Horseshoe pitchers in World Championships

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Several area pitchers will be competing in the 2010 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 26 through August 7, hosted by the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association (NHPA).

Alexandria’s Tim Bayerl, Byron Edwards, Kevin Richmond, Phil Swenson and Jerry Zastrow, along with Gary Boots of Barrett and Alan and Janet Larson of Evansville, will all compete in this two-week event.

Boots was second in the Men’s Class H-2 Division in 2009, while Alan Larson was sixth in the Men’s B-1 Division, Jerry Zastrow eighth in the Men’s Class F-2 and Janet Larson was seventh in the Women’s Class D.

The event is held once each summer to crown a World Champion horseshoe pitcher in each of eight divisions – Open Men, Open Women, Senior Men, Senior Women, Elder (short-distance) Men, Junior Boys, Junior Girls and

Junior Cadets (9-years-old and younger).

Pitchers are competing for approximately $170,000 in prize money, trophies and scholarships, as well as the right to call themselves “World Champion.”

Current Men’s world champion, Alan Francis of Defiance, Ohio, who is to be featured in the 2011 edition of the Guinness Book for most world championships (15), will be defending his title as well as attempting to break his own record. Alan’s ringer average of 90.5 percent is currently the highest ringer average in the world, as reported by NHPA and Horseshoe Canada statistics.

The Cedar Rapids Ice Arena will be equipped with 50 portable, clay-filled horseshoe courts for the two-week event.

Most competitors will pitch for three days; five games each day. There are 1,268 total entrants from the United States, Canada and Norway.

Competition will begin by 7 a.m. each morning through the first week, with a break for NHPA convention and Hall of Fame banquet on Sunday, then will resume by 7 a.m. Monday, August 2.

Junior and Cadet Champions will be determined Saturday, July 31, with competition beginning at 4:45 p.m. Championship Elders, Senior Men and Senior Women will be Thursday, August 5, beginning at 8 a.m.

The Open Men and Open Women championships will be decided in the final rounds of competition on Saturday, August 7. Women begin at 8 a.m. and men at 1 p.m.

To follow the event online or to learn more about the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association, visit www.horseshoepitching.com.

Tags: alexandria sports, sports, horseshoes, world, championships