PETANQUE TERMINOLOGY
Think we should add a term? 

Here is a description of the various types of tournaments held in petanque,
with thanks to Bruce Marcus, Los Angeles Petanque Club!

Tête-à-tête: One against one. Usually separate competitions for men and women held simultaneously.

Select Doublette: Two person teams. Players generally enter as a pre-arranged team. Individuals wishing to participate can be paired up at the time of play by the tournament organizers. Teams can be two men, two women or mixed. Teams stay together for the entire tournament.

Melee Doublette: Two person teams. Teams are formed at the start of the tournament by lottery, drawing a player from the list of “pointers” to match with a player from a list of “shooters”. In a “Mixed” Doublette Mélée, teams consist of one man and one woman. If not specified, teams can be two men, two women or mixed. Teams stay together for the entire tournament.

Panache Doublette: Two person teams. Individuals are placed in groups of pointers and shooters and assigned numbers by lottery. Teams are formed at the start of each game according to an officially sanctioned number sequence, pairing a shooter and a pointer. ”. In a “Mixed” Panache Doublette, teams consist of one man and one woman. If not specified, teams can be two men, two women or mixed. Each player plays with a different partner for each game. Individual scores are maintained to establish tournament winners.

Two Select + One Melee Triplette: Three person teams. Two players enter as a pre-arranged team and a third player is added at the start of the tournament by lottery. Teams stay together for the entire tournament.

Select Doublette + One Panache Triplette: Three person teams. Two players enter as a pre-arranged Doublette team and a different third player is added at the start of each game by lottery from a group of Panache players according to an officially sanctioned number sequence. Panache and Select winners are determined independently. Individual score cards are maintained for the group of Panache players whereas the Doublette Select players are scored as a team. First, second and third place winners are determined for both the individual Panache players and the Doublette Select teams.

Select Triplette: Three person teams. Players generally enter as a pre-arranged team. Individuals wishing to participate can be teamed up at the time of play by the tournament organizers. Teams can be any combination of men and women. Teams stay together for the entire tournament.

Melee Triplette: Three person teams. Teams are formed at the start of the tournament by lottery, drawing players from lists of “pointers”, “shooters” and “intermediates”. Teams can be any combination of men and women. Teams stay together for the entire tournament.

Panache Triplette: Three person teams. Individuals are placed in groups of “pointers”, “shooters” and “intermediates” and assigned numbers by lottery. Teams are formed at the start of each game according to an officially sanctioned number sequence, each containing a shooter, pointer and intermediate. Each player plays with different partners for each game. Individual scores are maintained to establish tournament winners.

What they are

What we call them

Pétanque (PEH-TAHNK)

Syllables spoken almost equally. In old French, "feet tied together" but really meaning that the feet must stay still, hence a circle around the feet is drawn by the first player up. Many legends around petanque, and many more about the "feet tied together" thing. Most often repeated: a man confined to a wheelchair should be able to play the game. Hence, instead of taking a running shot as with the "Provence Game" the tosser stands still. Hence, a person sitting in a chair could play the game properly. Probably True. Who knows?

Cochonnet

The little ball used as the target. Usually smooth wood or reverse-dimpled resin, as approved by FPUSA/FIPJP.. Often called "Little One" or, depending on the country you're playing in: Jack, Snoddy, But(t), "Coche" (cosh), or some names we cannot print here.

Boules

(bool) A Petanque ball. Two types: competition (required in official competitions) and "party boules" for use at home, at the beach, but not in official competitions due to wide variances in weight - and sometimes shape is not perfectly round.

l'Arbitre

Arbiter - referee overseeing games. Also umpire, arbiter, judge. Arbiters are the "brains" behind any competition. They are closely knit with the technical committee of their organization and have spent much time reviewing the FIPJP rules regarding competitions and how they should be interpreted. Usually any game needing the services of an arbiter is allowed to do so even if the umpire is involved in their own game. BUT it is best to assure that the two team captains of the game in question have reached a complete impasse before calling in the arbiter. It's a last-resort call.

Piste

(peest(uh)) the grounds on which the petanque courts are laid out. The piece of the overall terrain where the game will occur.

(le) Rétro

The all important backspin is performed by holding the boule cupped in the hand with the wrist bent as inward as pain will allow. Then upon swinging, release the boule with a mighty turn of your hand upward, releasing the ball and causing it to spin backward...and so, to stay near where it lands, hopefully just adjacent to the cochonnet. Perfect this one and you're an expert.