Jimmy Westfield send us his observations:
As a newcomer to the game of petanque from the Santa Barbara area of California, I was advised to become familiar with the rules of the game in order to avoid being cheated by some of the sharks who I’m told take advantage of beginners by imposing questionable interpretations in situations that most always favor their gambit.
THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL RULES OF THE GAME OF PETANQUE
Official Rules of the Game of Pétanque
General
Article 1 – Composition of Teams
Pétanque is a sport in which:
- 3 players play against 3 players (triples)
It can also be played by:
- 2 players against 2 players (doubles)
- 1 player against 1 player (singles)
In triples each player uses two boules.
In doubles and in singles each player uses three boules.
No other version of the game is allowed.
Well, I was driving through Sonoma recently and witnessed what I believed to be unusual activity on the petang courts there. Fortunately, I had my telephoto lens ready to go and snapped this picture (a little grainy…sorry), as evidence to what I believe to be an Illegal Petang Sighting.
I haven’t really gotten too far in my reading of the rules, just a couple of pages really. But I recalled having studied how many players can play and with how many balls they may play with.
On my return home, I immediately went to the Rules posting on your site because this was really bugging me. Imagine my surprise when I verified that I had actually witnessed a Page 1 violation!
I knew something was fishy as the players seemed to be masking their faces against identification…it was rather cold that day though… Upon reflection, it would have been far too great a coincidence for three different games to have converged on this one exact spot.
So, I forward this information on to you in the hopes that you will know better than I what authorities should be made aware. Perhaps a notification to the City of Sonoma is in order.
Byron Putman discovered petanque some two years ago and fell in love, head over heels. Then decided to analyze every angle of the game, including its development in the USA. He started clubs in Palm Springs, CA and in Lake Oswego, OR. And wrote a book about it, aptly named "Pétanque - The greatest game you never heard of!"
10 shooters, amongst one woman, were present at the finals of the manifestation 1.000 Boules in Nieuwegein (very near to Utrecht in the centre of the country) on Saturday night, the 29th of October 2011. Amongst the players there was also Philippe Quintais, the former French world champion (12 times!) who gave a demonstration at the end of the manifestation, visited by almost 400 spectators. All players had to shoot 100 boules within 10 minutes at a distance of 8 meters.
Devotees of pétanque will now be able to enjoy a glass of pastis before a match again: The World Anti-Doping Agency is to remove alcohol from its list of prohibited substances for competitions.
At Parkhurst Petanque in Johannesburg, we developed a new game called Petanque Pinball.
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