Competitors in the Canadian National Shuffleboard Association’s tournament spent three days in action at the Ingersoll arena, where the local shuffleboard club hosted its first turn at the national event May 28 through 30. These members of the pro division started off strong as they calculated their first turn.
INGERSOLL – It’s a game that requires strategy and focus, and is so popular, it drew more than 130 people to Ingersoll for national competition.
The Ingersoll District Shuffleboard Club (IDSC) hosted the annual three-day tournament May 28 through May 30 in conjunction with the Canadian National Shuffleboard Association.
It took six months of fundraising, phone calls and meetings to bring it all together, but by all accounts, the tournament held at the Ingersoll arena was a success, filled with busy courts and friendly competition.
Jim Corbeil, president of the Canadian National Shuffle Board Association, and wife Marlene were at the head of the organizers’ table along with the committee members of the local club, which is approaching it first anniversary this September.
“This is the first year for Ingersoll to host the event,” said IDSC president Ruth Stewart. “In the past years it’s been in Woodstock. The goal is to have it in Ingersoll for the next few years and keep working with the Memorial Centre.”
In previous tournaments, there had only been eight courts, however, a donation from the non-profit Oxford Community Foundation allowed for the purchase of eight extra shuffleboards and equipment to increase the size of the tournament.
Shuffleboard is similar to curling, in that the objective is to knock an opponent’s weights out of the board boundaries. However, the weights, much different in size, are not being tossed by a hand but pushed with a shuffleboard stick. The game continues until one of the teams reaches a total of 21 points.
The event hosted 33 pro and 30 amateur two-person teams that played throughout the three days.
“The players we have in the tournament are from all over, like New York, Michigan, Goderich, up north and of course locals,” said Jim Corbeil.
To enter the tournament, each player paid a $10 fee that helped to offset various expenses and prize money totalling $1,450. To help with the expenses, many local businesses sponsored the tournament and by doing so, contributed to prize money.