COLLINS/DICK & STRONG/BALL WIN

The Florida Shuffleboard Association, Betmar, Winter Shuffleboard Tournament Crowned Local Champions. The tournament concluded on Wednesday, January 31st, with Bonnie Collins and Sue Dick, both of the Zephyrhills Shuffleboard Club, winning the Women’s Championship and Henry Strong, ZSC, with Earl Ball winning the Men’s Championship.

Collins and Dick were among 34 teams fighting for the Championship against the best from around the State. They had to fight hard the 1st four matches to survive but won the Championship match in two straight giving them each their 1st State Championships.

Strong and Ball took on 50 Men’s teams with two close three games matches in the 1st five but #6, the Championship Match, was almost a disaster with the opponents, a team from Bradenton, looking like World beaters just buzzing through every match and the 1st game of the Championship match. They kept it going in the 2nd game but Strong was able to keep his team in the game with two frames of double kitchens but it looked all was lost until Strong and then Ball put in high 10’s to thwart the opponent winning hammer shots. Strong scored two blocks on the next hammer leaving Ball to finish the game with the last hammer but they lost the lag for color choice and things looked pretty bleak but they won the Championship game by a good margin.

Article by Earl Ball.  2018 01 31.