Balle à la main is a traditional Picard sport. It is a team sport with two teams of seven players on a called field "''ballodrome''". It is a game of

gain-ground Gain-ground games are team sports which are played with a small ball or a balloon. They are often outdoors on a "''ballodrome''" but can also be played indoors. Among these games, longue paume and real tennis are the most well-known because t ...

' as

Longue paume Longue paume, or ''jeu de longue paume'', is an outdoor version of jeu de paume, an ancestor of modern lawn tennis. Hundreds of years ago it was quite popular, particularly in France. It is a game of gain-ground as Balle à la main. It was part ...

, which takes place in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

. Balle à la main is played on a rectangular field of 65 meters by 12 meters. As all the ballodromes of the games of gain-ground, the field has a line of fire and a rope.

Rules

The ball is made with a lead pit, surrounded with wool and covered with leather. The diameter is about 4,2 cm with a weight about 43 g. The game takes place according to the rules of the games of ''gagne-terrain'' (gain-ground) with in particular the use of the "''chasses''". We play bare handed. Points for a set count by "fifteen" (15, 30, 45 and set), with possible advantage in the tie-break. A match takes place in 7 sets. Maillot-balle-a-la-main-Aubigny

Sources

* Lazure, Marcel, ''Les jeux de balle et ballon picards: ballon au poing, balle à la main, balle au tamis, longue paume'', Centre régional de documentation pédagogique de Picardie,

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, France, 1996.

External links

*
Fédération Française de Balle à la Main
*
Inventaire du Patrimoine Culturel Immatériel des jeux traditionnels français
100px, left {{DEFAULTSORT:Balle à la main Games of gain-ground Ball games Team sports Sports originating in France Picardy