Anyone here have any petanque in winter suggestions?

thanks,
Eric, in Alaska

Petanque in winter? No Problem!

Greg Messenbaum
-President / Hawaii Petanque Club

May I suggest you play "soft petanque" (pétanque molle).

"Ideal for cold winters, and rainy summer days: indoor petanque.
For use on carpet, tile, hardwood, any floor where you can't use steel boules.
They look and feel like softballs, only softer.
These boules are excellent to practice your shooting."

Available from:

http://www.petanque-america.com/inpeset.html


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1bav9_didier-choupay-demo-petanque-molle

http://www.petanquemolle.com/

Have fun playing soft petanque,

Guy

Guy & Greg,
Good replies to my winter petanque question. Greg, I gather you're suggesting that we just go-for-the-gusto out in the snow? Thanks for the moral support. A broom, a relatively cleared area after sweeping away the snow might make for an interesting match of Petanque.

Guy, great links, I'll see what they have to say/show for petanque molle! Softball? I'd sure miss that distinct, pleasant "HEFT" of the steel boule that we enjoy during warmer climes.

kind regards,
Eric

While we may only have 1 or 2 snow days a year in Dallas, my suggestion is a pair of gloves and MS CARA "Turtle" boules. My favorite for wet and/or snow conditions. Have fun in the snow.
F. William Baker
Dallas, Texas USA

MS Cara Inox boules... how lucky for me! I have the exact type! I'm excited to try them out in a Michigan snowstorm.

MS Cara Inox boules? Where are they sold? Steel? wood? plastic? There were some other boules recommended, ,,which I did NOT like, that resembled none other than bean-bags. Not my taste I suppose but perfect for the indoor, carpet boulise.

MS Cara Inox? Hmmm, I'll have to search it online?

Try the Petanque America website, look under Competition Boules - you'll see the MS brand... click into that and you'll see the carbon-steel tortoise boules - similar to the Cara Inox (stainless steel).

I like the feel of the surface of these boules - and perhaps they act like a snow-tire and dig into the "slippery" pistes better...

Then again - I still think it's 95% player and 5% equipment.

Jeff (and Greg & Guy)

I'll have to make the most of it, in regards to winter snowfall and the effects of it on Petanque. Was it Greg or Guy, who said just a pair of gloves and voila', start playing.

I imagine it will cause a certain amount of slip and slide, but if the "terrain" is at least sweeped away of deep snow by a shovel and then broom, it might make for an exciting game. Unique to dry land terrain of course. Maybe the tactics employed in curling might come into play. Obviously no ice of course, just swept, packed-down snow.

Jeff, great leads, I found the "turtle" boules by MS. They look sharp and not to mention a tadbit more expensive.

See pictures of petanque sur neige in Quebec, Canada.

http://www.boulistenaute.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=29

Guy

Guy,
great link; I checked it out and Uff-da, they've more snow than we do here in Alaska (so far).

I imagine , based on those fotos, that if they had shoveled just a little more, they may have had more earth to play on, versus the three or four inches of snow that they appeared to be making use of.

I bet a nice mixture of snow, raked-up frozen earth would make for a nice playable mixture.

great!

regards,
Eric

I guess my post about wintertime Petanque is sort of dull for those folks basking in sunshine?

Well, we played one "round" sotospeak, generally "best of three". Quite fun, for those of us in the northern latitudes! Snow plays a certain effect on the boule, almost acts like super-soft sand: whereby one can execute a throw that can in fact be influenced by hand/arm english. Great fun!

Petanque!!