UNIPMA – Universitas PGRI Madiun (UNIPMA) has made history in the world of sports in Madiun City. Through its Faculty of Sports Science and Science (FIKS), UNIPMA successfully hosted the 2026 Walikota Madiun Cup Petanque Championship for the Madiun Residency, held at the UNIPMA Petanque Court on October 8–10, 2026. This event marked the first official petanque tournament to be held in Madiun City and across the Madiun Residency.

The championship received an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from students. More than 140 participation slots were recorded, with 95 competition entries registered across elementary schools (SD/MI), junior high schools (SMP/MTs), and senior high schools and vocational schools (SMA/SMK/MA) throughout the Madiun Residency. Participants competed in 15 competition categories, comprising Men's and Women's Singles, Men's and Women's Doubles, and Mixed Doubles.

Saddan Pramana Putra, S.Pd., M.Or., the event organizing committee chair and a lecturer in UNIPMA's Sports Science Study Program (IKOR), explained in an interview that the tournament was made possible through collaboration among various stakeholders. Technical operations on the field were coordinated directly by IKOR UNIPMA students, with support from match officials, including referees and professional coaches from the Indonesian Petanque Sports Federation (FOPI).

“This is the first event of its kind and a breakthrough in promoting the growth of petanque as a sport in Madiun City. We have received full support from the Madiun City Government, KONI, FOPI, Bank Jatim, and DISBUDPARPORA,” he explained.

Delliana Panuntun, the wife of the Acting Mayor of Madiun, expressed her highest appreciation for the successful organization of the tournament. She emphasized the importance of providing competitive platforms to support the development of young athletes.

“We hope this event will encourage the establishment of new clubs in Madiun, not just UPA. This inaugural event has been highly successful, with extraordinary enthusiasm from participants. We hope the club will continue to grow so that more court facilities can be added to accommodate even larger events in the future,” Delliana remarked.

Similar appreciation was expressed by UNIPMA Rector Dr. H. Supri Wahyudi Utomo, M.Pd. In response to the high level of enthusiasm shown by young athletes, the university's academic community offered educational incentives, including tuition discounts and scholarship opportunities for students wishing to continue their studies at UNIPMA.

“The entire academic community appreciates this championship. As a form of recognition, golden ticket scholarships for admission to UNIPMA will be offered to athletes from elementary, junior high, and senior high school levels,” explained Saddan Pramana Putra, S.Pd., M.Or.

The event also served as a platform for UPA (UNIPMA Petanque Academy) to showcase its talents. Saddan Pramana Putra, S.Pd., M.Or., explained that UPA was established in response to requests and discussions with community members, parents, and schoolteachers who wanted a dedicated platform for petanque athlete development. By utilizing the university's court facilities and qualified coaching personnel from the IKOR study program, UPA regularly holds training sessions every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday morning.

“Although it is still a new academy, we have already prepared UPA's athletes to compete at higher levels. Next month, we will send five athletes to compete in the Popda event in Kudus. Previously, our athletes also reached the quarterfinals of the East Java Provincial Championship,” he added.

Moving forward, the organizing committee and UNIPMA plan to expand the court facilities to further optimize athlete development. UNIPMA and FOPI are targeting a series of progressively larger championships, beginning at the Madiun Residency level this year, advancing to the East Java provincial level in 2027, and ultimately preparing to host a future National Petanque Championship (Kejurnas).