Hibiscus Petanque

BASIC PETANQUE RULES

CIRCLE

The circle must be marked by the player throwing the first boule. It is required to be marked by a horizontal and vertical line at the side of the circle. This is to enable the circle to be replaced in the exact position if it is inadvertently removed. The circle can be moved back 2 metres only if there is less than 11 metres of playing area available ahead.

If a player picks up the circle before their team has played all their boules then they forfeit those they have not played. If the opposition team have boules still to play, the circle is replaced and they can continue to play until they have played all their boules.

PLAYER IN THE CIRCLE

The players feet must be entirely within the circle. The feet must not leave it or be lifted completely off the ground until the thrown boule has touched the ground.

COCHONNET (or jack)

A valid throw of the cochonnet must be between 6 to 10 metres. The measurement is taken from the inside rim of the circle and the complete cochonnet must be over the 6m measurement. For a 10 metre measure the closest edge of the cochonnet must be inside or on the limit. The thrown cochonnet must be at least 500mm from the end of the terrain but there is no minimum requirement for it's distance from the sideline. If the thrown cochonnet is not valid it is passed to the opposition to place it where they would like it. The original player still has the first throw. The opposition have the right to contest the length after the first boule is thrown, and they would place the jack and then the first players boule would be replayed. The cochonnet must be marked at all times.

If during an end the cochonnet is shot out and becomes dead, one of the following 3 cases can apply:

1. If both teams have boules to play the end is void and restarted at the opposite end by the team who threw the cochonnet in the previous end.

2. Only one team has boules to play, this team scores as many points as boules that remain to be played.

3. The 2 teams have no more boules in hand and the end is void.

WHERE TO STAND

When a player is in the circle the other players must remain silent. A good habit to get into is to stand just past the cochonnet with the other members of your team. This is the ideal place to gather valuable information about the terrain and formulate strategy. If your team is in the circle then your own team members can stand anywhere on the piste. The opponents must remain beyond the cochonnet or behind the player in the circle and in both cases at least 2 metres from both the player in the circle or the cochonnet.

PLAYING A BOULE

A player has one minute to play his/her boule. The measuring of a point is the duty of the player who last played or someone from their team. If it is the final scoring of an end the opposition will look and advise how many points they will give. These will be picked up and placed away from the remaining boules. If the team who has won the end think they may have further points, they ask to measure the remaining boules to ascertain the next closest.

If a player picks up his/her boules before their team has played all their boules their teams remaining boules are considered dead and cannot be played.

FILLING IN A DIVOT

The team playing the next boule is permitted to fill in one divot prior to throwing their boule. This is to replace the metal over the divot and can be done by sweeping with the feet or the hand however it is not permitted to use downward pressure ie stamp on the area.

Click here for the FIPJP Rules and Petanque NZ Interpretations (updated June 2023).