Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

European International Series

Entrants 1988: Belgium (B) • Spain (E) • France (F) •
Italy (I) • Portugal (P)

Presenters / Commentators of International Competitions:
Sylvie Rigot (RTBF - B)
Carmen Otero, Ignacio Salas and Guillermo Summers (TVE - E)
Fabrice and Marie-Ange Nardi (A2F - F)
Claudio Lippi (RAI - I)
Eládio Clímaco, Ivone Ferreira and José Fialho-Gouveia (RTP - P)

International Referees:
Guido Pancaldi
Mike Swann

Production Credits:

Unknown

Produced by RTBF (B), TVE (E),
A2F (F), RAI (I), RTP (P)

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

The 1988 season was recorded in a different order to how it would be broadcast. Two International Heats were recorded at each venue a few days apart, but these programmes would be placed at different points in the transmission order. JSFnetGB has opted to retain the intended transmission order for the Series Guide, and the original recording order is noted in the details of each programme.

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

Heat 1 (Italy 1)

Event Staged: Wednesday 25th May 1988
Recording Order: 1st
Venue: L'Arena (The Arena), Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica
(Santa Monica International Race Circuit), Misano Adriatico, Rimini, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Friday 1st July 1988, 8.00-9.15pm
Antenne 2 (F): Wednesday 6th July 1988
RTP (P): Monday 18th July 1988, 9.40-11.25pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 21st July 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: Misano and the Adriatic Coast

Teams: Virton (B) v. Gijón (E) v. Espace Cristal (F) v.
Rimini & Co. (I) v. Ilha da Madeira (P)

Team Members included:
Rimini & Co. (I) - Davide Casadei (Team Captain), Leopoldo Carlini (Co-Team Coach), Franco Geminiani (Co-Team Coach), Manuela Amenta, Michele Amenta, Lorena Bezzi, Giovanna Bianchi, Margherita Gasparini, Susanna Giorgi, Luisella Montebelli, Ugo Montevecchi, Antonella Serafini, Mauro Sarti, Giovanni Soatin, Luigi Soriani

Games: The Angry Sea, Water-Skiing, The Adriatic Gastronomes, The Flowered Riviera, The Bathing Belles, Water-Ski Football, Long Live the Bicycle!, Sea of Ice (Jeu du Surpris), Fishing, Balloons and Nets (Jeu d'Amitié), The Hang Gliders and The 1000 Game.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 P • Ilha da Madeira ● ●
 I • Rimini & Co.
 B • Virton
 E • Gijón
 F • Espace Cristal

50
47
42
33
32

The Host Town

Misano Adriatico, Italy

Misano Adriatico is a municipality on the Adriatic Coast in the Province of Rimini, within the Italian region Emilia-Romagna. It is located about 120 kilometres (75 miles) southeast of Bologna and about 14 kilometres (9 miles) southeast of Rimini. 

Misano is a seaside town renowned for its green spaces, boardwalks and beaches. It has long been appreciated for its great tradition of hospitality, great food and drink, and its family-friendly atmosphere as a holiday destination. Many foods and drinks considered quintessentially Italian hail from the Emilia-Romagna region, such as tortellini, tagliatelle and pappardelle pasta, bolognese sauce, parmigiano-reggiano cheese and Lambrusco wine.

The Venue

Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica

The games were played at the Arena, an open-air concert space with permanent raised seating, within the Circuito Internazionale Santa Monica, a motor racing circuit located next to the coastal town of Misano Adriatico. It is sometimes confused with the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari (more commonly known as the Imola race circuit), which from 1981-2006 hosted the San Marino Formula 1 Grand Prix, as the Santa Monica circuit is just 20.48km (12.72 miles) from the country of San Marino, while Imola is 75km (46.65 miles) distant to it.

The Santa Monica circuit was designed in 1969 and constructed between 1970 and 1972, the year in which it was inaugurated. Its original length was 3.488km (2.167 miles) and comprised a modest, completely open pit area. This circuit layout played host to three editions of the San Marino Motorcycle Grand Prix in the years 1985, 1986 and 1987. It was modified for the first time in 1993, with new facilities and pit garages being constructed and the track length was increased to 4.060km (2.523 miles) - though it was still possible to race the old, shorter layout if needed.

It was at Misano during the 1993 Italian Grand Prix that the career of the then defending 500cc World Champion Wayne Rainey was brought to a premature end after he crashed and suffered a broken spine. Between 1996 and 2001 circuit facilities were further improved, with additional pits and grandstands being built. In 2005, a new access point to the circuit was built, Via Daijiro Kato, in honour of a Japanese racer who was tragically killed during the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix, as his in-season race home was in the Portoverde area of Misano Adriatico.

The circuit was extensively modified in 2006 in order to again host the World Motorcycle Championship. The circuit direction was changed from anti-clockwise to clockwise, the track was again lengthened to 4.180km (2.597 miles) as well as widened to 14m (46 ft), facilities were improved, and security measures were tightened. The first MotoGP race held on the circuit after the modifications was the 2007 San Marino and Rimini Coast Grand Prix, which was won by the home marque, Ducati.

