The Games We Play

The Pétanque

Pétanque is a very old game. Archeologists have found traces of this game, in ancient Egypt, Greece from the time of Alexander the Great and the Romans. It was the Romans who introduced this game in France, during the conquest of Marseille and Lyon. At the beginning the pétanque was a game for the rich. But after the french revolution, He became very popular. In 1850, the pétanque became an official sport.The French Federation of petanque and Provencal Game was created in 1945, This federation regroup all the practitioners of this game.

                                                                            Playing the game (the rules)

 In this game the red boule is closest to the jack(yellow), followed by the blue boule. Red scores one point, blue scores nothing. Here red scores two points

Pétanque is played by two, four or six people. In the singles and doubles games each player has three boules; in triples they have only two. A coin is tossed to decide which side goes first. The starting team draws a circle on the ground which is 35-50 centimetres in diameter: all players must throw their boules from within this circle, with both feet remaining on the ground. The first player throws the jack 6-10 metres away; it must be at least one metre from the boundary.

The first team to reach 13 points wins.

listen to a famous French pétanque song :   http://www.bide-et-musique.com/song/6794.html

Boules

Boules must be made of metal. Competition boules must meet the following specifications:

• bear engravings indicating the manufacturer's name and the weight of the boule.

• have a diameter between 70.5 and 80 mm.

• have a weight between 650 and 800 g.

• not be filled with sand or lead, or be tampered with in any way

In addition, a boule may bear an engraving of the player's first name or initials.

Choice of boule

The diameter of the boule is chosen based on the size of the player's hand. The weight and hardness of the boule depends on the player's preference and playing style. "Pointers" tend to choose heavier and harder boules, while "shooters" often select lighter and softer boules.

Leisure boules

These boules do not meet competition standards but are often used for "backyard" games. They are designed to suit all ages and sexes, and can be made of metal, plastic or wood (for play on a beach, for instance).

Competition jacks

Competition jacks must meet the following specifications:

• made of wood or of synthetic material

• have a diameter of 30mm (tolerance + or - 1mm).

Creation of a boule : http://www.ina.fr/sport/autres-sports/video/RAF04028120/fabrication-de-boules-de-petanque-a-marseille.fr.html

The French Tradition

 The French tradition in the South East of France is to have a drink «A Pastis» while playing

The Ground

 The pétanque is practised on all grounds . The official sizes are 15 m-  long for 4 m-wide .

 Course landaise

La Course is a regional sport recognized by the Ministry of Health and Sports, managed by the French Federation from The Landes, created in 1953. It is also a tauromachique tradition belonging to the Gascon cultural heritage, spread essentially in the French departements of « Les Landes » and « Le Gers »

Three types of Courses Landaises

The Course formelle

The participants to these courses are all professionals. It lasts approximately 2h15 with a pause. It always starts on the music of the Marche Cazérienne with the « écarteurs » marching into the arena and formally saluting the public.

A jury stipulated a score which counts for the annual national competition.

The Concours landais

The classification in the national competition is individual. Here too its participants are all professionals.

The Course mixte

The mixed courses are open for amateurs. The first part is formal and in the second part the public can participate.

In the popular resorts on the Atlantic coast of the Landes many events are organized in which the tourists can take part.

 The History

This form of bullfighting has been popular with Gascons for centuries. For example, in the South of  France as early as 1457during celebrations cows were released in the streets for a free run.

The Course Landaise was regulated in the XIXth century and moved to special arenas . The local governments attempted repeatedly to forbid the Courses Landaises, viewed as dangerous and a mild proof of rural and regional resistance to the integration of Gascony to the French State, but the Gascons, well known for their free spirit, ignored the administrative rulings and persisted with their favorite entertainment.

Nowadays the course Landaise is still very fashionable in the Landes and the west of the Gers where almost every village of more than 200 souls maintains its permanent or semi-permanent arena.

 THE COWS

 The cows are specially bred and grown up in the wild, on splendid rural Ganaderias (natural grounds) and are of a considerable size (300 kg to 500 kg and 125 cm to 130 cm - tall). They are extremely quick and can easily leap 6 foot fences. They are specially trained to defend themselves in their own natural way, and benefit from years of fighting in the arenas.

The cows (or « coursayres » in Gascon language) all have their own name and are classified for pugnacity. Before the game starts they are all put in their own private cabin, called loge. A rope is fixed around their horns in order to be able bring them during the game in their starting position.

  Pelote Basque

The basic principle in pelote is that there are two teams of two players each. The team to serve bounces the ball, then propels it towards the playing area of the narrow, front wall where it has to rebound between the low line demarcating the low off-area and the high line demarcating the high off-area.The ball may either be played so it rebounds directly off the front wall onto the playing floor or onto the long side wall first. The opposing team may either play the ball immediately after rebounding from the front wall or side wall without rebounding from the playing floor or after having rebounded from the playing floor once.

A team scores by:

• playing the ball in such a way that the opposing team is unable to play the ball before it has rebounded off the playing floor once.

• playing the ball in such a way that it rebounds off the front wall and rebounds off the floor outside the playing area.

A team may also score by the opposing team:

• hitting the front wall but either below the low line or above the high line.

• hitting the ball in time but failing to reach the front wall.

Junior girls playing poshampa JNV Bhiwani