Welcome to the website of Pétanque Wellington. On these pages you will find information regarding the game of Pétanque, also known as Boules or French Bowls, within the lower North Island of New Zealand.
Please take some time to browse through the site and we welcome your feedback (webmaster@petanque.org.nz).
01 May 2026
Masterton's open Mêlée is on 14th May 2026. Entries close on 11th May.
please contact Graeme Morris on 0272479370 or Email for entry.
01 May 2026
Registered players within the WPA are invited to put their names forward for selection to play in the Wellington team for the annual Chanticleer trophy match against Auckland.
The match will be held in Auckland the weekend of 22nd/23rd August (venue to be advised). Players selected will be required to be in Auckland on Friday 21st.
Each team has 12 players of which up to six may have played for New Zealand at any time.
Travel and accommodation is at the player's expense. Accommodation will be arranged by the team manager. Once applicants are known a training/selection schedule will be advised.
Those wishing to apply please contact the Regional Coach Graeme Morris on 0272479370 or Email by 24th May 2026.
27 April 2026
Silverstream hosted the second challenge of the year for the JC Trophy from holders Upper Hutt, on Sunday 26th April 2026, a glorious warm and sunny day.
The teams gathered at 09:00 and play began at 09:30. Upper Hutt took two of the three untimed games in each of the three rounds, making it 6-3 at the end when they all adjourned for an open sandwich lunch hosted by Silverstream.
This was the 23rd consecutive win for Upper Hutt for this trophy, who have been able to field a virtually unchanged team of six throughout the current winning streak, using a pool of ten competitive players.
The next challenge is from Naenae to be held at Upper Hutt's Maidstone Park.
The Upper Hutt team consisted of Mary Khalil, Colin Gooch and Linda Brown (Triples), Brian Smith and Adrienne Gwerder (Doubles) and Dave Gwerder (Singles). The Silverstream team consisted of Seymour Harawira, Rachel Clarke and Graham Jackson (Triples), Peter Mathews and Claire Bradburn (Doubles), and Theresa Harawira (Singles).
| Result | Previous history |
10 April 2026
The entry form for the Masterton's May Mêlée (14 May 2026) is now available.
10 April 2026
The entry form for the Upper Hutt Autumn Leaves Mêlée (24 May 2026) is now available.
5 April 2026
The entry form for the Carleen Fitzgerald Memorial Open Doubles (9 May 2026) is now available.
5 April 2026
The entry form for the Kelly Cup Open Triples (2 May 2026) is now available.
5 April 2025
Forty Six players (2 groups shared) competed in our Easter Mêlée on Saturday the 4th of April in lovely Easter weather.
Jon Whittaker was the eventual winner - the only player with 5 wins. Horowhenua took out the top 4 placings.
1 April 2026
Twenty players took part in the WPA Women's Singles at Otaki Pétanque Club on March 29th.
Ngaire Eriksen (Horowhenua) won the trophy. The runner up was Claire Bradburn (Silverstream).
1 April 2026
Twenty teams competed in the WPA Regional Women's Doubles at Otaki Pétanque Club on Saturday March 28th.
The trophy winners were Yvonne Futcher (Wanganui East) and Annick Le Guen (Kapiti). Runners up were Michelle Maxwell (Kapiti) and Christine Strichen (Wanganui East).
26 March 2026
Otaki hosted the first challenge of the year for the JC Trophy from holders Upper Hutt, on Wednesday 25th January 2026, in warm and dry but humid conditions. The teams gathered at 09:00 and play began at 09:30.
Upper Hutt took two of the three games in the first round, and then all three in both the second and third rounds, making it 8-1 at the end when they all adjourned for a wonderful lasagna feast hosted by Otaki.
This was the 22nd consecutive win for Upper Hutt, who have been able to field a virtually unchanged team throughout the current winning streak.
The next challenge is from Silverstream to be held at Silverstream.
| Result | Previous history |
26 March 2026
Held after the WPA Committe Meeting on 19 February 2026, the draw for Round 34 is below.
Note: Upper Hutt holds the trophy after the final match in Round 33, so they are removed from the list of Challengers.
| No. | Challenger | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 34.1 | Otaki | Home |
| 34.2 | Silverstream | Home |
| 34.3 | Naenae | Away |
| 34.4 | Masterton | Away |
| 34.5 | Kapiti | Home |
| 34.6 | Manawatu | Home |
| 34.7 | Horowhenua | Home |
| 34.8 | Whanganui East | Away |
Note: The venue is for the Challenger.
24 March 2026
The 2026 annual Open Swiss Doubles tournament took place on Sunday 22nd March at Maidstone Park on a beautiful autumn day. Twenty two teams were entered from around the Wellington region, although one team was unable to make it so a Bye was used in each round. Five rounds of Swiss at 60min with no extra end were played over 12 pistes, three before lunch and two after. Swiss format is a great way to rank players or teams within just a few games, as winners are automatiocally paired against winners, while non-winners are paired against non-winners after each round.
The ranking used after each round of games was based on number of games won first, then by Buchholz 1, then by Buchholz 2 (also known as fine Buchholz), and finally by differential. Most players are familiar with games won and differential, but tournaments such as Swiss are deemed 'fairer' using Buchholz because it takes into account the strengths (based on results at the time) of the opposing teams, scaled by the number of games played, thereby more accurately determining the true ranking.
Third place was Colin Gooch and Bob Horton, "The Young Ones" from Upper Hutt, with 4 wins. Second place was Paul Bonsey and Murray Feist "Old Duffers" from Upper Hutt, also with 4 wins. In first place was Theresa and Seymour Harawira "Untouchables" with 5 wins, from Silverstream.
21 March 2026
Seven clubs took part in the WPA Champion of Champions Triples at Silverstream Pétanque Club on Saturday 14 March 2026.
It was a round robin format scored by wins then who beat whom.
The Kapiti team of Brett Maguire, Alan Taylor and Kevin McFadgen won. In second place was Silverstream.
11 March 2026
The Masterton Open Triples, which is one of the longest running tournaments in the Wellington Region was reduced to a one-day event for the first time due to a fewer number of entries. This was due to a busy schedule for many of the regular players.
The 2026 event was sponsored for the first time by the lifestyle village Arvida Lansdowne Estate.
Eight teams participated. The format was four randomly drawn qualifying games. Following qualification, the top four teams played semi-finals for the championship and the remaining four teams played for the plate.
| Final results | Honours Board |
03 March 2026
Sixteen teams competed in the 2026 Regional Triples Tournament held at the Kapiti Pétanque Club. The format commenced with four randomly drawn games. The top eight competed for the Trophy and the bottom eight for the Plate. Trophy Winners were Michael Rocks, Annick Le Guen and Kevin McFadgen who beat Shirley MacDonald, Graeme Morris and Linley Wistrand. Plate winners were Seymour, Theresa and Dan Harawira. They beat Claire Bradburn, Rachel Clarke and Peter Matthews.
20 February 2026
Petanque NZ would like to create a register of anyone who has:
If any of the above applies to you can you please email Christine Strichen by 6th March. (christinestrichen03@gmail.com)
8 February 2026
Fourteen teams took part in the WPA Women's Triples at Horowhenua. The format was four random games followed by elimination games.
The trophy was won by Claire Bradburn, Rachel Clarke and Theresa Harawira (Silverstream).
Plate winners were Linley Wistrand, Shirley MacDonald and Val Clark (Otaki).
04 February 2026
Entries have closed for the annual Hospice Charity Pétanque Tournament with a record number of entries for any tournament ever held in the Wellington area. There are 80 entries registered with two registrations sharing which will bring the total number of participants to 82. This is a fantastic response to this cause. Thanks to the efforts of the Horowhenua club members there will be a great number of raffles and auctions plus items for sale. All proceeds go to the Arohanui Hospice in Levin.
Thank you all who have entered and also the organising team at Horowhenua Pétanque Club. It should be a great day. Even if you have not entered, come along and support this great tournament.
Graeme Morris (Hospice Charity Pétanque Tournaments)
31 January 2026
The WPA Interclub was held on Saturday, 24 January 2026 at Kapiti Pétanque Club. Wet weather gear was needed initially.
There were two divisions with all nine clubs entering Division One. Five clubs entered Division Two.
Three games of doubles were played in the morning, with two more after lunch.
Kapiti won Division One and Division Two. Upper Hutt were runners up in both divisions.
|Results| Honours Board |
29 January 2026
Masterton hosted the final challenge of the year for the JC Trophy from holders Upper Hutt, on Wednesday 28th January 2026, in warm and dry conditions. The teams gathered at 09:00 and play began at 09:30.
Upper Hutt took only one of the three games in the first round, and another two in the second round, making it 3-3 at that point when a break for lunch took place.
The final round had everyone on tenterhooks until the end of the 2nd game at which point Upper Hutt had won both, and therefore the game. Upper Hutt then won the 3rd game to make the total six games to Masterton's three, the 21st consecutive win for Upper Hutt.
The Upper Hutt team consisted of Dave Gwerder, Brian Smith and Mary Khalil (Triples), Adrienne Gwerder and Linda Brown (Doubles) and Derek Worsley (Singles). The Masterton team consisted of Graeme Morris, Sue Walker and Dave Roper (Triples), Graeme Pilcher and Vaughan Paul (Doubles), and John Pryer (Singles).
The next year's challenges will be drawn at a WPA meeting in due course.
| Result | Previous history |
21 January 2026
Twenty nine teams from over the north island took part in the Parkwood Kapiti Open Doubles at the weekend. Each team played five randomly drawn games on Day One with two teams winning all five games.
On Day Two the top sixteen played in four pools for the Trophy and Trophy Consolation. The next eight played in two pools of four for the plate. The remaining five played round robin for the bowl.
The trophy was won by Andre Noel and Keelan Noel (Rotorua Academy). Runners up were Geoffrey Greer and Denise Bavidge (Bayview).
| Final results | Honours Board |
13 January 2026
Thirteen teams took part in the 17th Khandallah Mixed Doubles at the weekend. The format was a four round Snake (Random) draw followed by a single playoff to determine the team's prize.
Each round the team that had the Bye played against tournament director Michael Rocks. To make things interesting the team tossed a coin to determine how many boules Michael played with (either 5 or 6).
The final saw the undefeated team of Marie Jones/Gavin Jones (Horowhenua) against Lee Matthewman/Simon Grant (Naenae). In a tight game, Lee and Simon won 12-11.
| Final results | Honours Board |
13 January 2026
The video of the finals of the below events are now on the WellyPetanque YouTube channnel.
12 January 2026
The Otaki New Year Mêlée was held at Otaki on 10 January 2026 with 36 players attending.
Top players were: