Home › Find a Club › United States
Pétanque in the United States
Where the game is played, who governs it and how to find a club. The Federation of Pétanque USA organizes affiliated clubs into seven regions, though most American pétanque happens outside the federation entirely.
FPUSA lists 52 affiliated clubs across seven regions. Its last published membership figure was 2,141, in December 2015, and it has reported roughly 30,000 people playing nationwide. Northern California, the Northeast and Florida hold the strongest scenes.
If you only want somewhere to play, start with the regional page nearest you.
13 pages
Regional pages
Each one covers the clubs, the courts you can use without joining anything, the local tournament calendar and what to expect on a first visit.
New York City
New York, Northeast
Clubs across Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Hudson waterfront, plus the free lessons at Bryant Park.
California
Statewide
Thirteen FPUSA clubs, a quarter of the national total, from the Bay Area down to Los Angeles and San Diego.
NorCal Wine Country
Mendocino to Sacramento, Northern California
Nine FPUSA clubs, the second-largest region in the federation, spread across wine country and the Sacramento Valley.
Pacific Northwest
Washington and Oregon, Northwest
Seattle, Portland, Port Townsend and Eugene. A Port Townsend player won the first US pétanque medal.
South Florida
Florida, Southeast
Forty-three permanent courts across two Palm Beach County clubs, more than anywhere else in the country.
Central and Gulf Florida
Florida, Southeast
Sanford, Sarasota, Tampa and Gainesville, plus the Amelia Island Open, the largest tournament in the country.
Carolinas and Atlanta
North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, Mid-America and Southeast
A large member network across the Carolinas, plus the Athens and Atlanta clubs.
Louisiana
Louisiana, Central
Two clubs in Cajun country, at Lafayette and Thibodaux, with two annual tournaments.
Texas
Austin, Dallas, San Antonio and El Paso
Five clubs across four metros, with weekly games on the lawn of a state historic site in Austin.
Colorado and New Mexico
Denver, Glenwood Springs and Santa Fe
Four clubs, including Mile High in Denver, which hosted the 2019 National Triples.
New England
Massachusetts and Maine
The oldest club in the country, founded 1958, and its descendant still playing in Boston’s Back Bay.
Chicago and the Midwest
Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota
In 2015 the largest FPUSA club by membership was in a rural Ohio village, not a city.
Washington DC
DC, Virginia and Maryland
Five groups across the capital region, none of which asks for a membership before you play.
Not seeing your area? Coverage grows where club organizers get in touch, so send the details if you run or play at a club in a metro that is not listed.
Pétanque, once a month
Club spotlights, new court listings, equipment notes and events across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Free. One click to leave.
How the federation is organized
The seven FPUSA regions
Each region runs its own tournament calendar and sends at least one counselor to the national board, more for regions with more members. Regional boundaries reflect federation administration rather than where play concentrates.
| Region | Area | Page on this site |
|---|---|---|
| Northeast | Maine down to Pennsylvania | New York City and New England |
| Mid-America | The Mason-Dixon line to the Carolinas, west to Wisconsin | Carolinas and Atlanta, Washington DC and Chicago and the Midwest |
| Central | Louisiana and Texas to Colorado, north to Minnesota | Louisiana, Texas, Colorado and New Mexico |
| Southeast | Georgia, Florida and the Gulf coast | South Florida and Central and Gulf Florida |
| Northern California | The northern half of California | NorCal Wine Country page |
| Southwest | Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah | California page |
| Northwest | Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana | Pacific Northwest page |
Areas with no page yet still have active clubs. The club directory covers the whole country, and the public courts page lists terrain you can use without joining anything.
Background
How the sport arrived
Two beginnings, one on each coast, and a decade of rivalry between two national bodies before either could speak for the country.
Worcester and San Francisco, 1958 and 1959
The first pétanque club in the country was Le Mistral, founded in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1958 by French expatriates. The organized national story, though, starts a year later on the other coast.
Jean Bontemps, an importer from Provence, founded La Boule d’Or in San Francisco in 1959. The following year it hosted an international tournament in Golden Gate Park, with players from Quebec, France and Tunisia.
La Boule Joyeuse and La Pétanque Marinière followed in the 1970s. The Bay Area still has the highest density of clubs in the country.
New York, 1968
The painter Alfred Levitt and his wife Gertrude founded La Boule New Yorkaise in 1968, playing first on the gravel paths of Central Park and later in Washington Square Park. Levitt approached the FIPJP and, with its blessing, founded the Federation of Petanque USA in 1973.
