New Pétanque Club to open at Molescroft Pavilion
Wed 31st July 2019
It's not every day a new sport comes to Beverley! You would think with cricket, tennis, football, rugby, croquet, badminton, squash, swimming, athletics, running, fencing, gymnastics, hockey, pole-dancing, archery, bowling, netball, golf, sub-aqua and martial arts there would be every type of club you could think of in the area - but, if you are a francophile, there is one very great omission - Pétanque! Thierry Condette started playing pétanque about 6 years ago and got the bug! From discussions with fellow pétanque fans, he knew there would be an appetite for starting a club in Beverley. When he approached Molescroft Paris Council to build a piste, they greeted the idea enthusiastically - and now the club is due to open in the next couple of weeks!
Pétanque is one of the 'boules' sports which has a lot in common with lawn and crown bowls, in that boules/bowls are played towards their target. The original name for this version was 'pieds tanqués' which means "feet planted" (on the ground). Boules can be dated back to ancient Greece but pétanque is gaining in popularity in the UK because anyone can play it and it only needs a small area. The boulodrome (piste) at Molescroft will be 9m x 15m.
Thierry is actively seeking expressions of interest from people who wish to join the club or just have a go! He is expecting the club will be open on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, all day Wednesday and Saturday mornings. At the moment, the club has just 6 sets of boules for people to use but as more and more people join, he is expecting more will get their own sets. There will also be competitions between members as well as with neighbouring clubs. Thierry himself plays in the Northern Pétanque League and has 2 sets of boules depending on whether he is 'shooting' or 'punting'. These are finer points of the game which, Thierry says, newcomers will soon pick up!
To find out more, visit the Facebook page Molescroft/Beverley Petanque Club, or give Thierry a call on 07849 067110 or catch him at TC Patisserie on Lairgate 01482 860884
