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A TRAINING CAMP for women petanque players is taking place in Austin, TX from March 24-27. The event organizers, Kasia Sliz from New York and Jeanne-Marie Browning of Austin, answered a few questions about the event.  What started the idea for having the Women's Petanque Retreat? Kasia: Women’s petanque, in the US, is a very small group and players are scattered across the country. The problem with large distances between clubs is that it impedes raising the competition level and also makes players very disconnected. Jeanne-Marie: We thought of it as a retreat, because the focus is not only on improving technical and strategic skill sets, but also to gain a greater understanding of participants goals and expectations. Some players want to improve their skill sets in petanque for their own personal gain, while others are attempting to gain footing on the national and international competition scale. Kasia: The tools to learn and improve the petanque of game are pretty limited. I think one of the best training opportunities is to bring professional coaches and use their knowledge and expertise.
A few months ago, I started a female oriented petanque group on social media, wondering what their opinion would be about the training camp. The feedback was extremely optimistic. We all agreed that proper training, and the possibility of getting to know each other, is what we need. This is where I connected to Jeanne-Marie Browning, who shared the same ideas and excitement as me and we decided to make this camp happen. Jeanne-Marie: The number of women participating as well as the level of competition has greatly increased and improved, and it needs to be recognized. As a player who has had the opportunity to travel to various clubs and tournaments, the concept of women centered training has been a common topic. So we decided to focus on a women’s retreat or training, as a smaller group of participants, therefore easier to manage as a first run. Based on interest, feedback we do hope to continue with a women focused training, as well as a junior’s and any other training camps. What are a few things you'd like to accomplish with this retreat? Kasia: The event will mainly focus on sharpening our skills, but we are also looking to strengthen bonds within our petanque women circle. Our goal is to grow as players, build a strong community and find ways to promote the game. Why Austin, TX? Kasia: Location was determined as it’s a fair distance for all the players and weather conditions that would allow to organize the event before the official petanque season kicks in. How did you decide on Florence Trellu? Kasia: We searched for a certified coach with proven experience working with female professional players. Florence Trellu worked with athletes from many different countries in the past, she was exposed to diversity at all levels of the game. Her work is described as extremely solid and professional’ by people that had a chance to work with her before. Florence works as National Technical Advisor of French Federation of Petanque and Jeu Provencal (FFPJP) which speaks for itself about her expertise. Would you like for the retreat to be an annual event? Kasia: If we succeed this year then definitely yes! Jeanne-Marie Ideally, we would be able to expand events such as this, open to all participants, yet possibly maintain a women centric retreat, as well as introduce a juniors’ retreat to promote the sport to our youth. How many have registered for the training camp and do you have a limit? Kasia: We have 39 registered and are putting a cap at 48. If you’d like to register please send an email to: petanquewomenusa@gmail.com If you’d like to make a donation, please click here. Comments are closed.
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