Sherry Clarke is competing for her eighth national championship in shuffleboard. She’s been playing for just shy of 40 years. It’s taken her all over the country, but this year she plans on winning at home. The National Championships are being hosted in the queen city in honour of the championship’s 50th anniversary.
The Saskatchewan charter put in a bid to host the championships this year, says event chairperson Cheryl Loughren. “It’s the 50th, we’re one of the larger charters and we can put on a better show... We have the fundraising and the membership,” she said.
Sixty-four shuffle board pros, representing five provinces, have come in hopes of landing in the score zone and riding the rail to national champ. The four-day tournament, in the ballroom of the Double Tree Hotel, is a double round robin with the top three teams qualifying for playoffs.
The game is played in either singles or doubles. The goal is to land the rock in the score zone of the board for one, two, or three points. The closer to the end of the board the higher the score. A hanger, the Holy Grail for a shuffle board player, is when the rock hangs off the end of the board earning four points.
Clarke was first introduced to the sport by her mother who also competed heavily in the province. She says it was the social aspect of the game that initially drew her in and soon she was hooked. But for Clarke the hanger didn’t come easy.
“I wasn’t going to play with the good guys until I knew how to play, so I practiced for six to eight months just at the board in the back of the bar...Then I did that, practicing every day for five or six years,” she said.
“A lot of people think of shuffle board as a drinking game...They think that you just go and drink and throw things, but it’s not like that at this level at all...these people are dedicated players and they are trying their best and they’re the best from their provinces, it’s more of a sport that people think it is,” said Clarke.
It requires a unique kind of stamina and technique says Clarke. The tournament starts at nine in the morning and says she’s left as late as 4 a.m. because of tie breakers.
“You have to learn what the board does, there are curls, and ups and downs and weight of a board. So I guess the thing is that you want to outmaneuver your opponents,” she said.
“You’re never out of it. You can always have a chance to win. You can be down 10-nothing and still have a chance to win. It’s not over until the last puck’s shot. Just because a guy’s down doesn’t mean he’s out,” said Mike Collins, a spectator.
He also started the sport young, but now plays only for recreation. He travels to many tournaments with his wife who competes regularly.
“It’s a timeless sport as long as you can stand at the end of that board you can keep playing,” he said.
As for Clarke, she says she’s approaching the hammer of her long-time career. Shuffleboard was once a large part of her life, but she says she’s ready to let it go and plans to retire after her 40th year in the game. For now she’s still in the running for the title, which will be decided on Friday.
