Month: November 2019

Allen has revised and created his condensed rules for beginners. It varies a little from his “Top Ten FPUSA Rules” that are designed for players heading into FPUSA competition. Many thanks, Allen!

 Ten Basic Petanque Rules for Beginners

When it’s your team’s turn to play

1. Placing the circle, throwing the jack, and playing the first boule: These functions are usually carried out by the same team player. If you are new to petanque, allow an experienced player to perform these functions while you watch and learn. When you’ve learned how to do these things, your team may ask you to do them.

2. Marking the circle: When you’ve advanced sufficiently to start an end, be sure to mark the circle, and mark it before you throw the jack.

3  Foot faults: Keep both feet entirely within the circle and keep both feet on the ground until your boule lands.

4. Playing a boule: After the last boule stops rolling, you will have one minute to plan and execute your next play. There are two main types of play: pointing, in which you just try to throw your boule as close to the jack as possible; and shooting, in which you try to knock away an opponent’s boule. While you’re learning the game, it’s best to just point.

5. Picking up the circle: If you have played the last boule of the end, pick up the circle, carry it to the other end, and drop it around or behind the jack where it will not disrupt the measuring of boules and the counting of points.

When it’s your opponent’s turn to play

6. After throwing and gaining the point: You and your teammates must immediately proceed to a valid standing area so that the opponents, now in their 1-minute time limit, have clear room to examine the situation and plan their next play.

7. Where to stand: Stand beyond the jack, at least 2 meters from the line of play, when an opponent is playing. The line of play extends beyond the jack, so you cannot stand on the other side of the jack in line with the opponent’s next throw. You may also stand behind the circle, but standing beyond the jack gives you a better view and prepares you to examine the results of your opponent’s throw and plan your next play. Just don’t stand between the circle and the jack. Stand still and don’t talk during the regulation time allowed for the opponents to plan and execute their next play. When a teammate is playing, you may stand anywhere you wish.

Behavioral rules

8. What to do: https://www.athenspetanque.org/ccpc-code-of-conduct/

9. What not to do: https://www.athenspetanque.org/ccpc-code-of-conduct/

10. Ultimate objective: HAVE FUN!

We have had a great many new faces at our CCPC club play days and we hope to have more. Here are some guidelines to help folks understand what’s a good idea and what’s not such a good idea as we continue to see many new faces showing up to see what this game is all about.

The most important thing to remember when introducing someone to the game is that you should emphasize that it’s simple and FUN! Nobody will care about all the nuances, rules, strategies, etc. if the game isn’t fun.

When someone comes out to try petanque for the first time or two:

  – make sure they have fun!   They came to play a game – not to have a lesson.

  – give them 2 minutes or less instruction and put them into a game

  – throughout the game, give them a very, very short tip or two on some occasions – never more than 1 tip per end

  – let them learn the rules through observation and asking questions; nobody needs to know all the rules on the first day

  – invite questions but don’t volunteer too much information;  petanque is fun but lectures are not

– Never forget that you’re in a game with other people, too. Everyone will welcome the new player and be happy to help but nobody will be happy if you are delaying the game with a long-winded explanation.

Members of CCPC had a wonderful 2019 tournament season! Those who participated from our club were Allen, Sally, Heidi, Al, Frank, Diane, Rob, Ron, Maliko, Gabbi, Gail, Honor, Marilyn, Ray, and Debbie. In some cases, our members teamed up with players from other clubs for the events. There are many photos on our Facebook page but, here are some of the highlights:

CCPC was represented at these FPUSA tournaments this season:

Atlanta Petanque League Regional Triples – 2 teams + 1 member

Asheville/Carolina Petanque Regional Triples – 2 teams

Winston-Salem/Carolina Petanque Regional Doubles – 1 team + 2 members

Morganton/Carolina Petanque Regional Doubles – 1 team + 1 member

Oh-La-La National Women’s Doubles – 2 members

Oh-La-La National Men’s Doubles – 1 member

Oh-La-La National Mixed Doubles – 3 members

Amelia Island Women’s Compact Double (not FPUSA) – 2 teams

Amelia Island Open (not FPUSA) – 5 teams + 1 member

As a result of all this traveling and competing, we made a ton of new friends and gained a lot of attention and respect in the wider petanque “family”. We have great relationships with members of many, many clubs around the country. While we may not have brought home any medals, we can proudly say that it was a smashing success! Now, a break from the traveling and the competitions until April 2020 – the Atlanta Petanque League’s FPUSA Select Doubles tournament. As much fun as we have at the tournaments, it will be nice to just play some social, casual, and fun petanque with our own club at our home turfs before we get ready to do it all again in 2020 with many more of our CCPC members planning to compete!

We now have a proper rake! The Board approved the purchase of a new landscaping rake that we can use to smooth and groom the terrains without digging in and pulling up the big pieces of gravel underneath the playing surface. The “trick” is to only use the flat side – never the teeth. While too much grooming is still discouraged, we can now groom and smooth in the correct way to keep our courts the nicest in Georgia.

We have circles! The Board also approved the purchase of 4 new Obut circles that we were able to purchase at a discount and without paying for shipping while we were participating in the Amelia Open tournament.