Eddie Waring is promoted from referee to co-presenter joining David Vine. Arthur Ellis - a former World Cup referee - assumes Waring's original role on the series. Shrewsbury are the first British team to win the Jeux Sans Frontières International Final, drawing in first place with Wolfsburg of West Germany.

It's A Knockout 1969

Presenters: David Vine and Eddie Waring / Referee: Arthur Ellis

Scoregirls: Pat Taylor, Diane Hecht and Jennifer Craven

Designer: Stuart Furber / Producer: Barney Colehan / Director: Philip S. Gilbert
A BBC North West Production

1969-01

It's A Knockout 1969

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 14th May 1969, 7.30-8.20pm
Recorded: Sunday 11th May 1969

Venue: Well Combe, Eastbourne, Sussex

Teams: Eastbourne v. Hastings

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
1st

 Hastings
 Eastbourne

10 *
10

Hastings qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Belgium: transmitted on 27th June 1969

* Note: This contest finished with both teams on equal points. Hastings won qualification for Europe on the toss of a coin.

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

1969-02

It's A Knockout 1969

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 21st May 1969, 7.30-8.20pm

Recorded: Sunday 18th May 1969, 5.00pm

Venue: The Quarry, Shrewsbury, Shropshire

Teams: Shrewsbury v. Chester

Shrewsbury Team Members:
Team Manager: Stuart Lister
Women - Gail Evans (17 years old), Ruth Elcock (16), Diane Whitney (16), Jackie Chidlow (17), Maureen Roberts (18), Olwen Lea (16), Tove Fjeld, Penny Kinsella, Bernice Davies (18) and Margaret Ratcliffe;
Men - Dave Moore (22), Chris Maydew (26), Glyn Ashton (28), Philip Wardle, Geoffrey Hunt (22), Charles Frank (30), Robert Davies (20), Malcolm Ibbotson (21), Kelvin McDonald (22), Roger Ratcliffe (30) and Shrewsbury Town FC footballers Peter Dolby, Ken Howells, Joe Healey and Paul Bevan.

Games included: Table Leap-Frog, Tug of War, Swings and Footballs, Escalator Football (Marathon Game)

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Shrewsbury
 Chester

14
5

Shrewsbury qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Great Britain: transmitted on 11th July 1969

Did You Know? Shrewsbury were given rousing support by a fifteen-strong team of 'cheer girls' in modish white jumpsuits. The team and cheer girls had their outfits provided by Maddox's Ltd., Silhouette Ltd. and Overy's Ltd., all of Shrewsbury.

Did You Also Know? There were nearly 10,000 people watching Shrewsbury put paid to Chester at The Quarry, Shrewsbury. The home town went into the lead straight away by winning their Joker game, but Chester quickly squared the game by winning the next two games. After this, Shrewsbury won all the remaining games, with the exception of the tug of war, which was drawn because the Chester pullers sat down and could not be moved. Shrewsbury team members were particularly pleased to win Chester's Joker game, Swings and Footballs, with Shrewsbury High School sixth-former Ruth Elcock proving herself the heroine of the day in that particular test. Later she commented that she hadn't expected the swings to soar so high above the ground. The Shrewsbury team also won the marathon game - escalator football - and qualified easily for the European heat in Edinburgh later in the summer.

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

1969-03

It's A Knockout 1969

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 28th May 1969, 7.30-8.20pm
Recorded: Sunday 25th May 1969

Venue: Cardiff, Wales

Teams: Cardiff v. Barry

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Cardiff
 Barry

-
-

Cardiff qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Italy: transmitted on 25th July 1969

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

1969-04

It's A Knockout 1969

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 4th June 1969, 7.30-8.20pm
Recorded: Sunday 1st June 1969

Venue: Dunbar, Scotland

Teams: Burntisland v. Dunbar

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Dunbar
 Burntisland

12
12

Dunbar qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Switzerland: transmitted on 8th August 1969

Did You Know? Dunbar won this round on the toss of a disc, with the tie drawn at 12 all.

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

1969-05

It's A Knockout 1969

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 11th June 1969, 7.30-8.20pm
Recorded: Sunday 8th June 1969

Venue: Castle Park, Bangor, Northern Ireland

Teams: Fermanagh v. Coleraine

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Coleraine
 Fermanagh

11
9

Coleraine qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Germany: transmitted on 22nd August 1969

Did You Know? It was decided to run a qualifying competition for this, the first It's A Knockout held in Northern Ireland. Ten teams fought it out for the two spots in the televised heat. After winning their quarter-final convincingly, Coleraine met Enniskillen in the semi-final and won through to meet Fermanagh in this It's A Knockout heat. Host town Bangor were one of the ten teams to compete but failed to qualify.

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

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

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

Presenters of International Heats: Paule Herreman and Jan Theys (B), Camillo Felgen (D), David Vine and Eddie Waring (GB), Enzo Tortora (I), Georges Kleinmann (CH)

Commentators (BBC): David Vine and Eddie Waring / International Referees: Gennaro Olivieri, Guido Pancaldi / Referee (BBC): Arthur Ellis

Producer (BBC): Barney Colehan
Produced by RTB-BRT (B), ARD-WDR (D), 
BBC North West (GB), RAI (I), SSR (CH)

 

Key: International Heats  l = Qualified for International Final / l = Heat Winner (Silver Trophy) International Final l = Gold Trophy   l = Silver Trophy   l = Bronze Trophy

1969-06

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 27th June 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
Recorded: Wednesday 25th June 1969

Venue: Markt (Main Square), Brugge, Belgium

Teams: Brugge (B) v. Lauingen (D) v. Hastings (GB) v. Adria (I) v. Interlaken (CH)

