BoardBits.com™ September 5th, 2006

BoardBits.com™

Sept. 5, 2006

Volume 6, Number 2

With lots of momentum from last year's very successful tournament, which attracted more than 250 players, and set new prize money records for 12 of the 13 events, pre-registration for the 2006 NASC™ is off to a great start. With the dramatic drop in fuel prices in the last couple of weeks, we are seeing some of the best airfares in quite some time. If you have not yet made your flight reservations, now is a great time to do so. If you need any help, please give me a call at 800-380-3033. Last year, there were a couple of events that were full, with a waiting list. Although the early registration deadline is still a month away (October 7) we recommend that you register early to insure a spot in the events you want to play in.

News Flash: We recently sold a shuffleboard table to Twentieth Century Fox Television that will be used in their new TV show, Stand Off, which debuts tonight on the Fox network. The show is centered around the day to day work of the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit in Los Angeles. The table is in a pub that the characters go to after work. Although I do not think the table is going to be shown in the initial show this evening, I do know that it will be actively played in future episodes and is not just there as a decorative piece. The show has a contract for twelve episodes. Based on ratings, the show could run for one season, or could be a blockbuster that runs for years. This is obviously great exposure for our sport and hopefully everyone reading this will be a regular viewer.

As we celebrate the 17th anniversary of the NASC™ this year, we will also celebrate Sol Lipkin's 100th Birthday. Music and dancing, among other things, will be added to Friday night's festivities. Any ladies who would like to make a donation of at least $20 can sign up for a dance with Sol. All dance proceeds will be split 50/50 between the Bowers Ratings and the TSA Hall of Fame. We are also looking for ways that the guys can participate in some fund raising activities for those two organizations, please contact us with any ideas you may have. Sol’s “official” 100th birthday party, thrown by his sons, Buce and Gene, along with close friends Dave Corriveau and Buster Corley (founders of Dave & Buster’s) took place on June 4th at the Dave & Buster’s in Philadelphia. Several hundred friends and associates from across the U.S., and from as far away as England were on hand. Pictures from the party will be available shortly on eshuffleboard.com and may also be available on the TSA web site.

Friday night’s agenda features two other special events, the presentation of the Sol Lipkin Award to Emmett Wilcox, of Anderson, Indiana and the TSA Hall of Fame inductions for previous Sol Lipkin Award winners, Dick Gorman and Don Valk. Although Emmett is not well known outside of the Midwest, his contributions to the sport have been very significant. He was the first person to polish weights for better performance and consistency and later developed polishing and speed testing equipment for The Shuffleboard Federation. This equipment was instrumental in the success of The Shuffleboard Federation's Pro Series Weights™. Emmett also invented calibration equipment which allows more precise leveling and adjusting of shuffleboard tables. Nicknamed "Pappy" by his fellow Hoosiers, Emmett was the first person inducted into the Indiana Shuffleboard Hall of Fame in 1996. He is also credited with teaching the game to many of Indiana's fine players. Dick is being honored in recognition of more than two decades of service to the shuffleboard community. He has run hundreds of tournaments and has been the backbone of shuffleboard on the East Coast for many years. Don is being honored for his contributions as a player and promoter. His U.S. Open Tournaments in the 1980's helped to set the standard for today’s major tournaments.

Following the awards presentation is the raffle drawing. Some of the top prizes in the raffle include sets of Pro Series Weights® and a Jacuzzi Suite for 10 nights for the 2007 NASC™. We are looking for donations of other prizes for the raffle and would appreciate donations of shirts from other tournaments and/or shuffleboard establishments. After the raffle will be the $10,000 cash give away, in which 50 randomly drawn players will win $200, courtesy of the Sands. To give everyone a chance to enjoy themselves and visit with shuffleboard friends, old and new, no tournaments games will be played on Friday night.

To print Tournament forms and information, please use the following links: Registration Form, Schedule of Events, and General Information. If you have never been to the NASC™, there has never been a better time to find out why, over the past ten years, more players have attended the NASC than any other tournament.

If you have not yet made your airline reservations, remember that the Sands will allow you to book a room and airfare package, which can sometimes save even more more over their already cheap room rates. The airline which has traditionally had the best packages is American Airlines. To get a quote, visit www.aavacations.com. America West has also had some great fares, their web site is www.americawest.com. Other recommended travel web sites are: Orbitz.com, Yahoo Travel, Expedia.com, Southwest Airlines.com and Hotwire.com.

If you need help making air or hotel reservations, or have any questions about the tournament, please call The Shuffleboard Federation at 800-380-3033.

John McDermott, Tournament Director