About the Kent Pétanque Association
About the kpaThe Kent Pétanque Association is one of sixteen regions of Pétanque England, devoted to promoting the sport of pétanque.
Our league season runs from April through to September, with matches being played on Wednesday nights, and the majority of clubs around the county holding practice sessions on Tuesdays.
Many clubs throughout Kent run open competitions that regularly occur on Sundays.
Playing the sport of pétanque is great for mental wellbeing and overall health. It provides an relatively easy and accessible activity to play outdoors while fostering social connections, meet new friends and improve overall wellness.
Are you interested in playing pétanque?
Want to join?Pétanque clubs across Kent are open to welcoming new players to the sport, and will take the time to teach newcomers the basics of the game.
The majority of pétanque clubs operate from pubs, with several Sports and Social Clubs also within the league. The pétanque terrain (piste) is usually open to the public on non-club nights, free of charge and in many clubs the boules can be hired cheaply for you to try the sport out.
If you are interested in joining, simply turning up to a club near you on a league night will allow you to have a chat with existing members while getting the opportunity to watch the sport as well.
A list of places to play in Kent can be found here:
What is Pétanque?
Pétanque ExplainedThe main objective of the game is to throw small metal balls (boule) as close as possible to a wooden ball – known as cochonnet or jack – from the player’s fixed position in a circle.
Petanque loosely translates to ‘feet together’ and refers to the player having both his legs together firmly on the ground while making a throw. Played by two teams either consisting of up to three players (triples), two players (Doubles) or Singles, the game is played on either open space or marked terrain. For sporting events, it is played on marked terrain, traditionally marked using strings that are wound around nails that have been driven into the ground.
The game begins with both teams tossing a coin to decide who goes first. The team that wins the coin toss will then place the circle, before throwing the jack, and the first boule to start the game. A boule is considered the act of throwing a ball towards the jack. The first player has to ensure that the jack is thrown between six to 10 meters away from the circle.
Once the first boule is thrown, the opposing team will then throw a boule. After which, the team with the ball further away from the jack will be given a turn to throw another boule. This continues until the team that has the turn gains a point by having a ball closest to the jack, or until they run out of boules. Once a team has run out of boules, the opposing team will then continue throwing the boules until they have also run out.
Each game consists of several rounds (which is also known as ends). Each round ends when both teams have finished their boules. If the ball completely crosses the boundary line in a marked terrain, then it is considered a dead ball and will not be counted.
At the end of the round, the team with the ball closest to the jack scores a point for every ball that is closer than the opposing team’s balls. The winner of each round will begin the next, and rounds proceed until one of the team reaches 13 points in total, whereby they are considered the winner of the game.