NEWS FROM THE HENDERSONVILLE, NC 
It was a very good summer at the HNCSC. We have several new members both locally and from FL and TX. Four FL couples and one man bought places here this summer and so did the new couple from TX. How wonderful is that?! We have more helpers at the Club than we’ve had in a long time and we had larger numbers in our State & National tournaments than we’ve had in a long time also. Our President, Jay Fitzpatrick, has done a terrific job in his first year of a two-year term. It is just a happy, fun place to shuffle in the summer and we hope more shufflers will give us a visit in the summers to come. There is no ‘point’ system here and we have mostly ‘Draw’ tournaments, so the atmosphere is fun and friendly all the time.
THE 2012 EAST/’WET’ NATIONAL GOOD WILL GAMES AT HENDERSONVILLE, NC 9/14-19/2012
Yes, on the 3rd day of competition the 2012 East/West National Good Will Games was dubbed the 2012 East/’Wet’ National Good Will Games. Summer and Autumn in Hendersonville is known for having afternoon showers . . . That’s common for the mountainous areas of this region. However, we did not have afternoon showers; we had three days and nights of downpours! Our Club had a back-up plan for rain, thankfully, but we certainly did not expect 10 to 15 inches of rain in three days.
Dedicated members of our Club worked hard all summer refinishing three courts so we would have 10 covered courts and 6 uncovered. That way 64 players could all play at the same time, two 16-frame games before lunch and one after lunch for a total of 15 games per player for the 5 days. We had arranged with a Senior Park about five minutes from our courts to use their six indoor courts in case of rain. As it turned out, we had to use this other venue all day the 2nd, 3rd and 4th days. With carpooling, it went very smoothly for the most part. There were a couple of instances where players went to the other venue only to discover they weren’t supposed to and had to be driven back.
Weather aside; it was a wonderful week with 64 wonderful people to participate, 32 on the East team and 32 on the West team. We had 36 returning players of previous Good Will Games and 28 first-time players. I am so thankful for the first-timers who were a Godsend for me as the many cancellations began coming in after July 1st.
We planned for the players to have every afternoon and evening off to enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the area around Hendersonville, and our Club President, Jay Fitzpatrick, had a group outing planned for every evening for players to take part in if they chose to. These included a tour of local Gardens and Coy Ponds, the Pisgah National Forest and dinner at the Pisgah Inn, the Flat Rock Playhouse and Cinema, the Carl Sandburg Home and a trip to a casino in Cherokee, NC. Several players enjoyed touring on their own in their free time. There was one player who bravely experienced zip lining for the first time, Dan Smith!!
As usual, when playing in the East the East team dominated the tally of daily wins. However, the visiting team did better here than in any of the previous three tournaments. The final tally of wins was 280 for the East and 200 for the West. The Banquet on the final evening turned out great and was the perfect ending to a wonderful week. We had our own private room at a very nice seafood restaurant. The food was great and the entertainment superb. Nancy Schell of OH did a few imitations of shufflers’ deliveries and follow throughs which was very funny. Our host, Jay Fitzpatrick, told some really funny stories, as did John Brown and Gus Bondi. John Brown also shared a brief history of Shuffleboard and told of the upcoming events to celebrate shuffleboard’s 100 yr. anniversary. Jay and Sandi presented some gifts and awards, and then the feature comedian of the evening was Dan Smith . . . Oh my gosh, this guy should go on tour! He had us all laughing hysterically with his stories and jokes. One after another, after another, he was hilarious. Then to end it all, Dan w/his kazoo and Sandi led the group in singing ‘God Bless America’.
The 2013 National East/West Good Will Games will be held in Oregon. Watch the USANSA web sight for information: www.national-shuffleboard-association.us/index.htm
The deadline for applying will be July 1st, 2013. East players apply to Sandi at: sequinn1@hotmail.com , West players apply to Jan at: jcrouse2532@aol.com . As 2nd V.P. of the USANSA, I firmly believe in the purpose of these Good Will Games and sincerely hope they will continue.
Sandi Quinn, 2nd V. Pres., USANSA; Secretary, HNCSA. Here is a link to some pix sent along by Sandi. http://photopeach.com/album/w9qypy
Stan McCormack. 2012 09 23
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