West Yorkshire League 2026

The West Yorkshire League starts soon and is open to anyone in the club who would like to play competitive matches. It’s a friendly and sociable league with local clubs. We play to win, but it is open to everyone and is a chance for anyone wanting to, to get involved in that next level up from club sessions. It’s great to play on different terrains and against other people with different styles of play. 

6 clubs are involved, playing 10 matches during the summer (5 home, 5 away). Each match needs 6 players, as it consists of 2 triples games and 3 pairs games.

Alan Smith will be organising the teams for the matches. If you’re interested in playing in the team, please let Alan know by emailing asms.smith@talktalk.net or putting a message in the Leeds Petanque Club Whatsapp chat. 

The list of fixtures can be found on our Events Calendar page – home matches take place on our terrain at Vesper Gate. For away matches we usually car share. You don’t have to commit to all fixtures – just let Alan know that you want to be involved, and give him your availability for these dates.

A West Yorkshire Win!

Last week, Leeds beat Wetherby in the West Yorkshire Cup Final played in Harrogate. This knockout competition has an interesting format in that teams must comprise three men and three women, playing same sex triples followed by three mixed pairs games. It was a hard fought match but Leeds came through to win 4-1 having won both triples and two of our mixed pair games. This makes the third year in a row we have won the trophy. 

We would like to thank all Club members that have played in both the West Yorkshire League and Cup this year, and particularly to Alan who organised the team before his knee replacement op. 

Well done everyone and let’s hope we can keep up our record next year! 

Memorial Benches

You may have noticed our two club benches have recently been fitted with memorial plaques to remember two friends of the club, Roy Cotton (1956-2016) and Malcolm Brown (1946-2023).

Both Roy and Malcolm were long-standing club members and team players, and their generosity contributed significantly towards enabling us to move to our new home.

York League Win

The annual York League has just come to an end – the final match was played last Thursday and our Leeds team have once again taken first place! From a total count of 13 matches comprising 65 games, Leeds came home with a very impressive 53 wins across the season!

This is now the fifth year in a row that Leeds have won the cup, so a huge well done to all those who took part during the season.

West Yorks League

A huge well done to our West Yorks league team, who after playing weekly matches against neighbouring clubs since April, last month finished the league in a very impressive third place with an overall score of 30 wins! To put this into perspective, they were beaten only be Heckmondwike on 33 wins and Wetherby on 34, so it was incredibly close at the top.

Well done to all!

The league will be kicking off again next April, so if you’d like to take part do keep an eye out for more information nearer the time.

Regional Coaching – Etiquette and Tactics

For any members interested in improving their game, why not sign up for the forthcoming coaching session? The session itself will focus on the etiquette and tactics of the game and promises to be a fun and informative session led by one of Pétanque England’s regional coaches.

The event is open to members of Leeds, Harrogate, and Wetherby pétanque clubs, but places are limited and are only available on a first come first served basis.

For further information and to secure your spot, please speak to Charles directly.

  • Where: Wetherby Sports Association
  • When: Saturday 31st August
  • Time: 10:00-12:00

Kirkstall Festival – Thank You!

A huge thank you to those members who were able to turn out to support the club during Kirkstall Festival last week – a fun day was had by all and we hope we may see some new members in the near future. In particular, a special thanks to Alan, Chris B, Chris P, Pam, Paul, and Steve, all of whom not only helped during the day, but whose assistance was vital in erecting and dismantling the gazebo! Much appreciate team!

Club Kit

After much demand for some new club kit, we’re delighted to share with members a selection of garments now available to order online.

  • Polo shirts
  • Full zip sweat jackets
  • Showerproof jackets (complete with hood!)

All of these items are available in ‘Leeds Pétanque blue’, and are additionally emblazoned with the new LP club logo.

To have a look at the designs and to place your order simply visit https://petanque.involution.co.uk

You will need to register with the site and you’ll then be presented with the various options. Sizes range from small to XXL, and there is a size guide to help you choose the best fit. Place your order and pay via the portal, and kit will then be available for collection from the club in the near future.

We hope you like the new designs, and look forward to seeing everyone kitted out shortly!

Leeds Success at National Event

Under blue skies & warm sunshine, three Leeds members recently enjoyed success at the Pétanque England National Squad Selection Event (SSE) held in Worthing. A total of four individual triples events were held, with SSE4 being won by Charles Stewart, Neill Rank & Alan Swift. Following a league stage, the top two teams qualified for a final where the Leeds trio beat a team of England international players 13-6.

Earlier in the day, Charles, Neill & Alan had already beaten the overall SSE winners who will go on to represent England in the World Championships later in the year. This was a very strong performance, requiring a consistent level of play & concentration over the six games – a great result for Leeds & the Yorkshire region in the national programme.

The photo shows [left to right] Neill Rank, Alan Swift & Charles Stewart – SSE4 Triples Winners, Worthing.