During the next year club members and the P+R personnel will install permanent fencing, and do some landscaping to make the area safe for use on any day.

While we were comparing notes on final preparations needed, Kirk Adams, President of the Chesapeake HS Club said "The support and assistance we have gotten from the City of Chesapeake is outstanding. We could not have done this with out them."

Having watched the tournament all day Saturday, Kenny Stuart, Recreation Coordinator, Leisure Division, for the Chesapeake P+R said, “In the 28 years I've been with the City and part of the Parks Department, this is my proudest achievement.”  Wow! What a compliment! But then, Kenny has every right to be proud. The courts, the location and the people involved in building these courts all deserve a great big “pat on the back”. The setting for the courts is ideal, with  5 courts nestled in tall pine trees and the remaining 7 built in a line edged by the pines and other trees. Many spectators enjoyed the shade provided as the heat and humidity for both days was very unpleasant.   These courts rival the best Virginia has to offer, and are a welcome addition to the VaHPA pitching circuit.
 

Using a unique blend of NHPA Cardholders and the general public, 101 pitchers signed (3 no shows) up for this, the 2nd Annual Chesapeake Open Horseshoe tournament. 47 cardholders and 51 open public pitchers threw their ringers during the 2-day event, while spectators meandered through, watching it all. 

Saturday morning at 9:00 the Public Open classes filled to capacity and spilled over to Sunday noon, forming another set of classes in the open divisions. 

Councilwoman Patricia Willis  , Advisory Board member Shelly Johnson-Deneau, Kenny Stuart, Kirk Adams and Kevin Snelgrove welcomed all the pitchers between flights Saturday. Kirk Adams presented special appreciation awards to two P+R employees Gary Yount and Mark Winkler for all the hard work and effort they put in. Gary Yount, having worked from day one on the project, was so impressed by the courts he helped build that he signed up with the club and is now pitching with them every Sunday.

After the ceremonies were complete, Patricia Willis and Shelly Johnson-Deneau had a pitch-off for a beautiful commemorative engraved candy jar. Amy Hall gave both contestant hints as to how to pitch the shoe. The closest shoe would win the jar - with that, off they went.    Patricia threw the closest shoe and was awarded the candy jar. As runner up, Shelly received an engraved coffee mug.
 

'A' Class started off at noon Saturday, with many of the officials watching. Amy Hall, Ricky Hall and Branson Miller put on a show for them,  while Randall Weakley showed the crowd how to keep score on an over size scoresheet. A perfect game was one shoe short as Amy pitched 27 out of 28 shoes against Branson. The crowd was thrilled!
 

Actually, seven classes of NHPA members pitched at 12&4:00 Saturday, with E class scheduled to pitch at 9:00 Sunday. G Class returned Sunday morning, due to a rain delay late Saturday evening.

A light rain had developed around 7:00 pm, during the games, causing the rain delay. B class and D class had progressed far enough in their rounds that the class winners were determined and awarded based on the win/loss records at the time. G Class was only in their 2nd round, and all agreed to come back Sunday morning to finish.

Noon on Sunday brought another round of open classes filled to capacity. First place Sunday winners Robert Snowden (7-0), Kenneth Henson (5-1), Marvin Chesson (5-0), Darron Ricks (5-0) paired off with first place Saturday winners Todd Gilkerson (7-0), Frank Everton (6-1), Willie Cox (7-0), TC Stewart (6-1) for the (single elimination) Championship Rounds. They had all come in 1st place in their classes, and therefore won the right to move on. To start out the round, 4 pairs of raffle tickets were placed in a bucket and all of them drew a number to pick their initial opponent. While this was going on, the club members kept busy   getting the courts ready by sweeping, shoveling and turning. 
 

Kirk Adams was appointed 'judge' for any questions about shoes/point value. He was called on several times for determination on close shoes.    As the 2nd round started, the tension could be felt, and spectators had gathered on the sidelines to watch. By the end of that 2nd round, Frank Everton and Robert Snowden had stuck it out to battle for the title. In the end Frank took home the gold. However, the title wasn't handed to him on a silver platter. He had to fight his way to the honor. 

As TD for this event, I found it challenging to combine both a sanctioned event and an open public event. For the most part, the timing worked smoothly. I want to pay a special round of thanks to my wife Pat. She and I work so well together. She was there behind the scenes as the glue, holding this event together. Taking care of all the details that need attending to - the pitchers saw this and expressed their appreciation also. "Thank you Pat"
 .. 

Coming up next year, the City has already given us their approval to hold the 3rd Annual on the same weekend in July. I've spoken to several of the top pitchers in our neighboring states, and have their tentative commitment for that event. I just know it will be even bigger next year. Once the word spreads from the other classes, it can only grow.

'Till next ring-g-g-e-e-e- r-r-r. 

Kevin