During the 2010 Moto2 event at Misano, the Japanese rider Shoya Tomizawa was killed after he lost control of his bike and was then struck by the motorcycles of both Scott Redding and Alex de Angelis. In a tragic twist of fate, this incident occurred 17 years to the day of Wayne Rainey's career ending incident.

On 3rd November 2011, the circuit owners announced that the Santa Monica circuit was to be named after Marco Simoncelli, an Italian motorcycle racer who died during the Shell Advance Malaysian Grand Prix in Sepang a week previously. Simoncelli was born in nearby Cattolica and had lived from childhood in Coriano. The track's new name was confirmed at the San Marino round of the Superbike World Championship on 8th June 2012.

In 2014, the arena, which was previously used for classical music and rock concerts, was redeveloped and relaunched as a third track within the circuit complex. The new track - now called the Arena Flat Track - is a 1km (0.62 miles) long dirt track designed for speedway and rally racing. The Roman arena-style raised seating still stands.

The Games in Detail

Introductory Note

Each team in the 1988 series of Jeux Sans Frontières was comprised - according to the rules - of twelve competitors, divided up as follows, with an equal number of men and women in each category:

'Mini': 18-25 years, 4 players
'Midi': 35-45 years, 4 players
'Maxi': 45+ years, 2 players
Captains: 2 players.

Game 1 - The Angry Sea

The first game - ‘The Angry Sea’ - featured the participation of all team members with the exception of the captains. The Minis and Midis stood in line on individual pairs of platforms, with each of them wearing an inflatable ring at waist height. They had to each lean forward and hold on to the team member ahead of them, creating a bridge that two Maxi competitors could pull themselves across, sitting astride the 'bridge' made of the backs of their team mates. The final purpose was to reach a floating platform that without touching the floor or falling in the water. The winning team would be the one that got two Maxis across the bridge to the podium in the shortest time after any penalties had been applied.

The Belgians went first in this straightforward game and completed it without mishap in 24 seconds. Spain went next and had more troubles than the Belgians had encountered, especially as their female Maxi competitor was rather heavy and nearly fell at the beginning. She was able to recompose herself and the team finished the game in 30 seconds. France was the next team to play, and they were slow but steady, finishing in 29 seconds. The Portuguese went next and they were the quickest, since their male competitor walked across the backs of his team mates instead of moving in a seated position as all other competitors had done. With a score of just 14 seconds it was nearly impossible for anyone to beat them. The home team went next and did a good job but couldn't match the Portuguese time, finishing the course in 21 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (5pts awarded / 5pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (4pts / 4pts) 3rd Virton (B) (3pts / 3pts) 4th Espace Cristal (F) (2pts / 2pts) 5th Gijón (E) (1pt / 1pt)

Comments: The French Maxi competitor had apparently never seen the sea before and did not know how to swim. This is because Espace Cristal is located in a mountainous area of France.

Game 2 - Water Skiing

The second game - ‘Water Skiing’ - was the first Election Game ever played in Jeux Sans Frontières. The idea was that the participating countries would each miss one game from Games 2-6 and would nominate one of the participating teams to score points for them. Whatever that team scored was also awarded to the non-playing team that had nominated them. The first team to sit out a game was Italy, and they nominated Portugal to score on their behalf.

The game itself involved two male and two female competitors (Minis). The women, aided by their male colleagues, had to work their way across a monkey bar climbing frame whilst wearing giant water skis (that looked more like canoes!). When they had negotiated the monkey bars and slid down an inflatable slide into the pool, they had to swim to a tethered balloon in the pool. It was then the men's turn to negotiate the course, which they had to complete without assistance.

The French and Spanish teams competed in the first heat. Even though the French made a better start, they had trouble making it to the pool, whilst the Spaniards were able to do so without much trouble. The Spanish team finished the game in 1 minute, while the French team could only manage to bring the two girls to the end. Belgium and Portugal played the second heat. It seemed that the Portuguese team was going to win the game, but their second male competitor fell at the last moment. This meant that the Portuguese and Belgian teams finished with just three team members in position and were awarded joint 2nd place on the game, with the Spanish team from Gijón ahead of them in 1st.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (4pts awarded / 4pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (4pts / 8pts) 3rd Virton (B) (4pts / 7pts) 4th Gijón (E) (5pts / 6pts) ▲ 5th Espace Cristal (F) (2pts / 4pts) ▼

Game 3 - The Adriatic Gastronomes

The third game - ‘The Adriatic Gastronomes’ - was played over a 1 minute duration by four Midi competitors (two male and two females) from each team. Three of them had to swing from rope to rope, Tarzan-style, to reach a platform at the middle of the pool. The fourth member was on the platform from the beginning with another rope to help the teammates, if needed.

The French team missed this game and nominated Portugal to score for them.

