The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club takes center stage this week as host of the 2023 International Shuffleboard Association's World Championships.
This year’s event brings together players from eight countries, and will kick off the celebrations for the 100th anniversary of the St. Pete club, which is the largest and oldest in the world.
Running now through Friday, the 40th ISA World Championships are open and free to the public.
The event started with a grand opening ceremony on Monday, followed by the first round of matches.
“It’s a really big deal for us,” said Christine Page, executive director of the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club. “When people hear of a world tournament here, they're excited and they want to know more. They come to the club to take a look and peek around and maybe learn how to play or become fans of shuffleboard.”
Founded in 1924 by six shuffleboard players from different parts of the U.S., St. Pete’s club had 426 members signing their roster in the first season. By 1928, there were 1,323 members and in 1929 there were more than 2,500.
Page associates the growth of the club during its early years with the fact that so many tourists visited St. Petersburg.
“In the early 20s, a lot of little clubs were popping up [in Florida] and a lot of cities were building a couple of courts in their downtown for people to play,” Page said. “Back then, people saw St. Pete as a fun place to come for the winter, and sports like shuffleboard and lawn bowling helped shape that image.”
With financial contributions from members, they were quickly able to fund an expansion by building new courts and buying more benches, cues and sets of disks.
A few years later, the club started hosting relevant state and national shuffleboard tournaments and became a true landmark for shufflers.
In 1928, the club's committee took the initiative to resolve rule discrepancies within Florida's shuffleboard clubs by establishing standardized rules for the game, which remain in use today.
Specifications of types of disks and cues were defined as well as the official dimensions for the courts. A sign of this local influence is in the jargon of the game -- the center line that runs through the scoring triangles became informally known as Central Avenue after St. Petersburg's main street.
After many ups and downs in its history, the 100-year-old St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club has reached over 2600 members, many from younger generations.
“At our club, there has been a new wave of shuffleboard players, perhaps a little younger than your stereotypical, what you think of as a shuffleboard player, which is great to see,” Page said.
One of their standout attractions is the popular Friday nights, held from 7 to 10 p.m. During this special event, families and friends come together to enjoy shuffleboard with music and vibrant decorations.
The club is located at 559 Mirror Lake Drive N., St. Petersburg.
Annual memberships cost $50 for individuals and $90 for families and include free shuffleboard, members-only events, discounts on merchandise and the ability to rent the club.
Non-members need to pay $10 to play at the club.
For more information about the 40th ISA World Championship, check the event’s schedule.
