Petanque (pronounced “pay-tonk’) is a form of game that involves the use of a boule or a hollow metal ball thrown as close as possible to a small wooden ball called cochonnet or jack in a designated playing ground. It is normally played on hard dirt or gravel, sand, grass or other surfaces. The game originated in 1907 in France where it is now played by about 17 million people, excluding those in England, Spain, United States and Southeast Asia especially North Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Governed by certain rules, the game has its first tournament in 1910 and first world championship in 1959. Recent world championships were held in Geneva and Brussels in 2003 and in Pattaya, Thailand in 2007 when 52 teams from 50 countries participated. It is now gaining worldwide popularity because of its numerous benefits the players can get from.
Petanque is an integrated non-gender sport in which men and women compete on an equal basis with or against each other. It can be played outdoors or indoors in a covered terrain, without the need for a special skill or high level fitness on the part of the player. It is simple and relaxing but it can develop hand and eye coordination, thinking processes, problem-solving skill and teamwork. At its best, it provides lots of fun and a perfect way to make new friends from everywhere.
Petanque is played by two, four or six people in two teams or by individuals. It is a tete-a-tete when a one-on-one play with each player having three boules each. A doublet consists of two players against two with three boules each, and a triplette with three players against three, each having two boules. To start the game, a coin is tossed to decide who will play first. The starting player then draws on the ground a circle with a diameter of 35.5 centimeters from which, with both feet on the ground; he throws the jack six to 10 meters away. He throws his first boule nearest to the jack, after which a player of the opposite team follows. The game continues with the player not having a boule nearest to the jack to continue throwing until he lands a boule closer to the jack than his opponent or he runs out of boules. A winner receives one point for each boule nearest to the jack and has the higher number of points.
The game has three types of pointing throws—the high lob, half lob, and rolling throw. The high lob is the most difficult as it requires a lot of height and backspin to prevent the boule from rolling too much. The half lob is the most common because the boule is thrown on a lesser height to allow it to roll to the target spot upon hitting the ground. With the rolling throw, the boule is simply rolled from the circle to the cochonnet or jack. A boule is usually thrown underarm with the palm downwards for control of the boule by the backspin.
You will know that the best
petanque players choose the kind of boule to play with. The so-called “pointers” normally favor a small, heavy boule that can prove difficult for the opponent to displace, while the “shooters” choose a lighter one to give it a greater chance to remain in place after scoring the best shot known as carreau, which is knocking an opponent’s boule out of place.
