The World Champion is... the St. Pete Shuffleboard Club!

On Friday Mrs. Ephemera had the day off so we skiddaddled over to St. Pete to catch the final matches of the World Championships of shuffleboard. I had watched the feverish preparations via Facebook by Christine Page and other members of the St. Pete Club as they readied the facility for this international event. I saw the teams at the opening ceremonies with flags and uniforms and it reminded me of when Orlando hosted both World Cup and Olympic soccer in the 1990s. I also enjoyed posts by Jonathan and Ashley of the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club in Brooklyn. Playing shuffleboard in Florida in their youth, this pair of New Yorkers got the idea to start a shuffleboard club in Brooklyn after being inspired by a visit to the St. Pete Shuffle.

So I was psyched by the end of the week and a bit annoyed when I couldn't find a place to park at the club because of the large crowd on hand. The grandstands were packed but Mrs. Ephemera and I got seats near the top behind the ladies competing for the women's championship. The crowd was obviously shuffle-knowledgeable as they groaned at near misses and applauded at precisely-exectued shots. It was near perfect weather as the eight competitors dueled it out on the slick St. Pete courts. I was amazed at how little effort it appeared to take to make the disks travel from one end to the other. Properly-prepared courts make the game require much more finesse. Mrs. Ephemera liked the quick pace of play as the players at this level didn't waste any time agonizing over strategy – they knew exactly where they should send the puck on every turn.

At the end of the match good sportsmanship was demonstrated, and the winners received applause from an appreciative crowd. Later that evening there was an award banquet for the tournament's participants across the street at the Coliseum, formerly a venue for big band dances and other early 20th century recreational past times.

I was thrilled to meet the folks from Brooklyn who had contacted me last year when they launched what I thought then was a long-shot at ever getting off the ground. But the club opens in early December and hopefully Mrs. E and I can get up to New York and see if those Yankees can really shuffle.

There was fantastic Friday Night Shuffle after the tournament with shuffleboard cake, an art show and live music. The place was jam packed with families, hipsters, and even some of the international competitors decked out in their fancy clothes from the banquet. The energy level at the St. Pete Shuffle is always amazing, and on that night the place radiated joy and excitement. Kudos to the folks who made it happen.

Our efforts to get shuffleboard re-booted for a new generation in Central Florida are going well. The Sanford Shuffle was also held Friday night and they had a good turnout. The second Orlando Shuffle is this Saturday and I expect a good crowd. And the active club in nearby St. Cloud is also trying to welcome new players to their facility. This game that seemed to be fading away seems to have a new life thanks to committed people in St. Pete, New York and Central Florida. Come out and shuffle with us, won't you?

The Championships

Packed grandstands, just like the old days

This calls for a ruling by the judge!

Ladies' Champion!

Men's Champion!

Friday Night Shuffle

Shuffleboard cake in honor of the championship

Shuffleboard in Central Florida

Fourth Friday of the month

First Saturday of the month

The St. Pete Shuffle

I first learned about the St. Pete Shuffle when I was trying to rally support for saving Kissimmee's ill-fated KAST Club shuffleboard courts. I had connected with Chris Kelly and Christine Page, two of the members of the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard club who were instrumental in bringing new life to the venerable St. Pete institution. They were incredibly helpful and ever since then I have wanted to see how they managed to put a new spin on a game associated with senior citizens in their golden years.

So after Thanksgiving on Anna Maria Island, my wife and I drove across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge into St. Petersburg to meet Chris and Christina and attend their weekly Friday night shuffleboard event known as the St. Pete Shuffle.

My first impression was that the shuffleboard complex was much larger than I had envisioned; I'd seen pictures of the club but in addition to the shuffleboard courts there are storage buildings, a clubhouse, restrooms and other buildings. Chess and lawn bowling clubs occupy space at the back of the property and several dance organizations and a folk festival share the facilities in the building that holds the clubhouse. This is much, much more than your typical motel concrete shuffleboard court. In fact there were too many courts for me too count. And the buildings are all historic, built at different times – some have deco details but most are in the Mediterranean Revival style that was the rage in early 20th century Florida.

The club itself was organized in 1924 and has ranged in membership from 5,000 in its heyday to between twenty and thirty before Chris and Christine got involved. Today you see broad cross sections of ages and it is exciting to see hipsters shuffling with seniors and really enjoying themselves. When it was our turn to try out the game, we were tutored by a professional shuffleboard player named Mary, who I later learned is a member of the Shuffleboard Hall of Fame! She was extremely patient and supportive and I learned that while I had played the game before, I had never played it properly.

The triangle shaped scoring area on a shuffleboard court goes from 10 points at the top, 8 points for the top two quadrants, followed by 7 each for the next two and finally minus ten for the rear quadrants (known as the "kitchen"). A shuffleboard disk touching any part of a white line gets no score, no matter what quadrant it lies in. The game is played to 75 and teams alternating going first (the last turn is called the 'hammer").

The Friday Night Shuffle is free and there are beverages, snacks and t-shirts for sale. A sound system plays music ranging from vintage tunes from the golden age of shuffleboard to contemporary alternative rock for the hipsters. It provides a great setting for a game that can be intense and competitive but most of all is really, really fun. I looked around and all the lit courts at the complex seemed to be full of shufflers.

Membership to the St. Pete Shuffleboard Club costs is only $20 a year and it allows you to have access to club facilities beyond the Friday night event.

Chris explained that the city of St. Petersburg owns the property that the club sits on but the club owns and maintains all the buildings. The city has been supportive of the club and club members have been successful at winning grants for upkeep of the property. There is a great deal of work still needing to be done to the historic structures and they hope to earn a listing on the National Register of Historic Places so more grant money will be accessible.

My wife and I agreed that the Shuffle was the highlight of our action-packed holiday weekend. In addition to being incredibly enjoyable recreation, I was very inspired that a few dedicated individuals like Chris and Christine could see the value of this aging facility and restore it to new levels of vitality through their energy, effort and vision. I am hopeful that perhaps someday I can help to preserve aging parts of Central Florida and help others see their value. And I can't wait to shuffle again!