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The club is constantly busy with work projects being completed and new projects being undertaken. The following is an update on projects.

New Roof Job Over the Lunchroom
On Monday, October 2nd, a team of roofers started working on the roof over the lunchroom. They are busy scraping off the old materials and reroofing that peaked roof. The pounding is the sweet sound of progress. We thank the City of St. Petersburg for this progress.

New Scoreboards Have Been Installed On Courts 45 - 60
On Wednesday, August 16th, new scoreboards were installed on the courts behind the grandstand. Now all of our 32 lighted courts are equipped for night time play. Thanks to the City of St. Petersburg for the scoreboards.

Our Friday night players have been using clip boards for scorekeeping purposes on the 16 courts in Section 2 behind the grandstand. Several said how much better it is to have regular scoreboards. We agree.

New Scoreboards Coming Behind the Grandstand
We will soon (late July - early August) be installing new scoreboards on the 16 courts behind the grandstand. They will be placed at the north end of the courts. These courts are getting more action since the new lights were added and the players have been using clip boards for scorekeeping. It will be nice to have 32 courts fully equipped for night play.

Lighting The Courts Behind The Grandstand
The courts behind the grandstand will soon be available for play during our Friday night St. Pete Shuffles. The city's electricians are working to rewire the lights and to add new lighting fixtures so that all 16 courts will be up and running.

The installation of the flood lights was completed on Friday, February 17, 2006, and we turned them on that night just to see how they looked. They are great. We even had players out there using four of the courts - without scoreboards.

Back in the 60s and 70s all of these courts were lighted - along with the rest of the 65 courts at the club. During the summer (in those days), we held yellow & black every Friday night starting at 6:30 pm and we used all the courts behind the grandstand, all the courts in Section 3 (1 -28) and the Tournament Courts in front of the grandstand. It is nice to see these courts back in night time action. Thanks to Lee Metzger, the City Recreation Director, for his interest in this project. Thanks also to Jay, Ethel and Bob (the electrician) for their good work.

The work on the lights began on Wednesday, February 15th and it includes new wiring and new fixtures.

The tops of the pre-existing poles were cut off and the wiring was run out of the boxes under the grandstand.

This bank of courts is called "Section 2" and they will bring our total of lighted courts to 32. We have been having players playing in the dark in some of our St. Pete Shuffles so these new lights will add some much needed safety to our programs. Thanks to the City of St. Petersburg and to their electricians - especially Bob.

New scoreboards for Section 2 will be next on the agenda.

New Carpeting On Light Poles
Club members, Don Breau and Joyce Linna have replaced the old carpeting on the light poles of the Tournament Courts and courts 21 through 28 in Section 3. As most shufflers know, the carpeting serves as a cushion to reduce the likelihood of disk rebounds during play.

The new carpeting adds a fresh look to the courts and improves the overall appearance of the courts. Many thanks to Don and Joyce for an excellent job.

The Tournament Courts Are Back In Business
The tournament courts are once again available for play. The daily players were able to use them for the first time on December 29th. They have been using courts in Section 3 for their daily games since November.

The steel beams holding up the roof over the head of the tournament courts were replaced and the job took about a month to complete.

In order to do the job, the scoreboards and the benches had to be removed which took the courts out of commission for normal play. However, we were able to use the courts for our Friday night St. Pete Shuffles by bringing out folding chairs and by using clip boards for keeping score. Where there is a will there is a way.

The workers also leveled out the walkway behind the benches which makes walking there much easier and safer. Thanks, guys.

Window Repairs
St. Pete City worker, Jean LaChance, has repaired two windows in the Tournament Booth. The north and south side windows were repaired with Lexan. Now we can actually see out of both sides of the booth. He also repaired several windows in the clubroom. Thanks, Jean.

Grandstand Repairs
New railings have been installed on the sides of the grandstand. The railings down the middle of the grandstand have not been changed. The sides of the grandstand have been finished and painted and they look great. When the wings were removed last spring the sides were left with an "unfinished" appearance. Now they are very attractive.

And, club member, Chris Kelly has re-hung our bulletin board on the south side of the grandstand. Thanks, Chris.

