The following are the current rules as adopted by the Wellington Pètanque Association in September 2007. They replace any rules pre-dating this version.

General Information and Culture of the Competition:

The Jacques Cochonnet Trophy was presented to the Wellington Pétanque Association by Caffe L’Affare in 1999.

The trophy is to be played between clubs affiliated to the Wellington Pétanque Association (WPA) in the manner of the Ranfurly Shield played for in rugby.

The format is designed to be simple but encompasses all forms of play (i.e. singles, doubles and triples).

The nature of the event should be one of convivial interaction between clubs. The host club is encouraged to provide lunch/refreshments for the challenger at the conclusion of the match and both clubs are encouraged to make the most of social opportunities.

Matches may be played at any reasonable time convenient to BOTH the holder and the challenger.

Notification of the results of the match to the WPA "keeper of record" is the responsibility of the club who held the trophy at the start of that match.

Rules:

• Article 1
  The competition is open to any club or group (having more than 6 players) affiliated to the Wellington Pétanque Association. New clubs may only enter the competition when a draw of challengers is made or by applying to join the end of the queue (order of challenge).

• Article 2
  The draw to find the order of challenger will be made at a general meeting of the WPA.
  
  Cochonnets marked with the name of each club wishing to participate in the draw for that round will be placed in the Jacques Cochonnet Trophy and the President (or other delegated person) will invite each club present at the meeting to draw a cochonnet from the trophy.
  
  The order of clubs drawn will be the order of challenge. At the same time another draw will be made to determine whether the game will be played at home (the challenger's piste) or away (the holder's piste)

• Article 3
  The club holding the trophy does so until it is beaten in a challenge match. At that point the challenger becomes the holder and will accept challenges from the remaining clubs on the challenge list in the drawn order. The former holder does not join the challenge round until the next draw.

• Article 4
  All games are held at the home piste of either the challenger or the holder as determined by the draw in Article 2. Should the designated home club be unable or not wish to play at home, the away club must be given first refusal to host the match before other arrangements are made.

• Article 5
  Challenges take place between February and November inclusive. No challenge matches will be scheduled for December or January.

• Article 6
  The match must take place within 31 days of the conclusion of the previous match (except for the months of December and January).
  
  The holder must give the challenger at least 3 dates¹(playing days) from which to choose a suitable match date. Two of the dates offered must be separate weekends.
  
  If the challenger cannot accept one of the days offered, the holder will win the match by default. If the holder cannot offer the required number of dates, the challenger will win the match by default.
  
  Note: the requirement to offer 3 playing days is waived if there is a clash with a regional or national championship². However, a minimum of two dates must be offered.
  
  The intention of this article is to provide a moving window for challenges. For example, if a match is played on the 10^th of the month, then the next challenge must be played within 31 days. If the next challenge is played on the 17^th of the same month, then the subsequent challenge must be played within 31 days of the 17^th. Under this system it may be possible to play 3 or 4 challenges within a calendar month.

• Article 7
  A team will consist of 6 players.

• Article 8
  At the start of each match a draw will be made to decide who plays singles, doubles and triples. This is done by the holder placing the labeled cochonnets provided in the trophy and inviting each of the players in the challenger's team to pick a cochonnet out of the trophy.
  
  The player who draws the cochonnet with singles on it will be the singles player. The players who draw the cochonnet with doubles will be the doubles team and the players who draw the triples will be the triples team.
  
  The cochonnets will then be placed back into the trophy and the holders will then make a draw in the same manner as the challengers did.
  
  Note: The players play all games in their drawn discipline, there is no redraw between games.

• Article 9
  Three games will be played in each of the three disciplines (singles, doubles and triples). One point is given for each win with a possible top team score of 9. The first club to win 5 games will be declared the holder of the trophy. This means, for example, that even if a club loses the doubles 2-1 that one point can still help the club win the challenge.
  
  Note: All 9 games must be played.

• Article 10
  All games will be played to PNZ rules, but allowance will be made for local changes made necessary perhaps by smaller size pistes etc.

• Article 11
  All disputes will go to the WPA.
  
  The WPA executive members will appoint a 3 person panel to adjudicate on any dispute.
  
  The make-up of the panel will depend on the clubs involved in the dispute (i.e. the panel will be made up from clubs not involved in the dispute).

¹ The exception to this rule is the condition set out in article 5 and if there has been a legitimate change to a challenge date due to a clash with a regional or national championship tournament. Back
² The applicable regional and national championships are the singles, doubles and triples championships. Back