*NORCAL NEWS & VIEWS*
Official
Newsletter of the Northern California Horseshoe Pitchers Association
From the President
I can’t say it often enough. WE (the NCHPA) NEED THE SUPPORT OF ALL OUR MEMBERS. Without commitment from our members and this means participation in our tournaments, we can’t survive. When I ask you to share your thoughts and ideas with me as to what it is you, the members want, I get a response from a dozen or so people. Our entire organization must be doing something wrong and we need you, all of you, to tell us what it is.
The NorCal & Club Team Championship tournaments will soon be here. Last year at the NorCal we had only 66 pitchers and the Club Team had only 52 pitchers. With 500 members this was a pretty sorry turnout. I sincerely hope this year’s turnout will be much better. Please send in your entry forms right away. They are included in this newsletter.
Where have all the pitchers gone? Why don’t you participate in even the local weekend tournaments? Is this sport of horseshoes that we say we love doomed due to lack of interest? We have tried different types of tournaments and we have asked you for your input. I for one don’t know what to do next. Help me out here. When some of the 40’ pitchers said they didn’t want to pitch all the time in mixed tournaments, some clubs had non-mixed tournaments. The 40’ pitchers who complained the loudest didn’t even bother to show up for them. This makes it pretty hard to know what you folks really want!
Enough said for now, except please remember, we need to work together as a team, 500 strong!
Gary Keiser
It’s time to think about the 2005 tournament schedule. Please consider the following when you make out your schedule.
1. Fewer tournaments might bring about greater participation.
2. Consider making tournaments pre-registration so as not to waste time and money.
3. Keep scheduling plenty of tournaments so members have more choices.
To date we have had 10 tournaments with 10 (or less) pitchers. This is a shame considering all the work that goes into preparing for a tournament. The Yolo club has 40 courts. Can you imagine the amount of work involved to prepare the grounds for a tournament that only 19 pitchers signed up for? That happened in July on a Saturday. Sunday was even worse. Not only that, they sell food which takes time to shop for and prepare.
The largest turnouts this year have been at Tri-Valley with 52 (Keiser Open), Tuolumne with 50 (Black Oak Casino), and Gold Country with 49 and 43. This needs to be addressed. Talk to your club members. Ask them what we can do to get them to tournaments. Then tell the rest of us.
Thank you.
Gary Keiser
Our Secretary/Treasurer writes….
Sometimes
words are not enough to express the tremendous appreciation we might have for
another person. But, since words are all most of us have, I would ask EVERYONE who sees Genevieve
Lavett
to say thank you to her. Recently I received a new desktop and laptop computer for the
NCHPA secretary/treasurer. (Myself currently and others in the future) The
NCHPA actually owned an ancient computer and Genevieve had mentioned that if I
needed a new computer I was to let her know. I didn’t say anything but when she
brought it up again, I honestly couldn’t resist. I am now up with the times and
can accomplish my duties much faster. Everything about the system is fast and
there is plenty of room for additional programs and if I ever connect to the
Internet, it’s ready to go. The laptop will make it much easier to run the
NCHPA hosted tournaments including the “State” as everything can be set up from
home and be ready to go. Thank you for your extraordinary generosity,
Genevieve.
Also, a great big thank
you
to NCHPA Webmaster, Ed Smith, (Earl’s son) for selecting all the computer
components and programs. Not only did he do this but he also spent several
hours setting it all up and then transferring the information from the old
computer. Ed didn’t charge us for his time, only for the programs he had to
purchase. Thank you Ed – as you know I’m kind of a dummy when it comes to doing
that stuff.
Two more things,
the first being a slap on the hand to club secretaries who send in the
membership reports. Please use the proper report form and don’t forget the
birth dates. I really need these, especially for those you list as short
distance pitchers and juniors. Those of you, and you know whom you are, who
have NOT sent birth dates, please send them ASAP. I still need them. The second
thing is to REMEMBER Gary Keiser gets the tournament stat information and I get
the money. Any time you think of money remember it goes to Gail. Smile! Other
than that you all do a great job and thanks to you who have already sent me
everything.
Gail Sluys
ATTENTION ALL PITCHERS!!!
