If you are a member and want to join our winter league; please email membership@welwynbowls.co.uk
This pétanque terrain is the official tournament size; 15 metres long and 4 metres wide.
The game of Pétanque is either:
3 players play against 3 players (triples). Each player uses 2 boules.
2 players against 2 players (doubles/pairs). Each player uses 3 boules.
1 player against 1 player (singles). Each player uses 3 boules.
The jack is thrown by the winner of a toss of the coin on the 1st end. After that, the winner of the previous end throws the jack.
The three basic deliveries are:
The Roll – This delivery is mostly on the ground like bowls.
The Half Lob – The boule is half in the air and half along the ground
The Lob – The boule is thrown high and spends at least 90% of the time in the air. It stops very quickly.
To stop a boule quickly with a backspin, players deliver the boule from under the hand, as seen in the picture on the left.
Hitting the boundary ‘wall’ puts a boule out of bounds.
Scoring Pétanque is similar to bowls in that the closest boule counts for the winning team. If the winning team also has the second or third boule closest, these boules would also count.
See the diagram where this winning team receives three points. When all boules are thrown, the end is finished.
The match is over when a team gets to 13-points.
Watch this short video for the basic rules of Pétanque
Booking Pétanque
To Book a Pétanque rink, please use rinks 12 in our rink booking system.
We only have one Pétanque court, so it will be reserved for our playing members who have access to our rink booking system.
For a more detailed look at Petanque’s tactics and rules, see this 6-minute video