@Kevin ORourke players from poorer countries and backgrounds who might be motivated by prize money, played this game since childhood on the street. Some of the best players probably never hit the official tournaments. I chatted to a lady in Brighton the other day who was over on a sabbatical from Thailand. She said her brother learnt to shoot on the coche only, plays like a God but the parents won’t let him take pétanque competitively because he has to help the family business. Not everything is the way it looks.

Hello everyone, I recently started to play pétanque competitively in February. Thanks to @Matt Blyton and @Stephen Daykin’s inspiration I am on quest to play this beautiful game in the most entertaining way to bring it the reputation it deserves. I picked up my first boule in 2000 and wrote my dissertation at uni on pétanque and its origins beyond La Ciotat. How do you measure your level? Do I score 100 points in shooting? Not yet. Have I won the world championship? Not yet. So far I got to the last 16 stage in the UK National Titles weekend in Singles and Doubles in May. Back in the day before I stopped playing competitively, I won a small tournament in Austria probably the highlight of my little career. 🤓

@Kevin ORourke haha, as would I!! Maybe one day I’ll get to the archives of Semmelweis University, Budapest