It’s noisy, it’s humid, it’s on the cramped side and perhaps worst of all: it doesn’t have its own canteen. The pétanque club Bois le Duc from Den Bosch is screaming bloody murder now that things are not going so well in the competition. This is partly due to the emergency tents, they say. They are not competitive. “The players lose their match focus as a result,” said the chairman.
The club takes ‘camping sport’ very literally. Since spring, there have been two large gray tents at Pétanque Union Bois le Duc. Pétanque, a form of jeu de boules, is played fanatically.
The club has been around for nine years now and does not yet have its own building. Playing pétanque outside in the cold and rain is impossible, so the municipality helped by placing emergency tents. According to chairman Antoon van Mil, it is in any case an improvement compared to just the outdoor courts. “But it is not ideal if I am very honest,” says the chairman with a sense of understatement. “For example, it is too noisy here. That has greatly contributed to the poor results of Bois le Duc 1 in particular, where the team spirit has clearly been affected in a very negative way.”
Don’t breathe
In addition to humidity and flapping tent canvases, lack of space is also a tricky issue in the tents. For example, Inge, who is sitting on the sidelines, points to some players on the court. “I think they may still be bothered by us,” she says. “When we sit here, sometimes we are not even allowed to breathe, so concentrated that they are working there,” Inge explains. “No, it’s not beneficial.”
It applies less to the opponent, the association says. “It’s a kind of ‘day out’ for them, allowing them to play with great pleasure and enthusiasm, but with an opponent who is not sufficiently focused on the match.”
Members are happy to have a roof over their heads. But a game of pétanque in a real building to play professional matches is what the club dreams of. The association does need support from politicians for this, because they cannot yet pay for such a building themselves.
Also the trainer can already imagine a pétanque stadium in Den Bosch. With its own canteen. “That is a requirement,” he says firmly. “The third half, it is very important. Perhaps the most important.”
To Gelderland
It does not matter to them where the hall should be located. But what the club does find important: it must become a building where other associations can also go. “A place that benefits the entire society,” says the chairman.
According to Antoon, it is certainly not due to the enthusiasm for pétanque. There is plenty of that in Den Bosch, he says. There are several courses and three years ago there was even a European championship. The club, which has existed since 2016, wanted to further develop the sport and opened the accommodation.
According to the club, a building would certainly be appropriate in the city. “There are two jeu de boules halls in Maasdriel, there is a hall in Sint-Michielsgestel, in Boxtel, in Berlicum, in Haaren, in Drunen, in Eindhoven,” Antoon summarizes. “And everything in between, but not in Den Bosch.”
From November 1, the Union is forced to move to a hall in Ammerzoden in Gelderland. They played there before in bad weather, before the tents were there.