It's A Knockout and Jeux Sans Frontières boldly enter the new decade and appear for the first time in colour. On the international stage, France return to JSF after a year out, and Netherlands join in the fun for the first time, making the 1970 series the biggest yet.

This year also saw the first of the fifteen annual It’s A Christmas Knockout specials, with Great Britain and the Netherlands doing battle against each other in the heat held at Leiden in the Netherlands.

It's A Knockout 1970

Presenters: David Vine and Eddie Waring / Referee: Arthur Ellis
Designer: Stuart Furber / Producer: Barney Colehan / Director: Ian Smith
A BBC North West Production

1970-01

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Thursday 30th April 1970, 8.00-8.45pm (Pre-recorded)

Venue: South Marine Park, South Shields, County Durham

Teams: South Shields v. Tynemouth

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 South Shields
 Tynemouth

12
9

South Shields qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Italy: transmitted on 10th July 1970

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

1970-02

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 6th May 1970, 7.30-8.20pm (Pre-recorded)

Venue: Phear Park, Exmouth, Devon

Teams: Exmouth v. Weymouth

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Exmouth
 Weymouth

11
10

Exmouth qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Switzerland: transmitted on 17th July 1970

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

1970-03

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 13th May 1970, 8.00-8.50pm (Pre-recorded)

Venue: Duthie Park, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire

Teams: Aberdeen v. Arbroath

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Aberdeen
 Arbroath

14
4

Aberdeen qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Belgium: transmitted on 31st July 1970

Did You Know?  Some 20,000 people attended the recording in Aberdeen's Duthie Park. By the fifth game, Aberdeen were leading 10-0. In the end, Aberdeen won six games and drew two.

Did You Also Know? The location of this heat holds the record for the most-northerly venue of any It’s A Knockout or Jeux Sans Frontières programme.

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

1970-04

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 20th May 1970, 8.00-8.50pm
Recorded: Sunday 17th May 1970

Venue: Weaverton Gardens, Rhyl, Flintshire

Teams: Rhyl v. Caernarfon

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Caernarfon
 Rhyl

11
10

Caernarvon qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in France: transmitted on 7th August 1970

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

1970-05

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 27th May 1970, 8.00-8.50pm
Recorded: Sunday 24th May 1970

Venue: Beaconsfield Recreational Ground, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

Teams: Great Yarmouth v. Lowestoft

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Lowestoft
 Great Yarmouth

11
10

Lowestoft qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Great Britain: transmitted on 21st August 1970. Great Yarmouth also qualified for JSF in Germany (transmitted on 4th September 1970) as the winner of the tie-breaker game between the four highest scoring second-placed teams, which was held on Sunday 31st May 1970 at Ramsgate.

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

1970-06

It's A Knockout 1970

Heat 6

BBC1 Transmission: Wednesday 3rd June 1970, 8.00-8.50pm
Recorded: Sunday 31st May 1970

Venue: Marina Bathing Pool, Ramsgate, Kent

Teams: Ramsgate v. Margate

Team Members included:
Margate - Daryll Harding, Shirley Tomlinson, Christine James, Michelle Campbell, Heather Campbell, Bert Joy, Terry Rossiter, Gilleen Rossiter, Dave Wornham, Les Chambers, Jack Harris, Vic Tyler, and Kevin Fletcher

Games: ‘Tea for Two’, ‘Saucepan Paddle’, ‘Riding the Wave’, ‘The Indian Tents’, ‘Podium Hop’, ‘Swaying Footbridge’, ‘The Limbo Pole’ (Marathon) and ‘The Iceberg’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 Margate
 Ramsgate

11
10

Margate qualified for Jeux Sans Frontières in Netherlands: transmitted on 28th August 1970

Did You Know? After this heat had been held, four of 1970s six losing teams - Great Yarmouth, Ramsgate, Rhyl and Weymouth - were tied on 10 points each as the losers with the highest scores. An additional game was held after the Ramsgate v. Margate event which pitched the four teams against each other in a tie-breaker, with victory going to Great Yarmouth.

