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Amy
Hall and Jeff Hiser win the Championships in the Chesapeake Open!
As all tournament directors do, I hope to build up our annual event
based on the preceding year’s success. But this year, going into the
4th Annual Chesapeake Open, I was concerned. The signup cut-off date
was 3 weeks ahead of the event. It came and went with only 4 “open
public” signups, and 38 cardholders. During the next week, a few more
sanctioned apps came in the mail, but still not the quantity I was
hoping for. Then… the phone starting ringing. Many of our cardholding
pitchers waited until the last minute to say “can I get in?” Pat and I
had scrambled eggs. Trying desperately to get a mailing out with
pitching times, we had to juggle and rearrange. Class pitching times
were sent out, but the phone kept ringing. Another 10 wanted in. Could
we fit them in with the time table already set? It was a challenge, but
we adjusted some 6 man classes to 8, and some 8 man classes to 10. With
no lights on these courts, keeping to the timetable would be critical.
At the end of all the juggling, 66 sanctioned pitchers signed up
(ending up with 2 no-shows, 64 pitchers total). The response from the
VaHPA was exactly as hoped for, growth year-over-year. The Open-Public
flights Friday night had 22 pitchers, and the Opens on Sunday had
12. 98 pitchers overall!
In the Friday evening Open-Public flights, three classes were held.
When signing up, Randy Elswick and son Mike Elswick requested to pitch
in different classes. Randy ended up in a three way play off with Kenny
Stewart, the Chesapeake P+R “front man” for the event, and Rubin Byrum.
Kenny Stewart has pitched every year in the Open classes, and this
year, as part of the playoff for first place, he personally experienced
the need for lighting on the courts. Visibility was getting low, and
there was just enough daylight left to squeak in the last several shoes.
At the end of Friday’s pitching, three first place winners were awarded
– Randy Elswick (7-2), Chuck Lake (7-0) and Ike Rose (5-0). They would
return on Sunday to compete for the Championship title.
Saturday’s classes were completely sanctioned cardholders. Ray Haverset
from Connecticut took the honors of the furthest travel to the event.
He was followed very closely by Ron Taylor, President and RD for the
South Carolina Horseshoe Pitchers Association, and his family.
‘A’ Class had eight people. Barbara Taylor, SC, made her name known in
VA, pitching against some tough competition. Coming in a final 5th
place, she made the locals fight for it, beating Renee Cowan in a 60
shoe game 40 to 33. Amy Hall took 1st place, Renee Cowan came in
2nd, and Ricky Hall came in 3rd.
In B Class, Lenwood Conner Jr took the first place spot uncontested,
with a record of 7-0, and an overall 57.69% for the day. Wayne Sturtz,
with a 50% for the day came in 2nd, and Jerry Colyer with an over
49.67%, came in third.
At noontime on Saturday, pitching was halted briefly for opening
ceremonies. Kenny Stewart presided, welcoming everyone, and introducing
the organizers and representatives of the City - from the City of
Chesapeake, Councilwoman Patricia Willis, and from the Chesapeake Parks
& Recreation Department, Director Bobby Clifton. They were both
pleased to attend another annual event, and expressed their
appreciation for the Club, the venue, and the opportunity it presents
to the residents in the immediate area. Both the City and the
Parks&Rec Department are committed to assist as much as they can to
continue the growth of the sport in their park. The sponsors of the
event were recognized and thanked for their support – The City of
Chesapeake, the Chesapeake P+R Dept, King Custom, and Farmer’s
Insurance - Robert Olds. The sponsors’ assistance is vital to the
success of the event. Having completed all the introductions, Patricia
& Bobby pitched the ceremonial two-shoes-each, and were presented
with a commemorative glass candy jar, designed and crafted by King
Custom. With that, the tournament resumed.
When we were first setting up the pitching schedule, keeping daylight
and TIME in mind, we had some tough decisions to make. To fit all of
the classes in, ‘A’ Class was the only one allowed 40 points, unlimited
shoes. All other classes were assigned 30 points-40 shoes. Even at
that, at 6:30 that evening, with 4 rounds still to play (with no
lights) in C class, their limit was changed to 20 points -30 shoes.
With 10 pitchers in the class, it would be a close call to finish
before dark. As it turned out, that was a good decision, because we had
to have a play off. Tonya Hix and Don Masters fought it out, with dusk
falling. Tonya took first place in a very close game against Don.
