Princes Park welcomes petanque stars (From News Shopper)

Princes Park welcomes petanque stars

4:54pm Wednesday 13th August 2008

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THIS weekend sees the annual home nations tournament between the English, Scottish and Welsh Petanque Associations take place at Princes Park, the home of Dartford FC.

The car park will be taken over by around 100 keen players from the three nations competing to take home the trophy this year.

This is the first time Princes Park has been used to host the competition, which rotates between each of the three countries on an annual basis.

Petanque, more closely associated with our French neighbours, is widely played throughout the UK with approximately 3,000 registered players eligible to qualify for this competition.

Within the squad from each country, the teams of three, or four allowing for substitutions, can be made up of players of any age and gender.

Indeed, it is not unusual to see families playing together.

Disability is no barrier either, making petanque one of the most integrated and accessible sports available.

Kent is home to more than 700 registered players, many of whom compete in the Wednesday night triples league, which has 70 teams playing every week during the summer at pubs and sports centres around the county.

There is also an active winter league for those hardy souls who can't bear to give up during the colder months.

Players from Kent are playing in some of the top sides this year, taking part in the international North Sea petanque tournament, the European junior championships and the ladies' world championships, having qualified through a number of competitions around the country in the past few months.

Many of those players will be using the home nations as a useful part of their training.

For anyone interested in learning more about the game, there will be a demonstration and "come and try" area to encourage potential new players to have a go and learn more about the sport, which takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.

For more information, visit englishpetanque.co.uk or kentpetanque.org or call Annette Eggleton on 07742 831314 or Martin Eggleton on 07703 195723.

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