Evening star., 1929-06-30


ceive a medal emblematic of the local
championship.
County, divisional, sectional and State
winners will be properly rewarded.
The prizes will increase in value
with each step toward the finale, which,
of course, will hold forth the finest
awards of all. A detailed list of prizes
will be published shortly.
All tournaments will be run on the
elimination system, with separate sec
tions for men and women.
Entry Blanks Published Daily.
An entry blank will be published
daily in The Star and detached blanks
will be available at all Fairgrounds
here and at convenient places in the
towns and communities of Maryland
and Virginia that participate.
Washington players should send their
entries to the Horse Shoe Editor OF The
Star, although they will be acceptable
at the Fairgrounds. Maryland and
Virginia entrants, too. may send their
applications to The Star. although they
also may be filed with the local chair
men.
The playground directors will be in
! charge of all preliminary tournaments
here, and chairmen are being named to
handle the contests in the States.
Mayors, justices of the peace, fire de-
partment leaders and community CEN
ter chiefs predominant among the town
chairmen so far selected.
Game Is Staging Comeback.
In this day of gasoline buggies and
motorized farm implements, the old
gray mare is less useful than ever, but
her footgear is carrying on nobly. The
game Of horseshot-pitching is riding
a tide of popularity that promises to
sweep the country. The first ripples
have hit washington and its vicinity
Unpublished announcements of The
Stars tournament met with response
that was more than gratifying. Staff
men who laid the groundwork for the
big tournament were agreeably sur
prised by the cooperation they re-
ceived.
Those already engaged enthusiastic
cally in the sport welcomed an oppor-
tunity to play for prizes and cham
pionship honors. Many who hadn't
played the game since boyhood days
vowed they'd resurrect the old skill
and show the folks how horseshoes
really should be pitched. And If they
Z couldn't quite get back the expert
touch of yore, why they'd have lot OF
fun anyway.
F: All Out for a Good Time.
The latter voiced the real spirit Of
The Stars invitation to its tournament.
We're all out to have good time more
than to achieve distinction as athletes.
Horseshoe pitching it an ideal COM
nnuntty sport Anybody can play the
game. yet, to be expert, one must
possess the qualifications that make
for success in other sports.
Like golf, it is not game of brute
strength, but rather an art in which
coordination of the eye. mind and
, muscles is essential.
There is a therapeutic value in the
game and it is being adopted by Sani-
tariums as a medium of helpful exer-
else for convalescentS. 1t is being ln-
cluded in the athletic courses OF mems
and women's clubs. 1t is being played
in municipal parks, Summer camps and
at beaches. 1t is one of the most uni
versal of sports in America. Few are
the men who haven't at one time or
another pitched horse shoes. In some
sections of the country it is excep-
tionally popular among women.
The rapid rise of the automobile
probably had much to do with the de-
cline for years of horseshoe pitching.
Less general use of the horse created
a scarcity Of shoes IN many communi-
ties and total lack in some.
Special Shoes Boost Sport.
But the game not only has been saved,
but made better than ever and actu-
ally doomed by the manufacture on a
large scale of special shoes and stakes
Of uniform dimensions. These are cas-
lily obtained and are inexpensive.
Only regulation equipment will be
used in The Stars tournament. va
riety of shoes of barnyard origin un-
doubtedly would raise complications,
and in many instances would make for
unfair competition. Many OF the COM
n1unities included in the tournament
equipment: all of the Washington play
grounds, for instance. An insignifi-
cant tax per capita on participants
would outfit the tournaments that
have none.
with a few notifications. the official
rules of the National Horse Shoe Pitch
ing Association viii be followed
throughout. Some of them differ con-
siderably from the makeshift rules by
which many of us played years ago.
For instance, it used to be that no
regular distance between stakes was
marked Off The official specification
now is 40 feet for men and 80 feet for
women.
Scoring Different Now.
We used to score points for a
ringer, and if your opponent dropped
one on top OF yours ne scored OOuDle'
Nowadays in championship play ringer
counts 3. and if an opponent covers
it neither side gains a point. What
used to be termed "leaner" and was
counted for points. now is rated
merely as thu closest shoe, and If
neither of the opponents shoes is
touching the stake goes for point.
The regulation shoe is somewhat
larger than the average of the barn
yard type. 1t weights 2la pounds. is
~ inches in length and inches wide.
The opening is 3l2 inches.
Every pitch counted in the old game.
Now only those shoes that park s
inches or less from the stake are scored.
This rule. however. will be waived in
the women's competition of The Stars
tournament.
A nearly complete list of the towns
held is appended. The chairman OF
and communities in which meets will be
each will be announced later.
Any towns or communities in the
counties listed which are not included,
but desire to participate, should COM
municate with the horse shoe editor.
The Washington entrants will be as
signed to the Fairgrounds nearest their
residences. Matches will be played in
the late afternoon-after supper time
for most.