Almanac Petanque: On The Piste Again

 

 

 

 

“If it’s not fun, we’re not doing it.”
(Motto of the Mission Beach (QLD) Petanque Club)

 

I’m back on the piste. Only for one day a week, after being off the piste for many years. And no, that’s not a typo. While ‘piste’ is often associated with ski slopes or trails, in French, it refers to the playing area for petanque (variously pronounced Pay-Tonk or P-Tank), a game of boules played on hard dirt or gravel.

 

 

My boules and accessories.

 

 

Some spares for neighbourhood social days.

 

I first got on the piste in Canberra with the Capital Petanque Club in the late 1990s.  I later returned to be on the piste again with the club in the mid 2000s. Back then, we played on the Yarralumla Primary School’s netball courts. These days, the Capital Petanque Club boasts a purpose-built gravel piste at Weston Park, Yarralumla, with up to 14 lanes. Thanks to a grant from the ACT Government, the club now enjoys large shade shelters, making summer games far more comfortable. Members are kept informed through the club’s very good newsletter the ‘Boulesheet’!

 

 

Day out at the Capital Petanque Club.

 

 

After game socials at the Capital Petanque Club.

 

 

Happy Capital Petanquers.

 

When we had a cottage in Tasmania, I split my time between Victoria and the island’s east coast, playing casually with the Sandy Bay club in Hobart and as a member of the Bicheno club. Bicheno’s piste, set within the town’s bowls club, offers breathtaking views of Waubs Bay and the ocean—a spectacular backdrop for a game.

 

 

These days, when I’m not attending a Footy Almanac luncheon, I’m back on the piste most Friday afternoons with the Bellarine Petanque Club located within the Queenscliff Bowling, Tennis, and Croquet Club (QBTC). With declining participation in traditional sports like lawn bowls and tennis, QBTC has embraced newer pursuits like pickleball and petanque – part of a smart move to diversify. The Bellarine Petanque Club has a thriving membership, eight playing areas, and its own small clubhouse, all with stunning views of the Port Phillip Bay Rip.

 

 

Bernard and Sue, movers and shakers at the Bellarine Petanque Club.

 

 

Who has the closest boule?

 

 

Happy Bellarine Petanquers.

 

Petanque, as we know it today, has an interesting history. As the story goes, it originated in 1907 in La Ciotat, Provence, France. A café owner, Ernest Pitiot, adjusted the rules for his friend Jules Lenoir, who had severe rheumatism. Unlike the earlier ‘jeu provençal,’ where players ran before throwing, this version required them to stand still in a circle. The change caught on, leading to the first official petanque tournament in 1910. The game has since spread worldwide.

 

Often mistaken for bocce, petanque differs in playing technique. Bocce is more of a bowling game, requiring players to roll the ball with a few steps forward, whereas petanque involves tossing the boule with an underarm throw. Bocce’s balls are also larger and heavier, and the court is longer.

 

While still a niche sport in Australia, petanque is growing—much like pickleball. Many former lawn bowlers have taken it up, appreciating its relaxed yet strategic gameplay and the minimal maintenance required for a piste compared to a bowling green. Petanque is easy to learn, family-friendly, and suitable for all ages and fitness levels. It can be social or competitive, with local, national, and international tournaments. Though petanque missed out on inclusion in the 2024 Paris Olympics, its global presence—over 60 countries play it—means its time may yet come – especially now that breakdancing has made the cut!

 

Brigitte Bardot in her earlier days played Pétanque at Saint-Tropez.

 

Mick Jagger once won $19,000 challenging a couple of his countrymen to a game of petanque while in Cannes.  They had completely underestimated his skills.

 

Thailand’s story is an interesting one. The late Princess Srinagarindra (1900–1995), an outdoor sports enthusiast, discovered petanque while in Switzerland and introduced it to Thailand. She championed it as an inexpensive way for people of all ages to stay active, and today, the country is home to multiple world champion players and one of the only officially approved boule-making factories outside France.

 

Victoria leads the way in Australian petanque, with 25 clubs and the highest number of licensed players in the country. Many wineries throughout Australia have also added pistes, offering players the chance to enjoy a game while sipping a glass of local wine coupled with cheese and biscuits – mmm, a pleasant way to experience the sport!

 

 

Says it all!

 

The beauty of petanque lies in its simplicity. The rules are easy to grasp, and it is a sport where gender and physical capacity have little impact on success. Boules are affordable and durable, and the playing surface requires little upkeep. Matches are always played with a mix of friendly banter and determined focus, as players try to land their boules closest to the cochonnet (jack).

 

Some refer to petanque simply as ‘boules.’ In French, ‘boule’ means ‘ball,’ and in France, the game is often called boules (pronounced BOOL). Outside of France, “petanque” is the more common term.

 

Petanque is played in singles, doubles, or triples:

 

• Singles and doubles players use three boules each; in triples, each player has two boules.
• A coin toss decides which team starts.
• Players throw from a 50cm circle, keeping both feet on the ground.
• The jack is thrown 6-10 metres forward.
• Teams take turns throwing boules, with the team farthest from the jack continuing until they take the lead or run out of boules.
• Points are awarded based on how many boules are closer to the jack than the opponent’s closest boule.
• The first team to reach 13 points wins.

 

While the basics are simple, strategy plays a key role. Players can ‘point’ (land the boule as close as possible to the jack) or ‘shoot’ (knock an opponent’s boule away). Shooting is high-risk, high-reward—if you miss, you might knock your own boule out of play. At elite levels, particularly in France, shooting is a favoured tactic.

 

An amusing petanque tradition is the ‘Fanny’ factor, pronounced in French as ‘il a fait Fanny’ and in English meaning ‘he made Fanny’. In petanque the old tradition was that if a team loses a game without scoring any points the team would have to kiss the bottom of a women named ‘Fanny’. The tradition apparently stems from a story about a waitress named Fanny in a French village café who would reward losing players (‘il a fait Fanny’) with a kiss on the cheek which then evolved into the comical practice of kissing her backside.

 

I know of no Australian clubs where this practice is followed (but there could be of course!).  It would probably be hard to find someone named Fanny these days at any rate. I’m informed that some French village clubs have a sculpture or a picture of a women’s backside that players symbolically kiss should they ‘make Fanny’.  Perhaps in today’s spirit of equality an Adonis or George Clooney equivalent should be added for balance!

For readers curious enough to give petanque a try, more information on clubs across Australia can be found on Petanque Australia’s website. The time commitment is flexible – just show up when you can. Beware though: given the social aspect is pretty damn good, once you start playing, you might find it hard to stop!

 

See you on the piste!

 

 

Footnotes:

 

1. Special thanks to Bernard Reed (Bellarine Petanque Club) and Robert Ferguson (Capital Petanque Club) for allowing the use of photos of their members and events.
2. The Mission Beach Petanque Club motto perfectly captures the spirit of the game. Though I couldn’t reach the club for permission, I trust they won’t mind me including it.
3. Likewise, I was unable to contact the Bicheno Petanque Club regarding a cartoon character used in this piece, but I’m confident they’d have no objections.

 

 

More from Allan Barden can be read Here.

 

 

 

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