A secret no more

MAMOU — The French game of Petanque is one that Al Guarisco said “has been kept a secret,” until now.
According to Al’s wife Arlette, Petanque is a game that “people play during vacation in France,” and it was while on vacation in her native country that her husband, who is from Thibodeaux, first discovered Petanque, and his desire to bring it back to the United States.
In their quest to make Petanque widely known in the U.S., the Guariscos will be traveling to Evangeline Parish for Le Grand Hoorah this coming weekend at Chicot State Park to demonstrate this unique game to festival goers.
“This isn’t a spectator sport, so I am anticipating having people wanting to play,” said Al. “If someone is watching, I’ll probably just hand them a ball and tell them to play with us. People want to play after they watch others.”
While the concept of this game is simple, winning can be a challenge, which instantly hooks you after your first throw of the metal ball towards a smaller ball called a cochonnet, which means piglet in French.
The player who will be tossing their metal balls or boules first, stands in a ring on the ground and throws the cochonnet at least six meters from where they are standing.
Once the cochonnet has landed in its spot, each player then takes turns throwing their boules from the same spot that the cochonnet was thrown from.
To throw the boule, a player grips the metal ball between their palm and four fingers. Al said, “Try to grip the ball without using your thumb, and throw it with the ball facing towards the ground.”
The object of the game is to have your boule land the closest to the cochonnet on the dirt court.
At the end of each round the closest boule to the cochonnet is identified, and that team is given one point.
For every ball that team has closest to the cochonnet, they are rewarded one point per ball.
So for example, if your team has the closest ball to the cochonnet, and then you have the next two closest balls, you will earn three points that round.
The winning team at the end of each round is the only team that is able to receive points.
After each round, the winning team gets to toss the cochonnet to a new spot, and the game continues until a team reaches 13 points.
The game can be played one on one, two on two, or three on three, and according to Arlette, “it’s always more fun to play with a team.”
If you are playing two on two, or three on three, then you will always have the opportunity to receive six points because there will be six boules thrown by each team.
However, if you are playing one on one, then you only have the opportunity to earn three points, because each person will throw three balls.
What makes the game even more fun according to the Guariscos is the fact that anyone can play.
Al said, “You can be in a wheelchair and play this game. That’s what makes this game great, anyone can learn how to play, and enjoy it.”
According to the Guariscos, Petanque also provides people with a fun way to spend time with their family.
Al said, “When we were in France one year for Father’s Day my son asked me what I wanted as a gift, and I told him I wanted him to come play in a Petanque tournament with me.”
Arlette then added, “That was a very special moment for Al. To have our son Jeremy there playing with us meant a lot to him.”
Now, the Guariscos are bringing Petanque to Evangeline, and according to Al, “Once people have the opportunity to see the game being played, and taste it, they won’t be able to get enough of it.”