Members of the school’s French Club played the traditional game of petanque, or boules, Thursday afternoon
for the first time.
GRAY – Abby Felker released her grasp on the small metal ball, hurling it into the air toward a smaller ball known as a “cochonnet” just 8 feet away. The metal ball thumped and rolled, then stopped close to its target. She smiled.
Opposing team member Ariel Moser moved onto the circle, concentrated, then swung. Her ball fell with a thud, followed by a clank as the metal balls struck each other. Moser’s ball was closer now.
The girls were among the 10 members of the Gray-New Gloucester Middle School French Club to participate in a “petanque” demonstration Thursday afternoon.
Petanque is a variation of the French game of boules, which is similar to Italian bocce and British lawn bowling. The French version is traditionally played with metal balls on a dirt surface.
On Thursday, Maine Boules Club member Andre Strong of Blue Hill introduced the French Club to the sport that is popular in the south of France.
The object of the game is to throw the balls, usually with somewhat of an arched backspin, so that they land closer to the small object ball (the cochonnet) than those of your opponent, or to strike and drive the object ball toward your other balls and away from your opponents.’
The game begins by throwing the cochonnet, standing from 6 to 10 meters away, into a drawn circle. The goal is to be the first to earn 13 points.
Petanque was invented in 1905, but its roots go back to ancient Greco-Roman games, Strong said.
He explained that the game involves strategy, like a chess game, in which team members plan five plays ahead. In France, petanque is hot in town squares where random teams assemble.
“The team has a lot of conflict and retribution if you make a bad play,” Strong said.
He learned to play petanque when he was sent to France as a youngster for immersion into the French language. His mother’s parents were from Lyon, France, and at 15, Strong visited relatives and played petanque. More than 20 years ago at age 30, he visited France and got more serious about the game.
Now he’s involved in the 1,000-member Federation Petanque USA. Worldwide, there are 300,000 players from 60 countries.
Strong has played on a team at a national championship tourney in California. Now he’s part of the 50-member co-ed Maine group. New York City boasts 80 members and Worcester, Mass., has 30 participants. The game is hot in Quebec.
And if local middle schoolers are any indication, it could catch on here, too.
All 10 French Club members said the game was worth playing again. And Strong said it could be the beginning of further outreach to spread the word and give hands-on practice to newcomers.
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