The Portuguese team went first, making the game look fairly easy, despite their second and third competitors (male and female respectively) requiring assistance from their fellows on the platform. They completed the course in a time of 41 seconds. The home team of Rimini & Co. went next, with their first competitor completing the course very well, despite nearly making a last minute error. However, their second male team member met with more trouble and lost some time. The third competitor - female - was untroubled on her attempt and the team finished just behind the Portuguese time, in 43 seconds. Belgium went third and made slower progress, not least because of ineffectual assistance from their team member on the platform. They completed the course just inside limit time, after 58 seconds had elapsed. Spain went last, but they too encountered problems, with their first team member having trouble dealing with the ropes. Fortunately for the team, the second member did well and the last one was helped effectively despite completing the bulk of the course up to her head in water! The team finished the game in 55 seconds.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (5pts awarded / 14pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (4pts / 12pts) =3rd Virton (B) (2pts / 9pts) =3rd Gijón (E) (3pts / 9pts) ▲ =3rd Espace Cristal (F) (5pts / 9pts) ▲

Game 4 - The Flowered Riviera

The fourth game - ‘The Flowered Riviera’ - was played over a duration of one and a half minutes by three team members, two male and one female. The two men, who each had two balloons on their backs as if they were wasps, had to jump on a trampoline while the female team member, hanging above them from the gantry, had to burst the balloons with the aid of a raquet. Once the two balloons were burst, another set of two could be fixed to the players, up to a maximum of 10 balloons in total per team. The winning team would be the one that burst the greater number of balloons within the time limit.

The Portuguese team missed this game and nominated Italy to score for them.

The French team went first and performed well without making any major mistakes, bursting 8 balloons. Spain went next and it was a different story. Their female team member struggled to burst any of the balloons, mainly because her two male colleagues weren't bending and presenting the balloons as they jumped, with the consequence that she kept hitting their heads. Eventually she was able to burst two balloons. The home team from Rimini & Co. went next and positioned themselves well, making it far easier for the girl to burst the balloons, making the game seem very easy. They burst the maximum of 10 balloons in a time of just 53 seconds. Belgium competed in the final heat and seemed not to have learned from the Italian successful strategy, encountering similar problems to those faced by the Spanish team, but at least they were able to burst 6 balloons.

Game 5 - The Bathing Belles

The fifth game - ‘The Bathing Belles’ - was based on the works of Federico Fellini, who was born in Rimini in 1920, and was played over four individual heats by two male and two female competitors. Carrying a large inflatable figure in the form of a fat woman wearing a bathing costume, the players had swing on a trapeze across a foam-filled water tank and position themselves on a narrow, unstable platform at its centre. The winning team would be the one that placed the greater number of participants and inflatables on the platform without falling.

The Spanish team missed this game and nominated Italy to score for them.

Portugal went first, with the first of the two male competitors (the ones transporting the balloons) and both girls being able to position themselves on the platform, scoring 4 in a time of 41 seconds. France went next and decided to go first with one girl, but she failed, and man who went next lost time trying to grab the trapeze and subsequently fell. They ran out time and were awarded a score of 0. Italy went next. Their first male participant fell, though the second made a perfect jump and the two girls negotiated the course easily. They scored 4 in 35 seconds, beating Portugal. Belgium went last and made a near-perfect run, though the last girl broke the platform while landing on it. In many ways, it was fortuate that this equipment failure occurred the split second that the game was finished. The Belgian team suffered no penalty and indeed finished in 1st position having got 4 players on the platform in 26 seconds.

Game 6 - Water Ski Football

The sixth game - ‘Water Ski Football’ - was played over two heats of 2 minute 30 seconds duration. The game involved a mixture of water polo, hockey and water skiing. Two Mini and two Maxi players competed for each team, equally divided between men and women. Each player wore large, canoe-like water skis and had a single paddle with which to control their movement in the water. At the whistle and after each goal was scored, a touch judge would throw a beach ball into the middle of the pool and the players had to pilot their ski-shoes towards it, the objective being to score goals against their rivals by hitting the ball with the paddles across a marker line that the other team was defending. The team with the most goals scored would win the game.

The Belgian team missed this game and nominated Italy to score for them.

Italy and Spain played the first match and it seemed as if the Italians were going to control the game, scoring the first goal in just 30 seconds without any problem. However, the Spanish made a good comeback scoring a goal of their own after 1 minute and 8 seconds. For the rest of the game Italy continued attacking, but the Spanish team's defence remained firm and at the final whistle, the score was tied at 1-1.

France and Portugal played the second match, with Portugal proving to be the stronger team. After the final whistle blew, the score was announced as 3-0 in Portugal's favour, although seemingly due to odd editorial choices, none of their goals were clearly shown in the transmitted footage. Two Portuguese goal attempts were seen to hit the marker line without crossing it and it would appear that both were awarded as successful attempts. The third goal was awarded to penalise a rules transgression by the French team when one of their players had hit the ball out of the ball when defending a Portuguese attack.

Game 7 - Long Live the Bicycle!

The seventh game - ‘Long Live the Bicycle!’ - was played out over two rounds, with one member of each of the five teams contesting the first round and another five competitors participating in the second. The competitors had to traverse a tightrope across the pool whilst riding a tyreless bicycle. They each carried a furled umbrella that they had to hook over a higher horizontal cable above them which ran parallel with the tightrope wire - and this would provide them with extra balance. Yellow markers, approximately the width of the bicycle wheels apart, were attached to the tightrope and were numbered from 1 (nearest) to 30 (furthest across the pool).