Team Members included:
Adria (I): Robert Amà, Licia Barzan, Gianfranco Bellato, Adriana Bevilacqua, Franco Costantini, Gastone Carraro, Luigi Carraro, Maria Pia Cavallari, Virgilio Crema, Nelko Domeneghetti, Andrea Facco, Raffaella Franzoso, Giorgio Freghina, Elena Maltarello, Tullio Malusa, Renzo Martello, Maria Mazzariol, Rino Moda, Franco Monti (Vice Team Captain), Pietro Morandin, Aldo Pasini (Team Captain), Donatella Pastore, Paolo Persuin, Giorgio Pozzati, Lucia Ranzato, Giovanni Rinaldi, Leandro Riondato, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Vanna Vanni, Paolo Vianello, Luciano Vomiero, Christina Zanchi

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 I • Adria l l
 B • Brugge l
 CH • Interlaken
 GB • Hastings
 D • Lauingen

33
31
29
26
23

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

Did You Also Know? Four members of the Italian team, Adria - Virgilio Crema, Maria Mazzariol, Paolo Scagnatto and Ruggero Stragliotto - represented their country on several occasions. All four participated again as members of the 1970 Bassano del Grappa team and with the Jésolo team of 1971. Maria Mazzariol and Ruggero Straglioto also represented Marostica in 1974, whilst Paolo Scagnetto featured in the Jésolo team in 1976.

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

1969-07

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 11th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
Recorded: Wednesday 9th July 1969

Venue: George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh, Scotland

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

Team Members included: Penny Kinsella, Sue Edwards, Jean Clark (GB • Shrewsbury)

Games included: Human-propelled Wooden Cars, Roller Skate Relay

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
2nd
4th
5th

 GB • Shrewsbury l l
 I • Lecco
 D • Weiden in der Oberpfalz
 CH • Lausanne
 B • Ixelles

32
30
30
29
19

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

1969-08

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 25th July 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
Recorded: Wednesday 23rd July 1969

Venue: Parco e Acquedotto di Vanvitelli (Park and Vanvitelli Aqueduct),
Palazzo Reale di Caserta (Royal Palace of Caserta), Caserta, Italy

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

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
4th

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

33
32
27
23
23

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

1969-09

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 8th August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
Recorded: Wednesday 6th August 1969

Venue: Martigny, Switzerland

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

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

 CH • Martigny l l
 I • Foggia
 D • Minden
 B • Halle
 GB • Dunbar

35
34
28
24
21

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

1969-10

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 22nd August 1969, 9.05-10.20pm
Recorded: Wednesday 20th August 1969

Venue: Schloßpark (Castle Park), Wolfsburg, West Germany

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

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th

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

34
32
30
25
22

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

1969-11

Jeux Sans Frontières 1969

International Final

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 3rd September 1969, 9.05-10.20pm (Live)

Venue: South Promenade and Bathing Pool, Blackpool, Great Britain

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

Team Members included:

Shrewsbury (GB): Bob Davies, Brian Wenlock, Bill Thelwell, Mike Franks, John Jones, Ken Bryars, Glyn Ashton, Geoff Hunt, Kelvin McDonald, Philip Poole, Roger Ratcliffe, Gerald Downes, Stephen Bryant, Dave Moore and Malcolm Cowdrey;
Adria (I): Robert Amà, Licia Barzan, Gianfranco Bellato, Adriana Bevilacqua, Franco Costantini, Gastone Carraro, Luigi Carraro, Maria Pia Cavallari, Virgilio Crema, Nelko Domeneghetti, Andrea Facco, Raffaella Franzoso, Giorgio Freghina, Elena Maltarello, Tullio Malusa, Renzo Martello, Maria Mazzariol, Rino Moda, Franco Monti (Vice Team Captain), Pietro Morandin, Aldo Pasini (Team Captain), Donatella Pastore, Paolo Persuin, Giorgio Pozzati, Lucia Ranzato, Giovanni Rinaldi, Leandro Riondato, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Vanna Vanni, Paolo Vianello, Luciano Vomiero, Christina Zanchi

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
1st
3rd
4th
5th

 GB • Shrewsbury l
 D • Wolfsburg l
 B • Brugge l
 I • Adria l
 CH • Martigny

32
32
31
26
24

Did You Know? The competition drawn after the final event, a tie-breaker was arranged. This was not intended to declare a winner, but to decide which team would have the Golden Trophy to keep in their council chambers. This tie-breaker was won by the German team from Wolfsburg, so they had the right to take the trophy, even though the result was a draw.

At a reception later, it was announced that the German team had decided to hand the trophy over to Shrewsbury as they felt that both teams deserved the trophy. The organisers agreed to later present Wolfsburg with an exact replica of the Golden Trophy. A remarkable and creditable gesture from the German team.

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

Did You Also Know? The prize money for the team winning the competition was £4,000, with £2,000 for finishing in second place. As joint-winners, Shrewsbury and Wolfsburg shared £6,000, going home from Blackpool with £3,000 a team.

Did You Also Know? Shrewsbury performed a rare feat in Jeux Sans Frontières history. In their journey that lead to their winning the Golden Trophy, they didn't once step outside their home territory. They played their domestic heat in Shrewsbury, Great Britain, their international heat in Edinburgh, Great Britain and competed in the International Final in Blackpool, Great Britain. This has only been equalled on four occasions, by Como (Italy) in 1970, Acores (Portugal) in 1989, Vigevano (Italy) in 1991 and Bolzano Sudtirol (Italy) in 1999. The last instance is not as out of the ordinary as those previous, as all 1999 heats were staged in Italy!

Made in B/W • This programme is thought to exist in the BBC Archives as 625 line VT

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