Nico Stuut from the Brikkenmikkers shuffleboard club looks around with satisfaction at the Zwartemeer Estate. It is the place where history will soon be written. The World Shuffleboard Championship will take place in Drenthe.
“We have been working for a year and a half. You have to have a good foundation and we have that now.”
Everything comes together at the Zwartemeer Estate. Large halls, overnight accommodations and, perhaps most importantly, space for no fewer than 90 shuffleboard players. That is necessary, because with more than 330 participants from about 15 to 19 countries, it promises to be very busy from May 14.
“We can accommodate a maximum of 400 participants,” Stuut explains. “So we may have to stop registrations soon.”
The organization is in the hands of the synagogue association De Brikkenmikkers from Klazienaveen. A club with history, once good for 100 members, but now only about 25. “I am 55 years old and about the youngest,” says Stuut with a smile. “We are desperate for young people.”
Remarkably, the sport is perhaps more alive outside the Netherlands than here. “In France you see a lot of young players. And in South Korea it is even huge,” says Stuut. “Here people think: nice for home, but competition? That’s a different story.”
Yet he has hope. Local initiatives such as a recent street shuffleboard tournament attracted more than 60 participants. “Everyone has a shuffleboard, but the step towards an association is a big one,” he says.
The Friday of the tournament is all about qualifying. All participants throw their stones on twenty courts, after which the best 128 men proceed to the final day.
But there is a special rule: “Two players from each country always advance, regardless of their position,” Stuut explains. “Unfair? We believe that everyone should be given a chance.” The finals will be played on Saturday.
Behind the scenes, the project runs on a budget of around 40,000 euros, made possible by the municipality and province. But for Stuut the real gain is something else. “We have the feeling that shuffleboard is slowly dying out,” he says honestly. “This World Cup is our chance to put it back on the map.”
