Welcome to the monthly Newsletter of Petanque Australia, the governing body for petanque in Australia.

October proved to be an exceptionally active and prosperous period for Australian pétanque. During this month, two Australian teams proudly represented the nation when successfully competing in championship events held in France and Wallis-Futuna.

Our teams certainly demonstrated skill and determination throughout their games. Their impressive performances not only brought recognition to Australian pétanque but also resulted in a significant achievement for the sport in Australia.

Congratulations to both teams. They have now secured Australia’s qualification for the next series of Men’s and Women’s Precision Shooting & Triples World Championships. These are scheduled to take place in 2026 and 2027.

Aileen Hebblethwaite has recently stepped down as President of VPCI after eight years of dedicated service to pétanque in Victoria. On behalf of Pétanque Australia, sincere thanks are extended to Aileen for her contributions over the years.

Geoff Shaw, from the Mt Martha Club, has been announced as the new President and will serve in this role until the 2025 VPCI Annual General Meeting in November. At that time, he intends to stand for re-election.

2026 Trans-Tasman Challenge Teams have been finalised and announced. Congratulations to all players selected and officials appointed. We’re looking forward to a great event at Mt Martha, Victoria in March 2026.

The 2025 Weird International Men’s Masters and Women’s Challenge Tournament is scheduled for early November.  This is a prominent event on the Australian pétanque calendar. Good luck to all participating teams and have a rewarding and competitive tournament.

Bonne chance on the piste and do keep enjoying your pétanque.

Regards

Roger Maddern

President

Email: president@petanqueaustralia.org.au

Our 2025 Women's World Triples team finished the championships ranked 20th after the 5 qualifying rounds and went on to be defeated by Thailand (the silver medalists) in the round of 16. 

This great result means that the team secured Australia the right to compete in the next Women’s Precision Shooting & Triples World Championships, which are scheduled to take place in 2027.

Our team, Hina Ruduvo, Khrishika Ramjuttun, Selina Dally and Min (Minnie) Kuan Lim are pictured above with their round of 16 opponents, Thailand.

Our teams performed admirably at Wallis and Futuna, with Eric Carbonell and Delys Brady (pictured above) both winning a bronze medal. 

Our 2026 Trans Tasman team has been selected.

For all the details, follow this link to the Petanque Australia website: 

https://www.petanqueaustralia.org.au/news/teams-for-the-2026-trans-tasman-announced

On Sunday, 12 October Mt. Martha Bowls, Pétanque & Social Club held a Community Open Day.

The theme was: ”Sowing the Seed”.

Club members, led by Cliff Ferris and the organising committee, came out in droves to volunteer on the day. 

The recruitment results on the day were great, with 23 new members signing up, including 12 new Pétanque members with the expectation that more will join in the coming weeks. 

The club is hoping that the initiative of providing a "show bag" with promotional flyers will build interest in future membership, Jack Attack, Pop Up Pétanque, Barefoot Bowls and bookings for private functions. 

As advised previously, the 2026 National Championships will be the last to be held at Novar Gardens Petanque Club under the current agreement.

After analysing the results of the 2025 National Championships Participants Survey, the following changes to the general Conditions of Play will be implemented for the 2026 Championships:

• Eligibility to enter - A player must be an Australian citizen or have an Australian Permanent Resident Visa and hold a current Australian Player's Licence;
  
  
• Mixed Open Division to be replaced with Men’s Open and Women’s Open Divisions;
  
  
• Swiss System to be utilised in four qualifying rounds;
  
  
• All players will advance to the elimination rounds – Principale and Complémentaire.

Please note that the appropriateness of the current age classification of the 60+ age category is under review.

Petanque Australia will be consulting with clubs and leagues regarding the future structure of National Championships post 2026.

The PA Newsletter is sent to all PA-licensed players. If you have friends or colleagues who are interested in petanque, they can also get the Newsletter by subscribing on the Subscribe page of the PA website.