Inverleith Petanque Club to represent Scotland at the European Cup in France

An Edinburgh club will be carrying Scotland's colours onto the continental stage this autumn. Inverleith Petanque Club has qualified to represent Scotland at the 28th European Cup for Clubs, which takes place in Sin-le-Noble, Douai, in the north of France from 5 to 8 November.

Inverleith earned its place at the EuroCup qualifiers at Carnoustie, where it faced Newtongrange, Perth and Fochabers. After two tense days of competition at Auld Alliance Park, the home of Carnoustie Petanque Club on the town's old curling rink, Inverleith came through a head-to-head decider against Fochabers.

Club treasurer Shena Whelan said the team and the whole club were extremely proud to be representing Scotland at the Eurocup again. She described it as a hard-fought win against clubs they consider friends, and thanked Carnoustie for hosting.

Scottish Petanque Association president David Moxham congratulated Inverleith and said it was fitting that the weekend came down to the final two games. He added that the event showed clubs coming together to support petanque across Scotland.

Inverleith Petanque Club is a Scottish charitable incorporated organisation whose mission is to promote the game in Edinburgh and the surrounding area. It welcomes people of all ages and abilities, and it describes petanque, sometimes called French boules, as an inexpensive and fun game that is easy to learn. If you can throw a ball, the club says, you can play: the aim is simply to get your boule closer to the jack than your opponent's, from a distance of six to ten metres.

The club meets every Sunday throughout the year, usually starting at 11.30am with teams of two or three drawn at random, a lunch break in the clubhouse and a final game, finishing around 3pm. During the main season from April to October there are also Tuesday and Thursday evening sessions, along with coaching for those who want to improve.

New players are always welcome, and spare boules are available for anyone who wants to give it a go.

To find out more or to come along to a session, visit the Inverleith Petanque Club website.