The Horseshoe Tour Staff held a staff meeting on December 28, 2019 at a centralized location in Winchester, VA. We try to do this as often as we can, but this one was long overdue and as a result the agenda was quite packed. I won’t dig deep into the specific details of the meeting in this summary, as much of it is just boring administrative stuff. But one thing we did do was take some time to evaluate our own performances and make suggestions to each other for improvements… a very helpful exercise! Self-evaluation is always a good thing and we looked at ourselves as individuals and as a team, evaluating and critiquing our individual jobs outside of the tournaments, and our individual and team duties at tournaments.
One thing we’ve been lucky with, until recently, was staff tournament attendance. Up until the last couple seasons, we’ve managed to have a full staff at almost every tournament, which is amazing, considering we’re going into season 12! But seasons 10 and 11 had some absences that were not well planned, and we stumbled through some of them. So, we decided we needed to address this and work out ways to make these times go more smoothly. This will probably become more common as time goes on, so we worked on that and made good progress in dealing with absent staff. We also did a little re-arranging of the staff, bringing Barbara Taylor in officially as the Tour Sec/Treasurer and moving Tony White into a VP slot. We examined the proposed budget for 2020, the major part of it being tournament travel and we made some tough choices to help contain those expenses as best we can.
Here’s a few things that should directly interest you, the players… We took a solid look at the Open Division and the lack of entries this past season and decided that from now on, the Open Division will only be offered at new locations as a promotional tool to draw in the maximum entries. Existing sites will now only offer the two Prime Divisions, but they will be open to players of all ability levels, no restrictions. When no junior division is offered, juniors may compete in the 30′ Prime division. The minimum pitching distance is 30ft. so no 20 ft. Cadet entries will be accepted unless we offer that division separately. We spent some time examining the tournament rules and bylaws, correcting them to show all the recent changes and are preparing them for publication online soon. We previously decided that our next Hall of Fame and Achievement Awards ceremonies will be in Newberry, SC in April, so we spent some time examining that. There are no player inductions coming up, so we feel this is a good time to start non-player inductions and we will have several for this event. We will also explain the non-player categories and the criteria needed for winning Hall of Fame status for non-players, like players, these honors will be earned. Obviously, we spent a lot of time discussing the upcoming season as well. Overall, the meeting went very well, and as a result, we expect to have a well planned and executed five tournaments in season 12!

Bobby White
Horseshoe Tour President

The deadline for entries is October 2nd.

The Hampton Inn will again be the host hotel for the Cajun Coast Classic in Morgan City, LA on October 12-13. The room block has been set up, but only 20 rooms are available, so call now to reserve your room. This year the rate is $104 per night. Make sure you mention that you are with the Cajun Coast Classic horseshoe tournament. The number for reservations is (985)221-4421, block ends September 20th. The Hampton Inn there is one of the best we’ve stayed in, and just a few miles from the courts, and it always helps to support the tournament when you stay at the host hotel, and we’ll all be there!

Hampton Inn & Suites Morgan City
6365 Highway 182 E, Morgan City, LA 70380 US

Address of the Horseshoe Facility:
Kemper Williams Park
264 Cotten Rd
Patterson, Louisiana 70392

The player reception will be held this year at the Cajun Coast Visitors Bureau in Morgan City on Friday evening from 6:00-8:00 PM.
Address of the Visitors Bureau:
900 Dr. MLK Blvd.
Morgan City, LA 70380

The Patterson Club will be hosting a Friday night doubles prior to the Horseshoe Tour Event on the weekend. Even though it’s not a Horseshoe Tour tournament, it’s a basic version of a tour format 30 shoes, ringers only, and a good opportunity to come out and warm up for the weekend. This year it will be a sanctioned tournament, and directed by Dalton Rakestraw, Tim Gilmore, and Al Dodson.

Camping available on site:
Kemper Williams RV Park

30 & 50 amp hookups with sewer and water on hard surface Dump stations
160 rally RV Campsites adjacent to Civic Center
Tent sites available
For Reservations Call : 985-395-2298
264 Cotten Rd
Patterson, Louisiana 70392

Additional Hotels in the area:

Amelia Extended Stay – Amelia
Best Western – Franklin
Clarion Inn & Conference Center – Morgan City
Comfort Inn & Suites – Morgan City
Cypress Bayou Casino & Hotel – Charenton
Hampton Inn & Suites – Morgan City
Holiday Inn Express – Morgan City
La Quinta – Morgan City
Motel 6 – Morgan City
Quality Inn – Franklin|
Red Roof Inn – Morgan City
Sleep Inn – Berwick
Ambassador Inn & Suites – Baldwin

Our third event on the Horseshoe Tour this year is out west again, in Winnemucca, NV on August 17-18, the deadline for entries is August 7th. This is also our third event in Winnemucca, and is played indoors at the Event Center there, on portable courts. The facility is one of the best we’ve ever played at, and Kim Peterson and his staff do a great job getting everything ready for play. Winnemucca is located in northern Nevada, there is plenty to do there, including ghost towns, gold mines, casinos, and even two tournaments on the weekend prior to the tour event. We had a great event there last year, it will be even better this year! More info coming……

On Saturday, August 10th, there will be a non-sanctioned doubles tournament at the Winnemucca Events Center, and on Sunday, August 11th will be a sanctioned singles tournament, both directed by Elaine Perry, of NV.

For all those pitchers out there playing in Winnemucca this weekend. Don’t forget to stop by the Winners Casino Friday August 9th for the two tournament weekend, and again on Friday, August 16th for the Horseshoe Tour event, both from 6:00 to 8:00 PM for a players reception. We are looking forward to seeing everyone there!

For information about Winnemucca, visit their website at:
http://www.winnemucca.com/

Campgrounds in Winnemucca.

Winnemucca RV Park
4.2
(29)
Campground · 5255 E Winnemucca Blvd
New Frontier RV Park
4.6
(39)
RV Park · 4360 Rim Rock Rd
Winnemucca/I-80 KOA
3.0
(21)
Campground · 5575 E Winnemucca Blvd
Westerner Trailer Lodge
4.5
(2)
RV Park · 800 E 4th St

Like our first tournament in SC, there is a rain chance for the Gaston County Clash event in Lowell, NC, more in the form of thunderstorm chance than steady rain, but you never know. We have had some inquiries concerning this, but nothing changes for us. We will go with our normal playing times (as indicated on the summary sheet), there could be some delays or changes, if we have to adjust for weather, and to get our qualifying shoes in. Just to remind you of our drop out policy, if you choose not to attend, you must notify us immediately, prior to the tournament, and we will refund a portion of your entry fee. If we were to cancel the whole event, which has only happened one time in eleven years, all players will get a complete refund. Look forward to seeing everyone this weekend!

The 2019 Gaston County Clash will be hosted by GO Gaston and Gaston County Parks & Recreation. Visit gogaston.org to find things to do in your downtime in Gaston County.

Cathy Hart, Director

The host hotel for the Gaston County Clash Horseshoe Tour Tournament will be the Hampton Inn. The rates will be $109-$119 depending on what type room you book. Remember, it helps us immensely when you support the tour and stay at a host hotel. Don’t forget to mention the Lowell Horseshoe Tour Tournament.

Address:
1859 Remount Rd.
Gastonia, NC

You can call the hotel direct at 704-866-9090

Walk our the side door of the Hampton, to the Texas Road House Steakhouse, no need for a vehicle!

Gaston County Travel & Tourism

George Poston Park, Lowell, NC Horseshoe Pitching Facility
Address: 1101 Lowell Spencer Mtn Rd, Gastonia, NC 28056