PETANQUE
Photo: SantiMB.Photos ( Flickr). Licence: CC BY-NC-ND
Petanque is a very traditional sport in the whole Community of Madrid and there are a great number of playing grounds in parks and recreational areas. The practice of this traditional sport requires a playing ground 15 meter long and 4 meter wide.
Material: metal balls with a diameter between 7.05 and 8 cm and from 650 to 800 grams weight. The “boliche” is a piece of wood between 25 and 35mm in diameter.
Duration: the time required to reach 13 points.
Rules: The point goes to the ball closest to the “boliche”. The opponent must keep playing until getting the point back. Each ball of the same team counts as one point if none of the balls of the opposite team is closer to the “boliche”; the points are counted at the end of each round when all the balls have been thrown. Each player can throw the ball in a different way: throwing the ball carefully trying to launch it as close as possible to the “boliche” – move known as “apuntar”-, or throwing the ball vigorously with the purpose of hitting and moving away one of the balls of the opposite team –move known as "tirar”.
Players: 1 on 1, 2 on 2 (couples) or 3 on 3 (triplets).
Photo:Ayuntament de Vilanova i la Geltrú (Flickr). License: CC BY
In the Community of Madrid there are multiple petanque clubs, members of the regional federation Federación Madrileña de Petanca.