby (Team Manager), John Collins (Team Coach), L Baldwin, Roy Booth, Brian Bottomley, Rosemary Boyle, Karen Buckley, A Dawson, Sylvia Dewhurst, Willie Earnshaw, John Garland, Robin Hood, Phil Hooley, R Hyde, Arthur Joseph Lowe, A McMann, James Merridew, Alexis Morrison, Jacqueline Newman, E Randall, John Robinson, Christine Scott, Barry Shearman, Dave Shires, Anthony Smith, Mike Taylor, Hayzon Watson, Maria Yates;
Rolde (NL) - Gosse Berga (Team Manager), Fré Bos (Co-Team Coach), Roelof Brands (Team Captain, non-playing / Co-Team Coach), Henk Beijering, Lens Beijering, Annie Berends, Paul Bitter, Harry Dijkstra, Alberta H. Hadders, Peter Heidinga, Henk Komduur, Geesje Ottens, Henk Prins, Arie Regien, Klaas Regien, Albert Reinders, Ika Smit, Aafje Strijker, Geesje Ubels, Boele de Vries, Grietje de Vries.

Games: The Roller-Skate Target, He’s Got a Trip on his Shoulder, The Rollercoaster Ball Push, The Mattress Race, A Watery Trapeze, The Blackpool Steeplechase, Be a Pail and Pass the Water, The Viking Raiders;
Fil Rouge: The Bespoke Football XI;
Jokers: Joker Playing Cards.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

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

 GB • Blackpool ● ●
 D • Wetter an der Ruhr
 CH • Ascona
 I • Canelli
 F • Saint-Malo
 NL • Rolde
 B • Tielt

50
43
38
34
29
28
20

Running International Final Qualifiers

Belgium (B) - Tournai (1st, 41pts)
Switzerland (CH) - Willisau (2nd, 44pts)
West Germany (D) - Offenburg (1st, 49pts)
France (F) - Le Mans (3rd, 36pts)

Great Britain (GB) - Blackpool (1st, 50pts)
Italy (I) - Riccione (1st, 48pts)
Netherlands (NL) - Alphen aan den Rijn (1st, 44pts)

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

Tielt is a town with a population of around 21,000 inhabitants in the néerlandophonic (Dutch-speaking) Belgian province of West-Vlaanderen and is located 331 miles (553km) south-east of Blackpool.

Ascona is a town with a population of around 5,600 inhabitants in the italophonic (Italian-speaking) Swiss canton of Ticino and is located 744 miles (1,197km) south-east of Blackpool.

Wetter an der Ruhr is a town with a population of around 28,000 inhabitants in the German state of Nordrhein-Westfalen and is located 469 miles (755km) south-east of Blackpool.

Saint-Malo is a town with a population of around 45,000 inhabitants in the French region of Bretagne and is located 360 miles (579km) south of Blackpool.

Canelli is a town with a population of around 11,000 inhabitants in the Italian region of Piemonte and is located 808 miles (1,300km) south-east of Blackpool.

Rolde is a town with a population of around 5,000 inhabitants in the Dutch province of Drenthe and is located 403 miles (648km) east of Blackpool.

The Venue

South Promenade Bathing Pool and Promenade

The games were played in two locations along Blackpool’s famous promenade opposite its equally famous Pleasure Beach and were separated only by the wall of the South Promenade Bathing Pool. Six of the ten games were played on the promenade whilst the other four were held in or around the 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 (estimated at just over £3 million today). 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. 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.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Roller-Skate Target

The first game - ‘The Roller-Skate Target’ - was played individually and was only one of two games which were played on the promenade. It featured two female competitors from each team equipped with a net and a large target board. On the whistle, two male team members on roller-skates from each of the opposing teams descended a large incline and had to throw a small football against the target. On the rebound, it was the task of the two female competitors to catch the ball in the net. A total of just 10 balls would be thrown and any ball that did not hit the target would be deemed as having been caught in the net by the competing team. The team with the greater overall total number of balls caught in the net would be declared the winners.

It was apparent that Belgium were the first team to participate as they could be seen in frame preparing to play whilst the game was being introduced. The surviving recording does not show in which order the remaining five teams participated but it does show the full performance of France who caught 7 balls. The results were announced and the scoreboard revealed the scores of the other five competing teams. Belgium and Netherlands had caught 5 balls each, Switzerland and Great Britain had caught 6 balls each and Italy had caught 7 balls.

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Saint-Malo (F) (6pts awarded / 6pts total) =1st Canelli (I) (6pts / 6pts) =3rd Ascona (CH) (4pts / 4pts) =3rd Blackpool (GB) (4pts / 4pts) =5th Tielt (B) (2pts / 2pts) =5th Rolde (NL) (2pts / 2pts) 7th Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (--- / 0pts)

Comments: The experienced ‘guest’ competitor for West Germany was from local amateur football team Offenburger FV which had been established in 1907. Despite having the led the contest from the outset, West German team Offenburg had still had not accumulated sufficient points to claim victory outright, as would have been expected from this feat. They would have to wait less than two minutes to discover if they would become only the second team to have lead a post-1966 Jeux Sans Frontières event from start to finish.

Fil Rouge, Round 1 - The Bespoke Football XI

The next game - ‘The Bespoke Football XI’ - was the Fil Rouge and was played individually over 1 minute 30 seconds duration within the pool complex. It featured a male competitor and a football squad of eleven static wooden dummies located in front of a goal. On the whistle, a female team-mate placed one of 30 balls from a large barrel onto a ‘penalty spot’ and the competitor had to aim it at the squad to knock them down. Each of the wooden dummies were hinged in order for them to fall backwards if hit hard enough. The team knocking down the greater number of dummies with the 30 balls, irrespective of time taken, would be declared the winners.

The first round saw the participation of West Germany and their competitor was adept in his shooting skills, knocking down all 11 dummies in 49 seconds. However, as time was not a factor in this game, he was declared as having scored 11.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11)

Comments: Each of the dummies had a name of a famous European player emblazoned across their shirts. These included John Toshack (Wales), George Best (1945-2005, Northern Ireland), Gerhard Müller (1945-2021, West Germany) and Bobby Charlton (1937-2023, England). Before the Fil Rouge began, a short film was shown that displayed the artistry of Leeds United F.C. football player Johnny Giles, who would be participating for Great Britain in the seventh and final round.

Game 2 - He's Got a Trip on his Shoulder

The second game - ‘He’s Got a Trip on His Shoulder’ - was played over three heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration and was the first of five consecutive games to be played in the bathing pool. It featured two male competitors from each team, one of whom was sitting on the shoulders of the other and equipped with a long balance pole with pins at each end. In the pool, there was a row of floating podiums, each connected to the next by a wooden beam, and above the pool, on either side of the course, there were a number of balloons hanging down from a wire. On the whistle, the team had to edge their way out along the first beam and on reaching the podium, the player with the pole had to burst the balloon on each side. They then had to make their way to the second podium and this then had to repeated throughout the game. If the teams had the misfortune to fall into the pool, they were permitted to recompose themselves from that exact point. The team bursting the greater number of balloons would be declared the winners.

The first heat featured Belgium and France and both teams completed the game without mishap with Belgium bursting 10 balloons and France bursting 8 balloons.

The remaining two heats are missing from the recording but the results on the scoreboard revealed that Switzerland and Great Britain had both burst 13 balloons each whilst West Germany had burst 10 balloons and Italy had burst 9 balloons.