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

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Entrants 1970: Belgium (B) • France (F) • West Germany (D) • Great Britain (GB)
Netherlands (NL) • Italy (I) • Switzerland (CH) 

Presenters of International Heats: Paule Herreman and Michael Lemaire (B), Guy Lux (F), Camillo Felgen and Tim Elstner (D), David Vine and Eddie Waring (GB), Dick Passchier (NL), Renata Mauro and Giulio Marchetti (I), Mascia Cantoni and Tiziano Colotti (CH)

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

Producer (BBC): Barney Colehan / Director: Alan Chivers
Produced by RTB-BRT (B), ORTF (F), ARD-WDR (D), 
BBC North West (GB), NCRV (NL), 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

Did You Know? Heats 2 (Switzerland) and 3 (Belgium) were made and transmitted in black and white. The remainder were made in colour - the first series of Jeux Sans Frontières to be transmitted in this way.

1970-07

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 1

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 10th July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Tuesday 9th June 1970

Venue: Villa Olmo, Como, Italy

Theme: Games on the Lake

Teams: Deurne (B) v. Albi (F) v. Kelheim (D) v. South Shields (GB) v. Dronten (Flevoland) (NL) v. Como (I) v. Schwyz (CH)

Team Members included:
Como (I): Giampiero Ajani, Aurelio Balestrieri, Ezio Bardelli, Mario Brunello, Cristina Caimi, Andrea Castiglia, Elvira Cavicchioni, Giovanni Comerci, Antonio Converso, Sergio Favaron, Lia Giudici, Margherita Giudici, Luigi Greco, Anna Marchetti, Emilia Martini, Graziella Monti, Emy Montini, Milli Meri, Calogero Napoli, Pietro Normanno, Giovanna Rossi, Antonio Stabile, Fulvia Rupcich, Giuseppe Tantardini, Guido Tenconi, Giuseppe Terzo, Paola Valsecchi, Adriana Verdicchi, Alberta Viannello

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 I • Como l l
 D • Kelheim
 CH • Schwyz
 NL • Dronten (Flevoland)
 F • Albi
 B • Deurne
 GB • South Shields

40
38
37
36
32
31

25

Did You Know? The animated opening credits this year lasted 1 minute 34 seconds, and were used to introduce each country individually using stereotypical ideas. Belgium was portrayed with car travel and accuracy, Switzerland with skiing and train travel, West Germany with sporting and leisure activity, France with the ‘Can-Can’ and champagne, Great Britain with the City gent and the double-decker bus, Italy with music and gondoliers and the Netherlands with flower-sellers.

Did You Also Know? Jokers were permitted to be played on the last game until the end of 1971, when the rules were changed and teams had to play their Jokers on the games on which teams missed out (i.e. Games 1-7). The result was that for this year and 1971 there was an imbalance of the highest achievable score (dependant on where it was played) because the last game carried 14 points if the Joker was played, whereas the other playable games carried a maximum of 12 pts on the Joker.

Did You Also Know? The main scoreboard this year was manually operated and the leading teams were displayed in position order after each game (as it was in the 1980s). Each of the seven name-places was made up of a roller which had all seven teams’ names printed on it along with the ident letters of the country represented, so that each of the teams could be displayed at any of the seven positions, despite its position and score. Jokers were displayed on the scoreboard as small white boxes next to the running total of the team, as opposed to later series when these were replaced by an ‘X’.

Made in Colour • This programme exists in the BBC Archives

1970-08

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 2

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 17th July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Wednesday 24th June 1970

Venue: Lugano, Switzerland

Theme: The Customs of the City

Teams: Zelzate (B) v. Aix-les-Bains (F) v. Uelzen (D) v. Exmouth (GB) v. Assen (NL) v. Acquasparta (I) v. Poschiavo (CH)

Games: ‘The Mill’, ‘Eggs’, ‘Flowered Cords’, ‘Billiards’, ‘The Beer’, ‘The Rollers’, ‘At the Bar’, ‘On the Lake’ (Jeu Intermédiaire) and ‘The Marriage Ceremony’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 F • Aix-les-Bains l l
 D • Uelzen
 B • Zelzate
 I • Acquasparta
 GB • Exmouth
 NL • Assen

 CH • Poschiavo

48
41
37
37
34
31

25

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

1970-09

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 3

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 31st July 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Wednesday 8th July 1970

