The clanging of horse shoes rings out over Glanfield Park Tuesday nights as members of all ages take their pitching skills to the sand pit.
The park hosts the Greater Victoria Horseshoe Pitching Association (GVHPA), a club thatB次元官网网址檚 been throwinB次元官网网址� shoes in the region since 1935.
Horseshoe pitching has players throw an iron horseshoe at a peg, with points awarded based on where it lands. ItB次元官网网址檚 simple fun that almost anyone can play, but the ancient game B次元官网网址� which has roots in the game of B次元官网网址榪uoits,B次元官网网址� a modification of discus throwing from Grecian times B次元官网网址� doesnB次元官网网址檛 have an easy time attracting youth.
ThatB次元官网网址檚 why the GVHPA is working with local schools to get kids interested.
B次元官网网址淲e send letters to all the schools and give all the classrooms free lessons,B次元官网网址� said junior program coordinator Bruce Bodnaruk. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e putting almost a thousand kids though every season.B次元官网网址�
That free school program has already gotten some kids interested in the GVHPAB次元官网网址檚 youth club, which meets for weekly practices and travels to tournaments around B.C.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 starting to pay off but itB次元官网网址檚 a long process,B次元官网网址� Bodnaruk said. B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 a lot of sports in Victoria.B次元官网网址�
The peewee and junior teams have gone to tournaments in Port Alberni, Powell River, Ladysmith and beyond, as far north as Prince George. And the GVHPA has hosted a number of B.C. tournaments itself, as well as the Canadian Championships.
| Emily, 9, throws a horseshoe at the weekly peewee practice. She has been pitching horseshoes in the Greater Victoria Horseshoe Pitching Association for over three years. (Nina Grossman/B次元官网网址 Staff) |
Some Greater Victoria pitchers are even headed to the horseshoe pitching World Tournament in Wichita Falls, Texas this summer, including junior Canadian champion Dalton Moffat.
B次元官网网址淚 like meeting people, and trying to win,B次元官网网址� he said, when asked what got him into the sport. B次元官网网址淚t takes a long time to get good. You just have to focus on what youB次元官网网址檙e trying to do.B次元官网网址�
Horseshoe pitching requires little equipment, and costs almost nothing, Bodnaruk said. In fact, the entry cost for youth who want to join the peewee or youth programs is only $10 a season.
B次元官网网址淎 lot of these kids donB次元官网网址檛 like the competitive team sports,B次元官网网址� Bodnaruk said. B次元官网网址淭hey just want to find something to do themselves and itB次元官网网址檚 an individual thing. ThatB次元官网网址檚 what they really like.B次元官网网址�
It might be an individual sport, but the group of peewee pitchers enjoy socializing and playing around too.
B次元官网网址淐ome out and have fun, thatB次元官网网址檚 what horse shoes is. After hundreds of years playing horseshoes in the backyard or on the farm B次元官网网址� itB次元官网网址檚 still the same thing.B次元官网网址�
| Lisa, 11, pitches a horseshoe during a Greater Victoria Horseshoe Pitching Association practice night at Glanford Park. The club is hoping to get more youth involved with a free school program. (Nina Grossman/B次元官网网址 Staff) |
nina.grossman@blackpress.ca
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