Preparing More Courts For Play
We are currently working on getting the courts in Section 2 ready for play. Section 2 is behind the grandstand and the electrician will install lighting over those courts. We will also install new scoreboards on this section.

The 8 lighted courts in Section 3 and the 8 lighted courts in front of the grandstand are not enough to accommodate all the players that attend the Shuffles and other special events. The 16 courts in Section 2 will double our playing capacity to 32 lighted courts. Almost half of our 65 playable courts will be lighted and that should help out with our "playing in the dark" problem.

We will be planning a couple of "wash and wax" sessions after the scoreboards are installed. The courts will need at least two coats of wax to prepare them for action. They are going to be quite "thirsty" when that first coat goes on.

(We held a "waxing" seminar last August and now we have several guys who already have some good experience in washing courts and also waxing them.)

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Tuesday Night Finale
On December 13, 2005 Corey Kapes held an end-of-season finale for his Tuesday night players. They had a play-off for trophies and also enjoyed a pizza party. A large group, including many family members of the players, attended and a fun evening was had by all. Congratulations to all the party people.

The St. Petersburg Therapeutic Recreation Department will begin the spring "Shuffleboard Session" on March 7th and it will go through April.

The Club is always happy to welcome community groups because we like to see new players having fun with shuffleboard.

More Tuesday Night Fun
On September 13th, Corey Kapes from the St. Petersburg Department of Therapeutic Recreation came over to the club with his assistant, Phillip, to learn a little bit about how to play shuffleboard from club president, Mary Eldridge.

After an hour or so they had the basics down pat and were ready to test each other out.

Corey plans to add shuffleboard to his calendar of evening activities for his group members and he and Phillip plan to make it a regular Tuesday night activity.

Attendance has been 12 or more each time the group met at the club in September. Corey and Phillip have taught the group how to shoot and they are teaching them how to keep score.

We welcome this community group to the club and we hope that shuffleboard will add some fun to their evenings.

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Tuesday Night Competitive Play

August 16, 2005
Even though it was hot and there was a threat of rain, Kristy and Mary played "tournament style" shuffleboard for a while on court 28. Court 28 was waxed last week in a demonstration of "How to Wax a Court" and we wanted to see if the blocks were running better. They were.

Then Mary played doubles on t-court 6 with four newbies for about a half an hour. Dominic Patten, a free lance writer for the New York Times, was part of the foursome.

Club members "Atem" and "Skids" had a competitive match going on t-court 5.

Around 9:45 we started to hear thunder so those of us in the foursome packed it in while Atem and Skids continued with their match.

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The following article is about one of our Tuesday night competitions.

July 25, 2005
St. Petersburg Times Article
The St. Petersburg Times published an article about the club in the Sunday, July 24, 2005, edition of the Neighborhood Times.

Times Correspondent, Katie Wilson, stopped by the club on Tuesday night to learn more about our new summer efforts. She chatted at length with Chris Kelly and Mary Eldridge and watched as the players in the Neighborhood Association Challenge Match shot their best games in an effort to win the trophy for their association.

Katie's article appears below.

*************************************************
From the St. Petersburg Times:

Neighborhood notebook

Groups hope to preserve old club for the fun of it

Thousands of people have spent their Friday nights playing shuffleboard so that fans of the game can play on.

By KATIE WILSON
Published July 24, 2005

Pink-sherbet clouds flirted with the baby blue sky at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club as sun-peeled turquoise awnings and hexagon block sidewalks tugged at memories of yesteryear.

It was a typical Florida evening Tuesday at the shuffleboard club. Situated between the Coliseum and Mirror Lake at 559 Mirror Lake Drive N, the club is a landmark of historic St. Petersburg.

In continued efforts to preserve the club through awareness and utilization, residents from Euclid-St. Paul's and Historic Uptown neighborhoods faced off in a tournament last Tuesday. About 24 players switched partners through three rounds, mingling and discussing neighborhood concerns.

Although most of the neighbors had been playing shuffleboard for several months at the most, the competitive edge grew sharper as the rounds progressed. In the end, Uptown took the win 11-7.

Mary Eldridge, club president and member since 1965, said the players did well for beginners. She believes that the Friday night tournaments and other activities sponsored by Pinellas Heritage and The Artillery, a group of young local artists, is the best thing to happen to the club in at least 25 years.

