海角大神

Friday evenings are hopping at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, the world鈥檚 oldest and biggest institution dedicated to the game. Those nights are open to the general public, so local children, retirees, and college students join club members on the 76 green courts, where the rules of Florida shuffleboard were codified.

In the shadow of the 1938 grandstands, players strategically shove well-polished disks into the opposing side鈥檚 triangles, hoping they don鈥檛 鈥渆nd up in the kitchen,鈥� in the parlance of the game. Landing in that section of the court would mean they lose points.

鈥淚t鈥檚 the only sport where you can go backwards鈥� in score, asserts local champion Jerry Stannard as he watches a match.

Mr. Stannard, originally from Connecticut, drives a Jaguar with a 鈥淗all of Fame Shuffler鈥� decal. He has won multiple shuffleboard tournaments and has an embroidered winner鈥檚 jacket to prove it. He is one of the 2,600 or so club members, who each pay $50 a year to play any day, 5 a.m. to midnight.

The city of St. Petersburg built and gave the club its first two courts here in 1924. This is where the Florida Shuffleboard Association was founded and the 鈥淧eligator鈥� was imagined. (The creature started as a tournament symbol for competitions between St. Petersburg, a city represented by the pelican, and shuffleboard rival Lake Wales, whose icon is the gator. Now the cute combo is a regional shuffleboard mascot.) The game has surged in popularity recently, and courts are filled on Fridays. The club is also a top spot for weddings, as the venue embodies both the history of old Florida and the funky culture of a rapidly growing coastal city.

鈥淭his is really the Wimbledon of shuffleboard,鈥� says Christine Page, the club鈥檚 executive director.

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