' ('game of

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

'; also known as ', "boules of

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

") is a French form of

boules ''Boules'' () is a collective name for a wide range of games similar to bowls and bocce (In French: jeu or jeux, in Croatian: boćanje and in Italian: gioco or giochi) in which the objective is to throw or roll heavy balls (called in France, ...

. In

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the sport ', which is played with bronze balls, follows a similar set of rules.Petanque.org - Italian Games
(accessed 18 May 2008)

History

The current version of the game developed during the 18th century around the area of

. * The was formed in 1906. * About the same time, in 1907, the sport of ' split off to become its own sport. * It led to the formation of in 1933. * That became the in 1942.

Rules

The rules are similar to the game of ' except that: * A ' court is about twice the size of a ' court. * In ', the normal practice is to take a short run-up to the throw. (In ', the feet are fixed in one spot while throwing.) These differences reflect the reason that ' was invented – to create a sport that was accessible to a disabled player in a wheelchair. In addition: * in ' (as in '), each player has four boules when playing as singles (in ', each has three).

Grounds and equipment

Under official rules, the court must measure in length and between in width, with a clear play area of and at each end (one end is the Landing zone, and the other is where the players stand and throw). When the jack is thrown, it must land at least away from the player.

Boules

The boules vary in size, weight, and composition, usually to accommodate the player's comfort, but tend to be made of bronze (with the jack being wooden) and are usually in diameter and weigh .www.BocceVolo.com - Official Rules - Chapter 1 - Materials
/ref> They must be centrally balanced.

References

External links

Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal
web site
BocceVolo.com - World Class Bocce

Confederation Mondiale des Sports de Boules

Fédération Internationale de Boules (FIB)

Bocce in Volo - La community boccistica della specialità volo italiana
(Portale e forum sulle bocce italiane e mondiali)
A short video
showing Jeu Provençal being played * sport-boules in French Wikipedia Ball games Boules Culture of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Sports originating in France Lawn games {{France-sport-stub