[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":178},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-en-petanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans":3,"related-en-\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fpetanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans":142},{"id":4,"title":5,"affiliate":6,"author":7,"body":8,"date":108,"description":109,"extension":110,"faq":111,"image":124,"lastUpdated":125,"meta":126,"navigation":132,"path":133,"seo":134,"stem":135,"tags":136,"__hash__":141},"blog\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fpetanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans.md","How Pétanque Is Helping Heal Ukraine's War Veterans",false,"Petanqueverse Editorial Team",{"type":9,"value":10,"toc":98},"minimark",[11,15,19,22,27,36,39,43,46,49,53,61,65,68,71,75,78,81,85],[12,13,5],"h1",{"id":14},"how-pétanque-is-helping-heal-ukraines-war-veterans",[16,17,18],"p",{},"In 2015, a Ukrainian soldier named Sergueï Khrapko was severely wounded by an anti-personnel mine, losing an arm and a leg. Years later, he picked up a set of boules for the first time. \"Pétanque helps me improve my physical condition, to live better with my mutilated body,\" he told France 3 in July 2025. He now teaches the game to other wounded soldiers and, in 2025, competed at the Mondial La Marseillaise à pétanque in France - the same tournament that draws the sport's biggest stars every summer.",[16,20,21],{},"Khrapko's story is not an isolated one. Across Ukraine, pétanque has quietly become part of the country's response to a war that has left tens of thousands of soldiers with life-changing injuries. What started as a pastime borrowed from France has turned into an officially recognized rehabilitation tool, coordinated by federations, funded by international fundraising campaigns, and delivered, hospital by hospital, by volunteers.",[23,24,26],"h2",{"id":25},"a-therapy-recognized-by-ukraines-ministry-of-health","A Therapy Recognized by Ukraine's Ministry of Health",[16,28,29,30,35],{},"In 2023, Ukraine's Ministry of Health formally recognized pétanque's therapeutic value for wounded soldiers. The ",[31,32,34],"a",{"href":33},"\u002Fcountries\u002Fukraine","Ukrainian Pétanque Federation",", which initiated and coordinates the program, has since introduced the game into roughly ten military hospitals, according to reporting from the FIPJP and Mindsite News. More than 400 wounded soldiers have taken part in hospital workshops, and the federation set a goal of expanding the program to 50 hospitals by the end of 2025.",[16,37,38],{},"Oksana Yudenko, vice-president of the Ukrainian Pétanque Federation, told France 3 that the game was introduced into hospitals as a form of physical and emotional recreation - something soldiers recovering from severe injuries could do together, at their own pace, without the intensity of conventional physiotherapy.",[23,40,42],{"id":41},"why-a-french-backyard-game-works-as-rehabilitation","Why a French Backyard Game Works as Rehabilitation",[16,44,45],{},"Pétanque's appeal as a rehabilitation tool comes from what it does not demand. Unlike sports that require running, jumping, or heavy exertion, pétanque is a precision game: players stand or sit in a small circle and lob metal boules toward a target, the cochonnet, using controlled arm motion. That makes it playable by soldiers who have lost limbs, use wheelchairs, or are still rebuilding basic mobility.",[16,47,48],{},"At the same time, the game still demands genuine motor coordination, concentration, and strategic thinking - qualities that matter for cognitive as well as physical recovery. And because it is played in small, unhurried groups on an open terrain, it gives veterans a natural, low-pressure setting to reconnect socially after trauma, rather than a clinical one.",[23,50,52],{"id":51},"the-fipjps-pétanque-santé-ukraine-campaign","The FIPJP's Pétanque Santé Ukraine Campaign",[16,54,55,56,60],{},"The hospital program is backed by an international fundraising effort called Pétanque Santé Ukraine, coordinated by the FIPJP (the Fédération Internationale de Pétanque et Jeu Provençal) under president Gérard Schneider, who succeeded longtime president Claude Azéma at the federation's October 2025 congress in Douai, France, in collaboration with the French pétanque federation and with support from other European federations. The campaign funds equipment - boules, measuring tools, and educational materials - along with specialized training for the hospital staff and volunteers who run the sessions. ",[31,57,59],{"href":58},"\u002Fplayers\u002Fphilippe-quintais","Philippe Quintais",", pétanque's most decorated world champion, serves as the campaign's patron.",[23,62,64],{"id":63},"grassroots-clubs-filling-the-gap","Grassroots Clubs Filling the Gap",[16,66,67],{},"Institutional support is only part of the story. After Russia's full-scale invasion began in 2022, Dmytro Bugai, a co-founder of the Ukrainian Pétanque Federation, started teaching pétanque in parks near his home simply to give people a reason to gather. That grassroots instinct has been echoed elsewhere in the country.",[16,69,70],{},"In Kovel, in Ukraine's Volyn region, the Uptown Pétanque Club runs a project called \"Pétanque for Veterans and Defenders\" together with the NGO Ukrainian Association for Health Protection \"Marlog-Caduceus.