It has been brought to my attention that some players are removing
their shoes a little too fast from the pit. The score must be agreed upon
before any shoes are removed. “A contestant’s shoes shall be called foul if the
contestant removes any shoe before the scoring of that shoe has been agreed
upon. A judge shall be called if a decision cannot be reached. The judge shall
determine the scoring for the inning.” (Official Rules of Horseshoe Pitching –
Rule 6, Section H3 – Revised 1/1/04)
Gary K.
World Tournament
Many NCHPA members traveled to
Pocatello, ID for the 2004 World Tournament. I hope everyone had a good time
even if your pitching wasn’t up to par. We didn’t have any pitchers in the championship
groups of Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men or Juniors. However, after class
play in which Don Kies (Elder C) and Teddy Guillotte (Elders B) won their
classes both with 13.5 wins and 1.5 losses, they advanced to the Championship
Elder group based on their percentages. Don had 67.5 and Teddy 63.83. Don
finished 4th with a 68.13% average and Teddy came in 11th
with 56.48% average. Sharon Paddock advanced to the Senior Women Championships
finishing 5th with 59.54%. Although they didn’t make the Championship
group, Andy Loobey went 14 ½ (wins) & ½(loss) to win Senior Men B with 44%
and Harvey Kooy went 12 & 3 to take first in Sr. Men D with 38%.
Congratulations to these winners and to all the other NCHPA members who brought
home a trophy and/or a check and also to those who went pitched and had fun!
Cathie Loucks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sacramento Horseshoe Club members
Othal & Harlen Rippetoe again participated in the International Police
& Fire Games held in Las Vegas, NV on Aug. 12th & 13th.
They won a gold medal in the team competition and a silver for Othal, bronze
for Harlen in singles play. They competed against pitchers from the U.S.,
Canada and Russia. These games, held semi-annually throughout the world will be
in Brazil in 2006.
Harlen Rippetoe (SAC)
Nine clubs have signed up 18 new
members since the last newsletter and the NCHPA welcomes them all. Feather
River’s newest members are Jim Thorpe, Mary Bain and Randy “Wendell” Schmidt.
These three have already played in a sanctioned tournament. Half Moon Bay also
has three new pitchers, Steve Newgren, Rick Finney and Fran Kreuzer, as does
Stockton with Randy and Paula King and Eric Goldsmith. Randy pitched his 1st
sanctioned tournament at Gold Country on 7/10. Entering with his qualifying
average of 29% he went clean to win his group with a 31.5%. He was a happy
camper! On Sunday he and Paula both pitched and Randy tied for 2nd
but lost out by percentage. Paula didn’t do quite as well in her 1st
tournament but she’ll come along. Fortuna’s two new members are Ty MacDonald
and Brian Pezzoli. Karen & Bob Alling whom some of you may remember as long
ago (about 17 years) members of Gold Country, rejoined the club and Karen won
her 1st tournament at Indian Valley with a 21% average. Tri-Valley
welcomed new members Estrellita & Bill Boggess who pitched their first
tournament in Vallejo where they BOTH won their groups! Robert Romans, Shasta’s
newest member also pitched his 1st tournament at Gold Country taking
3rd in his group. Vallejo added junior boy, Jaden Lane. Welcome all
and good pitching!
Cathie Loucks – 1st
VP
2005 Tournament
Schedule
I’ve been getting some inquiries regarding scheduling tournaments for 2005 so here’s the deal. Consider this formal notification to submit dates for your club.
I am NOT going to send each club
forms to fill out. What I want is a list from each club (typed if possible)
listing the dates, the names (if available) and the type of tournament. Make
sure you WRITE OUT exactly what you want, i.e. entry fee, food for sale, early
start or whatever. DO NOT use the numbered codes from the 2004 schedule. WRITE
it all down. MAKE SURE you are looking at a 2005 calendar. If you have to
reserve dates to use your courts please indicate this and make sure you have
reserved the dates. Send this information to me NO LATER than Sept. 30th.
If I don’t have it you will not be on the schedule! There is no guarantee that
you will get specific dates unless you advise me that there are no other dates
acceptable and then you might not get them all. As an NCHPA sanctioned club you
must hold at least one sanctioned tournament per year per our bylaws. You may
email me your information or send snail mail. cathieloucks@yahoo.com or P.O. Box
1628, Penn Valley, CA 95946. If you
have questions you can email or call me at 530-432-2103.
