Petanque

I finally got to play Petanque today. I found a set of balls in the garage and that discovery prompted me to research the situation here in the UK. If you are not interested in petanque, then stop reading here.

I looked it up in Google and communicated with a club in Marlow, about 20 miles away (I only got lost once). There are several clubs in the Marlow area and I chose the closest to me. They play on a court they’ve used for about 20 years. A pub owns the land but these people built the facility and when they play, they buy lunch from the pub. Most of the time they play sanctioned events so you need to be licensed, but on Thursday they have an open session, to which I went. They play at 11 PM, play four games (timed for ½ hour max), then break for lunch (and a pint), then play two more games. A guy determines the teams according to some arcane formula, different partners each game. Everyone chips in two quid and there are prizes at the end for the various winners (I was not one of these). The skill level is similar to what I am used to but I was a bit rusty.

We had eighteen people there and played in teams of three. There was not a single duplication of first names. It was relaxed and a lot of fun, no pressure to win, just camaraderie; and they all were very nice people and made me feel very welcome.

The court is similar to ours but with less loose stuff on top. They can play five games at once. There is a small clubhouse, about 12 x 15 where they store stuff (including a LOT of extra balls) and they have lights for night play. They also have scoreboards they stick at the end of each game (a good idea we might want to try).

Altogether, I had a great time and they invited me back. Unfortunately, with our schedule (and theirs), I’ll only be able to play once more.