Fil Rouge, Round 2 - The Bespoke Football XI

The second round of the Fil Rouge featured Netherlands and although the team utilised all the available time, their competitor was only able to knock down 8 dummies.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Rolde (NL) (8)

Game 3 - The Rollercoaster Ball Push

The third game - ‘The Rollercoaster Ball Push’ - was played in the pool over two heats of 1 minute 30 seconds duration. It featured two male competitors from each team equipped with a very large inflated beach ball and a course comprising a large rollercoaster track and some hurdles. On the whistle, the two competitors standing at the top of the track had to work together to transport the ball up and down over two large troughs and crests. Once completed, they had to drop the ball into the pool and then swim with it towards the pool’s edge whilst negotiating three hurdles which required them to push the ball underneath. If the ball fell into the water during the early stage of the game, two male team-mates already in the pool could assist them to retrieve and reposition it at the point at which it had fallen. The team completing the course in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat saw the participation of Great Britain and Italy and with neither team suffering a mishap, it was a very close run race. Great Britain finished the game in 53 seconds and Italy finished the game in 54 seconds.

The second and penultimate heat featured Belgium and France with Belgium having the better start. However, once both teams were in the water, their lead began to wane as France closed the gap. Despite this, Belgium held onto the lead and finished the game ahead of France. However, when the times of the teams were revealed France had miraculously finished 2 seconds ahead of Belgium with the time of France declared as 1 minute 11 seconds and Belgium as 1 minute 13 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of West Germany and Netherlands with West Germany setting off at a cracking pace but suffering a mishap after 8 seconds of elapsed time when their ball fell into the water. As their team-mates scrambled to assist them to recover the ball, Netherlands could be seen taking a much slower pace and finished the game in 55 seconds. After recovering from the mishap, West Germany finished the game in 1 minute 1 second.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Blackpool (GB) (6pts awarded / 16pts total) 2nd Canelli (I) (5pts / 13pts) ▲ 3rd Ascona (CH) (--- / 10pts) ▼ 4th Saint-Malo (F) (2pts / 9pts) =5th Tielt (B) (1pt / 7pts) =5th Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (3pts / 7pts) ▲ 7th Rolde (NL) (4pts / 6pts)

Comments: Although it would have made no significant difference to the eventual result of this heat, Belgium were robbed of 1pt in this game (and in addition, Netherlands of a higher finishing position at the end of the programme). Clearly having finished ahead of their rivals in their heat, the times declared had demoted them to a lower placing. Surprisingly, no protest appeared to have been lodged by the team captain.

Fil Rouge, Rounds 3 and 4 - The Bespoke Football XI

The third round of the Fil Rouge featured Switzerland and their competitor could only knock down 7 dummies.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Rolde (NL) (8) 3rd Ascona (CH) (7)

The fourth round saw the participation of Italy and their competitor fared better and knocked down 10 dummies.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Canelli (I) (10) 3rd Rolde (NL) (8) ▼ 4th Ascona (CH) (7) ▼

Game 4 - The Mattress Race

The fourth game - ‘The Mattress Race’ - was played in the pool and witnessed Netherlands presenting their Joker for play. However, all footage of the game is missing from the archive material but the result and points awarded could be gleaned from the scoreboard before the fifth game.

Belgium finished in 1st place, Great Britain finished in 2nd place and Netherlands finished in 3rd place. These were followed by Switzerland in 4th place, West Germany in 5th place and France in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Blackpool (GB) (5pts awarded / 21pts total) 2nd Rolde (NL) (8pts / Joker / 14pts) ▲ =3rd Tielt (B) (6pts / 13pts) ▲ =3rd Ascona (CH) (3pts / 13pts) =3rd Canelli (I) (--- / 13pts) ▼ 6th Saint-Malo (F) (1pt / 10pts) ▼ 7th Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (2pts / 9pts) ▼

Game 5 - A Watery Trapeze

The fifth game - ‘A Watery Trapeze’ - was played over two heats of two minutes duration and witnessed Italy presenting their Joker for play. The game featured six male competitors from each team and a high scaffold. On the whistle, the competitors had to climb a rope ladder to reach the top of the scaffold and then, with the aid of a pulley wheel attached to a zip wire, the first of them had to descend towards the pool in order to drop onto a large floating podium. He then had to time it precisely to release his grip on the wheel, taking into account his forward motion when doing so. Once this was completed, the remaining five competitors then had to take it in turn to repeat the process. Any competitors that dropped into the water had to return to the start and repeat their drop. The team securing all five competitors on the podium in the faster time would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of West Germany and France and although France got the better start, West Germany quickly closed the deficit and overtook them. The times were declared as West Germany finishing in 52 seconds and France finishing in 59 seconds.

