Pétanque in Denmark
Explore Denmark's pétanque scene - the DPF federation's history since 1986, the Danmarksmesterskaberne, the Copenhagen Open, and clubs in Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense.
Federation
Dansk Petanque Forbund (DPF)
Pétanque in Denmark
Pétanque in Denmark is organized under the Dansk Petanque Forbund (DPF), the national federation that has grown the sport from a handful of clubs in the early 1980s into a nationwide competition structure with more than 60 member clubs today.
History
The first Danish pétanque clubs appeared around 1982-83, but the sport only gained real momentum after Dansk Petanque Forbund (DPF) was founded on 1 March 1986 in Roskilde, when representatives of six clubs gathered to establish the federation. Within its first nine years, the DPF grew from those 6 founding clubs to 65 member clubs, with more than 2,000 licensed players. The federation is a member of the Danmarks Idræts-Forbund (DIF), Denmark's national Olympic sports confederation, and an ordinary member of the FIPJP.
Structure & National Team
The DPF is headquartered at Idrættens Hus, Brøndby Stadion 20, in Brøndby near Copenhagen, and today counts more than 60 member clubs across the country. John Saxild-Hansen currently chairs the federation's board, which also includes a vice-chairman, treasurer, and separate tournament, elite, and referee committees. The federation fields a national team (landshold) for men, women, and juniors at European and World Championships, and its Elite Committee selects the squads each season. Denmark's best individual result on the world stage remains junior precision shooter Johnni Chortzen, who won the World Junior Championship in precision shooting in 2001 in Lons-le-Saunier, France, defeating Jeremy Pardon of Belgium 35-29 in the final.
Denmark has also hosted top-level FIPJP competition directly: the 2022 FIPJP World Championships in Men's Single, Women's Single, Men's Double, Women's Double, and Mixed Double were held from 12 to 15 May 2022 in Karlslunde, in Greve Municipality, drawing national teams from across the world.
Federation Contact
The DPF's headquarters are located at Idrættens Hus, Brøndby Stadion 20, 2605 Brøndby. The federation can be reached by phone at 62 65 61 32 or by email at dpf@petanque.dk. John Saxild-Hansen currently chairs the DPF board.
Major Tournaments
- Danmarksmesterskaberne (Danish Championships): Held annually, contested in single, double, triple, and mixed formats for both senior men and women, plus separate veterans' and precision-shooting (skud) championships.
- København Åben (Copenhagen Open): Northern Europe's largest pétanque festival, held every year on the last weekend of August in Enghaveparken. Organized by Københavns Pétanque Klub, it is open to all - no license number required - and regularly draws top players from across Northern Europe and beyond. Running since 1984, the 2026 edition marks its 43rd staging.
National Competition Calendar
Dansk Petanque Forbund publishes its season schedule (Spillekalender) directly on petanque.dk. Confirmed 2026 dates:
- April (qualification weekend, exact date not confirmed) - DM-kvalifikation for single, double, and triple (men and women) was played simultaneously at two venues, Hedebo and Aalborg, with the top 8 teams from each category and location advancing to the national final in Herning. DPF's own announcement was published 20 April 2026, but did not state a specific calendar date for the qualifying weekend itself.
- 26-28 June - Danmarksmesterskaberne finals in single, double, and triple, held as part of DIF's national multi-sport DM-ugen (Danish Championship Week, 22-28 June 2026, week 26) in Herning. Courts were set up at Kousgaards Plads in the heart of the DM-ugen festival grounds: single on Friday 26 June, triple on Saturday 27 June, and double on Sunday 28 June.
- 28-30 August - København Åben (Copenhagen Open), Enghaveparken, Copenhagen - the 43rd staging of Northern Europe's largest open pétanque festival.
- Early August - DM i skud (national precision-shooting championship), a separate discipline from the DM-ugen team events; DPF published the 2026 schedule and participant list in early August, though an exact competition date was not confirmed from publicly available pages.
Clubs & Hotspots
Københavns Pétanque Klub (KPK), founded in October 1983 and based today at Enghaveparken, is one of Denmark's oldest clubs, with around 80 members and an active tournament calendar including the Copenhagen Open. In Jutland, Brabrand IF Petanque in Aarhus, founded on 28 November 1988, has grown into one of the region's largest clubs with roughly 60 members of all ages. On the island of Funen, Odense Pétanque Klub '87, founded in 1987, is one of the country's oldest and largest clubs - its members won Denmark's first doubles championship for the club in 1993, it completed its own clubhouse in 1994, and it helped organize the European Women's Championship in Odense in 2005.