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Petanque not only for elderly Frenchmen in berets anymore

Locals on the beach in Noumea, New Caledonia, check which ball is closest to the jack as they play the ball game called petanque yesterday. Petanque is a game played between two teams of three players of which the aim is to get your team's ball closest to the 2.5cm jack ball with the first team to 13 points being the winner. Beach life and relaxation is an important part of island life with petanque being a favorite among many locals playing every day during their lunch break. PHOTO: AP

The quintessentially French game of petanque -- think sun-dappled village squares, cool glasses of cloudy pastis, old men in berets -- is rapidly being caught up by globalization.

Thailand got as far as the semifinals at the world petanque championship here last weekend, the second time the country, the strongest Asian contenders in the game, had reached that stage.

Players from as far afield as China, Argentina, the US and Japan descended on Brussels for the annual world championships of a game which for many embodies much about the Gallic spirit.

"There's a very interesting trend, with the Asian countries becoming very strong," said Chinka Steel of the Australian delegation at the games, which brought together players from some 60 nations.

"I think they're introducing a new slightly less aggressive style of petanque, but very much aimed at dominating the game," the 61-year-old lawyer from Hanging Rock said.

At the professional level petanque is a fiercely competitive sport, which is already included on the rosta of some international tournaments and is even vying to be included in the Olympic Games.

"The Asian teams take it very seriously."

Jean-Yves Loulon, member of the French petanque delegation at the world championships in Brussels

While France's victory was their fourth straight world championship win -- adding to the 20 over the last 40 years -- there is little doubting the growing challenge from overseas.

And not only from the francophone world: In Brussels the growing anglophone presence was much in evidence, including the language used on team strips, as the sport seeks greater international stature. For some keen to promote the game in English-speaking countries, the image is crucial if more people are to take up the sport.

"In general the impression is not of a French game but more of an all-male game," said Anthony Peter of Singapore's four-man team in Brussels. "We're trying to change that impression."

Others also say there have been image problems in the past for more political reasons linked to France -- New Zealander Chris Priestley says the French attack on a Greenpeace ship in Auckland harbor in 1985 didn't help.

"When the Rainbow Warrior and those things happened it slowed down a bit because there was a little bit of anti-French feeling," he said, adding that French nuclear tests in the south Pacific in the 1990s "didn't help either."

Thailand's Yongyuth Boonyaprapatsara meanwhile denies that the sport is seen as particularly French in his homeland.

"Soccer is not a Thai word, but we play it, tennis is not a Thai word. It's just another game," said the 72-year-old, vice chairman of the Thai petanque federation, which is preparing to host the championships in 2007.

Closer to home, some complain that the game's image is not the only problem. In the UK membership of the national association has dropped off of late, despite the country's close ties with its Gallic neighbors. Mike Pegg, who is Britain's only international petanque umpire, blames official funding policy.

"If you're football or cricket or rugby and you're winning, they're going to give you a load of money ... but we're always knocked back because we're a minority sport," he said.

For France, the growing global challenge is clear. But French delegation member Jean-Yves Loulon shrugs off any sense of alarm.

"It's true that a few years ago France dominated the game. Now the gap is beginning to be reduced, because some countries are making enormous progress. The Asian teams take it very seriously," he said.

But he added: "We welcome the fact that petanque is being taken up abroad."
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