Sports

Sport of Pétanque,

by Tom van B | August 30, 2007 at 03:04 pm

1011 views | 3 Recommendations | 1 comment

I enjoy playing this game in summer. It's relaxing and fun. It is also a sport that allows one to play with one arm / hand, and drink a glass of wine with the other. However, when you follow the link to the complete article, you'll see from the video clip that playing this game at the highest level is not easy.

By MAX COLCHESTER

August 30, 2007; Page A1

MILLAU, France -- In the gritty world of French lawn bowling, nobody is bigger than Bruno Le Boursicaud.

The burly 29-year-old enjoys a string of endorsements and gets mobbed by fans on gravel lots all around the country. He even sells a line of T-shirts, shorts and G-strings with the logo "Bruno L.B."

"The man is a phenomenon," says Lionel Zanet, creator of a Web site devoted to the sport, known locally as pétanque. "He has one of the most natural techniques in the game. It's impressive to watch."

WSJ's Max Colchester shows how petanque is played, challenging a junior world champion, only to discover that this French ball game isn't as easy as it looks

Next month, much of France will be watching him to see whether he can uphold the honor of the game that was invented here, in the world championship pétanque tournament in Thailand....