The second and penultimate heat featured Great Britain and Netherlands and appeared that it would be a much closer run race than the previous one. However, before Netherlands started their final run, the pulley wheel had become entangled at the top of the scaffold and prevented them making their drop. Contemporaneously, Great Britain had finished the game in 47 seconds and following the delay at the top of the scaffold, Netherlands eventually finished in 1 minute 50 seconds.

The third and final heat saw the participation of Switzerland and Italy and although Italy were playing their Joker, Switzerland led from the outset and finished the game in 45 seconds with Italy finishing in 52 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Blackpool (GB) (5pts awarded / 26pts total) 2nd Canelli (I) (8pts / Joker / 21pts) ▲ 3rd Ascona (CH) (6pts / 19pts) 4th Rolde (NL) (1pts / 15pts) ▼ =5th Tielt (B) (--- / 13pts) ▼ =5th Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (4pts / 13pts) ▲ 7th Saint-Malo (F) (2pts / 12pts) ▼

Comments: Despite protests from the team captain of Netherlands following alleged equipment failure, it was explained that the equipment was not at fault and that rules stated that the onus was on the team to ensure that they kept the wheels and ropes untangled and the result was upheld.

Game 6 - The Blackpool Steeplechase

The sixth game - ‘The Blackpool Steeplechase’ - was the second of the two games to played on the promenade and witnessed West Germany presenting their Joker for play. The game featured five competitors (four males wearing roller-skates and one female) from each team equipped with a litter. On the whistle, the female who was standing on the litter had to be lifted up by the males and then handed a ball by a team-mate. The males then had to roller-skate along a course constructed from wooden boards with intermittent small hillocks along its length. At the end of the course was a large basketball net into which the female had to toss the ball. Successful or otherwise, the team then had to return to the start in the same manner and repeat the game throughout. The team collecting the greater number of balls would be declared the winners.

Although all footage of the game is missing from the archive material, the result and points awarded could be gleaned from the scoreboard before the seventh game. West Germany finished in 1st place, Switzerland and Great Britain both finished in 2nd place and Netherlands finished in 4th place. These were followed by Belgium in 5th place and Italy in 6th place.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Blackpool (GB) (5pts awarded / 31pts total) 2nd Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (12pts / Joker / 25pts) ▲ 3rd Ascona (CH) (5pts / 24pts) 4th Canelli (I) (1pt / 22pts) ▼ 5th Rolde (NL) (3pts / 18pts) ▼ 6th Tielt (B) (2pts / 15pts) ▼ 7th Saint-Malo (F) (--- / 12pts) ▼

Fil Rouge, Rounds 5 and 6 - The Bespoke Football XI

The fifth round of the Fil Rouge featured Belgium and their competitor could only muster a score of 5 dummies knocked down.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Canelli (I) (10) 3rd Rolde (NL) (8) 4th Ascona (CH) (7) 5th Tielt (B) (5)

The sixth and penultimate round saw the participation of France and they fared even worse than Belgium with their competitor knocking down just 4 dummies.

