Terrains

Many people viewing this blog play only at one or more of the ten venues listed in this blog's header and are perhaps unaware of the tremendous variations in petanque terrains they might encounter should they travel outside the area.

Shirley played in Kaihua, China, in the Women's World Championships of Petanque in November of 2017.

The terrain was very different than what you might imagine for a venue hosting a world championships. However, here is an excerpt from the official rules of petanque regarding terrains:

Article 5, Area of play and terrain rules Pétanque is played on any surface. However, by the decision of the Organizing Committee or the Umpire, the teams may be asked to play on a marked and defined terrain. In this case, the terrain for National Championships and International Competitions, must have the following minimum dimensions: 15m long x 4m wide. For other competitions, the Federations may permit variations relative to these minimum dimensions, subject to them not being below 12m x 3m. A playing area comprises of an indeterminate number of lanes defined by strings, the size of which must not interfere with the course of play. These strings marking separate lanes are not dead ball lines except for those marking the end of the lane and the exterior of the terrain. When the lanes are placed end to end, the end lines connecting the lanes are dead ball lines. 

If you thought petanque terrains were supposed to be perfectly level, or manicured, or rock free, you were mistaken. The rules are clear--petanque is played on any surface. It's easy to see how you might have gotten the impression that terrains should be like professional clay tennis courts, or Major League Baseball infields, or even bocce courts that you might encounter at a ritzy country club.

The reason you might have gotten that impression has a lot to do with modern technology-- YouTube for one example. Bear in mind that many of the terrains the "pros" play on are purpose-built for the event. Their base might be cement, asphalt,  plywood, or any other really firm, uniform material available.

Here is a screenshot from a YouTube video:

 

You can easily see how a top-dressing of uniform gravel, probably crushed-limestone, has been laid for the event.

 Now, back to Shirley's real-life experience in China, here is the surface on which they played the World Championships in Kaihua:

 And here is another example of a terrain one might encounter, this time from Madagascar:

 My last example is from here in the United States (an Atlanta tournament perhaps?):

So, I suppose the moral to my story is, don't be surprised by what you might discover as far as petanque terrains go when you venture out into the world of petanque. My standard response to anyone who complains about a specific terrain is, "Let's make it fair--we'll both play on the same terrain, okay?"

Best,

Gary