"My objective was to hold on until the future came, and do whatever it takes to keep this place alive," she said. "This is a huge step in the right direction."

Eldridge moved to Florida from New York in 1964, when she started to play shuffleboard.

When she became more passionate about the game, friends told her that St. Petersburg was the only place to be to pursue serious shuffleboard. Now she helps run the club, as well as provide newcomers with tips and knowledge of the game.

"I feel very happy watching the younger people playing and enjoying the game like I used to," Eldridge said.

Love connections, she also said, are a fairly common occurrence.

"Whenever you have people together having a good time, sooner or later a couple is going to click. It's happened over the years," Eldridge said.

Chris Kelly, co-founder of Pinellas Heritage, was picking up a smoothie at Evos in March when he met Chad Mize and Phillip Clark of The Artillery. That same Wednesday afternoon, the three men went to the Shuffleboard Club to explore the site, as well as the possibility of bringing the place back to life.

About a week later, the men reconvened at the club along with several other people, for discussions on what to make of the place. As the group was talking, a younger couple visiting from Newport, R.I., sauntered in.

"They were very supportive of our ideas," he said. "Before they left, they said "Whatever you're thinking about doing, start it.' "

And so they did.

About four months into their effort, there are as many as 125 people coming out on Friday nights to play shuffleboard, listen to music and view art provided by The Artillery.

"If we've done nothing else this summer, we've cycled 2,000 to 3,000 people through here.

We're showing the city that people value this place," said Kelly, who believes there are many uses for the facility.

The whir of discs sliding down the shuffleboard courts buzzes through the air and neighbors slap high-fives and cheer for points well made.

They are the sounds of a true St. Petersburg experience.

They are the sounds of history awakening.

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July 19, 2005
Neighborhood Associations Compete
This Tuesday Mary directed a neighborhood association competition under the light of a beautiful full moon. The Uptown Neighborhood Association players took on the Euclid/St. Paul Neighborhood Association shooters in a friendly "challenge match".

They played three 30 minute games of yellow & black on the tournament courts. They used six of the t-courts and the other 2 t-courts were occupied with pick-up play. The Euclid/St. Paul team played the yellow and the Uptown team played the black.

The players quickly got used to changing courts after each game.

At the end of game # 1 the score was 3 to 3. The scores for game # 2 were 1 for yellow and 5 for black - for an updated total score of: 4 yellow and 8 black. Then the third game had another score of 3 and 3.

The final score was: Uptown - 11 Euclid/St.Paul -7. The mighty Uptown players were victorious.

Most of the competing players have been playing in the St. Pete Shuffles on Friday nights this summer and they were doing some good shooting. Several shooters made outstanding shots. The few newbies playing tonight did as well as could be expected against these more experienced players.

Chris Page, the organizer of the event, presented the Uptown Association with the winner's trophy and she presented the Euclid/St.Paul Association with the runner-up trophy.

All the players were treated to ice cream at the end of play.

Chris Kelly had some of the new St. Pete Shuffle t-shirts on sale for $15.00 each (for adult sizes). Kid's sizes are $10.00 each.

To see a close up of the t-shirt "shuffle" logo, click here.

Email Chris at: chris@theaviary.net to purchase a shirt or pick one up at one of our Friday night shuffles.

We were lucky to be able to play tonight because it rained heavily late in the afternoon - which is par for the course in the summer. Mary squeegeed the courts at 5:30 pm and they were ready to play at 7:30. Several of the players learned a little bit about drying the courts with towels, etc.

This was our first Tuesday night community competition and it went well.

We wrapped it up at 9:30 pm.

July 5, 2005
We had three courts of players going this night.

On t-court 6, Mary, Brad, John and "Skids" played 75-point-game doubles and we switched partners after each game. Everyone got at least one game.

On t-court 7, Chris K., Tim and Carrie played a 75-point-game round-robin.

On t-court 8, Kristy, Giovana and Chris P. also played a 75-point-game round-robin.

Some of the players are getting fairly good in their accuracy. We have a lot of work to do in strategy, though.

We played about 2 hours - until about 9 pm. The weather was beautiful and we would have liked to have played longer, but most of us had other plans for the evening.