The FPUSA was incorporated in New York State on September 27 that year, with Levitt as its first president.
Two federations, 1976 to 1986
Bontemps had meanwhile moved to Washington, DC, and in 1976 set up a rival national body there, the American Petanque Association. The two coexisted for a decade.
The APA grew to 14 member clubs against the FPUSA’s 8, most of them on the west coast despite its east-coast base. It could never obtain FIPJP recognition, since the international federation would not recognize two national federations in one country.
The merger, 1986
Levitt was forced out as president in 1985 and succeeded by Hans Jepson. In 1986 Bob Morrison of the APA traveled to New York to meet Jepson, and the merger was agreed almost immediately.
The combined body kept the FPUSA name, the weaker of the two organizations but the one holding FIPJP recognition. Joseph Ardagna was elected first president of the merged federation early in 1987, the year Morrison and Joe Acciardi staged the first American international tournament on the National Mall.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Le Mistral founded in Worcester, Massachusetts, the first pétanque club in the country |
| 1968 | Alfred and Gertrude Levitt found La Boule New Yorkaise, still the oldest active club in New York |
| 1973 | The FPUSA is incorporated in New York State on September 27, with Levitt as first president |
| 1976 | Jean Bontemps sets up the rival American Petanque Association in Washington, DC |
| 1986 | The two bodies agree to merge, keeping the FPUSA name for its FIPJP recognition |
| 1987 | The merged federation elects its first president and stages the first US international tournament |
On the sources. Almost none of this sits in federation records, so the account above follows The birth of the FPUSA at All About Petanque, which draws on Frank Pipal’s entry in the Encyclopedia of Ethnicity and Sports in the United States together with interviews with Bob Morrison and Yngve Biltsted.
Dating the merger to one year is awkward, since the agreement came in 1986 and the merged federation elected its first president in 1987. Corrections from anyone holding federation papers are welcome.
Equipment
Buying boules
Equipment once meant ordering from France. It no longer does, and the price spread is wider than most beginners expect.
| Bracket | Models | Competition | Leisure | Junior |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under $95 | 34 | 4 | 17 | 13 |
| $95 to $119 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| $120 to $199 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 |
| $200 to $299 | 37 | 37 | 0 | 0 |
| $300 and up | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| All models | 101 | 71 | 17 | 13 |
Every leisure and junior set sits under 95 dollars and none appear above it. Competition boules run the other way, with 48 of the 71 competition models at 200 dollars or more.
A first competition set usually comes from the 95 to 199 dollar band, which holds 19 models.
Only competition boules are legal in sanctioned play. What the rules require is on the equipment page, and the boule selector turns hand size and playing style into a specification you can shop with.
Not on the FPUSA roster
Outside the federation
Roughly 52 clubs are affiliated, against some 30,000 people playing. Most of that gap sits in bars, wineries and neighborhood groups that never filed any paperwork.
Affiliation is a competition question, not a playing question. It decides who can enter sanctioned tournaments, nothing more, and every place below will let you walk on and play.
Our club directory lists both kinds, and the public courts page covers free terrain.
Commercial venues
The bar-and-terrain model arrived with Carreau Club in Brooklyn in 2020 and has spread unevenly since. It reaches people who would never approach a club, and it is the fastest-growing part of the American scene.
| Venue | City | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Carreau Club | Brooklyn, NY | Thirteen courts indoors and out at Industry City, the first bar in the country built around the game. A seasonal second site runs on Governors Island from Friday to Sunday |
| The Grayson Bar | Los Angeles, CA | Downtown bar on South Broadway with an indoor court and a pool table, open daily into the small hours |
| Justine’s Brasserie | Austin, TX | French brasserie in a 1937 bungalow, with a court on the patio and late kitchen hours |
| Parker Palm Springs | Palm Springs, CA | Hotel with two courts in the gardens, alongside croquet and clay tennis. Open to registered hotel guests only |
| Dutcher Crossing Winery | Geyserville, CA | Regulation court above Dry Creek Valley, bookable as a group session with bottle service |
| Pétanque Kitchen & Bar | West Palm Beach, FL | Northwood bar named for the game. It has moved along the street and current listings do not confirm a court, so call before going |
Chicago, Boston, Denver, Seattle, Portland and Washington all have active play, but through club terrain in public parks rather than through a venue. Check the public courts page for those.
