The game of Pétanque started in the south of France over 100 years ago and is now played internationally. We were introduced to the game in 2004 at what was then the West Coast Gallery in Velddrif. As beginners, we used to hire sets of boules from the Gallery and we played in the grounds under the blue gum trees. We enjoyed it so much that some of us bought our own sets of boules and began to play on a regular basis. We arranged friendly matches against players from Jakkalsfontein, Langebaan and St. Helena Bay eventually challenging the Jakkalsfontein Club to a competition. This led to us buying a silver platter as a floating trophy for a prize for the winning couple. These competitions eventually fizzled out over time but our club has grown stronger and we award our silver platter as a floating trophy to our best overall player of the year
The Gallery was sold in 2011 and we had to find a new venue. The Port Owen Yacht Club solved our problem by offering us a small sandy area on which we created our new course. We have four rinks on which to play. As there was no shade, we used umbrellas initially and, eventually, we erected poles and shade cloth. Over the years we have invited our local bowling club to try their hand at Pétanque and we also had a visit from a very competitive club from Pniel who joined us for the morning’s games, followed by lunch.
We play on the first and third Wednesday morning of each month, starting at 09h30 during the summer months and at 10h00 during the winter months. Each rink has two teams competing against each other made up of two players in each team. The two important rules when throwing the boule is that the boule must be thrown underarm and the other is that both feet must remain on the ground until the boule touches the ground. The main object of the game is to get your boule closest to the cochonnet (also known as a jack). Once the game is over the scores are entered onto a scoresheet. These scores, for each individual player, are recorded on a spreadsheet and added up at the end of the year to calculate the year’s overall winner as well as runners up. Once the morning’s games are over, we enjoy tea/coffee, eats and camaraderie. We have in the region of 30 members so there is lots of chatting.
We welcome POYC members to come and experience this fun outdoor activity. We will show you how the game is played. The POYC Pétanque Club, as an integral part of the Port Owen Yacht Club, is subject to its Constitution, rules and regulations and, as such, members of the Pétanque Club are required to be members of the Port Owen Yacht Club. There is a once-off joining fee as well as a small course fee each playing day. These monies are needed for course maintenance and repairs, and end-of-year prize-giving costs.
We look forward to many more years of fun, wonderful camaraderie and healthy outdoor activity.
