Pétanque USA

Equipment check

The only really essential equipment is a set of three steel boules. A set costs anywhere from US$5 for a rusty old set you may be lucky enough to come across to US$120 for a competition set. To be legitimate for competition play, a boule must conform to the following specifications:

• Weight: From 650 to 800 grams [1lb 7oz -- 1lb 12oz]
• Diameter: From 70.5 to 80.0mm [2"3/4 -- 3"1/8]

A player who specialises in pointing (or placing) should normally favor a small, heavy boule. A heavy boule is slightly more difficult to displace, and a boule of the minimum allowable diameter presents a smaller target to the opposition's shooters. Women and young boys, usually having smaller hands and less arm strength, frequently compromise by selecting a boule that is both light and small.

A shooter should choose a lighter boule for the best chance of success. This may seem surprising, but in fact the decreased momentum of a light boule gives it the best chance of remaining in place after knocking an opponent's boule out of the game (the perfect, and much admired, shot known as a carreau). A shooter should not use a small boule: a shot that just barely misses with a small boule might have been effective if only that extra 5 mm had been on the radius!

In choosing a boule, however, perhaps the overriding consideration is "play with what you feel comfortable with."

Desirable but non-essential equipment

• A cochonnet
• A steel tape measure, preferably in centimeters

A proper cochonnet is turned from beech wood and is between 2.5 cm and 3.5 cm (1" to 1"3/8) in diameter. In the South of France, the home of pétanque, a cochonnet can be bought for very small change indeed. It may help to have a brightly-colored cochonnet, especially in conditions of low light, but the rules specify that a cochonnet may be stained but not painted.
A cochonnet is not regarded as essential, since in any gathering of pétanqueurs many people can be counted on to provide one. At a pinch, many natural objects can stand in.

Usefulness of a tape measure should be obvious: To settle arguments as to which of two boules is closer to the cochonnet.

Very non-essential equipment

As with all sports, equipment shops will try and sell you whatever they can, with the assurance that "you'll find you really need this". The following pétanque trivia is definitely not necessary -- although some of it is undeniably fun....

• Peaked cap for playing against the sun
• Callipers for really fine measurements of distance
• Hand-held score keeper (sometimes provided with an image of Fanny on the back)
• Powerful magnet on the end of a string: for those who have trouble bending down to pick up boules
• Special cloth for wiping grit off boules

Here are several sources of pétanque equipment in the USA:

Pétanque America

Importers of La Boule Obut

1438-A East Oak St

Fernandina Beach, FL 32034

tel (800) 682 2557

FAX (904) 491 1189

Playaboule

Distributor for Intégrale Boules and accessories

Distributor for low cost Leisure series.

Louis Toulon - TOULON IMPORTS - US Rep. for JB Products

138 Southern Heights Blvd.

SAN RAFAEL, CA 94901

tel toll-free (877) 459 5314 FAX (415) 456 4614

Félix Legrand - US Rep. for OBUT

12321 Ocean Park Blvd., #11

LOS ANGELES, CA 90064

tel