Come and join us if you want to get some practice playing competitive - 75 point game - shuffleboard.

June 28, 2005
It poured and Mother Nature was the only one who had any fun.

June 21, 2005
We have added Tuesday nights to our shuffleboard agenda. We meet at 7 pm and play for a couple of hours. On Tuesdays, players can come and learn to play the competitive 75 point game.

On this night we were visited by Terry Tomalin, a writer for the St. Petersburg Times. Terry wanted to learn a little bit about the history of the game and then get a "feel" for it. Club President, Mary Eldridge chatted with him for a while and then they played a short game. Terry was surprised that the game requires so much accuracy and he said "It is not as easy as I thought." His schedule was tight that night so he hopes to get back on a Friday night when he will have more time to play.

While two foursomes got down to business on t-courts 5 & 6, Mary played a couple of "tournament style" games with member, Chris P. on t-court 3. Chris wants to learn to play the "real" game and that is just what we want to teach. As they played, Mary discussed the strategy so that Chris would understand why one shot was better than another in a particular score situation. Chris made a number of excellent shots during the games and her general shot execution rate is improving. She is doing especially well in clearing the board.

If you want to improve your 75 point game then join us on Tuesday nights. You will be shooting better before you know it.

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2004 Club Christmas Luncheon
The club held its annual Christmas luncheon on Saturday, December 18, 2004 at 11:30 am in the lunchroom. We like to hold our luncheons on Saturdays so that our younger members who are still in the working world can participate. Members and guests streamed in until noon.

Ralph Clark opened the luncheon with an invocation. Club President, Mary Eldridge welcomed the members and guests and thanked Ralph for his generous contribution to the costs related to the luncheon. She also thanked Phyllis Mathiot, Jack Stonger and Don Breau for their contributions of balls for our tree. We have a new tree this year. It has white lights and gold decorations and it is beautiful.

Mary Andrews presented Mary E. with a card and generous gift from the members. Mary E. thanked the members for their kindness.

The members and guests then enjoyed the wide array of goodies served buffet style. There were many tasty choices including turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken, meatballs in gravy, several cheeses, deviled eggs, three kinds of salad, fresh fruit, cakes, cookies, fresh rolls, punch and special foods for members with diet concerns. We like to make sure everyone has plenty of food that they can eat no matter what their diet is. And, boy, did they eat. On the first helping there was hardly a sound heard as everyone hungrily ate. On the second helping people had time to chat and joke and tell stories about the "good old days". A good time was certainly had by all.

We missed several of our members who were not able to attend.

Several of the guys talked of staying late and doing dishes, but you can guess how that worked out. The girls ended up taking care of things while the guys went outside and got the courts set up for the afternoon games.

Thanks to Joyce Linna for setting up the tables and for making the place setting favors. And thanks to Mary Eldridge for organizing and preparing the event. Mary and Joyce quickly took care of the clean-up chores. They are pros when it comes to clean-up chores.

Merry Christmas to all our members and friends.

Club Members Win Medals At State Senior Games
Club members Joyce Linna, Roy Armstrong, Joyce Armstrong and Pat Hooper traveled to The Villages (north of Leesburg) to compete in the shuffleboard events at the State Senior Games on Saturday and Sunday - December 11th and 12th.

Saturday was the day for singles competition and Joyce, Joyce and Roy played their singles matches at the Paradise Center and Pat played her singles matches at the El Santiago Center. Pat won the silver medal in her division, but none of our players at the Paradise Center won a singles medal.

The doubles competition was held on Sunday and Joyce Linna and her partner Richard Stimer won the gold medal in their division and Roy and Joyce Armstrong won the silver medal in their division. Both of these teams were in the same division so St. Pete was well represented in the final match.

The first picture below shows Roy Armstrong playing in the semi-final match on court 6. The second picture shows the attractive Paradise Center venue. The third picture shows Joyce Linna and Richard Stimer receiving their Gold Medals from Tournament Director, John Weston. The fourth picture shows the silver medalists Roy and Joyce Armstrong on the left and the gold medalists Joyce Linna and Richard Stimer on the right.

Tournament Director presents the gold medals.

