THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL RULES OF THE GAME OF PETANQUE
as approved by the FIPJP at Izmir, Turkey in October 2010 and adapted for use by the
Federation of Petanque, USA
* Italic text marked by an asterisk denotes an FPUSA Sport Committee directive or clarification applicable to tournament play at FPUSA clubs.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
GENERAL RULES
Article 1 — Composition of Teams
Article 2a — Characteristics of Approved Boules
Article 2b — Penalties for Non-conforming Boules
Article 3 — Approved Jacks
Article 4 — Licenses
PLAY
Article 5 — Playing Areas and Regulation Courts
Article 6 — Starting the Game, Playing Circle
Article 7 — Jack Placement
Article 8 — Validity of the Jack
Article 9 — Jack Out-of Play
Article 10 — Removal of Obstacles
Article 10a — Changing, Breaking, Boule or Jack
JACK
Article 11 — Jack Hidden or Displaced
Article 12 — Jack Moved into Another Game
Article 13 — Jack Out-of-Play, Round Void
Article 14 — Placement of Jack after Interference
BOULES
Article 15 — Playing First, Following Boules
Article 16 — Players & Spectators - Game Conduct
Article 17 — Practicing, Boules Leaving Court
Article 18 — Boules Out-of-Play
Article 19 — Interference With Moving Boules
Article 20 — Playing Time Allowed
Article 21 — Displacement of Boules
Article 22 — Playing Wrong Boules
Article 23 — Boules Played Contrary to
the Rules
POINTS AND MEASURING
Article 24 — Moving Boules for Measuring
Article 25 — Measuring Points
Article 26 — Removing Boules
Article 27 — Displacement While Measuring
Article 28 — Equidistant Boules, Round Void
Article 29 — Removal of Debris for Measuring
DISCIPLINE
Article 30 — Complaints
Article 31 — Penalties for Absent Teams
or Players
Article 32 — Arrival of Absent Players
Article 33 — Replacement of Players
Article 34 — Penalties
Article 35 — Bad Weather
Article 36 — Unfinished Games
Article 37 — Lack of Sportsmanship
Article 38 — Disruptive Behavior
Article 39 — Umpires' Duties and Spectators' Conduct
Article 40 — Composition and Duties of Jury
F.P.U.S.A. Code of Behavior
— GENERAL —
Article 1 — Composition of Teams
Petanque is a sport in which
- 3 players play against 3 players (triples) or
- 2 players play against 2 players (doubles)or
- 1 player plays against 1 player (singles)
In triples, each player uses 2 boules.
In doubles and in singles, each player uses 3 boules.
No other version of the game is allowed.
Article 2a — Characteristics of
Approved Boules
Petanque is played with boules which are approved by the F.I.P.J.P. and which must conform to the following criteria:
1) They must be made of metal.
2) Their diameter must be between 7.05 cm (minimum) and 8 cm (maximum).
3) They must weigh between 650 grams (minimum) and 800 grams (maximum). The trademark of the manufacturer and the weight must be imprinted on the boules and must always be legible.
In the case of competitions reserved exclusively for players 11 years old or younger, junior boules that weigh 600 grams and are 65 mm in diameter may be used provided that they are made by an approved manufacturer.
4) They must not filled with any foreign material (e.g. sand or mercury). They must not be tampered with in any way, nor altered or modified after manufacture by an F.I.P.J.P.–approved maker. It is particularly forbidden to re-temper boules in order to modify the hardness provided by the manufacturer. A player's name or initials may be engraved on them after manufacture. Various logos and trademarks may be applied by the manufacturer.
Article 2b — Penalties for
Non-conforming Boules
A player found to have violated condition (4) of the article above is immediately disqualified from the competition together with his or her teammate(s).
If a boule, though not tampered with, fails examination because it is worn or defective or does not comply with (1), (2) or (3) above, the player must change it. He or she may also change the complete set.
Complaints relating to (1), (2) or (3) made by either team must be made before the first round of the game begins. All players should therefore ensure that their boules and those of their opponents comply with the conditions of Article 2a above.
Complaints relating to (4) may be made between two rounds at any time during the game. However from the third round onwards, if a complaint made about the boules of an opponent is proved to be unfounded, the team or the player complaining will be penalized 3 points which will be added to the opponents score.
The Umpire or the Jury may at any time check the boules of any player(s).
Article 3 — Approved Jacks
Jacks (Cochonnets) are made entirely of wood. *
Their diameter must be 30 mm (within a tolerance of ±1 mm).
