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Sport's best collide to vie for title
By JENNIFER FARRELL, Times Staff Writer
CLEARWATER -- Richard Buchanan's love affair with shuffleboard started the way it almost always does: In Florida, on winter vacation, a neighbor talked him into playing. A dozen years later, the romance endures. "You live in a mobile home park around here, you can't help it," Buchanan said. "We get started and that's it." Buchanan, 74, now heads the International Shuffleboard Association, which kicked off its 22nd annual world tournament Monday in Clearwater. Teams from the United States, Canada, Brazil and Japan are vying for this year's title in the weeklong competition. At stake: international bragging rights. "There's no money involved," said Buchanan, who spends part of the year in Haines City and part in Pennsylvania. "Whoever wins, the team goes on the plaque as world champions." Two trophies, one each for men's and women's divisions, have a permanent home in the Clearwater Shuffleboard Club at 1020 Calumet St. Inside the building, a small room in the back holds the International Shuffleboard Hall of Fame. Pictures from previous tournaments line the walls along with memorabilia from around the world. A Japanese kimono hangs near a jersey from Ireland. On Monday afternoon, fans crowded the courts outside, some carrying stadium cushions. They marveled at feats of strategy and finesse, finer points they say are the twin keys to shuffleboard success. "This is where you see all the best," said Mildred Hudson, who watched the action with her husband, Keith. The couple, both 70, play shuffleboard on a team at their mobile home park in Clearwater. "We enjoy watching almost as much as playing," Mrs. Hudson said. "Watching, you win every game, you see." Buchanan said shuffleboard is about more than touch and a steady hand. "There's a lot of strategy to it," he said. "It's not all just dumb luck and pushing the block up and down the board." Basil Kerrill, president of the Clearwater club, said 94 players will play in the tournament, which ends Saturday. The United States boasts a team of 24, with 12 men and 12 women. In Clearwater, Kerrill said, the game suffered a setback after the city increased recreation fees for nonresidents by $30 a year, bringing total costs for club membership to $60. "We've been losing a lot of members," said Kerrill, 65, of Safety Harbor. "But it still beats golf, boating and fishing." On Monday, tournament opening ceremonies featured a band and schoolchildren singing in Japanese and Portuguese at the Harborview Center. But this year's crowd was smaller than usual. Australia, host of last year's tournament and normally among the contenders, didn't send a team to Florida. Buchanan blamed the economy and skyrocketing travel costs. The 23-member Brazilian team also struggled with a steep exchange rate. "It's 4 to 1," team founder Michael Zellner said. Zellner, 46, an Air Force veteran fluent in Portuguese, retired to Sao Paulo, where he lives with his family. In Clearwater, he does more than just compete. "I have to do all the translation," he said. Matches are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except Thursday, when competitors are scheduled to take a field trip to Busch Gardens. Admission is free. -- Jennifer Farrell can be reached at 445-4160 or farrell@sptimes.com ">farrell@sptimes.com .
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