The first cyclist was French and he lost his balance very quickly, reaching only the first marker. Spain went next and got off to a good start but lost his balance at marker 18. Portugal was next, making the game look easy, finishing the maximum distance of 30 markers without experiencing any mishap. The Italian cyclist appeared to be on course to match the Portuguese result but he suddenly fell at marker 21. Belgium brought the first round to an end - and met with disaster when the rear wheel came off of the wire right after starting, but since they were next to the starting platform the judges let him start again. He recomposed himself and proceeded to complete the full 30-marker course just like his Portuguese rival had done earlier.

The second French competitor started the second round of the game. After his comrade's first round disaster, he had to make a perfect run to give France any chance of scoring decent points on the game - and that's exactly what he did - in double-quick time, bringing his country's total from a paltry 1 marker to a much more respectable 31 markers. The second Spaniard met with the same fate as the first Frenchman and managed only 1 marker, with Spain's total of 19 markers already dooming them to a last place finish with three teams still to play. The second Portuguese team member went next and - just as his colleague had done in the first round - he made the game look easy, finishing it and making a total of 60 markers, a perfect and unbeatable score. The Italian cyclist seemed to lack confidence at the start of his second round run, but he was also able to make it to the end, bringing the home team's total up to a highly respectable 51 markers. The second Belgian competitor caused much hilarity, having extreme difficulties moving, but still made it to marker 20, giving the Belgians a total of 50 markers, finishing just 1 marker short of the Italians - but both were roundly trounced by the perfection of the two Portuguese runs.

Game 8 - Sea of Ice (Jeu du Surpris)

The eighth game - 'Sea of Ice' - was the Jeu du Surpris, a game which none of the teams knew about or had seen before the recording. Before they played it, they watched as an acrobatic demonstrator showed how to play it as part of the programme. The game involved a course with 7 large, creamy cakes arranged along it, each with a cherry on top. The demonstrator walked on his hands as he negotiated the whole course, picking the cherries from the cakes with his teeth, and discarding them before moving to the next. At no time did he touch the floor with anything other than his hands. The game was simplified for the teams, who only had to balance on their hands at the moment of getting the cherry.

On the spur of the moment, the captains had to decide who was going to play the game for their teams. All the captains decided to play themselves aside from the Italian captain, who chose to put his faith in team member Ugo Montevecchi.

Italy went first and   the 7 cherries without problem in 11 seconds, Ugo fully justifying his captain's belief in his abilities. The Portuguese went next and went well until the last cherry, at which point he lost his balance and couldn't get it, utlimately scoring 6 cherries and getting a faceful of the seventh cake for his troubles. The Spanish captain went third and repeated the Italian's score. The French competitor was able to get 6 cherries, despite some problems with his balance. The Belgian was the last to go but he clearly hadn't been looking and learning from the endeavours of his rivals. His run was something of a disaster, taking 2 of the cherries whilst completely on the ground and scoring only 5, the worst score of the game.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (3pts awarded / 35pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (5pts / 34pts) =3rd Virton (B) (1pt / 25pts) =3rd Gijón (E) (5pts / 25pts) ▲ 5th Espace Cristal (F) (3pts / 22pts)

Game 9 - Fishing

The ninth game - ‘Fishing’ - was played by all teams in unison and involved three competitors from each team (2 male, 1 female). The players had to kneel on a floating, flat iceberg (made of foam) on the pool and the two men had to make a hole through its centre section which was made of polystyrene, either by scratching or punching at it. Once a good hole had been made, the men had to take the girl by the legs so that she could hang into the water and catch fish (held beneath the iceberg) with 10 fish available for each team. After 2 minutes and 30 seconds, an opposing girl had to swim the pool, cease the fishing of each team and come up through the holes in the icebergs.

This was a relatively straightforward game, but somewhat hard to for viewers to follow, at least in terms of working out who was catching the greater number of fish. When the scores were announced, Belgium were declared as the winners as they were the only ones who had got all 10 fish from the water, which they had achieved in 1 minute and 51 seconds. Portugal were close behind with 9, Italy retrieved 8, Spain 6, with France some way adrift having collected just 3 fish collected.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (4pts awarded / 39pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (3pts / 37pts) 3rd Virton (B) (5pts / 30pts) 4th Gijón (E) (2pts / 27pts) ▼ 5th Espace Cristal (F) (1pt / 23pts)

Game 10 - Balloons and Nets (Jeu d'Amitié)

The tenth game - ‘Balloons and Nets’ - was the Jeu d'Amitié, something of a novelty in Jeux Sans Frontières, in that it was contested by five squads, each comprising one member from each competing country. It would only be revealed after the game had finished which national team each squad was scoring for.

In this game, players, each carrying a helium-filled balloon, had to jump into the pool over a horizontal, knee-height pole by launching themselves from a springboard.  Above the pool were 5 nets, marked with scores ranging from 1pt (nearest) to 5pts (furthest from the springboard). The players had to jump as far as they could and release their balloons as late a possible so that they would rise into the nets, trying to score as many points as they could. After each run, the lids at the top of the nets were opened, allowing the scored balloons to drift away into the Adriatic night.

