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Pétanque in the Pacific Northwest
Nine clubs across Washington and Oregon, thirteen courts at Edmonds and a Worlds qualifier in Portland. The first pétanque medal the United States ever won came from a club here.
Nine clubs across Washington and Oregon, one of them with thirteen courts and more than 125 members. Portland and Seattle are its two centers, but the strongest single story comes from a small town on the Olympic Peninsula.
The first pétanque medal the United States ever won came from a player at the Port Townsend club.
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Nine clubs
The clubs
Eight are on the FPUSA roster and one is not, which affects tournament entry and nothing else.
| Club | Where | Status | When they play | Venue and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Pétanque Club | Portland, OR | FPUSA | Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, 11am to 4pm | Westmoreland Park, 7535 SE 23rd Ave. Founded 2001, with its own clubhouse, playing year-round |
| Oregon Pétanque Alliance | Lake Oswego, OR | FPUSA | Sundays, 11am to 3pm | Foothills Park, beside the Willamette River. A nonprofit club with free lessons and longer hours in summer |
| Seattle Pétanque Club | Seattle, WA | FPUSA | Most Saturdays at noon | Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Ave N. Formed as an FPUSA club in 2005, after years of Sunday games at Bellevue Downtown Park |
| Edmonds Pétanque Club | Edmonds, WA | Not on the roster | Wednesday and Sunday at 1pm, Saturday at 10am | Thirteen courts at the Civic Playfield Pétanque Grove, and more than 125 members |
| Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance | Port Townsend, WA | FPUSA | Wednesday and Sunday from 1pm | Fort Worden State Park, beside NCO Row. Founded 2012, competing March through October |
| Bainbridge Island Boules Club | Bainbridge Island, WA | FPUSA | No published schedule | On the FPUSA Northwest roster. Contact the club through FPUSA |
| Walla Walla Pétanque Club | Walla Walla, WA | FPUSA | Sundays at 11am | Ten terrains at Patterson Cellars, 1564 Whiteley Rd, in eastern Washington wine country |
| Eugene Pétanque International | Eugene, OR | FPUSA | Sunday 10am to 1pm, Wednesday 6pm to 8pm | University Park, at E. 24th Avenue and University Street |
| Sunriver Pétanque Club | Sunriver, OR | FPUSA | Thursday and Sunday, 1pm to 3pm | Mary McCallum Park on Deschutes Road in central Oregon. Free |
One thing to know. Edmonds is one of the most active clubs in the region, with thirteen courts and more than 125 members, yet it does not appear on the current FPUSA roster.
Affiliation governs sanctioned tournament entry. It has no bearing on turning up to play.
July 2022
The first US medal
Bekah Howe of the Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance won the first pétanque medal in United States history.
The World Games, Birmingham
At the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, Howe took silver in women’s pétanque precision shooting on July 12. Cambodia’s Ouk Sreymom won gold and Thailand’s Phantipha Wongchuvej took bronze.
It was the first international medal the United States had ever won in the sport. The event was precision shooting, which some accounts wrongly record as singles.
Since then
She qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Thailand in women’s triples alongside Gerda Jorgensen and Chia Vang. In 2024 she won the Women’s Doubles Worlds Qualifier at Valley of the Moon with Michelle Dang.
She took the National Women’s Doubles at Portland in June 2025 with Alexandra Tisseur, and has won a string of Northwest regionals.
Where she plays
Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance, founded in 2012, plays at Fort Worden State Park beside NCO Row. Howe has been on its board since the club started.
She is Crow Creek Sioux, and has been covered as an Indigenous athlete as well as a pétanque player.
2026
The 2026 calendar
The region hosts a Worlds qualifier, three regionals and a set of club opens that draw players nationally.
| Date | Event | Host | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 20 | NW Regional Men’s Doubles and Women’s Doubles | Portland | Regional |
| June 21 | NW Regional Mixed Doubles | Portland | Regional |
| July 12 | Bastille Day Tournament | Edmonds | Club, 78 players in triples |
| July 18 to 19 | World Championship Women’s Triples Qualifier | Portland | Worlds qualifier |
| August, second weekend | Port Townsend Open | Port Townsend | Club |
| August 15 to 16 | Cascadia Cup | Portland | Regional team championship, second edition |
| August 29 | Food Bank Tournament | Edmonds | Club |
| September 12 to 13 | Rose City Open | Portland | Select doubles, 13th edition, 44-team cap |
Portland carries the heaviest load, hosting four FPUSA events in 2026 including the Women’s Triples Worlds Qualifier. The full national calendar is on our events page.
