Taki is a ski lodge at Mt Hotham that Baard and Barbi helped build in 1965 and Trish became a member later. Last year the inaugural championship was held on the roughest downhill piste you've ever seen. Competing were half a dozen CPC members and a delightful couple Xiao Mei and Lothar, first met walking the Overland Trail in Tasmania earlier that year.

That game was so random due to the rocky track and Trish deemed Lothar should get the trophy because he had never played before yet he did at least one amazing shot. In one hour Mick and Keven knocked together a rough trophy from a piece of old firewood and Lothar took it home along with a puzzled look wondering how he'd won it. 'On merit' we exclaimed! It has remained in pride of place on their Bundoora mantlepiece for a year and returned this year.

Then something amazing happened. Last year one of the mountain management team had a chat with us as we were playing so Trish said "you should build a proper piste, there's plenty of room here". Imagine everyone's surprise on arrival to see two perfect pistes right outside Taki. So CPC now has a piste in the sky and a serious place to hold the competition. Preliminaries this year were played in a freezing wet gale on Tuesday. From that came the Principale of Mary & Trish vs Chris and Barbi and the Consolante of Mick & Xiao Mei vs Baard & Lothar. This was played out luckily on a sunny Wednesday. In the middle of the match Jason, the guy who had built the piste, loomed out of the snow gums. He had been working nearby and had heard the chink of boules. Much laughter and congratulations to him, he was thrilled to see it being used. In the end skill and luck showed through and Trish and Mary won.

This year the trophy makers were better prepared with gold spray paint and a few spare coches. The original trophy was converted to a perpetual one and individual ones were awarded to Lothar for last year and Trish and Mary for this year. A few grubby minds, funnily enough all female, laughed themselves silly because they saw erotic overtones in all 3 new trophies. The trophy makers denied all responsibility, cringing in embarrassment!