WELCOME TO THE OFFICIAL BLOG for La Pétanque Marinière in San Rafael, California. LPM has been an active Marin pétanque club since 1972 and affiliated with the Fédération of Pétanque USA, since 1975. We welcome people of all abilities, ages and nationalities to come and enjoy pétanque with us.

The Pierre Joske Courts are located on Civic Center drive in San Rafael. (click for directions). Casual games are played every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from about 1 pm. Tournament play is usually held on the second Sunday of every month.

Please consult the links on the sidebar to the right for more information on clubs in the bay area, nationally and world wide.

If you would like to play but haven't any boules, please contact our President, Christine Cragg. They can bring some for you to use, as well as introduce you to the basic skills and techniques of pétanque. In addition, if you are looking to purchase boules but are unsure as to which size and weight are right for you, we have a range of different examples from which to choose.

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

PÉTANQUE! by Sally Ross

Get in on America’s New Sport!

By Sally Ross

Are you looking for a low-stress, very social game that can be played in an hour, is easy to learn, and encourages lively debate, serious concentration, and jovial competition equally among men and women, young and old? Pétanque, pronounced as pay-tonk, may be for you! 
Pétanque is one of many boules sports across the world—including Italian bocce, English lawn bowls, French boule lyonnaise, Le Jeu Provencal and others—where players or teams attempt to get their own balls closest to a smaller target ball. Pétanque is distinctive in three ways: 1) pétanque balls, or boules, are made of heavy metal (about 1.5 pounds each) rather than wood or plastic, 2) players throw a boule with palm facing downward, rather than rolling a ball with palm up, and 3) players stand within a stationary circle when launching the boule. In fact, in the dialect of Provence where pétanque was invented, it is pèd tanco, literally “feet fixed” (to the ground). read more

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