Congratulations to all of our players for their excellent play. Both teams have qualified for the National Senior Games Doubles to be held in Pittsburg in June 2005 and Pat has qualified for the National Senior Games Singles to also be held in Pittsburg in June 2005.

Club President, Mary Eldridge, went as an observer of the Games and ended up assisting Tournament Director, John Weston.

The weather was very cold and windy on Saturday and on Sunday it warmed up and turned out to be a wonderful day.

Joyce, Mary, Pat and Richard headed back to Pinellas County after the competition and Joyce and Roy headed up to Kentucky for the holidays.

XT #1 Final Update - Nov. 20, 2004
We finished our first XT today and the final standings are as follows:

1st - Vivian Balog - 15 Wins
1st - Ralph Clark   - 15 Wins
3rd - Herb Hayden - 12 Wins
4th - Joyce Linna    -    8 Wins
5th - Joe Adamo    -     4 Wins
6th - Pat Hooper    -     3 Wins

We had a beautiful day to finish off the XT. It was sunny and the humidity was low so the blocks were running very fast.

We extended our sympathies to Ralph in the recent loss of his wife Bertie. They had been married 56 years.

Our beginners enjoyed playing in the XT because it gave them a lot of competitive experience. However, we discovered that we need two divisions in our XTs - an A Division and a B Division - because there is too much disparity between the experienced amateurs and the beginners.

We look forward to our next XT which will start on January 8, 2005 and we hope that more amateurs will come out and join in the fun.

We would like to thank Ralph Clark for his generous sponsorship of our first XT. His generosity provided nice cash prizes for the players in our first XT.

XT #1 Update - Nov. 13, 2004
There was no play on the 13th because of rain. We will try to conclude the first XT on Nov. 20th.

Our next XT (starting January 8th) will have two divisions: A & B. The experienced amateurs will be in the A division and the beginners and novices will be in the B division.

XT #1 Update - Nov. 6, 2004
The current standings after 5 weeks of play are as follows:

1st - Ralph Clark - 15
2nd - Vivian Balog - 12
3rd - Herb Hayden -   9
4th   - Joyce Linna   -   8
5th   - Joe Adamo   -   4
6th   - Pat Hooper   -   3
7th   - Bill Doolittle -   0
8th   - Bob Schunk -   0

Joyce, Bill and Bob were absent and Vivian got a BYE and the automatic 3 wins.

One more week to go.

The next XT starts on January 8th, 2004.

XT #1 Update - Oct. 30, 2004
We have finished four weeks of XT play and the matches are getting more competitive. We have been fortunate with the beautiful October weather.

Everyone enjoyed their Halloween trick-or-treat candies today.

Ralph Clark has generously upped the ante for this XT by donating an extra $50.00 to the pot. So the players have a chance to receive some nice prizes for their efforts.

We have played 12 games, so far, and the current standings are:

1st - Ralph Clark - 12
2nd - Vivian Balog -    9
3rd - Joyce Linna -    8
4th -   Herb Hayden - 6
5th -   Joe Adamo    - 4
6th -   Pat Hooper    - 3
7th -   Bill Doolittle   - 0
7th -   Bob Schunk   - 0

Some players have been absent for one or more weeks. Ralph got a BYE and an automatic 3 wins in the second week.

We expect to finish XT #1 on November 13th - weather permitting. We plan to start XT #2 on Saturday, January 8, 2005.

XT #1 - Getting Started
Our first XT started out small on Saturday, October 9, 2004 with two courts. All the players on the first day were club members.

After the registration, everyone drew for their court and partner for the day. We used our new draw buttons which were made by Joyce Linna. They look sharp. Thanks, Joyce.

All teams played three 75 point games - win or lose. As it happened, two teams both won three games - which means that the other two teams both lost three games. So at the end of play on Saturday, the 9th, we had four players with 3 wins and four players with 3 losses.

On Saturday, the 16th, the players will draw again for court and partner. It will be interesting to see the overall standings at the end of the play on the 16th.

After the second game, the players stopped for coffee and donuts in the clubhouse.

We decided that it would be better to have an empty court between each match to prevent any interference from occurring.

