We speak to four titans of FIPPA's newest affiliate - Peru
Peru held its first ever international tournament on 1/3 December 2023 at the Club de Regatas, Lima. José Antonio Pereyra, Alvaro Dammert and Manuel Ferrer are all members of the Pitch and Putt Board at the San Antonio based club. Pedro Carranza is the Club Captain of Club de Regatas.This quartet kindly collaborated with fippa.org for the following interview.
Q. How pleased are you with the entry for the tournament?
A. First of all, the tournament was organized to inaugurate our new Pitch and Putt course. That is why we invited Pablo Caviedes from Chilean P&P Federation (FECHPP) and Patricio Rubel from FIPPA, who had already visited us in 2021. They knew about our course and the plans we had to expand it.
A total of 40, 20 Chilean and 20 local players, participated in this tournament. Support from de FECHPP and FIPPA in the players' call for applications was very good. Although we were enthusiastic to have players from other countries, they couldn’t make it. However we had a great experience and a wonderful time.
Q. Did the logistics work satisfactorily? (e.g. accommodation, transportation, social aspect, timesheets, scoreboards, etc)
A. Yes, indeed! We worked hard planning to give our visitors all the information in advance regarding accommodations and transportation with the valuable help and coordination of Pablo Caviedes; also provided information of our Club, which has superb facilities for us, members, and guests as well. We heard very good and nice comments during the entire weekend.
Regarding the tournament, it was developed very neatly in schedules, driving range and putting green for warming-up properly distributed, new scorecards, support from our field Marshall and two assistants, snacks and beverages. The social aspect of the event was excellent, maybe unbeatable.
Q. At what stage is the construction of the course? (is it now complete, is there a possibility of 18 holes eventually?)
A. The course is completed with 9 holes with two tee boxes each, giving us 18 holes.
We are very proud to have the support of a remarkable professional such as Agustín Pizá, founder of ”Pizá Golf International”, an award winning firm, specializing in golf course design (www.pizagolf.com). Agustín designed and supervised our Pitch and Putt course construction.
Q. Is a Peruvian Association being formed and is it still the intention to apply join FIPPA?
A. It has been our longtime goal to become members of FIPPA. We have already filed an application and are expecting formal acceptance. As of now we are the only Club with a Pitch and Putt course in Perú and we expect other clubs to follow. At that time an association will be formed.
Q. What are the key next steps in the development of Pitch and Putt in Peru? (Do you believe there is scope for multiple courses in the country)?
A. Our Pitch and Putt course in Club de Regatas “Lima” is the first one in Perú, nicely designed and built. So far, we don’t have information about other courses; it would be great to have more, in order to develop the sport in Perú.
Q. Will Peru play in the 2024 World Cup?
A. We will be very pleased and honoured to receive an invitation.
Q. Describe your own role within Pitch and Putt in Peru.
A. Our institution, The Club de Regatas "Lima", is a non-profit civil association in Lima, Peru, founded on April 26, 1875, and its purpose is to promote and develop, among its members, cultural and sporting activities. Currently the club offers 41 sports, including Pitch and Putt.. As with all the sports being practiced at Club de Regatas "Lima", our next goal is to promote Pitch and Putt within the institution, looking forward to developing a Pitch and Putt academy, especially focused on children. For now, any member and its family, can receive free classes at the beach branch, Club de Regatas "Lima" in San Antonio, where the new and beautiful Pitch and Putt course is situated.
Furthermore, along with internal and local competitions, we expect to host more tournaments as part of an international calendar. Being part of FIPPA, which was our ambitious goal a few years ago, will help us make it happen.
Event MC Antonio, Manuel, Alvaro and Pedro all participated in the tournament.