1 The Ringer June, 2016 From Texas State Doubles Tournament Director Polly Murphy Despite the heavy rains, flooding, and nearby tornados on Friday, it turned out to be a good day on Saturday for some friendly horseshoe compeon. We had 5 classes at this year’s event with some really good compeon this year. All classes with the excepon of A-Class had es that put teams in playoffs. Wow! Congratulaons to our Tournament Champion Team as well as our Class Champion Teams: Tournament Champions: Jack — Cathy Richards Won 6 Lost 0 Class B Champions: Greg Parra – Nico Parra Won 6 Lost 1 Class C Champions: Greg Gibson – Duke Hampton Won 4 Lost 2 Class D Champions: Jerry Wallace – Dusn Way Won 5 Lost 1 Class E Champions: Cody Ashmore – David Siepert Won 5 Lost 1 TEXAS STATE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT @ DENISION NOTE: THE RINGER IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD OR VIEW ON THE THPA WEBSITE. TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE A FREE PAPER COPY OF THE RINGER, BE SURE TO CONTACT SEC/TREAS BILL CAMPBELL.
Transcript
1
The Ringer June, 2016
From Texas State Doubles Tournament Director Polly Murphy
Despite the heavy rains, flooding, and nearby tornados on Friday, it
turned out to be a good day on Saturday for some friendly horseshoe
compe��on. We had 5 classes at this year’s event with some really
good compe��on this year. All classes with the excep�on of
A-Class had �es that put teams in playoffs. Wow!
Congratula�ons to our Tournament Champion Team as well as our
Class Champion Teams:
Tournament Champions: Jack — Cathy Richards Won 6 Lost 0
Class B Champions: Greg Parra – Nico Parra Won 6 Lost 1
Class C Champions: Greg Gibson – Duke Hampton Won 4 Lost 2
Class D Champions: Jerry Wallace – Dus�n Way Won 5 Lost 1
Class E Champions: Cody Ashmore – David Siepert Won 5 Lost 1
TEXAS STATE DOUBLES TOURNAMENT @ DENISION
NOTE: THE RINGER IS AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD OR VIEW ON THE
THPA WEBSITE. TO CONTINUE TO RECEIVE A FREE PAPER COPY OF
THE RINGER, BE SURE TO CONTACT SEC/TREAS BILL CAMPBELL.
2
From The Kitchen Table of Your Editor, Art Ullom
Well, here it is. My very first edi�on of The Ringer. I hope you like it!
But, whether you do or not, please give me feedback. If you really like
everything, that’s GREAT! However, if there’s things you DON’T LIKE,
well, I need to know that too!
I guess I should tell you a li>le bit about myself. I grew up in South
Dakota where horseshoe has been in our family for genera�ons. My
Dad, Jim Ullom, was an avid (& talented) horseshoe pitcher since he
was a kid. His Uncle Glen used to take him down to the City Park
when he was a teenager where Glen would lure other pitchers into a
match for a quarter with him & my Dad, the “Kid”. They would nearly
always win the match and the money! When I turned 14 years old, my
Dad added me to his League Horseshoe team which generally win 1st
Place. I found out quickly that I loved pitching horseshoes! Of course,
it didn’t hurt that we would stop at the A & W for hamburgers (or
mul�ple burgers in my case) and A&W Root Beer. Great memories!
In 1972, I completed my service with the U.S. Army and took a job in
Grapeland, TX. While in Grapeland, I was instrumental in organizing
the Open Shoe Horseshoe Club. Our Club grew to over 20 pitchers and
we hosted a THPA tournament every year for several years. I’m sure
some of you remember coming to Grapeland & having a good �me at
our tournaments! Somewhere along the line with work & kids I got
away from pitching around 1980. My job took me to Indiana in 1987
and I got back on the courts up there in the early 90’s. In 2014 I
re�red from work & we moved back to Texas.
Some of you may wonder, why on earth would I take on the THPA
Editor’s job as it takes a lot of �me. Mainly, I want to “give back” to
the Horseshoe community. I’ve spent a lot of years pitching
horseshoe, but like a lot of us, have had limited �me to do more than
pitch. I also enjoy wri�ng “stuff” and working with computers, so I
decided to give it a go. So, here I am, and I hope you enjoy….
3
Le"er from the President, Brooks Symank
This past winter, I surveyed a number of tournament directors and
random THPA members to develop a list of membership concerns. At
the Winter Mee�ng, members completed a T-Sort to priori�ze
concerns. Hopefully, this will give us some direc�on in developing
common goals to improve our organiza�on.