Painted jacks are allowed. On no account may a jack be able to be picked up with a magnet.
* For safety reasons the FPUSA does not permit use of the FIPJP-approved VMS plastic-resin jack.
Article 4 — Licenses
A valid FPUSA membership card is required of all participants in FPUSA Title Tournaments: Players in these tournaments must be prepared to show their card to the Organizing Committee at the registration table or upon the request of the Umpire.
— PLAY —
Article 5 — Playing Areas and
Regulation Courts
The game of Petanque is played on any ground. A playing area may be made up of any number of courts marked out by lines not large enough to interfere with play. The lines between courts are not dead ball lines except for those at court ends and those that mark the limits of the entire playing area.
By decision of the Organizing Committee or the Umpire teams may be asked to play on a marked court whose minimum dimensions must be as follows:
For National Championships and International Competitions: 15 meters long and 4 meters wide. For other competitions the organizers may allow variations down to 12 meters by 3 meters.
If the playing area is surrounded by solid barriers (fences, walls, barricades etc.), they must be a minimum of 1 meter outside the dead ball line.
Games are played up to 13 points*. Games played in pools and qualifying rounds may be played to 11 points by direction of the organizer.
Competitions may be organized with time-limited games. These must always be played on marked courts. In this case all court lines are dead ball lines.
* A 15-point final match may be played at the discretion of the organizer.
Article 6 — Starting the Game,
Playing Circle
A coin-toss is used to decide which team chooses the court and throws the jack first.
If courts have been assigned by the organizers, the jack must be thrown on that court. A team may not play on a different court without the Umpire's permission.
Any member of the team winning the toss chooses the starting point and traces or places a circle on the ground large enough for any player to stand with both feet fully inside it. However it may not measure less than 35 cm or more than 50 cm in diameter. Where a prefabricated circle is used it must be rigid and have an internal diameter of 50 cm (within a tolerance of plus or minus 2 mm).
The use of prefabricated circles is by the decision of the organizer who must supply them. *
This circle, valid for the three consecutive throws allowed to a team, must be drawn or placed at least 1 meter from all obstacles. For competitions on unmarked courts it must be at least 2 meters from another playing circle in use.
The team that throws the jack must erase all playing circles near the one they are going to use.
The interior of the circle may be completely cleared at any time during the round but it must be restored to its original condition at the end of the round.
The circle is not considered to be out-of-bounds.
A player's feet must be entirely inside the circle without touching it, and must not leave the circle or be lifted completely off the ground until the thrown boule has touched the ground. No other part of the body may touch the ground outside the circle.
A player with a lower-body disability may place only one foot in the circle as necessary. For those who play from a wheelchair at least one wheel (that on the side of the throwing arm) must rest inside the circle.
The throw of the jack by one member of the team does not imply that he or she must play the first boule.
* In all FPUSA Title Tournaments, in those games where prefabricated circles are not in use, circles must be drawn clearly and accurately with a finger or pointed implement: use of the feet to draw circles is prohibited.
Article 7 — Jack Placement
For the thrown jack to be valid the following conditions apply:
1) The distance from it to the internal edge of the circle must be between
- 6 meters min. and 10 meters max. for Juniors and Seniors.
- Competitions for players 15 and younger may use shorter distances.
2) The circle must be at least 1 meter from any obstacle.
3) The jack must be at least 1 meter from any obstacle or out-of-bounds area.
4) The jack must be visible to a player whose feet are entirely inside the circle and who is standing absolutely upright. In case of a dispute the Umpire will decide if the jack is visible and his or her decision is final.
For the following round, the jack is thrown from a circle drawn or placed around the point where it was at the completion of the previous round, except in the following two cases:
- The circle would be less than 1 meter from an obstacle.
- The jack cannot be thrown out to all valid distances.
In the first case the player draws or places the circle at the regulation distance from the obstacle.
In the second case the player may step back, in line with the previous round's line of play, until he or she is able to throw the jack any valid distance up to, and not beyond, the maximum distance allowed. This may only be done if the jack cannot be thrown to the maximum distance in any other direction.
If after 3 consecutive throws by the same team the jack has not been thrown according to the rules of this article, it is then passed to the opposing team which also has 3 tries and which may move the circle back as described above. After this the circle cannot be moved again even if this team also fails its three throws.
A team has only one minute total in which to make all three throws of the jack.
Whatever the case, the team which lost the jack after the first three tries plays the first boule.
Article 8 — Validity of the Jack
If the thrown jack is stopped by the Umpire, a player, a spectator, an animal or any moving object, it is not valid and must be re-thrown without being included in the three throws to which the player or the team is entitled.