The XT will play for six weeks - whether the weeks are consecutive or not depends on the weather. New players are invited to register by 8:45 am on any Saturday morning.

Prizes will be awarded at the conclusion of the six-week XT.

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New XTs (Extended Tournaments) For Amateurs

New Amateur Tournament: The club is conducting new, two-division (A & B), extended tournaments (XTs) for amateurs on Saturday mornings.

The next XT will start on January 8, 2004. Each XT plays for 6 (six) consecutive weeks, weather permitting.

Registration: Any amateur player may register to play in an XT. Experienced amateurs may register in the A Division and novices and beginners may register to play in the B Division.

The registration fee for each XT is $5.00 (five dollars) per player on the first day of each XT. One registration fee per six-week XT.

Late registrations (at the regular fee of $5.00) will be accepted up to 8:45 am on any Saturday of an XT.

December and Holiday Details: We will not play on any Saturday in December 2004 or on Saturday, January 1, 2005 (New Year's Day).

XT Rules - For Both Divisions:
                  1. Play starts each Saturday at 9 am - weather permitting.
                  2. 1 match per Saturday - for a total of 3 games per
                        Saturday.
                  3. Each match is a "draw doubles".
                  4. Players draw for partner and court each Saturday.
                  5. The draw will occur at 8:55 am each Saturday.
                  6. A.   Courts are either a full doubles court with four (4) players
                              or a 2-player court - which will be a walking singles match.
                       B. If there is an extra player then a BYE will be added to
                             the draw. The player who draws the BYE will get 3 wins
                             for the day.
                                   (No more than one BYE per player per XT.)
                  7. Each match is three 75 point games - win or lose.
                  8. Each player gets one (1) point for each game won.
                  9. Top 8 point winners at the end of each XT will receive
                        cash prizes.
                10. Standard shuffleboard rules apply.

Benefits:
                   You get competitive experience in the 75-point game
                   You can't be "knocked out" of an XT
                   You play with a variety of players
                   You try something new
                   You have fun
                   You can win cash prizes

Join us for the fun of it and get some good playing experience.

( Updated November 15, 2004)

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Hurricane Report
We have been very lucky with the three hurricanes (so far) that came in our direction this summer. Hurricane Frances got the ball rolling by prompting the removal of weak roofing from the club grounds. See Hurricane Frances for a full report and pictures.

Hurricane Ivan veered west of Pinellas County and missed us completely.

Hurricane Jeanne brought some heavy winds, 4 - 6 inches of rain and only minor damage to one set of lights over the tournament courts and to the small roof over the door to the club office. There is a considerable amount of clean up to be done from all the branches, bushes, leaves and general dirt deposited on the grounds.

Several large trees around Mirror Lake were damaged or blown down this summer. The large tree (a Live Oak) in front of the club (on Mirror Lake Drive) fell over during the night of September 21st and had to be removed. It had been weakened by rot and the heavy winds of Frances.

Fortunately, the tree fell during the wee hours of the morning and did not injure any pedestrians or damage any cars. It fell across (and blocked) Mirror Lake Drive and a removal crew had to hurry to the scene early on the morning of September 22nd.

We (like everyone else in Florida) are really hoping that we do not have any more hurricanes this year.
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Surprise Party Held For Frank and Helen Howard
Frank and Helen Howard, long-time club members, were surprised with a double party on September 3, 2004 in the Pelican Room.

Frank and Helen celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary (September 1st) and Frank celebrated his 91st birthday today. They were surprised by visits from their children and grandchildren. Their three year old great-grandson, Paxton, was a hit at the party.

Club President, Mary Eldridge, presented congratulations and good wishes from all our members to Frank and Helen.

Lunch and beverages were served and the affair was topped off with a beautifully decorated marble cake that was both an anniversary cake and a birthday cake. Frank and Helen were serenaded with "Happy Anniversary To You" and Frank enjoyed his "Happy Birthday To You".

The club wishes Frank and Helen all the best in the years to come. We are proud and honored to have them as friends.

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5th of July Club Turkey Shoot and Picnic

Happy 5th of July. Since the 4th was on a Sunday, we planned our fun for Monday, the 5th.

Our members played two regular Daily Games starting at 10 am and then we did a Turkey Shoot instead of playing the usual third Daily Game.

