Enjoying Pétanque
If you’re looking for a pleasant and relaxing way to spend an hour or two on a Sunday afternoon, then you should definitely pop along to Masterton Pétanque Club. The terrain and clubrooms are located in the middle of Queen Elizabeth Park, so it’s a perfect, picturesque spot to either just sit and watch the games or perhaps be tempted to join in and participate in a fascinating game that on one hand is nice and simple, but on the other can be mischievously intricate.
Pétanque is French boules sport where players throw metal balls at a small wooden jack or cochonnet. Basically, the game consists of several ends, and is played on a piste or terrain - which at Masterton is a fine gravel surface about fourteen by three metres. A player steps into and must stay in a circle which is around half a metre diameter, and then tosses a boule toward the jack which is between six and ten metres from the players circle. An opposing player then steps up for a throw. From then on, the team whose boule is closest to the jack is ‘holding the end’ and the opposing team gets to throw the next boule. There are some tactics like pointing which is to throw the ball to land close to the target, and shooting which is to hit an opponent’s boule away. Once all the boules are thrown, the winning player or team is the one whose boule is closest to the jack and is awarded one point. The overall winner is the first team to reach thirteen points, or as in the case at club days in Masterton, the one with the most points after the 50-minute time limit.
Club captain Graeme Morris says that he has been researching Pétanque in New Zealand and thinks the Masterton club which was formed in 1994, is probably the second oldest in the country. “We have had a lot of representative players over the years, although we’ve all pretty much retired from serious competition now. We’re in a re-building phase, currently have about thirty members, and we would love to get some young ones involved in the club.”
The club meets twice a week, Sunday and Thursday afternoons. Graeme says that it is primarily a summer sport with all the major fixtures happening from October through to April or May, although they play throughout the year. The game can be played in singles, doubles or triples format and although Graeme says that doubles is the preferred combination, triples is the more traditional and tactical game. “That’s because you have a lead player who we call the pointer whose job is to get their boule close to the jack, and you have the shooter who will remove a ball. And then you have the milieu who’s the middle player who should be skilled in both.”
I popped along to the club on a sunny Sunday afternoon and found it thoroughly interesting and captivating. All the club members were more than happy to stop and chat about the game and its intricacies. Watching an end to see players like Sandra accurately aiming her throw to land right beside the jack three times in a row, or Dave smashing his opponents’ boules out of the way with pinpoint accuracy is amazingly satisfying. All this set in the middle of the town’s best park - you’d be silly not to drop in and have a look!
Here are a few of the common terms used in Pétanque:
The word Pétanque literally means foot fixed (to the ground)
Terrain The surface the game is played on. Usually gravel, crushed stone or dirt
Boule Hollow metal ball approximately 74 to 80mm diameter and weighing about 700 grams
Jack A small wooden ball (30mm) that the boules are thrown toward. Also called a Cochonnet which is French for piglet or little pig
Circle Players stand in the circle which is 35-50cm diameter to throw their boules
Pointing To throw your boule to land as close as possible to the jack
Shooting To hit your opponent’s boule away from the jack
All the photos are online on my Latest Sports Photos page or click here for a direct link
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