PC Franeker 2026: the kaatsen championship on It Sjûkelân

Kaatsen is Friesland’s own ball game, and the PC in Franeker is its championship day. The 173rd edition is played on Wednesday 29 July 2026 on It Sjûkelân, the grass arena in the middle of the town, with play starting at 09:30.

The event is run by the Koninklijke Permanente Commissie, a body founded in 1853 and based at Breedeplaats 8 in Franeker. Sixteen teams of three players contest a single day of knockout matches. The best player in the winning team is named King of the PC.

How the match day works

The sixteen teams, known as parturen, play four rounds: a first round, a second round, the semi-finals and the final. Games run on two perken, the marked scoring areas, so two matches are usually in progress at the same time. The first games start at 09:30.

The final normally gets under way around five in the afternoon, though the commission is careful to say this depends entirely on how quickly the earlier rounds are settled. The prize ceremony follows immediately after the final. The chairman then announces the new king, who has the silver king’s ball hung around his neck.

How teams qualify

Places are decided by the season ranking kept by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Kaatsbond, the sport’s national federation. The ranking counts eight free formation matches plus three appearances in mixed draws. The top fifteen teams after the weekend fixtures go through to the PC directly.

The four teams ranked sixteenth to nineteenth play off for the final place in a separate contest called the Keats Off.

The week before

The Keats Off has been held on the Thursday before the PC since 2012, and in 2026 it falls on 23 July at 18:00. Its draw takes place at Bogt fen Guné, which bills itself as the oldest student café in the Netherlands. The winning team reports to the main draw on the Monday and receives a wreath from the PC chairman.

The draw for the PC itself, the loting, is held at the De Koornbeurs theatre in Franeker on Monday 27 July 2026 at 18:00. Teams pick their own lot in order of registration. The commission used the federation’s guided draw system from 2014, then went back to a free draw from 2016 after consulting those involved.

On the morning of the match there is a reception at De Koornbeurs from 08:00.

Tickets

Ticket sales for the 173rd PC opened on Saturday 2 May 2026 at 10:00. Every seated ticket, both bank seats and stand seats, was gone in under an hour. What remains is the standing area on the field itself, around 2,500 tickets, and those are sold only at the box office on match day while stocks last.

The prices published by the commission are as follows.

• Standing, age 13 and over: €14.00
• Standing, ages 6 to 12: €8.00
• Standing, ages 0 to 5: free
• Bank seats: from €22.00
• Bogttribune benches: from €31.00
• Gasfabriek, Skil and Bolwerk stands, individual seats: from €43.50

Advance seated tickets were sold online through the commission’s own ticket site with iDEAL, with cash sales in person at the Kaatsmuseum. Ticket questions go to [email protected], and the commission lists a ticket phone line on 0517-853874, staffed between 18:30 and 19:30.

The King of the PC

The king is chosen from the winning team by a committee of retired players made up of a server, a front player and a back player. Who sits on that committee is one of the closely guarded secrets of the day, and members serve only for a limited period.

The winner keeps a silver ball until the next edition. The original was presented in 1883 by Binnert Philip Baron van Harinxma thoe Slooten, at that time the King’s Commissioner in Friesland, and carries the family crest, a poem and old kaatsen scenes. Because the original had become too valuable to keep putting into use, a replica was made in 1997.

It Sjûkelân and the commission

For most of the year It Sjûkelân is an ordinary patch of grass in the centre of Franeker. In the run-up to the PC the stands go up, the lines are laid and the field is prepared, with everything ready by the Tuesday afternoon before the match. The commission has staged its matches there since 1856 and calls it the largest kaatsen arena in the world. Since 2003 a monument of two towers has stood on the site as a permanent marker of the event.

The organising body has changed remarkably little. Since 1853 it has had nine chairmen and 46 members in total, and it states that it works independently of commercial interests.

Common questions

When exactly is the PC in 2026?

Wednesday 29 July 2026. Play starts at 09:30.

Can I still get a ticket?

Not a seated one. All bank and stand tickets sold out during the pre-sale that opened on 2 May 2026. Around 2,500 standing tickets for the field are sold at the box office on the day, while they last.

How long does the day last?

It is a single day. Four rounds are played, and the final usually starts around five in the afternoon, followed by the prize ceremony and the announcement of the king. The commission does not fix an end time, because it depends on how the matches run.

Do children pay?

Children up to and including age five enter the standing area free. Ages 6 to 12 pay €8.00 and everyone from 13 upwards pays €14.00.

What happens in the days before?

The Keats Off, which decides the sixteenth place, is on Thursday 23 July at 18:00. The draw is at De Koornbeurs on Monday 27 July at 18:00.