Squad 1 went first and was able to put 2 balloons in the 2pts net, scoring 4 points. Squad 2 went next and started well scoring a 3pts balloon but none of the rest of the team was able to perform the game correctly and their final score was just 3 points. Squad 3, on the contrary, started badly but was finally able to put a balloon in the 3pts and another in the 4pts, scoring 7 points. Squad 4 was only able to score a single 3pts balloon. Squad 5 was the last to play the game and they scored 5 points (3pts + 2pts).

After each run, each squad wrote their score on one of five giant envelopes. Inside each was the letter symbol of one of the five national teams. At the end of the game, the envelopes were then opened and it was revealed that the squads were playing for:

SQUAD 1: PORTUGAL (3rd / 3pts)
SQUAD 2: SPAIN (=4th / 2pts)
SQUAD 3: ITALY (1st / 5pts)
SQUAD 4: BELGIUM (=4th / 2pts)
SQUAD 5: FRANCE (2nd / 4pts)

Running Scores and Positions: =1st Rimini & Co. (I) (5pts awarded / 42pts total) ▲ =1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (3pts / 42pts) 3rd Virton (B) (2pts / 32pts) 4th Gijón (E) (2pts / 29pts) 5th Espace Cristal (F) (4pts / 27pts)

Game 11 - The Hang Gliders

In the eleventh and penultimate game - ‘The Hang Gliders’ - was played over two rounds in each of which a male competitor from each team had to go, with the aid of a delta wing hang glider attached to cables, from the top of the scaffolding to the pool, where some balloons were tethered. The aim was for each of the pilots to touch as many of the balloons as they possibly could with the skis attached to their feet.

This was a spectacular but very straightforward game. Italy went first and was able to score a total of 7 in their two rounds. Portugal went next and did a better job, following a more effective technique, scoring 9. Spain was third to attempt the game, scoring 8. Belgium followed them and did well to equal the Portuguese score of 9. France went last and scored 8.

Running Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (5pts awarded / 47pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (1pt / 43pts) ▼ 3rd Virton (B) (5pts / 37pts) 4th Gijón (E) (3pts / 32pts) 5th Espace Cristal (F) (3pts / 30pts)

Game 12 - The 1000 Game

The twelfth and final game in every heat this year was the same - ‘The 1000 Game’. The idea of the game was to see which team could get its score for the game as close to 1000 as possible (above or below). In order to do this five mathematical symbols ( +, -, ÷, x and +) were hung at the end of a course and had to be grabbed by a female competitor atop the back of a team-mate. At the start of the game, the computer allocated teams a different base number between 1 and 99 and then a second number was chosen by the computer (which this time was the same for each team). The teams then had to race for a mathematical symbol to put between the two numbers to make a calculation. This done, the computer worked out the total of each of the sums and these became the base scores for the second round of the game. Again another number was chosen by the computer and the procedure repeated. This continued for a third time and whichever team’s total was closest to 1000 at the end of the game, scored the 5 pts. However, teams had to try and calculate which symbol would be best for them before each of the rounds started as to the symbol that they needed to get this total; otherwise their scores could rocket way above or below the required 1000.

An example of the game:
1st Round: Opening base score chosen by computer was 69, with generated number given by computer 42; symbol chosen + = 69 + 42 = 111;
2nd Round: 111 with generated number 48; symbol chosen x = 111 x 48 = 5328;
3rd Round: 5328 with generated number 26; chosen symbol ÷ = 5328 ÷ 26 = 204. Therefore the final score would be 204 (some teams had much higher and lower scores than this and still scored 5 pts). So some clever calculating had to be done in the heads of the players (especially for the final round) and not chance to luck.

In this edition, to reach the mathematical signs, one of the players had to go through a hoop. After that they had to reunite and help each other to grab the sign.

NUMBERS AND SIGNS

B • 46 x 25 (= 1150) - 26 (= 1124) - 44 = 1080 (5pts)
I • 49 + 25 (= 74) + 26 (= 100) + 44 = 144 (4pts)
P • 47 ÷ 25 (= 1) ÷ 26 (= 0) + 44 = 44 (3pts)

F • 35 + 25 (= 60) x 26 (= 1560) ÷ 44 = 35 (2pts)

E • 68 - 25 (= 43) + 26 (= 69) x 44 = 3036 (1pt)

Final Scores and Positions: 1st Ilha da Madeira (P) (3pts awarded / 50pts total) 2nd Rimini & Co. (I) (4pts / 47pts) 3rd Virton (B) (5pts / 42pts) 4th Gijón (E) (1pt / 33pts) 5th Espace Cristal (F) (2pts / 32pts)

Returning Teams and Competitors

Many of the Italian Rimini & Co. team had previously appeared as team members of the Riccione squads of 1971 and 1975. Margherita Gasparini and Ugo Montevecchi had participated as team members in 1975, whilst team captain Davide Casadei had participated as a team member in 1971. Co-team coach Leopoldo Carlini had participated as a team member in 1971 as well as team coach for the team in 1975. Co-team coach Franco Geminiani had participated as a team member of both the Riccione teams of 1971 and 1975.