This exercise did in fact work. Our top concerns were: 1) too many
tournaments ( specially on the same date), 2) the website, and 3)
declining membership. I would like to address each of these
individually.
First, too many tournaments (especially on the same date). I think our
main concern here involves tournament par�cipa�on. One example
given was that individuals would like to par�cipate in other
tournaments but usually go to the closest one to save on travel and to
support local clubs. Tournaments tend to compete against each other
when scheduled on the same date. Hopefully, the change made at the
Winter Mee�ng to re-instate the” 200 Mile” rule for 2017 will help
keep tournaments from compe�ng with each other for par�cipants. If
this causes larger tournaments, it should make classes more
compe��ve.
Second, the website. I think everyone knows that Wayne works really
hard to keep the website current and useful. We also have become
more dependent on it for current and up to date informa�on about
THPA news, tournament sign-up, tournament results, and other
informa�on. As technology con�nually advances, old technology
becomes obsolete very quickly and our technology has not been
updated in several years. We have authorized Wayne to look into
possible website upgrades to present to the board for considera�on.
Please be pa�ent because we want to make an informed decision.
Thirdly, declining membership. This is not an issue that is unique to
Texas, but is a na�onal issue. NHPA membership has declined from
4
Le"er from the President (Cont’d)
over 14,000 in 1992 to just over 7000 in 2014. Texas membership
trends have basically mirrored NHPA trends over the same �me
period. We all need to welcome new members and always do our
best to make our sport fun and compe��ve. Our membership is
actually up a li>le bit this year, but this is an area that we need to
con�nually address.
I would like to thank all of those that give their �me and effort into
trying to improve our organiza�on and sport. My number one goal is
to strengthen rela�onships and improve compe��on. See you at the
pits.
Reported, Seen, or Overheard
One of my goals with The Ringer is to get more comments, feedback,
sugges�ons, pictures, stories, and anecdotes from the THPA Members,
Tournament Directors, and Officers. With your help, this Publica�on
can be more than repor�ng Tournament Results, Lis�ng the schedule,
etc etc. While those things are important, there’s nothing be>er than
quotes, thoughts, comments, opinions etc from YOU, the Members!
When I go to the tournaments I take pictures and I intend to publish at
least ONE picture from each tournament. If everybody sends me a lot
of pictures, ar�cles, and other stuff and I have too much to publish—
well I’ll cross that bridge if and when it happens!! So—here goes!
Janell Berry, Tourna-
ment Director for the
Kilgore Oil Classic on
March 19th. Working
hard and freezing on a
really cold day. Re-
gardless, the tourna-
ment went off without
a hitch!
5
Heavy Rains just days
before the Tourna-
ment almost washed
out the McKinney Clas-
sic. The members
worked really hard to
bring in new sand and
the Courts ended up
being in GREAT SHAPE!
From 2nd Vice President Ed Posey:
Debra Odum qualified for the Hall Of Fame Invita�onal in Wentzville, MO on
April 30th as she was one of the top 16 to In the 30 Q. Class to accept the
invita�on. Unfortunately she dislocated her ribs prior to the tournament and
was unable to par�cipate. Debra told me she was very honored to be select-
ed for the Event even though she couldn’t pitch. To receive an invita�on, a
pitcher has to be in the Top 100 Men (40 Ft), Top 50 Women, or Top 50 El-
ders in the Na�onal NHPA Standings. Receiving Invita�ons this year were:
Top 100 Mens 40 Ft: #100 Brooks Symank, #72 Jeff Finke, #63 Ed Posey
Top 50 Womens: #15 Doris Hieden, #8 Debra Odum
Top 50 Elders: No current THPA Members
Of these Texas Invitees, only Debra Odum qualified for the Tournament
From Editor Art Ullom:
My apologies for this edi�on of The Ringer stretching to 28 pages.
There is a lot of informa�on to pass on to everyone and a lot of good
material sent in by a lot of par�cipants. I’m sure The Ringer will be
shorter next �me! Thanks to everyone who contributed informa�on!
6
Candidate for First Vice President—Coyce Allen
I, Coyce Allen would like to announce my candidacy for the posi�on of
THPA First Vice President. The posi�on is currently responsible for
providing assistance to individuals and/or groups that are interested in
establishing new clubs and pitching facili�es all across Texas.
During my 32 years as a member of the THPA I have served as
Tournament Director the past twenty years, on the THPA’s Rules/
Advisory Commi>ee the past twelve years, and President for the 2014
and 2015 seasons. In addi�on, I have served as the NHPA Regional
Director for the past five years and currently a member of the NHPA’s
Rules Commi>ee. The experience gained from being directly involved
with the development and construc�on of the facili�es at Kilo Bay,
Carrollton, Li>le Elm and Chandler will be advantageous to fulfilling the
requirements of the posi�on.