After the first boule is played, an opponent still has the right to contest the validity of the jack's position. If the objection is found valid, both the jack and the boule are re-thrown.
For the jack to be re-thrown both teams must have accepted the throw as being invalid or the Umpire must have declared it so. In either case the jack must be re-thrown. Any team proceeding otherwise loses the throw of the jack.
If the opponent has also played a boule the jack is considered valid and no objection can be accepted.
Article 9 — Jack Out-of-Play
The jack is out of play (dead) in the following 7 cases:
1) When it is displaced into an out-of-bounds area even if it comes back onto the playing area. A jack on the line of the boundary is still in play. It only becomes dead after having completely crossed the boundary. A jack floating freely in water is dead.
2) When though still on the playing area, the displaced jack is not visible from the circle as defined in Article 7. However a jack hidden by a boule is not dead. The Umpire may temporarily remove a boule to ascertain whether the jack is visible or not.
3) When the jack is displaced to more than 20 meters for Juniors and Seniors (or more than 15 meters for players 15 and younger) or to less than 3 meters from the playing circle.
4) When on marked-out courts the jack crosses more than one neighboring court or when it crosses the end line of the court.
5) When the displaced jack cannot be found after a search lasting no more than 5 minutes.
6) When there is an out-of-bounds area between the jack and the playing circle.
7) When in time-limited games the jack leaves the assigned court.
Article 10 — Removal of Obstacles
It is strictly forbidden for any player to remove, move or flatten any obstacle whatever on the playing area. However the player about to throw the jack is allowed to test a landing spot by tapping it no more than 3 times with one of his or her boules.
The player who is about to play or one of his teammates may fill any one hole, and only one, that was caused by the impact of a boule played at any time previously.
Infractions of these rules incur the penalties described in Article 34.
Article 10a — Changing, Breaking,
Boule or Jack
It is forbidden for any player to change boules or jack during a game, except in the following cases:
1) A boule or the jack cannot be found after a 5-minute search.
2) A boule or the jack breaks, in which case only the largest piece counts to mark the position. It is immediately replaced, after measuring if necessary, by a boule or jack of diameter identical or similar to the broken one.
Beginning in the following round, the player concerned may use a complete replacement set.
— JACK —
Article 11 — Jack Hidden or Displaced
If the jack becomes completely obscured by a leaf, a piece of paper, etc., these objects are removed.
If the jack is moved by the wind or the slope of the ground it is put back in its place provided the position had been marked. The same applies if the jack is moved accidentally by the Umpire, a player, a spectator, a boule or jack from another game, an animal or any moving object.
To avoid any dispute players must mark the jack's position. No claim can be accepted regarding boules or jack whose position has not been marked.
If the jack is moved by a boule played in this game, it is valid.
Article 12 — Jack Moved into
Another Game
If the jack is displaced onto an area where another game is in progress, either on a marked court or unmarked courts, the jack is valid subject to Article 9.
The players using this jack will wait for the players in the other game to finish their round before completing their own.
The players concerned must show patience and courtesy.
For the following round the teams return to the court assigned to them and the jack is thrown from where it was before it was displaced, subject to the conditions of Article 7.
Article 13 — Jack Out-of-Play,
Round Void
If the jack is out-of-play (dead), one of three cases can apply:
1) If both teams have boules left to play, the round is void and is replayed. When a voided round is replayed the throw of the jack goes to the team which last put the jack into play. Play of the first boule goes to the team which played first in the voided round.
2) If only one team has boules left to play then this team scores as many points as it has boules left to play.
3) If neither team has boules to play, the round is void and is replayed as in (1) above.
Article 14 — Placement of Jack after Interference
1) If the jack, having been hit, is stopped or diverted by a spectator or by the Umpire it remains where it stops.
2) If the jack, having been hit, is stopped or diverted by a player in the authorized playing area the opponent has the choice of:
a) Leaving the jack in its new position.
b) Putting it back in its original position.
i) Placing it anywhere on the extension of a line going from the point where it was hit to where it was stopped, up to a maximum distance of 20 meters from the circle and so that it is visible (or 15 meters for players 15 & younger).
Paragraphs (b) and (c) can only be applied if the position of the jack was previously marked. If it was not marked, the jack will remain where it lies.
If having been hit, the jack crosses into an out-of-bounds area before coming to rest on the playing area, it is out of play and the rules defined in Article 13 apply.