Additional Information

The opening credits for the revival series were animated as before, but this time showing the five countries as competing athletes at the opening ceremony of a contest. The competitors were ‘released from the starting blocks’ and were shown pulling a trailer which had atop an animated person created from a symbol of national recognition. Belgium was represented by the Atomium in Bruxelles, Spain by Edifico España in Madrid, France by the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Italy by the Leaning Tower in Pisa and Portugal by the Torre de Belém in Lisboa.

In every heat, each team member was given a ‘director’s cap’ to wear which was displaying the theme of that particular heat.

Ben Johnson, the Jamaican-born Canadian sprinter who in 1988 was the official world record holder in the 100m sprint, was present at this Jeux Sans Frontières heat. He was training in the area at the time and wished all the teams the best of luck before the games commenced.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

F

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

Heat 2 (France 1)

Event Staged: Wednesday 8th June 1988
Recording Order: 3rd
Venue: Ski Slopes, Les Saisies, France

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Friday 8th July 1988, 8.10-9.40pm
Antenne 2 (F): Wednesday 13th July 1988
RTP (P): Monday 25th July 1988, 9.40-11.25pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 28th July 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: Television Programmes

Teams: Pepinster (B) v. Cartagena (E) v. Les Saisies (F) v.
Putignano (I) v. Vila Real-Mateus (P)

Team Members included:
Pepinster (B) - Alex Baiverlin ( Men’s Team Captain), Chantal Mariette-Doneux (Women's Team Captain), Fabrice Carion, Jean-Luis Degueldre, Maggy Desoleil-Dehogne, Jean Dumont, Denise Emonts-Brejer, Dominique Everaerts, Joëlle Fettweis, Sabine Gilon, Félicien Mariette, René Pairiot;
Putignano (I) - Elisabeta Caltaldi (Co-Team Captain), Nicola Rana (Co-Team Captain), Sante Barbieri, Mariangela Cammisa, Martina Campanella, Domenico Cassole, Maria Antonietta Friggi, Michelangelo Lamanna, Maria Pia Longo, Gianfranco Milano, Angela Rusti.

Games: Interviewing the Stars, The Number Selector, The Penalty Shoot-Out, Scriptwriters’ Revenge, War of the Satellites, The Star Groupies, Administration Barriers, Origami - The Paper Boat (Jeu deu Surpris - abandoned), Spooling the Film, The Stretcher (Jeu d'amitié), Battling the Weather and The 1000 Game, Reserve Game: Sack Race.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 P • Vila Real-Mateus ●
 F • Les Saisies ●
 E • Cartagena
 B • Pepinster
 I • Putignano

47
42
38
37
36

The Games in Detail

Game 8 - The Paper Boat

Game 8 - 'The Paper Boat' - was the "surprise game", a game that none of the players had rehearsed. In this one, they had to build a giant paper boat, the problem was that the paper wasn't very stable and it started breaking. The Result a hilarious view of all the players laughing "presenting" their masterpieces. Referee Guido Pancaldi declared the game null as nobody had been able to produce anything decent and it was impossible to measure who did it the least badly. A sack race was played instead.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

P

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

Heat 3 (Portugal 1)

Event Staged: Wednesday 22nd June 1988
Recording Order: 5th
Venue: Parque de Basilica de Santa Luzia, Viana do Castelo, Portugal

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Friday 15th July 1988, 8.10-9.25pm
Antenne 2 (F): Wednesday 20th July 1988
RTP (P): Monday 1st August 1988, 9.40-11.25pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 4th August 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: History of Viana do Castelo – Garden City and Cradle of the Navigators

Teams: Ath (B) v. La Coruña (E) v. Le Beaufortain (F) v.
Aosta-Pilaz (I) v. Viana do Castelo (P)

Team Members included:
Ath (B) - Denis Pettiaux (Team Captain);
Aosta-Pilaz (I) - Sergio Ascenzi (Team Captain), Allesandro Alliod, Elena Bermasse, Primo Borinato, Stefano Buffa, Luca Ferrari, Luciana Frassy, Fiore Paolo Grava, Franco Massarenti, Liana Peruch, Tiziana Pinzoni, Roberto Riva, Silvano Secco, Viviana Verthury, Marilena Voyat, Oscar Zanin.

Games: The Floral Carpet, Constructing the Boats, The Lovers, The National Park, The Giant Gastronomes, The Earthenware Industry, The Baskets of Vila Franca, The Drums and Cymbals (Jeu du Surpris), A Walk in the Water, The Cube Mosaic (Jeu d'amitié), The 15th Century Caravel and The 1000 Game.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 I • Aosta-Pilaz ● ●
 P • Viana do Castelo
 B • Ath
 F • Le Beaufortain
 E • La Coruña

46
41
40
39
32

There was a scoreboard error at this heat. Points awarded for Game 11 were doubled and added to the running totals. This mistake went unnoticed on-site and remained displayed at the end of the programme. The correct result is shown above, and the final scoreboard retained for illustrative purposes.

The Games in Detail

Game 1 - The Floral Carpet

Game 1 in this heat - ‘The Floral Carpet’ - was played by team members who were ALL over 50 years of age!

Game 2 - Constructing the Boats

Game 2 - ‘Constructing the Boats’ - was played out by the two oldest team members of each team.

Game 4 - The National Park

Game 4 - ‘The National Park’ - was played out by the two youngest team players of the teams.

Game 9 - A Walk in the Water

Game 9 - ‘A Walk in the Water’ - was one of the the most bizarre, ludicrous and pointless games in the whole history of Jeux Sans Frontières. It involved a girl and boy from each team holding hands and simply walking from one end of the swimming pool to the other and lifting a ceramic vase, nothing else. In fact, the total time for completion of game by ALL teams was a mere 46 seconds.

Returning Teams and Competitors

This was the sixth time that a team from the town of Aosta, Italy had appeared in Jeux Sans Frontières. The team had participated in the main competition in 1975 and 1979, and joined forces with the ski resort of Pila, the town of Cogne and the ski resorts in the Val di Gressoney for the Winter competitions in 1977, 1979 and 1980 respectively.

Future main referee Denis Pettiaux participated for Belgium for a third time as a member of the Ath team. His efforts on Games 3, 6 and 8 were clearly not strong enough as his team finished in 3rd place overall (4th place on the incorrect total)! Incidentally, Game 8 was the ‘Jeu de Surpris’ and it involved the team captain of each team standing on a large musical drum lying on its side. Above the drum were hanging two cymbals which the players had to hit with their heads by means of jumping up from the drum. However, in order to do this the players had to have their feet apart and use only the edge of the drum as their base-plate, because if they landed in the centre of the drum the player disappeared through it and under the platform on which the game was being played. Ironically, the only player to come a cropper on this game was Denis Pettiaux! Denis had also been a member of the successful Lessines team in 1981 which went on to participate in the International Final.

Italian team members Tiziana Pinzoni and Roberto Riva had previously participated as members of the Aosta team in 1979. Liana Peruch had turned out for the Aosta-Pilaz team in the Winter International in 1977, whilst Tiziana Pinzoni returned later as a member of the Cogne and Valle d’Aosta teams in 1993 and 1994 respectively. Sergio Ascenzi had also competed for the Aosta team in 1979 before being promoted to team captain for this event. He would return in the same role for the Gran San Bernardo team in 1996.

Many of the members from Portuguese team Viano do Castelo participated as members of the Alto Minhõ team in the 1989 series.

Additional Information

The scoreboard gaffe mentioned above meant that as the qualification for the International Final was on an aggregate basis, Aosta-Pilaz’s total score was 90, the same as Rimini & Co.. However, Aosta-Pilaz qualified having been placed 1st on more games overall. This error could have had more far serious implications had Aosta-Pilaz not done so! However, this error was corrected at the end of Heat 8 and Aosta-Pilaz’s aggregate score was shown correctly as 90 pts.

It should be noted that the Italian team at this heat were participating for a second occasion. Although known here as Aosta-Pilaz, at their original participation in Interneige in 1977, they were known as Aosta-Pila. The reason for the two different spellings is that many years ago, the Italian region of Pila was administered by the French and at that time was called Pilaz, although the 'z' was never pronounced. More recently, both names ('Pilaz' used by the French and 'Pila' used by the Italians) have been used. Today, the redundant 'z' has been officially abandoned and the region is known solely as Pila. As this programme was Portuguese-produced, the French version of the name was used, whereas in 1977 when the Interneige heat was an Italian production, for obvious reasons the Italian version was used. For parity, JSFnetGB has opted to use the French version throughout.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

E

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

Heat 4 (Spain 1)

Event Staged: Wednesday 6th July 1988
Recording Order: 7th
Venue: Parque del Alamillo, Sevilla, Spain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Friday 29th July 1988, 8.10-9.25pm
Antenne 2 (F): Wednesday 27th July 1988
RTP (P): Monday 8th August 1988, 9.40-11.25pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 11th August 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: Departing for The New World

Teams: Profondeville (B) v. Sevilla (E) v. Brides-les-Bains (F) v.
Palinuro (I) v. Ilhas dos Açores (P)

Games: Naming the Ship, All Aboard!, Loading the Provisions, The Flower Clocks, A Peaceful Voyage, The Andalucian Meals, No Rats on Board, The Castanets (Jeu du Surpris), The Castujinos Horses, The Treasure Chest (Jeu d'amitié), The Sailors and The 1000 Game.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 B • Profondeville ● ●
 P • Ilhas dos Açores
 E • Sevilla ●
 I • Palinuro
 F • Brides-les-Bains

46
45
35
34
32

Team Personnel

In a coincidence almost certainly not repeated in any other Jeux Sans Frontières programme, five of the six male team members representing the Spanish team of Sevilla had identical forenames, all being called Francisco Javier (commonly referred to as Paco, and then their individual family name). Surnames were not normally given by the commentators, so we can only guess...

