French sport mixes tosses with pinpoint accuracy

Published 1:30 am Thursday, July 23, 2026

PORT TOWNSEND — There are not many sporting events where the playing surface includes a dead octopus, where a seagull can steal a piece of the game, and where you’ll pick up a little French along the way.

The Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance’s annual Low Tide Open has all of those things.

Twenty-four players spread out across the wide expanse south of the Port Townsend Boat Haven last week to toss boules — balls — on the slimy, seaweed-covered sand scattered with clam shells and parts of crabs at a small target called the cochonnet — literally “piglet.”

Pétanque — pronounced “pay-tonk” — is similar to English lawn bowling and bocce. As in horseshoes, the object is to land as close to a target as possible. As in curling, knocking an opponent’s boule away from the target is part of the strategy.

Originating in Provence, France, in 1907, the game is now played in more than 160 countries.

Pétanque players throw with a distinctive backhand motion, palm facing down and with a flick of the wrist that lobs the boule into the air on its way to the target.

Each player has three boules, and when they have all been thrown, the team whose boule sits closest to the cochonnet takes the round and scores for each of its boules closer than the other team’s best. Games are played to 13 points.

Established by Robert Force in 2012, the Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance has grown to 80 members who play at its 20 gravel courts at Fort Worden State Park.

The Low Tide Open is pétanque sauvage — played on unmarked ground rather than dedicated courts. And the tide sets the date. The Open has been played in June, July and August — whenever the water is lowest.

Things go wrong at the Open in ways they don’t on a proper court. One year a seagull made off with Force’s cochonnet. Another year play ran long, the tide turned and the water chased the players up onto the sand next to the parking lot.

The trophies Force creates for the Open reflect its spirit and location: clam shells painted gold or silver, a bottle of Champagne with a clam shell medallion and the Low Tide Trophy, engraved with the winners’ names.

Instead of an entry fee, a donation to the Tri-Area Food Bank is the only cost to play.

Barb Phillips of Port Ludlow is a tennis player who took up pétanque three years ago after a friend invited her to try it.

“I’m right-handed, but I play pétanque left-handed to save my arm for tennis,” she said.

It didn’t seem to impact her performance: she and teammate, Rhonda Lauth, defeated Force and his teammate, Dave Robison.

Pétanque requires no equipment beyond the boules themselves, which run about $225 for a set of three.

Sizes and weights vary by player. Terry Kling’s boules weigh 660 grams and are 72 millimeters in diameter.

“It depends on the size of your hand and what feels comfortable,” she said.

Made of steel, boules are marked with grooved lines or patterns that affect grip and distinguish one player’s boules from another’s.

In August, the alliance will hold the Port Townsend Open, an event sanctioned by Federation of Pétanque U.S.A., the sport’s national governing body, that draws competitors from up and down the West Coast. The following month, it will host the the Cross-Sound Cup, its annual competition against the Edmonds Pétanque Club.

Bekah Howe of Port Townsend got her start in pétanque with the alliance and went on to become the first U.S. athlete to medal in the sport, taking silver at the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Ala.

Force encouraged anyone curious about pétanque to drop by its Wednesday and Sunday meetups at Fort Worden. It’s a sport, he says, that anyone of any age can play.

It’s not so much strength, but strategy, skill and concentration that are rewarded.

“Basically, if you can throw a ball, you can play pétanque,” he said.

The alliance

The Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance meets at 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays at the courts on NCO Row at Fort Worden State Park. It welcomes new members of all ages and abilities.

Port Townsend Open

When: Aug. 7-9.

Where: Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance courts on NCO Row at Fort Worden State Park.

Aug. 7: Practice play, skills competitions and potluck dinner.

Aug. 8: Select doubles tournament, $1,500 first place.

Aug. 9: Select doubles tournament, new partners required — any player who competed Saturday must pair with a different partner, $1,500 first place.

Payouts to the top eight teams.

Cross-Sound Cup against Edmonds Pétanque Club

When: Sept. 18.

Where: Port Townsend Pétanque Alliance courts on NCO Row at Fort Worden State Park.

For information about events or to register, go to www.porttownsendpetanque.com/book-online.

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Reporter Paula Hunt can be reached by email at paula.hunt@peninsuladailynews.com.