Many of the 18 players had been in a turkey shoot before, but this was a first for several shooters. Club President, Mary Eldridge, refreshed everyone on "turkey shoot" procedures.

We used courts 11, 12 and 13 in Section 3 for the competition and Nadene was one of the first shooters. She set the pace right away with a score of 103. Everyone took their turn while fellow members "called" the blocks at each end of the courts.

Joyce Linna, club vice-president, sponsored the Turkey Shoot and she kept a list of all the shooter's final scores. She had prepared prize envelopes for the top eight scorers.

The 5th of July Club Turkey Shoot top eight results were:

Mary Eldridge - 107
Nadene Hardt - 103
Lynn Hardt - 92
Ralph Clark - 88
Herb Hayden - 86*
Bob Schunk - 86
Mel Cutler - 83
Jim Peters - 81

*Herb Hayden won a play-off with Bob Schunk for 5th place.

The guys won six of the eight places and the gals won two. The gals didn't mind because they were two very nice places.

Many thanks to Joyce for all the fun.

When the Turkey Shoot was over, we all went into the large, air-conditioned, card room and had a picnic lunch. We had the usual goodies: hot dogs, fried chicken, B-B-Q chicken, potato salad, baked beans, sauerkraut salad, chips, pickles, cookies, watermelon, soft drinks and lemonade.

We were all hungry after the competition, so Ralph offered the blessing and we dug right in. There was plenty of everything, so seconds were the norm. Eating and chit-chat were our main concerns. Joyce awarded the Turkey Shoot prize envelopes when we finished eating.

Thanks to Mary and Mel Andrews, Nadene and Lynn Hardt, Phyllis Mathiot and Joyce Linna for providing some of the goodies for the picnic. The club provided the rest.

We were glad that Mel C's friend, Polly LeGrand, joined us and we were especially happy that longtime club members, Frank and Helen Howard, were able to be with us. It was like "the good old days".

Ralph brought the 41 pounds of nickels that he has won in the Daily Games over the years. He had them on display so that we could "behold the wonder" once again.

Thanks to club prez, Mary, for setting up the picnic and to Mary and Joyce for cleaning up afterward. By 1 pm everyone had either left already or they were heading to the parking lot.

A good time was had by all.

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Club Prez Wins National Doubles Championship
Club President, Mary Eldridge and partner Barbara Jenkins, won the women's division of the Eastern National Doubles Championship in Hendersonville, NC, on September 12, 2004. Mary and Barbara had never played together as a team and they decided to "do the best we can" and they kept their fingers crossed. This was the first National Championship win for Barbara and the tenth for Mary. Earl Ball and Stan Williamson won the men's division. SPSC congratulates the winners on a job well done.

The Daily Games

The daily shuffleboard games are a favorite year-round club activity. The games are
called the "nickel games" because players win a nickel every time they win a game.
It's not high finance, but it adds a little fun to the games.

Every morning at 10 am (from about April 15th to the middle of October) anywhere
from 2 to 10 courts are busy with members and guests who meet to play 3
recreational games of 30 minutes each. (From October to April they meet at 1 pm.)

To start out each 3-game set, the players draw their court positions for the first game. Then after the first and second games the players rotate around the courts so that they have new opponents and partners for each game.

At the end of each time period the player who is ahead in score wins the game and the loser of the game pays the winner a nickel. If the game ends in a tie then no one pays.

We always have an ice cream treat every Friday between the second and third game.
Extra good play can earn a bonus scoop.

We play non-walking singles on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and doubles on
Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There are no daily games on Sundays or on days when we have tournaments scheduled.

Ralph Clark has managed the "nickel games" for more than 10 years and not only
has he been one of the best managers of the games, but he is also one of the
"winningest" players. He has 36 pounds (yes, pounds) of nickels that he has won
over the years. That's a lot of winning!

Mel Andrews, and his wife Mary, began to manage the "nickel games" this summer.
Ralph was at their side to advise and encourage them in this time of transition. Mel
and Mary have done an excellent job and we look forward to continued success. We
thank Ralph for his years of dedication to the "nickel games" and we expect to
see him winning nickels for many years to come.

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Club Activities

The Daily Games