I thought I would bend your ears about this one as it's bugged me for a while. I often find myself playing the last boules of the end, and I have developed the habit of scrubbing out the circle I have just played from once all boules have been played. It is a habit I developed in club/leisure play mainly as a courtesy to avoid numerous circles on the terrain and subsequent confusion. It has now become automatic and completely involuntary.

My questions are:

a) am I allowed to do this (or could I be accused of clearing the terrain - similar in nature to the illegal practice of smoothing over old pitch marks/removing stones etc during a game)? In contemplation I suppose I could be accused of attempting to derive an advantage from this, particularly if the game is played in 'lanes' and my team are to throw the cochonet in the next end?

b) what are the possible sanctions?

I know I have done it in competitions, but have never been challenged - but I'm worried that I could be, and worse still seen to be 'unsportsmanlike'.

Extract from:

Article 6 – Start of Play – Rules Regarding the Circle

The area within the circle may be completely cleared during the end but it must be restored when the end is finished or, at the latest, before the start of the next end.

It seems you are not allowed to do that!

Guy

I found the following under the RULES section of the forum. It may be useful to you.



*****Do I have to erase the circle that we have just used when the end is over?
2001-01-16 14:41

No, but the team about to throw the cochonnet must erase any previous throwing circle located near the new one (article 24).
It is perfectly acceptable for a team to erase the circle that they have just finished using as long as they do not excessively 'garden' the area.

SNIP I have developed the habit of scrubbing out the circle I have just played from once all boules have been played.

While I was having my morning cereal bowl, I thought about my answer and your question.

I can now see I answered too fast!
By scrubbing out the circle, you are in fact 'restoring the area of the circle" Just what the rules say to do! Congratulation!

Guy

Thanks Gary. Guess I should have realised that myself!

Guy

Thanks for that, but my interpretation of the 'restoring the area of the circle' rule is that when drawing the circle you are allowed to remove articles from said area while the end is in play (stones, twigs etc) but these must be replaced after the end has finished - i.e. replacing those items which were removed. I may be wrong of course.

Colin

Players may always remove their circles at the end of their ends ! Since Grenoble 2006 (the last week FIPJP meeting) artificial (materialised) circles are allowed and you may pick them up when finishing an end.

Thanks Jac.

This raises a question though - Has the FIPJP issued a rule about accidental or deliberate movement of an artificial circle during an end? Bet they have, but can see that disputes could arise (as I guess a circle made of plastic could be easily kicked to a different position).

Our team members take a Global Positioning readings of each boule, the cochonnet, AND the artificial circle so to be able to re-position the "pieces" if moved by accident/purpose.

Of course, this adds lots of time to the game, and about $50,000 in costs (for the military quality GPS unit) - but it's all worthwhile for accurate petanque!

Jeff Widen

Detroit Petanque Club
Detroit, Michigan USA

Sometimes I think the culture of petanque has not been translated well from French to English.

Ha ha! Very witty. I am of course refering to Sport-Petanque here (I couldn't give a stuff if things move a little in social play).

Of course, one could 'mark' the position of the artificial circle by tracing a line on the ground around it's circumference. ;-)

That's what a lot of players did in Grenoble!

I agree 100%! You have to remember that the French have been playing for almost 100 years and that a “culture” has grown up around the game. The emphasis is, usually on “Fair-play” and “Conviviality”.

In contrast, others who are new to the game haven’t experienced “how the game is really played” but have read the rules and attempt to play rigidly to the letter of the rules, irrespective of the context and whether or not it’s an informal social game or an important competition.

Regarding erasing the circle. There is a degree of ambiguity and interpretation in the rules, which has been reflected in postings on the forum. My own take, for what it’s worth, is that the circles shouldn’t automatically be erased at the end of an end. They become part of the terrain and should be left. The rules do state that only circles near the playing circle should be erased.

This also raises another point about the “culture” of the game. If you’re playing “open terrain” on a large terrain, then circles shouldn’t be a problem. Why? Because the spirit of the game is that you should move around the terrain, choosing where to play, NOT playing up and down the same spot, which some players do!

If you are playing up and down the same terrain, which of course you have to do in competitions on marked terrains where space is limited, then you will simply erase circles near the playing circle.

One anecdote as to why it’s wrong to automatically erase circles. In a League game, we had boules to play but the opponents erased the circle upon playing their last boule! Fortunately common sense prevailed and we played from where we agreed the circle was.

Rather than lose sleep about interpretation of the letter of the law, why not ask, “does it matter” whether the circle is erased or not? Probably not.

Given the various ambiguities and interpretations about the rules, I do think a rewrite, in a clear, unambiguous style would help.