Unaffiliated groups
Plenty of regular play runs outside the roster entirely. These groups tend to be free or near-free and are usually the easiest way into the sport.
| Group | City | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Legation Boules Club | Austin, TX | Independent club that organizes Wednesday morning games at the French Legation State Historic Site. Membership runs twenty dollars a year but turning up costs nothing |
| La Boule Joyeuse | Menlo Park, CA | Flood Park club running since the 1970s, playing Wednesdays and Saturdays with a tournament every third Sunday. Boules lent to newcomers |
| Alliance Française de Cincinnati | Newport, KY | Pétanque afternoons on the courts at Pompilio’s, with a rules sheet and drills before play. Free to attend with no registration |
| Pétanque in The Villages | The Villages, FL | Club and open play at two recreation centers in the largest retirement community in the country. Residents and their guests |
Meetup listings need care, since several of the larger pages are the front end of an FPUSA club and others have been dormant for years. Check the date on the most recent event before making a trip.
If there is nothing near you
Starting a club
FPUSA accepts new affiliations year-round, and the barrier is lower than people assume. Five committed players is enough to begin, and eight is enough to affiliate.
Find terrain
Most American clubs play on gravel paths in city parks. Ask the parks department to confirm that pétanque is permitted, since many cities already classify it under boules or lawn games and the answer comes back yes with no new permission needed.
Find five players
French cultural associations, Alliance Française chapters and neighborhood groups are the usual starting pools. Five people who turn up reliably beats twenty who might.
Set one regular session
Pick a single day and time and hold it for a whole season, because consistency does more than any amount of scheduling. Most clubs that survive began as a weekend morning gathering.
Affiliate
Submit the FPUSA club affiliation form, signed by at least eight members. It lets the club host sanctioned tournaments, enter regional and national championships, appear in the federation’s club finder and carry the FIPJP association.
The application includes each founding member’s FPUSA dues, $25 per adult and $5 per junior.
Tell us once you are running
New clubs get a free profile and a place on the regional page covering their area.
Common questions
Questions about pétanque in the US
How many pétanque clubs are there in the United States?
The Federation of Pétanque USA lists 52 affiliated clubs, organized into seven regions. Its last published membership figure was 2,141, counted in December 2015. The number of groups playing is higher, since plenty of small and backyard groups never affiliate.
FPUSA has also reported roughly 30,000 people playing nationwide. The gap between 30,000 players and 2,141 members is the unaffiliated population, and it is most of the sport in this country.
What is FPUSA?
The Federation of Pétanque USA, the national governing body and a member of the FIPJP. It was incorporated in New York State on September 27, 1973.
It took its present form after merging with the American Petanque Association, a rival body founded in Washington, DC in 1976. The merger was agreed in 1986 and the combined federation elected its first president the following year.
Member clubs sit in seven regions, each running its own tournament calendar and sending at least one counselor to the national board.
How much does FPUSA membership cost?
25 dollars a year for adults and 5 dollars for juniors, usually joined through a local club which adds its own modest dues. Independent membership is available where no club is within reach.
Where is pétanque strongest in the United States?
Three areas. Northern California has nine FPUSA clubs, and the federation names the Bay Area as the densest cluster of clubs in the country.
The Northeast has the oldest club history, from Le Mistral in Worcester in 1958 to La Boule New Yorkaise, playing since 1968. Florida has the biggest tournament and the most court infrastructure at a single venue.
Can I play if I do not speak French?
Yes. Every active club welcomes newcomers without a word of French.
The vocabulary that matters runs to about a dozen terms and gets picked up during the first couple of sessions, and our glossary covers them.
Is pétanque the same as bocce?
No. The balls, the delivery, the court and the scoring all differ, and the two have separate federations in the United States. Our comparison of the two games sets out the detail.
Elsewhere
The other two countries
Pétanque Central covers North America as one scene, and the differences between the three countries are sharper than the borders suggest.
Pétanque, once a month
Club spotlights, new court listings, equipment notes and events across the US, Canada and Mexico.
Free. One click to leave.
Overview
- Governing body: FPUSA, member of the FIPJP
- Published membership: 2,141 in 2015, across 52 clubs
- Reported players: around 30,000
- Regions: seven
- Membership: $25 adult, $5 junior
- Regional pages here: 13
- Strongest scenes: Northern California, Northeast, Florida
Find somewhere to play
Clubs across all three countries, plus 61 free public courts with addresses and access type.
Free Starter Kit
The rules, a boule sizing chart, court dimensions and the glossary in one printable PDF.
Boule selector
Five questions on hand size, throwing style and budget return the diameter, weight and hardness that suit you.