French gold from Pampanga?

The sport of petanque has a very long history in Europe, and is only now being recognized for its medal-winning potential in the Philippines. If you’ve never heard of petanque, it’s one of the many kinds of bowling games played casually by millions throughout Europe, and a small, dedicated group of practitioners are hoping it booms in the Philippines.

While the Greeks invented throwing games meant to test for distance, the Romans made modifications for accuracy, adding a target to their throwing games.

Back then, they threw stones or coins, very similar to the street games played by Filipino children until today. As the Roman army swept through what is now Europe, the soldiers eventually taught their games to the French, particularly in Florence and Provence.

Eventually, the stone balls were replaced with wooden ones, with nails in them to add weight. Erasmus named the game “globurum” wanting to distance it from the Greek “spheristics”. But common people called the game “boules”.

Here the history of the game hit a fork in the road, as the English decided to modify it into what is now known as lawn bowling, which is also played heavily in Pampanga. But the traditional running delivery was difficult for some players. In 1907 Jules Lenoir – who had rheumatism – decided to eliminate the running start before the pitch, opting instead to stand still. This further caused the playing field to be shortened. The object of the game is to get the balls (called boules) as close to the target (called the jack) as possible. It is usually played on rough, hard surfaces, unlike lawn bowling, which is played on well-groomed grass. The Philippine women’s team medaled during the 12th Asian Petanque Championships in Kaohsiung, Taiwan last November They also brought home a silver from the 2005 SEA Games held in the Philippines. But despite the success we’ve started to enjoy, the economics of buying the basic equipment are an obstacle. “This is where the national petanque has a bit of a problem which is needing new boules that have the proper markings acceptable to SEA Games officials,” admits Joey Narciso, the de facto head of petanque. “They were last issued during the 2005 SEA Games held here. The boules, which I had personally bought in Thailand cost about $200 each. The entire Philippine team does not have any that will pass the criteria.”

Petanque has a rich medal-producing potential, since it can be played singles, doubles or triples for men and women. The SEA Games and other Asian events have shown that we are actually among the leaders in both winning the sport and propagating it in the region.” Petanque is also new to all non-French colonized countries and since the game is not expensive, it is now being promoted throughout Southeast Asia,” says Narciso, whose national teams are based in Angeles. “It is the best time to start promoting this game here and even make it a P.E. class so as to get a bigger pool for the national team.” Given the nature of the sport, an athlete’s longevity can be unequalled.

Kids can play the game well into old age, and it is not unheard of for a player to be active late in life.”

Based on what I have seen and gathered from the Kaohsiung experience, the game is perfect for the Filipinos. You don’t need the physical attributes of a big athlete, and we can be a team that can dominate the sports in Asia,” Narciso asserts. “If our players are given the right training (in Thailand) and the proper equipment needed to compete on equal footings with the rest.” That sounds like a common request from national sports associations. But consider how long boules last, and how many medals the sport can win.

If the Philippine Sports Commission were to support petanque, it would be economically sound. And who would have thought that a game played casually by at least 10,000,000 French every summer would be the object of the passion of our cabalens?