Cathie Loucks (1st
VP)
Seaside Horseshoe Club might be
getting a new lease on life. New member Bob Tuscany will be assuming the duties
of president from Rick Thompson. Bob has already met with Fred & Genevieve
to see what he can learn. He has contacted Gail Sluys to get a list of past and
current club members and is not too shy to ask for help. One way other clubs
can help is to show up to pitch at the tournament. Bob with help from wherever
he can get it has scheduled a Seaside tournament on October 23.
Perhaps those folks who used to belong to Seaside but have moved to other clubs
will consider returning to Seaside and help Bob rebuild the club. As we all
know, no one can have a successful club without lots of help and support from
its members. Mark your calendars now and plan on attending the tournament. If
you want to contact Bob his address is; 104 Ocean Avenue, Monterey, CA 93940, (831)373-2413 – email – ca-bobt@pacbell.net
Cathie Loucks
This year at our annual meeting on
November 13th, we will be electing officers for president, 2nd,
4th and 5th vice presidents. This means we need some of
you folks out there to throw your hat in the ring. I haven’t heard yet whether
any of the incumbents will be running for re-election but if they don’t we
might be in trouble with no other names to consider. There are many members out
there who have paid their dues so to speak by holding office at the state or
club level but there are many more who have not! Please consider submitting
your name to Gary to be presented to the delegates. We need people who are
committed to helping the NCHPA. The NCHPA is each and every one of YOU!
Cathie Loucks – 1st
VP
The meeting was called to order at
8:30 a.m. Sunday morning August 1st. Items 1 through 7 on the
agenda, such as adopting meeting rules, financial report, 2005 WT progress
report, etc. were discussed and the delegate votes were confirmed at 130. It
was determined that 87 votes were
needed to pass the changes to be voted on. Item 8 was to be presentations by
the bidders for the 2006 World Tournament. Stuart Sipma took the floor and
reported that the two bidders, Des Moines, IA and Louisville, KY had both
pulled their bids due to financial problems. Thus the 2006 World Tournament
site will be awarded by the Executive Council after they solicit bids from
other possible sites. Bakersfield has indicated that they might be interested
in hosting both the 2005 and the 2006 W.T.s. This could take time to determine
but hopefully a site will be chosen by W.T. time next summer.
On to item 9, which was discussion
and voting on the 8 proposed changes as published in the June issue of this
newsletter. Anyone interested can refer back to that article. The results were:
No.1 – tabled; No. 2 – passed; No. 3 – passed; No. 4 (amended to read “entry to
all open NHPA tournaments is restricted to players holding a current NHPA
membership card, unless otherwise allowed by the NHPA Council under Article
XI”) – passed; No. 5 – failed; No. 6 – passed; No. 7 – failed; No. 8 – failed.
There was extensive discussion on numbers 5, 6, 7 & 8 but we finally got
through them. Number 6 is significant in that as of Jan. 1st, 2005
men that will be 70 years old during the year may now declare themselves
short-distance pitchers at the start of the year in which they will turn 70.
Election of Officers was next with
the incumbents running unopposed and re-elected by acclamation. NHPA Officers
followed by committee chairpersons then gave reports. Casey Sluys is looking
for volunteers to be on his new member committee that is working toward a goal
of 2500 new members. He also announced that the co-op ad program would continue
thru 2005.
NHPF president, Dave Loucks, gave
a report on the status of the NHPF. He stated that the NHPF is still alive and
still needs your donations to sustain the NHPA Hall of Fame. Whether or not the
facilities in Joelton are retained or sold doesn’t negate the fact that the
NHPA needs to have, operate and maintain a Hall of Fame facility.
In 2003 it was decided at
convention that the rules needed to be revised. Several people have been working
towards this goal and a complete revision will be posted on the NHPA Website by
January 2005. The entire revision will be discussed and voted on at the
convention in Bakersfield next summer. All members are encouraged to study this
revision so as to be well informed and have plenty of time to discuss them with
the members of their own charters.
The 2005 World Tournament pitching
format was discussed and will stay as is for Bakersfield.
It was proposed that the NHPA
should try and find a way to get Newsline to every member.
The meeting was adjourned.
Cathie Loucks
(delegate chair)
The Feather River Club had
successful tournaments 7/31 & 8/1 and the weather cooperated with cooler temperatures
and a nice breeze. Saturday we fielded 4 groups of 6 with Cliff Clark (WIL)
claiming the tournament champion honors. Jack Bradford won group 2 and Stacy
Triano (GCN) back pitching after being off for over a year won group 3. Tony
Urata, also of Gold Country took first place in group 4. Sunday we had fewer
players, only 3 groups of 6; our own Lois Edwards was the tournament champion
and Tony Urata won another first in group 2. Harry Begay of Indian Valley
placed 1st in group 3.
August 3rd Palermo Park
was the site of “Boot out Crime” held in conjunction with the National
Neighborhood Night Out to fight crime. Various groups participated and Ken and
I set up a table with horseshoe information available. A number of people
stopped and talked with us and one young fellow seemed quite interested.
As a result of the co-op “WANTED”
flyer we distributed our club has 3 new members, Jim Thorp, Mary Bain and
Wendell Schmidt; they have all pitched in at least one tournament.
Unfortunately Mary has a problem with her arm but will return when it heals.
They are all very enthusiastic and will be a great asset to our club.
Howard Forester has decided to
drop out because he does not like to pitch with short distance pitchers.
Hopefully he’ll realize how much he’s missing and change his mind. Ringers to
all!
Audrey Winters (FR)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Half Moon Bay’s mayor,
Mike Ferreira, threw the 1st shoe to open our season at the Pat
McGowan Open on May 6th. He also presented a “proclamation” from the
city to the club thanking us for hosting National tournaments and welcoming all
participants to Half Moon Bay. Kim Stockli (VAL) was the tournament champion
and Pat McGowan won 1st in group 2 out of 28 players.
At the Charlie Hall Open on June
10th Linda Hoelscher (TV) was tournament champion with local members
taking 1st place in groups 2 - Pat McGowan, group 3 –Kay Webbe and
group 4 – John Szabo.
The Bill Terry Open on July 10th
with 35 entries was our largest turnout this year. Separating 40 footers from
the short distance pitchers we had three 40’ groups and 2 short distance
groups. Don Kies (SJ) at 30’ and Pat McGowan (HMB) at 40’ were the tournament
champions. Group 2 –30’ honors went to Doreen Elkins (HMB) and groups 2 & 3
40’ were won by Glen O’Brien (HMB) and Phil O’Dell (TV). Sunday we hosted 22
participants in a mixed format. Foa Remillong of Half Moon Bay took top honors
with Doreen Elkins and Kay Webbe also of Half Moon Bay won groups 3 & 4.
Jan Anderson (TV) won 1st place in group 3 after beating Joe Summers
in a playoff game. (You go, girls!) New member, Steve Newgren, took 2nd
in group 4. Steve found out about our club on the Website, came Saturday to
watch, liked what he saw, joined the club, qualified and then came back to
pitch on Sunday.
B. Terry & C. Hall
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gold Country Horseshoe Club
hosted 49 pitchers on Saturday July 10th in a
non-mixed tournament. Unfortunately, Travis, Daniel & Casey Sluys who had
traveled from Santa Rosa on Friday evening, were unable to stay or we would
have had 52 entries. We had 5 groups of 40’ pitchers and 3 of short distance.
John Sylvester (WIL) was the 40’ tournament champion with a 4 & 1 record
and 51% average. Don Gore of Nevada, Randy King of Stockton in his 1st
sanctioned tournament, Sam Triano (GCN) and Rick Sprague (NV) took 1st
place honors in the 40’ groups of 2, 3, 4 & 5 respectively. The short
distance tournament champion was (as usual) Tom Munoz (TV) with Cliff Clark
(WIL) and Lisa Grant (TV) taking 1st in groups 2 & 3. Andy &
Maggie Loobey open up their property and their home for friends to camp or grab
a bed in order to save driving both days. After pitching on Saturday was
finally over a “large” group advanced on the Loobey home for a potluck and
barbeque and camaraderie. We always have a great time! On Sunday, with so many
staying over, we had 43 pitchers in a mixed format. Guess who was the
tournament champion? You got it – Mr. Munoz of TV. Winners of subsequent groups
were, Dave Loucks (GCN), Ken Schulze (SON), Lisa Grant (TV), Sam Triano (GCN) and
Tony Urata (GCN). Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to
everyone, especially those folks who drive so far. We truly appreciate your
support. Sunday’s tournament was a benefit tournament for the NHPF in memory of
Jack Freeman. After expenses we were able to donate $100.00 to the NHPF.
August 21st was the
date set for the Women’s Auxiliary Extravaganza. We had such a great turnout in
July we were overly optimistic for this one. After spending over $100.00 on
food and drinks and an additional $150.00 on raffle prizes we were disappointed
at the turnout of 28 pitchers. We certainly weren’t disappointed in the ones
who showed up. For the 1st time I can remember, we didn’t have
enough (count 3) scorekeepers. Each group had a bye game and thankfully each
bye person kept a score, which helped tremendously. With 4 groups of 7 we were
able to pitch everyone in one shift. We had 8 pitchers from Nevada and Steven
LaForge pitching in his 1st sanctioned tournament took 2nd
place in his group with a 26% average. Associate GCN member Tom Munoz was for
the umpteenth time the tourn. Champion and our friends from Nevada triumphed in
groups 2, 3 & 4; John Barney after beating Gail Kane in a playoff, Rich
Semenza, and Dustin Viera also winning after a playoff with Cecil B. of Shasta.
This was Dustin’s 2nd NHPA tournament. Everybody checked their
raffle tickets while lunch was served and then we called the numbers for the 2nd
raffle. I can’t remember who won 3rd place, which was a turntable
type spice rack with all the spices but Dale Koistinen (HMB – formerly of GCN)
won the 2nd place prize of
$25.00 and Rick Sprague of Nevada won 1st place prize of $50.00.
Entry fees were all paid out in prize $$ to each group. Sunday was cool &
fast with only 19 pitchers and Teddy beat out Tom in a p/o for T.C. Again,
thanks to all of you who joined us!
Cathie Loucks
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Placer County Horseshoe
Club conducted a pitch n’ win program at the Roseville Fair on
June 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th. It
was our first attempt without Don Titcomb to lead us. Don gave Mike Buhler
telephone support but it was definitely a learning process for Mike and our
club.
Thanks to Gary Keiser for the
comments in the June newsletter regarding Don’s “Pitch ‘n Win” program.
Our Folsom practice courts have
been beautified with the addition of trees and rose bushes.
PLEASE NOTE…. We are
canceling our October tournaments. October 2nd, 3rd, 30th
& 31st. We just don’t have enough volunteers to help run
successful tournaments.
Jenny Hoy-Goodacre
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vallejo Horseshoe Club’s Doug
Simon’s back operation was a success and he is doing well but don’t expect to
see him on the courts this year. He expects to be back in form next season.
Bill Lee who also had surgery earlier
this year isn’t doing too well but we will be looking for him to be back next
year.
Linda Parnell has been in the
hospital in Napa undergoing medication treatments for blocked arteries. She
expects to be home early Sept. and is hoping she won’t need surgery.
Pat Murtha was recently named the
“Daily Republic’s” (Fairfield’s daily paper) Athlete of the Week. Pat was also
tournament champion at the Glenn Conner Open on 6/27 at Vallejo.
Kimmy Stockli was in Gold Country
for the July tournaments and took 2nd place both days with 63% and
62.8% averages. She had high games of 75 & 76%.
On Saturday August 28th
the Senior Championships hosted by the NCHPA were held at the Vallejo courts
with 23 pitchers participating.
Jim Wallace (VAL)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stockton Horseshoe Club’s Mary & Larry Fig left Lodi on July 21st headed for the World Tournament in Pocatello, ID. It was our first time for a “World” and I must admit to having the “jitters” on the 1st day of pitching. I pitched at 8am and Larry at 11am for three days of 5 games each day. Ending up 9th out of 16 wasn’t real good but not too bad for this “old lady”. Larry wasn’t quite as pleased with his performance and if you ask him, he’ll say “I don’t want to talk about it” so don’t bother asking! In all fairness though, before we left, he dropped a refrigerator on his foot and badly bruised it. He could barely get his shoe on to play. When we left we headed for Montana to visit friends then on to Seattle where we spent a week with relatives. While there, Larry who was helping with some yard work stirred up an underground wasp nest and got stung several times. It was a little hairy and you’d be amazed to see how fast old people can move! After that we headed south to Oregon to visit more relatives and being as they live near the Rogue River we had to take a ride on the river. The weather was much cooler than home and there was a lot to do. All in all it was a great trip and the “World” experience will be a lasting memory. I’m looking forward to the “World” in Bakersfield next summer.
