POINTER OR SHOOTER ?
Pétanque, it’s in the game
The game of pétanque, is perhaps the sport that is closest to French hearts. It is traditionally played with metallic balls (600grams to 800grams) on a dirt surface beneath plane trees, with a glass of pastis (southern France typical drink) at hand. The object of the game is to throw your balls — usually with somewhat of an arched back-spin — so that they land closer to the small aim ball (cochonnet ) than those of your opponent, or strike and drive the object ball toward your other balls and away from your opponent's.
“Pétanque is extremely simple, just like horseshoes, Mr Phu explains. There's a target, and you have to get as close to it as possible.” Mr Phu is a 50 year-old elegant man, he wears a French cap (béret) and speaks a little bit English. But most of all, he trains the Vietnam pétanque national team. “What makes this game so appealing, he continues, is that you can be way ahead for a while, yet lose a second later, or vice versa. Because nothing is decided until the last player plays the very last bowl!”. Scattered groups of players indeed shout and laugh as the thumps of the bowls on the ground go on through the afternoon. “If the player moves the aim ball or kicks an opponent ball out of the way, the layout of the boules - and thus the score - may change dramatically The first to reach thirteen points is declared the winner”, Mr Phu says.
Team spirit
A game just started. Two teams of three players each (a “triplette” in French) compete. The team members are carefully selected according to their skills in “pointing” or in “shooting”. “Each player has a specific role or skill in the team”, Dung explains. Dung is a 19 year-old little girl but also a petanque three-time gold medalist and three times silver medalist at the Asean Games. “To point means to close in on the aim ball with precision, and to place your bowl in a tactical position, she continues. This is commonly achieved by lobbing the boule. After hitting the ground, it will roll the remaining feet and inches close to the cochonnet.” The pointer would normally favor a small, heavy boule. A heavy boule is indeed slightly more difficult to displace, and a boule of the minimum allowable diameter presents a smaller target to the opposition's shooters. Women and young people like Dung, usually having smaller hands and less arm strength, frequently compromise by selecting a bowl that is both light and small.
On the other hand, a shooter aims at taking out opponents bowls. “He would act like the wingman of the pointer, protecting the points of the team”, Mr Phu explains. A pointer should choose a lighter boule for the best chance of success. This may seem surprising, but in fact the decreased momentum of a light bowl gives it the best chance of remaining in place (close to the cochonnet) after knocking an opponent's boule out of the game, the perfect, and much admired, shot known as a “car-ro” in Vietnamese (from the word “carreau” in French). A shooter should not use a small bowl: a shot that just barely misses with a small bowl might have been effective if only that extra 5 mm had been on the radius!
“In choosing a bowl, Mr Phu resumes, perhaps the overriding consideration is to play with what feels comfortable to you. That is what I told Dung when she joined my team at 13 year-old in 2002. And 4 months later, she was champion of HCMC. 6 months later champion of Vietnam. And finally, Asean champion 9 months later!”
Anyone can play
Age, strength or speed are not important. Advanced players against beginners? There is always a bit of luck involved, especially on a bumpy terrain, so neither the beginner, nor the "pro" will get frustrated. “This is what attracted me at first with this game, D says. I was wandering around the Labour Club and heard the sound of metallic bowls hitting on each other. I was very intrigued when I saw people play this game. They were very friendly and invited me to play.” These days, at the Club, pétanque is played day in, day out. While retirees are in the majority during weekdays, teenagers and everyone else who wants to unwind for a while will join them after school or work and on weekends. Meanwhile the news of the day circulates, sometimes interrupted by heated arguments over the measuring abilities of the other team. But always in a jovial spirit. “After all, if you don't win today, you'll win tomorrow, or next week or next year”, Dung laughs. These players are more than friends. And for some of them, their children already play together just like them...
Young seeds
Vietnam is taking care of its young pétanque seeds. “Our latest recruit is Kieu, Mr Phu explains. She came to us one year ago.” Kieu is a 13 year-old, just like Dung when she joined the Vietnamese team, short and smiling girl. Dung actually encouraged Kieu to play the pétanque game and finally enter the national team. “I was selling drinks at the Club. Of course I could see people playing the pétanque game everyday. One day, Dung asked me if I wanted to try and finally, here I am! I really love this game”. The Ministry of Sports try to take good care of these yound seeds. Kieu for example, receives a usd 150 allowance per month, which allows her to save some money and send some to her parents. “Kieu and Dung come from poor families you know, Mr Phu explains. Pétanque has helped them improve their conditions, for their whole family as well.” Dung received usd 3,000 for her medals as well as a small house from the government. She trains everyday from 8am to 4pm. She repeats unrelentlessly her moves, tens of bowls at her feet, alternating pointing and shooting.
When asked if she is rather a pointer or a shooter, she laughs : “I try to be both. If I want to win the Asean games next year, I have to be good in both anyway!”