Venue: Parc Louise-Marie (Louise-Marie Park), Namur, Belgium

Theme: Local Folklore

Teams: Namur (B) v. Lille (F) v. Delmenhorst (D) v. Aberdeen (GB) v. Genemuiden (NL) v. Siracusa (Sicilia) (I) v. Vevey (CH)

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 CH • Vevey l l
 B • Namur l
 NL • Genemuiden
 F • Lille
 GB • Aberdeen
 D • Delmenhorst
 I • Siracusa (Sicilia)

42
42
37
34
32
29
27

Did You Know? Aberdeen started well in Namur, won the first two games, came a close second in the third game, but then faded. They finished 5th overall. The programme opened with eight members of the Bon Accord Ladies Pipe Band playing a tune!

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

1970-10

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 4

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 7th August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Wednesday 22nd July 1970

Venue: Stade Olympique Piscine (Olympic Swimming Pool Stadium), Avignon, France
Weather Conditions: Dry and Warm

Theme: Games In, Above and Around the Pool
Winner’s Trophy presented by: Mayor of Avignon

Teams: Ath (B) v. Avignon (F) v. Radevormwald (D) v. Caernarfon (GB) v. Bolsward (NL) v. Barletta (I) v. Savognin (CH)

Games (translated from French titles seen in transmitted programme): ‘All Against One’, ‘The High Men’, ‘Aquatic Obstacle Race’, ‘The Cyclists’, ‘The Space Walkers’, ‘Crossing the Ford’, ‘The Flying Rugby Ball’, ‘The Bottles’ (Jeu Intermédiare) and ‘Don Quixote’
Jokers: Heraldic Cards

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 D • Radevormwald l l
 B • Ath
 I • Barletta
 CH • Savognin
 F • Avignon
 NL • Bolsward
 GB • Caernarfon

48
40
37
36
32
30
26

Did You Know? When the teams were introduced on to the poolside, each held a placard displaying its name and country. On the placard of Great Britain (and the master scoreboard) was printed ‘Carnaervon’, which is strange because that has never been an Anglicised spelling of the Welsh town's name. The Welsh spelling is 'Caernarfon' and the Anglicised spellings are 'Caernarvon' and 'Carnarvon'. The Radio Times used 'Caernarvon' in its listing of this heat. We have elected to use the Welsh spelling.

Did You Also Know? The West German team, Radevormwald qualified for this heat by beating Bocholt in their domestic heat, which was held at the town’s Kollenberg Stadion on Saturday 16th May. The heat comprised of eleven games, and each team could play their Joker on any of the first ten. After losing the first 3 games, Radevormwald were trailing 0-6 but then played their Joker and scored 4 pts. But Bocholt retained the lead throughout the competition until the last game where the score was 10-12. However with double points on the last game, the Radevormwald team stormed home to grab the 4 pts and won by 14-12. An incredible fight back from the home team!

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

1970-11

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 5

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 21st August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Wednesday 5th August 1970

Venue: Castle Grounds, Cardiff, Wales, Great Britain

Theme: Games at the Castle

Teams: Genk (B) v. Reims (F) v. Kleve (D) v. Lowestoft (GB) v. Hoogland (NL) v. Rimini (I) v. Locarno (CH)

Games: ‘The Snake’, ‘Toboggans and Wires’, ‘Tubes and Balloons’, ‘The Bolsters’, ‘The Uneven Balance’, ‘The Convicts’, ‘Damsels in Distress’, ‘The Swivelling Donkey’ (Jeu Intermédiaire) and ‘The Drunken Sailors’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
1st
3rd
3rd
5th
6th
7th

 B • Genk l
 CH • Locarno l
 I • Rimini
 GB • Lowestoft
 F • Reims
 NL • Hoogland
 D • Kleve

40
40
37
37
32
26
22

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

1970-12

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 6

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 28th August 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Friday 21st August 1970

Venue: Grote Markt (Main Square), Groningen, Netherlands

Theme: The Groningen City Festival

Teams: Verviers (B) v. Angoulême (F) v. Andernach (D) v. Margate (GB) v. Aalten (NL) v. Bassano del Grappa (I) v. Estavayer-le-Lac (CH)

