There is nothing out of date about pétanque anymore. And it is not young people aged 20 to 30 in the Lot who will say the opposite. Enrollments in the twenties jumped last year, in the midst of Covid. Attracted by the friendly spirit, the young people dusted off grandpa’s game of boules.
They are in their twenties and swear by pétanque. In the Lot, pétanque clubs are rubbing their hands: since last year, they have seen a new profile of twenty-somethings registering for pétanque for the first time. “It’s a nice surprise, we see an increase in the number of 20-30 year olds especially in 2021”, explains Christian Gramont, president of the pétanque committee in the Lot. In 2020, they were 38 of this age group out of 2,312 made redundant, i.e. barely 1.6% of the workforce. But the year 2021 marks a new turn with an explosion of 115 licensees aged 20 to 30 in the Lot associations, or 5.7% of the total workforce.
The president can not get over it especially that at the beginning of the year 2022, 31 twenty-year-olds have already taken their license out of 626 for the current year while registrations last until February. And of these 31 registrations, 18 are new arrivals. A trend which is confirmed and which does not displease Christian Gramont: “While the under-18s are on the decline, we have lost 40% in four years, we are happy to see that the teams are renewing themselves” . How to explain such enthusiasm? “The covid has played a role, since team sports have been undermined, young people have turned to this outdoor sport which brings together competition but also conviviality,” replied the chairman of the committee. Pétanque was also popularized by the broadcasting of the masters and championships of France on the channel The Team.fr. And there is also a “slightly bobo fashion phenomenon”, which appeals to young people in search of festive moments.
“I wanted to find a social life like in rugby”
A friendly spirit is exactly what Rhoan Souillac, who lives in Boissières, was looking for. The former Cahors XIII rugby player changed grounds last year. Exit the stadium, welcome to the Luzech bowling alley. “I work in the construction industry and I am on the move all year round, often at weekends in rugby, I hurt myself and I had trouble keeping work,” he says. So, the 28-year-old Lotois cut it short. “I had less activity and I was looking for a hobby, I wanted to train but especially to find a social life like I had in rugby, I have friends who are champions of departmental pétanque so I took the plunge “, he explains. And he does not regret: “I find my account there, I have fun, I join my friends, I am surrounded and I leave my home, even when it rains because the bowling alley is covered and in addition, I know that there will always be people “.
Others like Malorie are doing their fourteenth year of pétanque. “I started at 6 years old, my father played there, he taught me, I accompanied him everywhere, to training and to the championships”, explains the 20-year-old Lotoise, who has just taken back her license at the Boule Cadurcienne . At 26, Sylvain made a choice for him: he quit boxing to devote himself to pétanque. “It’s quite mental, it is certain at our age it is not common, it can surprise in the entourage”, he confides. Like Malorie and Rhoan, he does not intend to put the balls away.
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