Pétanque USA

The game of pétanque was devised in 1907, in a charming little port between Marseilles and Toulon called La Ciotat. In those days they played the so-called jeu provençal, which is now much less popular than pétanque. The rules of the jeu provençal stipulate that a player takes a run-up of one or two paces, gaining momentum before letting fly with the boule.

It happened one day that one of the game's great adherents, a certain Jules LeNoir, was confined to a wheelchair as a result of an accident. He was mortified, believing that this would deprive him of the pleasure of the game for ever.

The other villagers, however, were so concerned for their friend that they voted to change the rules of the game so that he would not be at a disadvantage. The new rule stipulated that all players must place both feet in a rough circle scratched in the dirt of about 60 cm (2 feet) in diameter, and take no run-up at all before throwing the boule. In the dialect of the region, it was said that one had to play "pieds tanqués" (feet together), and so was born a new game. If you pronounce the expression "pieds tanqués", particularly with a Provençal accent, it comes out sounding very like "pétanque" [pay-TONK]. The first formal pétanque championship was held in La Ciotat in 1910.

It is to be noted that this convention continues to permit cripples to excel at this game, even to this day. Wheelchairs are a very common sight at national and international pétanque championships.