Every 4 years, when the Olympic Winter Games are on, you hear some people shouting: "That's not a sport!" Passionate curlers get offended, and here we go again...
First of all, that's why they call it the Olympic Games, and not Sports.
NY Post reporters at least got off their lazy asses chairs, made an effort to try it out for themselves and filed this report:
Much the same can be said about pétanque. Don't judge until you give it a shot first. Personally I don't care whether you call it a sport or a game. As long as we're having fun!
There's no doubt curling & petanque (ànd bocce, lawn bowling & shuffleboard) have a lot in common. The purpose in itself, the way you score, and especially the fact you can knock the other team out. Very different from pin bowling, where you have no way of interfering with your opponent, thus no room for tactics.
What I did not realize is how expensive curling equipment is! Browsing around at Steve's Curling Supplies, I discovered that a new competition curling stone (38 to 44lbs) costs $ 450, and you need 16 for a game, that's $7,200. No wonder they also offer used ones at $3,800 for a set. Brushes run anywhere from $42 to $189. Shoes from $99 to $265. And then come the various accessories.
So if the argument is "which is the cheaper sport game?", petanque wins hands down.
And we need to get more newspapers / TV stations to visit petanque clubs!