Running Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Canelli (I) (10) 3rd Rolde (NL) (8) 4th Ascona (CH) (7) 5th Tielt (B) (5) 6th Saint-Malo (F) (4)

Game 7 - Be a Pail and Pass the Water

The seventh and penultimate game - ‘Be a Pail and Pass the Water’ - was played in the bathing pool over 1 minute 30 seconds duration and witnessed Switzerland presenting their Joker for play. The game featured four competitors (two males and two females) from each team and a scaffold pole with nine handles made from rope overhanging the pool. On the whistle, the first male competitor had to lift himself up onto the first two handles whilst a team-mate placed up to two buckets of water on his feet. He then had to make his way along the scaffold pole using the handles. Contemporaneously, the first of the two female competitors, who were located on a large podium in the pool, had to edge her way out along a wooden pole in order to meet her male team-mate and collect the buckets. The male competitor then had to drop into the water to return to the start, whilst she returned back along the pole to hand the bucket to the second of the females, who in turn emptied the contents into a large barrel sitting on a set of weighing scales. The game then had to be repeated by the second male competitor and this would continue throughout. The team collecting the greater volume of water would be declared the winners.

The first heat of this straightforward game saw the participation of France and Netherlands and ended with France collecting 16lbs (7.25kg) of water whilst Netherlands had collected 15lbs (6.8kg).

The second and penultimate heat featured West Germany and Italy and ended with West Germany collecting 30lbs (13.6kg) of water whilst Italy collected 14lbs (6.35kg).

The third and final heat saw the participation of Belgium and Switzerland and ended with Belgium collecting 13lbs (5.9kg) of water and Switzerland collecting 27lbs (12.25kg).

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ascona (CH) (10pts awarded / Joker / 34pts total) ▲ =2nd Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (6pts / 31pts) =2nd Blackpool (GB) (--- / 31pts) ▼ 4th Canelli (I) (2pts / 24pts) 5th Rolde (NL) (3pts / 21pts) =6th Tielt (B) (1pt / 16pts) =6th Saint-Malo (F) (4pts / 16pts) ▲

Fil Rouge, Round 7 - The Bespoke Football XI

The seventh and final round of the Fil Rouge featured Great Britain and, as had been the case throughout the series, the home team had been permitted to utilise an experienced competitor in this game. However, this advantage came with a penalty in that the game would be more difficult than that for the other teams. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) had chosen Leeds United midfield player Johnny Giles to participate on their behalf and the penalty was that the time was reduced from 1 minute 30 seconds to just 45 seconds.

Despite the handicap, Giles was able to take 27 shots within the time, knocking down 9 dummies in total on his 1st, 3rd, 10th, 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 23rd and 26th shots and finished in 3rd place on the game.

Final Fil Rouge Standings: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (11) 2nd Canelli (I) (10) 3rd Blackpool (GB) (9) 4th Rolde (NL) (8) ▼ 5th Ascona (CH) (7) ▼ 6th Tielt (B) (5) ▼ 7th Saint-Malo (F) (4) ▼

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Wetter an der Ruhr (D) (7pts awarded / 38pts total) ▲ 2nd Ascona (CH) (3pts / 37pts) ▼ 3rd Blackpool (GB) (5pts / 36pts) ▼ 4th Canelli (I) (6pts / 30pts) 5th Rolde (NL) (4pts / 25pts) 6th Tielt (B) (2pts / 18pts) 7th Saint-Malo (F) (1pt / 17pts) ▼

Comments: The experienced ‘guest’ competitor for Great Britain was Leeds United F.C. and Republic of Ireland football player Johnny Giles. Born Michael John Giles in Dublin on 6th November 1940, he was spotted playing for Stella Maris Football Club, before he began his English career with Manchester United. At the age of 16, he was signed by Sir Matt Busby (1909-1994) and joined the team for a £10 signing-on fee in 1956. He was given an early first-team debut in 1959, following the death of eight of the team in the Munich Air Disaster on 6th February of the previous year. In his later years in football, Giles pursued a managerial career which saw him installed as player-manager and manager of, among others, West Bromwich Albion, the Republic of Ireland, and Shamrock Rovers. Despite having an outstanding knowledge of the game, Giles personally never liked being a manager. He became disillusioned with aspects of the job, such as suffering at the hands of non-committal Boards of Directors, and left management in 1985. He later declared that he had no regrets about quitting managerial life.