Team Members included:
Margate (GB) - Daryll Harding, Shirley Tomlinson, Christine James, Michelle Campbell, Heather Campbell, Bert Joy, Terry Rossiter, Gilleen Rossiter, Dave Wornham, Les Chambers, Jack Harris, Vic Tyler, and Kevin Fletcher
Bassano del Grappa (I) - Giacomo Andriolo, Micaela Bariani, Ausilio Basso, Sandra Berti, Lucia Comis, Virgilio Crema, Ornella Fabris, Christiana Ferraro, Wilma Fontana, Giovanni Forner, Giorgio Giacobbo, Maria Mazzariol, Claudio Merlo, Sandra Milani, Fiorenzo Operti, Giuliano Pasuello, Walter Rubin, Paolo Scagnetto, Ruggero Stragliotto, Antonio Tasca, Ferruccio Tasca, Paolo Tagnin, Franco Toborchi, Luciano Trento, Stefano Zampieri

Games: ‘The Trolleys’, ‘Slalom Up the Scale’, ‘The Big Rollers’, ‘Swinging the Vases’, ‘The Antipodes’, ‘The Curtain Fabric’, ‘The Dutch Façade’, ‘The Flying Mosquitoes’ (Jeu Intermédiaire) and ‘The Russian Mountains’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 B • Verviers l l
 NL • Aalten
 F • Angoulême
 D • Andernach
 GB • Margate
 CH • Estavayer-le-Lac
 I • Bassano del Grappa

43
39
36
35
32
28
28

Did You Know? Before the British team departed for London’s Heathrow Airport, Ronnie Corbett - now known as one half of double-act ‘The Two Ronnies’ - turned up in the pouring rain outside the Council Offices in Margate’s Cecil Square, to help the Mayor - Councillor W.C. Goodrich - give the team a rousing send-off. The pint-sized Scottish comedian, who was appearing at the resort’s Winter Gardens Theatre, arrived in his large silver Bentley and said, “I just had to come to see the lads and lassies off. They are such a grand lot and I hope they win in Europe”.

Did You Also Know? In the dress rehearsal for this event, Italian team Bassano del Grappa finished in first place, whilst Great Britain team Margate finished fourth ahead of Belgian team Verviers which finished in seventh place. And Margate became the first British team this year to win two games in a heat!

Did You Also Know? Four members of Italian team Bassano del Grappa - Virgilio Crema, Maria Mazzariol, Paolo Scagnetto and Ruggero Stragliotto - had previously participated in 1970 as members of Italian team Adria, and all featured again in 1971 for Jésolo. Team member Wilma Fontana also participated in the teams of Jésolo (1971), Marostica (1974) and Jésolo (1976).

Did You Also Know? The team from this heat's host town, Groningen, were beaten by Aalten in the Dutch Domestic series Zeskamp and therefore failed to earn the right to participate in the event staged in their home town!

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

1970-13

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

Heat 7

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 4th September 1970, 9.10-10.25pm
Recorded: Wednesday 2nd September 1970

Venue: Zoologischer Gärten (Zoological Gardens), Hansaviertel, West-Berlin, West Germany

Theme: Stories of the City of Berlin

Teams: Woluwe-Saint-Lambert (B) v. Saint-Malo (F) v. Gelnhausen (D) v. Great Yarmouth (GB) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) v. Ancona (I) v. Widnau (CH)

Games: ‘The Brewers’, ‘The Berlin Policemen’, ‘The Giraffes’, ‘The Berlin Bear’, ‘The Hens and the Eggs’, ‘The Frogs’, ‘The Berlin Hippopotamus’, ‘Transporting Balloons’ (Jeu Intermédiaire) and ‘Toboggans’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 D • Gelnhausen l
 NL • Alphen aan den Rijn l
 GB • Great Yarmouth l
 CH • Widnau
 B • Woluwe-Saint-Lambert
 F • Saint-Malo
 I • Ancona

43
40
37
34
32
28
23

Did You Know? British teams Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth both finished their heats in 3rd place with 37 pts each. However, under ‘Jeux Sans Frontières’ rules, Great Yarmouth qualified for the International Final by virtue of having been placed 1st on three games, as opposed to Lowestoft’s two. Incidentally, Great Yarmouth won the last game which secured its 3rd game win in the heat. Talk about leaving it to the last minute!