Marvin Chessons, with the highest overall percentage in the class –
41.73% - came in 3rd.
D Class was another 10 person class. No playoffs were necessary,
because Gene Webb had a great day pitching, ending with 9-0 and a
37.03%. Chuck Duymich came in 2nd with 7-2, and Ron Taylor (SC) took
3rd with 6-3.
In E Class, Portsmouth’s “Iron Man”, 81 year old Cary Davis came in 1st
with 7-0. He finished the day with a 33.78%. Great going Cary!! Jackie
Earle (SC) came in 2nd with 6-1 at 29.06%, and Robert Snowden came in
3rd with 5-2, 18.90%
Willie Cox and Thomas Hix pitched it out for 1st place in F Class. In a
very close game, Willie won on the final two throws. Those two were so
close, they finished the day with 25.57% and 25.17% overall. Jack Miley
took 3rd place in the class with 6-2, 23.03%.
Our largest concern of the day was G Class. By the end of their last
round, we were faced with another playoff for first place. Glenn Bouley
and Kenny Robinson faced off as daylight quickly faded. When the score
was about 18-16, I had to borrow a flashlight to shine on the receiving
pin, to get the count as the shoes fell. A very tough night of
pitching. When it was done, the applause for the pitchers was hearty
and welcome. Glenn, the victor on the very last two shoes, said “It was
hard trying to find the pin, I’m glad there was at least a
flashlight!”. Glenn finished the day in 1st place with 7-1, 28.93%.
Ken, 2nd, with 6-2, 19.29%, and Norma Venavage 3rd, 5-2, 18.06%.
H Class was seeded with 50% newcomers from the Portsmouth Club. We were
pleased to welcome Ray Cotman, Allan Winn, and Don Drewery to the
event. Shawn Dofermire took first in the class, John Dunn took 2nd and
Ray Cotman took 3rd.
Around 9:30 Saturday night, pitchers and organizers packed up for the
day. More open classes were scheduled for Sunday, with the Championship
rounds to follow. Well, Sunday morning brewed up quite a mess. Early
morning thunder showers left everything soaking, but by 11:00, the last
two Open-Public classes were underway.
Mike Elswick, not winning on Friday, had resigned up for this set, and
ended up coming in 1st in his class. Most of the participants were
new-comers, including Jeff Hiser, who finished 1st in the second class.
That set the stage for the Championship Rounds. Five first place
winners vied for the title. At the end of five rounds, Jeff Hiser from
Virginia Beach, pitching a flip shoe, had defeated all of his opponents
(5-0). The Chesapeake Club provided scorekeepers and the games were
recorded. Jeff averaged 46% during that Championship round. The spot
for runner up was not so clear. A three way win/loss tie existed, so it
had to be played off.
Michael Elswick, Chuck Lake and Ike Rose all with 3-2 records were the
contenders. Flipping a shoe each, Ike got the bye in the first round.
Michael beat Chuck 21 to 14. Then in the final round of play Michael
and Ike fought it out for 34 shoes in a very tight game. For a while,
it looked like a slam dunk for Ike, but he got stuck at 20 points. All
he needed was a single point to win the game, but he couldn’t find it.
While Ike was frozen in place, Michael got hot. He pitched 6 ringers
out of 12 shoes to make a stunning come-back, winning the game 23-20.
What a finish ! Great game guys!
The final standings in the Open Flights were: Champion Jeff Hiser (7-0
@ 46%) Runner up Michael Elswick (5-2 @ 29.29%), 3rd place Ike Rose
(4-3 @ 23.19%), 4th Chuck Lake (3-3 @ 25%), 5th Randy Elswick (1-4 @
25%)
Despite the late night pitching and the rain delay on Sunday, the
entire event was deemed a success by the pitchers and the organizers.
The Chesapeake Parks & Rec department has always supported our
sport and the club, this year, they’ve committed to several more
improvements to the facility, and are having open discussions about the
possibility of installing more courts. We thank them for their
involvement and assistance.
Looking forward to next year, my goal is to bring in at least 100 NHPA
sanctioned pitchers to this annual event. I’d like to have enough
participants to separate the A class into 30 and 40 foot pitchers. The
Chesapeake Club members deserve a round of applause for their help
during the tournament. They were in attendance constantly, from early
morning till we closed each day, prepping the courts, running water
buckets, painting pins and taking score. Whatever was needed was
quickly taken care of. Thank you all.
Kevin
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