34-year-old national petanque player Douch Sophaon practices at the National Sports Complex on July 28, 2009, ahead of the SEA Games in Vientiane.

THE Cambodia Petanque and Boules Sports Federation (CPBF), in collaboration with the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie de Phnom Penh, has sent out an open invitation to all petanque players, either local or expatriate, to participate in the inaugural Francophonie Cup, to be staged in March at the National Sports Complex.

According to Meas Sarin, undersecretary of state at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and also general secretary of the CPBF, the tournament is being organised as part of celebrations for International Francophone Day (March 20). Cambodia is a member of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (International Francophone Organisation).

Teams will be organised into three categories – men, women and mixed – with preliminary matches played from March 12-14, and semifinals and finals on March 22. Each team must not exceed five members (one coach, three players and one reserve) with a maximum of one member from the national team.

“We want to encourage the non-professional players and other parties to participate the event,” stated Meas Sarin. “If we can find sponsorship partners in time, we will contact the TV channels for broadcasting the final event [live]”

The CPBF was established in 1992 with members starting to compete in international competitions two years later. In 2001, Cambodia claimed their first ever medal at the SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, and have steadily increased their tally over the years up to last year’s tournament in Vientiane, which saw them bring home two golds, three silvers and five bronzes.

“Petanque always made a good account at international competitions for Cambodia. So we really need to encourage participation, especially from the younger generation,” explained Meas Sarin.

Registration fees are 10,000 riels each (US$2.41) or 40,000 riels per team, and deadline is March 9. Forms can be collected at the CPBF’s office inside Olympic Stadium, or you can make contact by email: [email protected].