Background
How the region connected up
The Northwest clubs are unusually interlinked, because several of them came out of the same Seattle group.
Seattle first
Informal Sunday play at Bellevue Downtown Park went back to the mid-1990s under the name Seattle Club de Pétanque, organized through the French-American Chamber of Commerce.
It formalized as an FPUSA club in 2005. Its annual tournament is named for Henri Jouval, a Marseillais regular who called himself a fanatic of the game.
Then three more
Founding members Marvin and Sally moved to Walla Walla and started the club there in 2005. Another founding member, Rodney, started the Edmonds club with two players he had met at the Jouval tournament.
Portland’s club was founded in 2001. Joe Martin then found a derelict practice area at the Portland Lawn Bowling Club, and the club sublet it and improved it.
Where it stands
Port Townsend started its club in 2012, and the first FPUSA Northwest Regional was held at Edmonds in 2014. Eugene, Sunriver and Lake Oswego round out the Oregon side.
The Cascadia Cup, launched in 2025, is the region’s own attempt to settle the question of who is best across all of it.
Common questions
Questions about pétanque in the Pacific Northwest
Where can I play pétanque in Portland?
Portland Pétanque Club at the north end of Westmoreland Park, 7535 SE 23rd Ave. It plays all year, meeting regularly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm.
The club has a clubhouse on site and shares the Westmoreland facilities with the lawn bowling club under a joint agreement with Portland Parks.
Where can I play pétanque in Seattle?
Seattle Pétanque Club plays most Saturdays at noon at Lake Union Park, 860 Terry Ave N, and posts its dates on its Meetup group. Its older home was Bellevue Downtown Park.
Edmonds Pétanque Club, north of the city, has thirteen courts and plays Wednesdays and Sundays at 1pm and Saturdays at 10am.
Which club here has the most courts?
Edmonds, with thirteen at the Civic Playfield Pétanque Grove, and more than 125 members. It is one of the most active clubs in the region.
Walla Walla has ten terrains at Patterson Cellars. Edmonds is not currently on the FPUSA roster, which has no bearing on your ability to play there.
Who is Bekah Howe?
A US national team player who plays out of the Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance. In July 2022 she won silver at the World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, the first medal in pétanque the United States has ever won.
The event was women’s precision shooting, not singles. She is Crow Creek Sioux and has served on her club’s board since it started.
What has she done since?
She qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Thailand in women’s triples with Gerda Jorgensen and Chia Vang, and won the 2024 Women’s Doubles Worlds Qualifier at Valley of the Moon with Michelle Dang.
She also took the National Women’s Doubles title at Portland in June 2025 with Alexandra Tisseur.
Is there a public pétanque court in Seattle proper?
Eastlake Boulodrome Park, built in 2006 with city-donated granite curbs more than a century old. The Eastlake Community Council still describes it as a pétanque court.
Some listings say the neighborhood now uses it mainly for bocce. Worth a look before you plan around it.
Where can I play east of the Cascades?
Walla Walla Pétanque Club, Sundays at 11am on ten terrains at 1564 Whiteley Rd. The address has not changed but the winery has: Patterson Cellars bought Tertulia Cellars in 2022.
Sunriver Pétanque Club plays Thursday and Sunday from 1pm to 3pm at Mary McCallum Park in central Oregon, free.
How did the region's clubs connect to each other?
Mostly through Seattle. When Seattle formalized as an FPUSA club in 2005, founding members Marvin and Sally moved to Walla Walla and started the club there.
Another founding member, Rodney, started the Edmonds club with two players he had met at the Seattle tournament.
What is the Cascadia Cup?
A regional team championship launched in 2025, where Pacific Northwest clubs send teams to play singles, doubles and triples to settle who is best in the Northwest.
The 2026 edition ran August 15 and 16. The Rose City Open in September is the region’s largest club tournament, in its thirteenth year.
Elsewhere in the US
Other American regions
Twelve regional pages cover the United States.
Know a Northwest group we have missed?
Groups in eastern Washington and central Oregon rarely reach any roster. Send the details.
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
- Clubs: nine across two states
- Most courts: Edmonds, thirteen
- Largest membership: Edmonds, 125+
- Oldest FPUSA club: Portland, 2001
- US medals: one, Bekah Howe 2022
- 2026 Worlds qualifier: Portland, July
- Largest club open: Rose City Open, September
- Season: year-round in Portland and Seattle
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