Game 8 - The Viking Raiders

The eighth and final game - ‘The Viking Raiders’ - was played in unison in the pool over three minutes duration and witnessed Belgium, France and Great Britain presenting their Jokers for play. The game featured six competitors (four males and two females) from each team and a Viking longship. At the start of the game, the three male competitors, equipped with a wooden battering ram, would be standing at the bottom of a ramp leading up to a ‘locked’ castle. On the whistle, they had to run up the ramp and break through the polystyrene drawbridge with the battering ram. On top of the ramparts would be an opposing male team member pouring water down to hinder their passage. Once accomplished, they had to enter the castle to collect a longship and once all of them were aboard, they had to descend the ramp and into the water. They then had to paddle the length of the pool whilst picking up the two female competitors on floating podia along the way. The team completing the game in the faster time would be declared the winners.

With everything at stake and playing their Jokers, it was a two-horse race between Great Britain and France, with Great Britain completing the game in 55 seconds. France finished in 2nd place in 1 minute 3 seconds followed by West Germany in 3rd place in 1 minute 9 seconds, Italy in 4th place in 1 minute 25 seconds and Netherlands in 5th place in 1 minute 32 seconds. Although Belgium were also playing their Joker, they and Switzerland were somewhat hindered by permitting copious amounts of water to enter the longships on their entries into the pool and this ultimately slowed their speed. With Great Britain celebrating in the background, the referees permitted the game to run its course, but both Belgium and Switzerland capsized their boats before reaching the end of the pool and both were deemed as finishing in 7th place.

Returning Teams and Competitors

Blackpool player James Merridew would return in 1976 to feature again for the British team in thei Domestic and International exploits of that year.

Made in Colour • This programme does not exist in the BBC Archives
Exists in European archives (French archive recording edited)

B

Jeux Sans Frontières 1971

Heat 7

Event Staged: Wednesday 1st September 1971
Venue: Mercatordok (Mercator Marina), Oostende, Belgium

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
BRT (B): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
RTB (B): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
SSR (CH): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)
SRG (CH): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
TSI (CH): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
WDR 1 (D): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.30pm (Live)
Nederland 2 (NL): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 9.05-10.25pm (Live)
RAI Due (I): Wednesday 1st September 1971, 10.05-11.20pm (Live - DST)
ORTF 1 (F): Wednesday 8th September 1971

BBC1 (GB): Friday 17th September 1971, 9.20-10.35pm

Weather Conditions: Warm, Dry and Very Windy

Winners' Trophy presented by: Willy Delabastita

Theme: All at Sea

Teams: Oostende (B) v. Einsiedeln (CH) v. Leck (D) v. Libourne (F) v.
Bournemouth (GB) v. Pesaro (I) v. Doetinchem (NL)

Team Members included:
Einsiedeln (CH) - Josef Fuchs, Victor Lachaire, Roddy Retwodz;
Leck (D) - Uwe Hill (Co-Team Coach), Hartmut Münchow (Co-Team Coach), Hartmut Pietsch (Co-Team Coach), Claus Vogelsang (Co-Team Coach), Paul Brodovin, Annelore Kock, Friedrich Ratze;
Libourne (F) - Daniel Ferreau, Elenia Plont, Jean Trepadieu;
Bournemouth (GB) - John Robinson (Team Manager), Richard Molyneux (Team Captain), Jennifer Northey, Billy Noy, Mike Wheeler;
Pesaro (I) - Alberto Bordolli, Oliviero Briggidi;
Doetinchem (NL) - Emiel Kaiser (Team Captain).

Games: Balls from the Bowsprit, The Morning’s Catch, The Stranded Sirens, The Rescue Party, The Gastronomes, Striking it Rich, The Plunger Balls, S.O.S.!;
Fil Rouge: La Tour d'Oostende;
Jokers: Fishermen in Waterproofs.

Game Results and Standings