\" Tournaments there have brought together veteran teams from Kovel and Lutsk alongside border guards, and the charity Nova Ukraine helped fund construction of the club's playing area.",[23,72,74],{"id":73},"kryvyi-rih-games-that-bring-whole-families-together","Kryvyi Rih: Games That Bring Whole Families Together",[16,76,77],{},"Pétanque's role in Ukraine's veteran community extends beyond hospitals and therapy sessions into public celebration. The 2025 Veterans Family Games in Kryvyi Rih - the industrial city in central Ukraine that is also home to President Volodymyr Zelensky - brought together more than 200 veterans and their families for a day of inclusive activities: a pétanque tournament, archery, art exhibitions, and educational workshops. The event was organized jointly by Rotary Club Kyiv International, the municipality of Kryvyi Rih, the Ukrainian Pétanque Federation, and the Kryvyi Rih Youth Center, with support from deputy mayor Serhii Miliutin.",[16,79,80],{},"Events like this reflect what organizers describe as the sport's biggest strength for this purpose: regardless of age, gender, or war-related injury, everyone on the terrain can take part on equal footing, and rediscover a sense of connection and belonging.",[23,82,84],{"id":83},"a-small-boule-a-big-impact","A Small Boule, A Big Impact",[16,86,87,88,92,93,97],{},"None of this makes pétanque a cure for the trauma of war. But for soldiers like Sergueï Khrapko, and for the hundreds of others who have picked up boules in hospital courtyards and city parks across Ukraine, a simple French game has become something closer to a lifeline - a way back to movement, to competition, and to community. If you want to understand the sport that is helping make that possible, our ",[31,89,91],{"href":90},"\u002Fguides\u002Fbeginners-guide-to-petanque","beginner's guide to pétanque"," and guide on ",[31,94,96],{"href":95},"\u002Fguides\u002Fhow-to-start-petanque-club","how to start a pétanque club"," are a good place to start.",{"title":99,"searchDepth":100,"depth":100,"links":101},"",2,[102,103,104,105,106,107],{"id":25,"depth":100,"text":26},{"id":41,"depth":100,"text":42},{"id":51,"depth":100,"text":52},{"id":63,"depth":100,"text":64},{"id":73,"depth":100,"text":74},{"id":83,"depth":100,"text":84},"2026-07-25","Ukraine's Ministry of Health recognized pétanque as therapy in 2023. Meet the wounded soldiers, federation volunteers, and grassroots clubs turning boules into rehabilitation.","md",[112,115,118,121],{"question":113,"answer":114},"Is pétanque really used as therapy for wounded soldiers in Ukraine?","Yes. Ukraine's Ministry of Health officially recognized pétanque's therapeutic value in 2023, and the Ukrainian Pétanque Federation now runs rehabilitation sessions in roughly ten military hospitals, with a stated goal of reaching 50 hospitals by the end of 2025.",{"question":116,"answer":117},"Who is Sergueï Khrapko?","Sergueï Khrapko is a Ukrainian soldier who lost an arm and a leg to an anti-personnel mine in 2015. In the years since, he took up pétanque as part of his rehabilitation, now teaches the game to other wounded soldiers, and competed at the 2025 Mondial La Marseillaise à pétanque in France.",{"question":119,"answer":120},"What is Pétanque Santé Ukraine?","Pétanque Santé Ukraine is a fundraising and equipment campaign coordinated by the FIPJP (the international pétanque federation) under president Gérard Schneider, with support from the French federation and other European federations. It funds boules, measuring tools, and specialized training for Ukrainian hospital staff. Fourteen-time world champion Philippe Quintais serves as its patron.",{"question":122,"answer":123},"Why is pétanque well suited to rehabilitating wounded soldiers?","Pétanque requires motor coordination, concentration, and precision without demanding intense physical effort, which makes it accessible to amputees and soldiers with limited mobility. Its social, unhurried format also gives veterans a low-pressure way to reconnect with other people after trauma.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fpetanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans.png","2026-08-03",{"targetKeywords":127},[128,129,130,131],"petanque ukraine veterans","petanque sante ukraine","petanque therapy wounded soldiers","petanque rehabilitation",true,"\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fpetanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans",{"title":5,"description":109},"blog\u002Fen\u002Fpetanque-healing-ukraines-war-veterans",[137,138,139,140,129],"community","Ukraine","rehabilitation","veterans","POiw-VHRo3MnS92d2pfiA2O4jcRIXEtYGYwaFxfwPW0",[143,154,166],{"path":144,"title":145,"description":146,"image":147,"tags":148,"collection":152,"overlap":153},"\u002Fguides\u002Fen\u002Fhow-to-start-petanque-club","How to Start a Pétanque Club: The Complete Guide","Learn how to start a pétanque club from scratch: recruit founding members, affiliate with your federation, secure a terrain, fund it, and launch your first event.","\u002Fimages\u002Fguides\u002Fstart-petanque-club.png",[137,149,150,151],"club","organizing","how-to","guides",1,{"path":155,"title":156,"description":157,"image":158,"tags":159,"collection":164,"overlap":165},"\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Fboule-materials-carbon-vs-stainless","Pétanque Boule Materials: Carbon Steel vs Stainless Steel","A deep dive into the differences between carbon steel and stainless steel pétanque boules, and how to choose the right material for your playing style.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fboule-materials.png",[160,161,162,163],"equipment","guide","boules","materials","blog",0,{"path":167,"title":168,"description":169,"image":170,"tags":171,"collection":164,"overlap":165},"\u002Fblog\u002Fen\u002Ffrench-petanque-championships-2026-results","2026 French Pétanque National Championships: Full Results","Henri Lacroix claimed a record 23rd French title in triplette, Dylan Rocher completed his national collection in mixed triplette, and Christophe Sarrio finally won tête-à-tête. Full 2026 results.","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Ffrench-petanque-championships-2026-results.png",[172,173,174,175,176,177],"Championnat de France","French Championships","Tournament Results","2026","Henri Lacroix","Dylan Rocher",1786097160111]