2010 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships in Cedar Rapids

By Tina Hawkins/National Horseshoe Pitchers Association

The 2010 World Horseshoe Pitching Championships will be held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 26 through August 7.

This two-week 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 under).

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, OH, 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% is currently the highest ringer average in the world, as reported by NHPA and Horseshoe Canada statistics.

Alan's quest for another World Championship will be no picnic. He will be contested by many of the top pitchers in the U.S. and Canada for the crown. Among those, Brian Simmons of Vermont, who is ranked #2 in the world with an 86.85% average.

In the 2009 competition, Brian took Alan to a playoff game of 140 shoes with the title up for grabs until the final two shoes. In a game to 40 points, the two stood tied at 37 until Alan was able to take advantage of a miss by Brian to secure the title. With ringer averages of 90% and 89.29%, it was one of the most exciting finishes to the men's world championships in many years.

Also vying for the title of Men's World Champion Horseshoe Pitcher will be PBA great, Walter Ray Williams, Jr. Recently named Bowler of the Year for the seventh time, and Bowler of the Decade for the second time, Walter Ray is also a force to be reckoned with on the horseshoe court. He holds 6 men's world titles and has finished as high as second in the world pitching with his off hand.

The women's title race is stacking up to be just as exciting as the men's. Current World Champion, Joan Elmore, with an 84.58% average will be defending her title against Canada's top woman, Sylvianne Moisan, who currently boasts an 83.36% average, and the U.S.'s top-ranked, 7-time World Champion, Sue Snyder, with a ringer average of 85.53%.

Sylvianne, who was in playoff games the last two years for the world title, is always a tough competitor and very hard to beat. These three ladies finished as the top 3 in the 2009 Championships and are currently ranked as the top 3 in the world.

To add to the excitement, the two top-ranked pitchers in both Men's and Women's divisions met recently in the 17

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Sixpac Invitational at the NHPA Hall of Fame facility. The competition was fierce with both divisions ending in a tie and the championships decided with playoff games.  In both cases, the defending World Champions were defeated by narrow margins. Both will be battling in Cedar Rapids to retain their world titles against the best horseshoe pitchers in the World.

The Elder's Division should prove exciting as well, with three of the top 4 ranked men vying for the title – Russ Phillips, WA, Herschel Walters, IN, and Bobby Fields, IN, each boast ringer averages over 80%. Also in contention is Ed Arionus, TX, who finished second in last year's competition and has won 3 of the championships himself.

The Cedar Rapids Ice Arena will be equipped with 50 portable, clay-filled

horseshoe courts for the 2-week event.  Most competitors will pitch for 3 days; 5 games each day.  There are 1268 total entrants from the United States, Canada and Norway.

Competition will begin by 7:00 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 7:00 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, Sr. Men and Sr. Women – Thursday, August 5, beginning at 8:00 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 8:00 a.m., Men at 1:00 p.m.

Admission is free and spectators are encouraged for all levels of competition. Concessions and souvenirs will be available.

To follow the event online or to learn more about the National Horseshoe

Pitchers Association, visit

www.horseshoepitching.com.