PLAYED ON HARD DIRT OR GRAVEL BY THROWING METAL BALLS AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO A SMALL WOODEN BALL CALLED A COCHONNET, IS THE GAME OF PETANQUE WHICH IS CATCHING ON AT GEMLIFE WOODEND AND AROUND AUSTRALIA.
The first residents to move into GemLife Woodend, Danny Green and his wife Doreen, have been playing the game for about 15 years. They were also successful in convincing GemLife to provide them with a dedicated gravel area of 12 by 4 metres on which to play.
Danny, who is a confederation umpire for the Petanque Federation of Australia and Oceania, said the sport has a long history in Europe and is slowly growing throughout Australia with about 1700 registered players.
“Similar to bowls, it was originally invented in the south of France by a cafe owner to accommodate a ‘jeu provençal’ player (another form of bowls) whose rheumatism prevented him from running before he threw the ball. In the new game, the length of the pitch was reduced by roughly half, and a player no longer had to run-up while throwing the ball,” Danny explained.
“We formed a club at Mount Macedon and played in Gisborne before eventually moving into GemLife Woodend and starting one up here. There are about 15 players in the GemLife team now,” said Danny.
“The game is not strenuous, can be great exercise and involves a degree of strategy which brings out the competitive spirit in players.” said Danny.
The GemLife team meet on Monday afternoons and many also join in the competition at local meets in Gisborne, and at Woodend/Hanging Rock.