Welcome to Pig Iron Petanque

Contact Us: info@PigIronPetanque.Com  ( click here to email )

Pig Iron Petanque is shutting down. Our goal was simple, to provide a supportive, egalitarian environment in which people could get together to throw a little Petanque and enjoy comradely competition. Sadly we are in time when most Americans crave the vicarious  life of voyeurs, breathlessly following the lives of hideously strangers on "Reality T.V" rather than interacting with neighbors. "Sport"to most Americans is confined to the role of passive spectator rather than participant. Others pursue glamor, prestigious money hungry, silver-bullet laden sports such as golf - where the cure to a bad swing is a new club rather than the torture of demanding practice. United States Tennis participation is an an all time low - down over 50% since the halcyon days of the archetype American bad boys, McEnroe and Connors.

But like any independent thinker, "I'd rather rule in hell, than to serve heaven" - I'd rather spend the day throwing Petanque on a modest patch of packed dirt and rocks, than have a fifty-yard line seat at the Superbowl. Being a professional sports spectator doesn't preclude participation - but there's no denying the tenancy is simply to plant oneself in an E-Z Boy and relinquish your life to the Pros.

Given this American environment of passive sports spectators and reality show junkies, it's painfully obvious that Petanque's traditional "club" format is an ineffective fit for America. I don't mean pulling a Portland Petanque style con job in which although the club has 100 members, only 20% throw on a regular basis. I mean creating a group in which every member is a regular participant.

We are working with other independent groups to create a structure and organization which is simpatico with the typical working American's perception of adult-level participation sports. In April or May invitations to join this new group will be sent out to our more active and consistent group members.

If you are a current Petanque player and sincerely interested in a new approach to playing the game, feel free drop me a line. Also if you are a lapsed Pig Iron Petanque member who hasn't played regularly during the last six weeks and you want to be included in the new program, then you can also drop me a line.

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Here is our vision of Pétanque American-Style in 330 words:  

        "Pétanque is the world’s most egalitarian sport. It can be savored by almost anyone, regardless of age, gender or physical constraints. Yet the complex bio-mechanics of advanced throws take years to master. Game play is so obvious that even a child can follow it. Yet strategy is multilayered and elusive, revealed only through the insight of skills and experience.

        It’s refreshingly low-tech and economical. The equipment to outfit 4 to 6 players is 12 baseball-sized steel balls (boules) and a small wooden target jack which can be ordered on-line for less than $75.

        Unlike its Italian cousin Bocce, Pétanque doesn’t employ a formal, expensive, high-maintenance, groomed court. It’s played on small patches of uneven, hard-packed dirt and gravel called “terrains.” Bocce is a one dimensional bowling game, but ungroomed terrains force Pétanque players to reach for the sky and execute beautiful, soaring throws. Local club terrains are nearly indistinguishable from those that host international tournaments. Walking paths, public plazas, baseball infields and unpaved parking areas make fantastic terrains. That’s why Pétanque is one of the world’s most environmentally neutral sports. Terrains don’t need water, fertilizer, pesticides, mowing, fossil fuels or maintenance. Multiuse terrains in a variety of shared public spaces are a great option for budget challenged Parks and Recreation authorities.

        Also, the random bias of an ungroomed terrain is a great equalizer. Expert and novice may be teamed without diminishing intensity or the joy of competition. Pétanque is an ideal sport for athletically mismatched couples seeking to compete as peers, because style and tactics (usually) triumph over brute strength and unbridled aggression.

        It’s truly an international sport. Once again contrary to Bocce, Pétanque terrains, rules and terminology are universal. Whether you’re in Paris, Cape Town, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City or San Francisco, with a few French words and phrases (used throughout the book) you will be embraced by locals and initiated into their Pétanque community.

        That’s why it’s the greatest game that you never heard of – at least, until now…"