Your support will be greatly appreciated, and I would consider it to be
an honor to serve our membership as a member of this Execu�ve
Council.
Thank You,
Coyce Allen
THPA Officer Posi0ons Up for Elec0on in 2016
We have 4 posi�ons up for elec�on this year. Bill Campbell is the
incumbent Secretary/Treasurer and is a candidate for re-elec�on to
that posi�on. Art Ullom is the incumbent 5th Vice President/Editor and
is a candidate for re-elec�on for that posi�on. The 3rd Vice President
posi�on is currently open and Bryanna Beusch and Wayne Callicoa>e
have both submi>ed their resumes and have announced they are
candidates for the 3rd Vice President posi�on. The 1st Vice President
posi�on was also unfilled this past year. Coyce Allen has submi>ed his
resume and announced his candidancy for the 1st Vice President
posi�on.
7
Candidate for 3rd Vice President - Bryanna Beusch
My name is Bryanna Beusch and I am interested in running for the 3rd
Vice President posi�on with the THPA for the next 4 years. I have
assisted the Gun Barrel Tournament Director for the past 2 years, and
just recently became Tournament Director for the Tri-County
Horseshoe Club in Buffalo, TX. I enjoy the sport and love the people I
have met like a second family. Horseshoes has become a big part of
both my life and my family’s life. To become the State Director for
the THPA would be a big accomplishment for something I enjoy and
love doing. In becoming the THPA 3rd Vice President, I will do
everything I can to promote horseshoes and the THPA in everything I
do.
Thank you,
Bryanna Beusch
Candidate for 3rd Vice President—Wayne Callicoa"e
To All THPA Members:
I am submiUng my name for the office of 3Rd
VP of THPA (State
Tournament Director). I have been tournament director of Greater
Houston Horseshoe Pitchers Associa�on since about 2000 and was the
first to use HSMaster in Texas and have been instrumental in geUng
other Tournament Directors using HSMaster and training them.
Con�nue to help other TD’s in solving problems with HSMaster. I have
the �me and knowledge to serve you as State Tournament Director.
Contact Ron Taylor (803) 412-8226 thehorseshoetour.com
Host Hotel: Hampton Inn (903) 322-2223
Buffalosuites.hamptoninn.com (Ask for Horseshoe Pitcher rates - $99.00)
FREE HOT BREAKFAST INCLUDED
13
Buffalo Stampede Horseshoe Tournament
Entry Form DEADLINE TO SIGN UP IS 09/07/2016
Name_____________________________________ 30ft 40ft Address______________________________________________ City__________________________ State______ Zip_________ Phone___________________ Email______________________ NHPA#________________ NATSTATS Ringer %____________ I certify that the above information is accurate and complete and agree to abide by the NHPA & HP Pro Tour Rules of Membership conduct. Signature___________________________ Date_____________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buffalo Stampede INCLUDES FREE T-SHIRT
PLEASE CIRCLE
POCKET: YES or NO SIZE: S M L XL 2X 3X ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
We carry a variety of NHPA Sanctioned HorseshoesWe carry a variety of NHPA Sanctioned HorseshoesWe carry a variety of NHPA Sanctioned HorseshoesWe carry a variety of NHPA Sanctioned Horseshoes
Pro-Flip Allen Francis
Bronco Pro Flip Signature
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Snyder EZ Flip All-On
Snyder EZ Flip II
Snyder-Watson
Challenger Bandit Elmer Hohl Hummer
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For more information and prices visit our Website.
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26
From Bob McCharen, Historian, A LOOK BACK IN THPA HISTORY
1995 Texas State Tournament Class A ParHcipants East Bernard
Front Row LeQ to Right
Paul McCreery, Bob Graham, Chris Paul, Gene Meyer
Back Row LeQ to Right
Coke Bowker, Ed Arionus, Tommy Valenta, Bubba Frieda
BOB GRAHAM WON THE 1995 TEXAS STATE HORSESHOE TITLE
WITH A RECORD OF 7-2 AND A RINGER AVERAGE OF 64.90%.
27
2016 THPA Hi/Lo Doubles Tournament
Waco, Texas
This tournament will be seeded from all individual entries in a 16 pitcher high/low format.
Teams will pitch in a round robin-walking doubles format and each TEAM will pitch 60 shoe games.
On-line sign up is now open via texasringer.net or for more information, please contact:
