Edmonds Petanque Club to Expand, Thanks to a Generous Gift

The Edmonds Petanque Club has received a $4,000 gift from the TJM Golf Classic.

Every year, the McDevitt family organizes the TJM Golf Classic Tournament as a charity fundraiser in memory of local resident Timothy J. McDevitt, who died 18 years ago. 

The funds raised in the TJM Golf Classic are generously distributed annually by the family to local charities. The 19th annual tournament will be held in June.

The funds donated by the McDevitt family have been allocated to support various outreach programs of the Petanque Club and finance the building of a fourth petanque court. The latest court has been approved by Carrie Hite, Director of Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Arts for the City of Edmonds.

Petanque is a game similar to bocce ball, where the goal is to throw hollow metal balls as close as possible to a smaller wooden ball, which is thrown first and then used as a target. The sport, already well-established in Europe and Asia, is gaining tremendous popularity here because it is very affordable and can be played at any age.

The Edmonds Petanque Club was created by created by Edmonds resident , who is originally from Leon, France. .

The fourth petanque court will be located at the Edmonds Civic Center Playfield, which is fast becoming a premier attraction for petanque players from all around the region, allowing the Edmonds Petanque Club to better promote local and regional tournaments and attract both day and overnight visitors from all over the West Coast, from British Columbia to California

"The first beneficiaries of this program will be the children of the Boys and Girls Club," said Martin. "With boule sets and equipment donated by the Edmonds Petanque Club, they will be able to play petanque regularly on the fourth court that will actually be built adjacent to the historic building of the Edmonds Boys and Girls Club on Sixth Avenue North. Hosting petanque tournaments with other Boys and Girls Clubs from all around Snohomish County and neighboring areas is now a distinct possibility."

Other new equipment acquired this year by the Edmonds Petanque Club will also enable club volunteers to reach out to many more organizations, such as local senior centers, Edmonds Parks and Recreation Day Campers, the Out for Fun group (a.k.a. the Red Hat Society), the Pace Setters (senior singles), visiting delegations from Hekinan (Edmonds' sister city in Japan), and various French clubs and students groups.

In a partnership with the Seattle Petanque Club, the Edmonds Petanque Club is organizing two competition training sessions for advanced petanque players, starting at 9 a.m. at Edmonds Civic Playfield on May 12 and May 19. To learn more about the game, visit the club’s Web site at EdmondsPetanqueClub.org.