Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen (seated in the front row) helps kick off the 2024 Bastille Day Tournament
Sunday morning, July 14, Edmonds Mayor Mike Rosen helped open the 10th Annual Bastille Day Petanque Tournament at the Edmonds City Playfield. This year’s Bastille Day contest was the largest event ever produced by the Edmonds Petanque Club. 78 players came from across the region, including Seattle, Kirkland, Renton, Tacoma, Lacey, Port Townsend, Portland, and Edmonds. Jean-Marc Fosseux, an Edmonds club member, even traveled from Paris to take part.
The Bastille Day Tournament in full swing
The Bastille Day tournament followed a “panache” format that randomly combined different teammates to form teams of three for each game. Over the course of the day, each participant played four games, and the winners were determined by the cumulative points earned by each individual. Most important, the format allowed everyone to meet as many different players as possible, to make new acquaintances and to connect with old friends.
At the end of the day, the overall winner was Melanie Milnes from the Edmonds Petanque Club. Saurabh Mehta from Seattle Petanque finished second, and Patrick Trompeter, who belongs to both the Seattle and Edmonds clubs finished third. Doug Lockhart, Nancy Rockwell, and Heather Hunt performed extraordinary duty all day long as they collected and tallied scores from the many matches. To win the tournament, a player needed to score 4 wins, and only six players accomplished that. The top 17 players were closed bunched and are listed below.
| Rank | Player | Wins | Net Points |
| 1 | Melanie Milnes | 4 | 37 |
| 2 | Saurabh Mehta | 4 | 35 |
| 3 | Patrick Trompeter | 4 | 30 |
| 4 | John Hunt | 4 | 27 |
| 5 | Tom Nunn | 4 | 26 |
| 6 | Jan Pruatt | 4 | 19 |
| 7 | Tu Hoang | 3 | 27 |
| 8 | Jeri Lockhart | 3 | 24 |
| 9 | Mike Glenn | 3 | 23 |
| 10 | Niall McShane | 3 | 19 |
| 11 | Jim Klein | 3 | 18 |
| 12 | Loretta Hanson | 3 | 17 |
| 13 | John Jackels | 3 | 14 |
| 14 | Bob Fordice | 3 | 14 |
| 15 | Steve Martin | 3 | 13 |
| 16 | Cris Dreher | 3 | 13 |
| 17 | Ron Stires | 3 | 11 |
A highlight of the day was local accordion musician Bonnie Birch who serenaded the petanque players with French cafe music during the lunch hour beneath the shade pavilion.
Bonnie Birch set the tone for a French picnic lunch under the pavilion, complete with Eiffel Tower
Once the fourth game was complete, as our statisticians added up and confirmed the scores, Bill Laprade, La Singkeo, and David Rockwell ran an excellent shooting contest. Tu Hoang walked away as the top shooter (which he is wont to do!)
La and Bob provided a beautiful contrast in style. Tu was top dog!
It has now been one year since the opening of the Petanque Grove at the Edmonds Playfield. This Bastille Day tournament demonstrated that the club can hold larger events than we have in the past. Club membership now stands at 120 people and is growing. Thanks to our two corporate sponsors: Daphne’s and Rick Steves Europe. Thanks to all the volunteers who made this tournament possible. Thanks to Doug Lockhart for his construction of our new court boundaries. Thanks to the many generous folks who contributed items for our raffle and auction. As described to Mayor Rosen in our invitation to the tournament, truly, petanque is a phenomenon in Edmonds.
Photos by Howard Heflin, Iyla Winterfeldt, and Ron LaRue