Mary Fig(STK)
NHPA Awards Banquet
The awards banquet held at the Red Lion Hotel in Pocatello was a big success this year. Two NCHPA members were applauded by the over 250 attendees, including a nice California contingent, as they received their awards.
Casey Sluys received the Arch
Stokes Memorial Award, which is considered to be the most prestigious award the
NHPA presents each year. This award is presented for continuous outstanding
service in promoting the development and growth of the sport of horseshoe
pitching on a national level during the past five years. Congratulations Casey!
Dave Loucks received a beautiful
plaque in appreciation for his leadership and direction throughout his 18 years
of dedicated service as NHPA President. We thank our many friends for their
support throughout his presidency and their attendance at the awards banquet.
Dave remains involved as a director and the president/ treasurer of the NHPF.
Cathie Loucks (GCN)
This year at our annual meeting on
November 13th we can vote to adopt new bylaws or make changes to
existing ones. In order to do this anyone who wants to submit a change to our
existing bylaws must have it in the hands of 3rd VP, Wayne George,
NO LATER THAN September 13th. You will need to consider the wording
of your submission and refer to the section of the bylaws to which it pertains.
Any member is free to send a submission to be considered but if it is received
after the 13th it will not be voted on this year. Wayne will be at
the State Tournament in Bakersfield this weekend and will accept submissions
while there.
Cathie Loucks – 1st
VP
On Saturday 8/21 at the Gold Country tournament John Sylvester and Rick Bermingham who both entered the tournament with a 59% average pitched each other in game 6. They each had 77.5% for the game but Rick was the winner with 3 single points. Final score 16-13.
On Sunday 8/22 at the Tri-Valley
tournament Don Kies, entering average 69% and Ray Kinores, entering average 63%
met each other in game 5. Although the group was handicapped Ray didn’t need
the 7 points Don spotted him as he won handily, 29-9. These two gentlemen who
earlier this year became short distance pitchers each had a great game with Don
hitting 80% and Ray a whopping 90%. Way to go guys!
Gold Country has canceled their September tournaments – 9/25 & 9/26.
Placer
County has canceled their October tournaments –
10/2 & 3 and 10/30 & 31.
*COME ONE – COME ALL*
NCHPA AWARDS BANQUET
**********
Date: November 13
Time: 5:00pm - No Host Cocktails
6:00pm - Dinner
Place: Stockton Rod & Gun Club-Hwy.5 & Mt. Diablo Blvd.
(across from Louis Park)
Cost: $15.00 per person
Dress: Casual
Reservation deadline: November 5th
Caterer: Lena’s Family Catering
Menu: Salad, steak, potatoes, vegetable, dessert & coffee
Entertainment: Harvey Brown & the Side Winders
Awards: Awards will be presented immediately
following dinner. Awards will be presented to 1st & 2nd
place finishers from the Seniors Tournament, the NorCal Championships and
special NCHPA awards (Rookies of the Year, Most Improved, etc.)
Send your check or money order to Mary Fig 10040 E. Harney Lane, Lodi, CA 95240
Along
with your check you MUST send Mary the name/s of the people attending and the
club they belong to. You will pick up your ticket/s at the door when you
arrive. If your name is not on the list there will be NO TICKET for you.
Tickets will NOT be mailed to the clubs.
NOTE: Per our bylaws each club is responsible for
providing 2 raffle prizes with a minimum value of $10.00 each. You may bring
the raffle prizes with you or you can send $20.00 to Mary and she will purchase
prizes for the raffle.
Please join us for a great time with your
fellow pitchers. Gary, Cathie, Kimmy, Wayne, Mary K.,
Mary Fig and Gail.
*** End ***