Additional Information

The second game - 'All Aboard!' - ended with only France registering a score. They were awarded 5pts for the win whereas the remaining three teams were judged to have finished in last place and were awarded 2pts each (with the non-participating Spanish team also scoring 2pts having nominated Belgium). There were only three other occasions in the history of Jeux Sans Frontières where a game would end with one team winning and all the others being placed last - in Game 2 of JSF 1972 Heat 5 at Nice, France;  in Game 3 of the XMAS 1990 special staged in Macao; and in the Fil Rouge of JSF 1996 Heat 9 at Torino, Italy. A similar incident, although the opposite (six winners and one last place), had occurred during the JSF 1970 series when the programme was staged at Lugano in Switzerland.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

E

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

Heat 8 (Spain 2)

Event Staged: Saturday 9th July 1988
Recording Order: 8th
Venue: Parque del Alamillo, Sevilla, Spain

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Friday 26th August 1988, 8.00-9.20pm
Antenne 2 (F): Wednesday 31st August 1988
RTP (P): Monday 5th September 1988, 9.20-10.50pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 8th September 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: The Colonisation of The New World

Teams: Profondeville (B) v. Sevilla (E) v. Brides-les-Bains (F) v.
Palinuro (I) v. Ilhas da Açores (P)

Games: Return to the Harbour, The Bells of The Girada, The Exotic Plants, Gifts of the New World, The Limbo Dance, Return to the House, The American Fruit, The Giant Castanets (Jeu du Surpris), The Final Gift, The Gastronomic Speciality (Jeu d'amitié), Marie-Louise Park and The 1000 Game.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 B • Profondeville ● ●
 P • Ilhas da Açores
 E • Sevilla ●
 F • Brides-les-Bains
 I • Palinuro

47
46
41
37
36

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

I

Jeux Sans Frontières 1988

International Final

Event Staged: Saturday 3rd September 1988
Recording Order: 9th
Venue: Shore of Lake Como, Bellagio, Italy

European Transmissions (Local Timings):
RBTF (B): Sunday 4th September 1988, 8.05-9.40pm
RTBF 1 (B): Sunday 4th September 1988, 8.00pm
Antenne 2 (F): Sunday 4th September 1988, 8.35pm
RTP (P): Monday 12th September 1988, 9.20-11.05pm
RAI Uno (I): Thursday 15th September 1988

Winners' Trophy presented by: Ettore Andenna

Theme: The Cinema

Teams: Profondeville (B) v. Sevilla (E) v. Les Saisies (F) v.
Aosta-Pilaz (I) v. Ilha da Madeira (P)

Team Members included:
Aosta-Pilaz (I) - Sergio Ascenzi (Team Captain), Allesandro Alliod, Elena Bermasse, Primo Borinato, Stefano Buffa, Luca Ferrari, Luciana Frassy, Fiore Paolo Grava, Franco Massarenti, Liana Peruch, Tiziana Pinzoni, Roberto Riva, Silvano Secco, Viviana Verthury, Marilena Voyat, Oscar Zanin.

Games: The Bathing Beauties, The Yellow Brick Road, Tom-Mix, The Phantom of the Opera, Dracula, The Chariot Horse Race, The Fourteenth Hour, Jeu du Surpris, The Wages of Fear, Polythene, Suzie Wong, Alien (Jeu d'amitié), Thunderball and The 1000 Game.

Game Results and Standings

Result

 Team

Points

Final Scoreboard

1st
2nd
2nd
4th
5th

 P • Ilha da Madeira ●
 B • Profondeville ●
 E • Sevilla ●
 F • Les Saisies ●
 I • Aosta-Pilaz

49
47
47
46
36

Returning Teams and Competitors

The Portuguese team of Ilha da Madeira, became the third team to appear in consecutive International Finals, albeit six years after their first appearance due to the hiatus between the 1982 and 1988 finals.

Additional Information

An extra two games (making a total of fourteen) were played in this International Final.

Before the final game, just one point separated the top four teams - and with just three points separating the first four teams after the final game, this International Final ended in one of the closest Jeux Sans Frontières finishes ever!

The last game of this International Final ended in controversy. After the first two legs of 'The 1000 Game', the French team of Les Saisies were in a strong 1st place with a score of 1350, while the Portuguese were struggling and were only 3rd on 119. However, in the last leg the French team was unlucky and ended up with the ÷ symbol, which was disastrous to their aspirations. Seeing this, the Italian captain, who had picked up the + symbol, asked his French counterpart if he would like to exchange them, since the Italian team was already doomed to finish in last place, no matter what happened in the final game. The French captain accepted, and while this went unnoticed by the presentation team, it did not escape the attention of chief referee Guido Pancaldi, who saw the exchange being made. He ruled that both France and Italy would be disqualified from the game and awarded them just 1pt each for last place. This misfortune and error of judgement cost the French the Golden Trophy!

As in the 1981 International Final where there had also been a tied placing in the top three positions, it was decided that the bronze trophy would be awarded to the 4th placed team. This resulted in the Italians of Aosta-Pilaz being the only team competing in this International Final who did not receive a trophy for their troubles.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in European Archives

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