Did You Also Know? Before the last game, the Dutch team Alphen aan den Rijn were lying in a protected 2nd place (as they were already 6pts clear of Great Yarmouth in 3rd). To qualify for the International Final, they needed to secure a 1st place overall or score 4pts to better the 2nd place score of rivals Aalten with 39 pts. The West German side Gelnhausen were leading by 1pt but were determined to win and came 2nd on the game. The Dutch team, like the British (see ‘Did You Know?’ above) finished the game in 4th place and scored the all-important 4pts to give them the extra point they needed to qualify for the International Final!

Did You Also Know? As with Dutch team Groningen in International Heat 6, West-Berlin were beaten by Gelnhausen in the West German Domestic series Telematch and also failed to earn the right to feature in their own home heat!

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

1970-14

Jeux Sans Frontières 1970

International Final

BBC1 Transmission: Friday 18th September 1970, 9.20-10.35pm
Recorded: Wednesday 16th September 1970

Venue: Amphitheatre Romano (Roman Amphitheatre), Verona, Italy

Theme: The Games of the Romans

Teams: Verviers (B) v. Aix-les-Bains (F) v. Radevormwald (D) v. Great Yarmouth (GB) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL) v. Como (I) v. Vevey (CH)

Team Members included:
Como (I): Giampiero Ajani, Aurelio Balestrieri, Ezio Bardelli, Mario Brunello, Cristina Caimi,
Andrea Castiglia, Elvira Cavicchioni, Giovanni Comerci, Antonio Converso, Sergio Favaron, Lia Giudici, Margherita Giudici, Luigi Greco, Anna Marchetti, Emilia Martini, Graziella Monti, Emy Montini, Milli Meri, Calogero Napoli, Pietro Normanno, Giovanna Rossi, Antonio Stabile,
Fulvia Rupcich, Giuseppe Tantardini, Guido Tenconi, Giuseppe Terzo, Paola Valsecchi,
Adriana Verdicchi, Alberta Viannello

Games: ‘The Emperors’, ‘The Iron Ball’, ‘Dragons and Gladiators’, ‘Centaur and the Nymph’, ‘Flying the Flags’, ‘The High Tower’, ‘The Horn of Plenty’ (The Cornucopia), ‘Castor and Pollox’ (Jeu Intermédiaire) and ‘Romeo and Juliet’

Result:

 Team:

Points:

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

 I • Como l
 NL • Alphen aan den Rijn l
 D • Radevormwald l
 B • Verviers
 GB • Great Yarmouth
 F • Aix-les-Bains
 CH • Vevey

42
40
37
31
30
26
25

Did You Know? The 1970 International Final was played out in an appropriately gladiatorial fashion (considering the setting), with Como pressing their home advantage to the full. Even the thunderstorm that passed over the amphitheatre could not prevent the Italian team from becoming the European Champions.

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

It's A Christmas Knockout 1970

Commentators: David Vine and Eddie Waring (GB),
Dick Passchier and Barend Barendse (NL)

Referees: Arthur Ellis and Ben Bril

Producers: Barney Colehan and Dick Van Bommel / Director: Dick Van 'T Sant
Produced by BBC North West (GB), NCRV (NL)

1970-15

It's A Christmas Knockout 1970

Christmas Special

BBC1 Transmission: Saturday 26th December 1970, 2.25-3.15pm (Boxing Day)
Recorded: Tuesday 8th and Wednesday 9th December 1970

Venue: Leiden, Netherlands

Theme: Festive Fun

Teams: Great Yarmouth (GB) v. Alphen aan den Rijn (NL)

Team Members included:
Great Yarmouth (GB): Peter Bonetti and John Hollins from Chelsea Football Club;

Alphen aan den Rijn (NL): Jan Van Beveren of PSV Eindhoven Football Club and Johan Cruyff of Ajax Football Club

Result:

 Team:

Points:

1st
2nd

 NL • Alphen aan den Rijn
 GB • Great Yarmouth

-
-

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

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