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Shuffleboard - Underestimated
Posted On: 07/06/2008 07:08:34
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I sent the following to the AARP Bulletin after an article insulting Shuffleboard appeared on the AARP web site. Don't under-estimate the Tournament Shuffleboard Players who are supported by the FSA (Florida Shuffleboard Association), NSA (National Shuffleboard Association), ISA (International Shuffleboard Association) and eleven other State organizations.
I was sooo disappointed by the article May 6, 2008 by Thomas Goldsmith regarding the New Senior Center in Raleigh. The line in the May 6, 2008 article by Thomas Goldsmith - “Shuffleboard? Sorry, wrong mind set” - really got my blood boiling. It’s blatantly obvious to the over 20,000 members of the Florida Shuffleboard Association www.fsa-shuffleboard.org and the other thousands of active tournament shuffleboard players throughout the world represented by eleven other states, the National Shuffleboard Association and the International Shuffleboard Association, and our friends at www.theshuffler.org , that Mr. Goldsmith, Lifespan Design Studio, and the Raleigh Planners did “Not” do their homework accurately regarding the active sport of “Tournament Shuffleboard”. The worldwide International Shuffleboard Association tournament is hosted this year in Australia with participating teams from the USA, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Germany, and others. The Florida Shuffleboard Association hosts two sanctioned tournaments most every week from October 1st through March 1st every year, with participants traveling around the state to compete. Our local club hosted one of many National Shuffleboard Association Tournaments on June 2 – 3, 2008 which drew 104 participants from several states and Canada. This tournament was sponsored by Humana Health. Most of our tournaments have major sponsors who understand the sport and the benefits. One National Real Estate company last year televised a commercial depicting shuffleboard as a game played by decrepit invalids in nursing homes. This raised the ire of our members who after a Nationwide campaign within our membership, the commercial was pulled and the company apologizing for it’s insensitivity. Shuffleboard is a very active sport played by serious athletes in organized events around the globe. Those who know nothing about our sport only relate to play on the courts seen on cruise ships or playgrounds, or places where the game is just a leisurely activity. Well, the sport also has the serious side in Tournament Shuffleboard with support of the organizations I have mentioned. The Raleigh planners would have done their residents a favor if they had included tournament shuffleboard in their plans. They have deprived these folks of this real competitive, active sport. I retired four years ago with the idea of playing a lot of golf. I got to know the sport of Tournament Shuffleboard and now play zero golf. Shuffleboard is very competitive, requires stamina, concentration, strategy, and a lot of training and skill to compete at the tournament level. A lot more skill than golf ever required and a sport more available to everyone! ….. Painting an image of shuffleboard as this article by Mr. Goldsmith has painted, is harmful and woefully inaccurate. It’s like saying baseball is a little kids sport because he only saw it played once by some t-ball players. There needs to be more positive coverage of our sport and that can only be done when folks get to know the sport with an accurate portrayal. They won’t want to if people write about what they don’t know. Next time, get it right – do your homework. Come see me – I’ll show you the ropes. It would do AARP a lot of good to get on the bandwagon and step up to the plate by getting on board with the active tournament players through one of the organized channels. P.S. to my shuffling friends – see the article referenced at www.aarp.org then do a search of shuffleboard …. The article is titled “Not your father’s senior center:…… “ Support me by joining in the dialog by signing up at the AARP website and send in your two cents worth…….
Tags: Florida Shuffleboard
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