The fort ball is a very unusual sport, balls not round, track not flat, Charentaise mandatory!
The Ball of the Strong, a sport of the strong?
Well, not at all! (Which does not mean, of course, that in Anjou, men are wimps!). So why "strong ball".
First, as I said in the introduction, the first characteristic of these balls is... that they are not round! They are made of cormier, resin, and they have two semi-flat "faces", and they are iron banded (see photos). The objective is to roll them over this strapping. Obviously, at the end of the race, they will end up falling on one side or the other, on one side or the other. Yes, but which one? And that's where we'll find the explanation of the word "strong". Indeed, there is a weak side, and a strong side, the latter being slightly heavier. Consequently, when the ball eventually falls to one side, it will fall to the strong side. Hence the name "fort ball", this characteristic being one of the elements of the sophisticated strategies developed by the players!
So, in Anjou, to play fort ball, we use tracks... that are not flat?
Indeed it is! We already have balls that are not round, so it makes perfect sense to use tracks that are not flat!
The tracks are generally made of resin. And, along the length, the two outer edges are raised. From there, you can imagine that a ball, thrown towards one of these raised edges, will start a curve that will bring it back towards the centre, then lead it towards the other edge, which will make it make another curve towards the centre, etc.
In other words, the ball will follow a sinusoidal trajectory, more or less pronounced depending on the initial force of the throw, among other things. And it is this trajectory that you have to imagine and control to place your ball exactly where you want it to go, when it will eventually fall on its strong side!
In short, it's quite technical and very subtle!
But why the Charentes?
Well, we just saw that the track is made of resin. So, the slippers allow both to hang well on the ground, and not to damage anything!
The balls don't damage anything either, because in this game, it's reflection and subtlety that counts.
No shooting! No shooting! We're not trying to make a "tile"! We drive with a mastery!
And where do we play the fort ball?
In Anjou, and exclusively in Anjou!
And, in addition, in Anjou, we have good manners... it would never occur to anyone to start playing, like that, the thug, in a public square, in the middle of the onlookers quick to mocking or mocking quibbles!
Come on, a little manners, though... in Anjou, we only play the fort ball in good society, and, in any case, only in Society.
And a Society in Anjou, what is it? No, it's not a commercial company! It is an assembly constituted with a name, a local, an office, and members, and created with the almost exclusive purpose of playing the fort ball. And until recently, they were only for men!
And there are several hundred Society in Anjou! There are often even two in the villages, bringing together the large social classes by affinity. That's strong!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator
