The 2014 Canadian Horseshoe Pitching Championships were hosted by the Calgary Horseshoe Club from August 13-16. The beautiful indoor facilities, with 20 clay courts, located in Calgary, Alberta, was hosting the championships for the 5th time (1988, 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014).
This year, there were a total of 134 entries with 5 provinces represented as follows: Alberta (55), B.C. (42), Saskatchewan (21), Ontario (11) and New Brunswick (5). The first official activity was Horseshoe Canada’s Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday August 12th (there are no changes to the Executive). The start of the competition was given with the opening ceremonies on Wednesday, August 13th.
The following champions were crowned in 8 divisions:
- Men’s – Colin Finnie, Kenaston, SK (64.4%)
- Women’s – Jane Cordingley, Airdrie, AB (58.9%)
- Elders – Jerry Melissa, Youbou, BC (62.5%)
- Senior Men’s – Stan Leis, Waterloo, ON (46.4%)
- Senior Women’s – Lia Snell, Dashwood, ON (48.7%)
- Jr Boys – Dale Finnie, Kenaston, SK (7.5%)
- Jr Girls – Lindsay Hodgins, Duncan, BC (61.5%)
- PeeWee – Dalton Moffat, Victoria, B.C. (30.9%)
Dalton Moffat was the only champion to retain his title earned in 2013, setting a new record in the PeeWee division with a 30.9% average. Dale Finnie, Colin’s son, is the new Junior Boys champion. He played in the Men’s F class, according to his ringer percentage. Lindsay Hodgins, who had recently won her second World Junior Girls title, also won the Canadian Junior Girls title, in a special match against Nicole Dabney. Lindsay averaged 61.5% and then played in the Women’s A where she recorded the high average of all the female pitchers with 62.6%. The Women’s title was taken by Jane Cordingley who edged Elyse Brunelle in a playoff to break the tie for first place. Jane had also captured the same title in 2012. Lia Snell, like Jane, regained the title she had won in 2012, edging Ida Boschman and Michelle Feeney to win her second Senior Ladies title. Stan Leis, who played with the Men’s A, won a special match to be crowned Senior Men’s champion for the second time. A new champion was crowned in the Elders division when Jerry Melissa edged Terry Steinke by one game to win the tough and well-matched group. In the Men’s division, Colin Finnie went undefeated and captured his 10th Canadian title. His overall average (64.4%) was the highest of all the participants in Calgary.
The banquet, held indoors at the club, concluded the championships on Saturday August 16th. It was catered by “All In the Family Catering” from Airdrie. Alberta’s Marg Johns was the new inductee into the Horseshoe Canada Hall of Fame as an outstanding female player. Marg, the first woman to average over 70% at the Canadians (back in 1982), was also a great volunteer. According to the tradition, the “Silver Shoe” is passed from the present year host Club to the Club hosting the Canadian Championships the following year. Linda Skiehar, President of the Calgary Horseshoe Club, transfered the “Silver Shoe” to Jason Rideout, President of St. Stephen’s Horseshoe Club, who will host the Championships in 2015.
After the banquet, the party continued with some players showing their musical talent. It should be noted also that there was entertainement, during the tournament, outdoors in the beer tent where various bands performed on separate nights (“Just not serious”, “Waltzing Matilda” and “Pure Country”).
Thanks to Horseshoe Canada, the participants, our hosts, their sponsors and volunteers for another great event! Looking forward to seeing you in St.Stephen, N.B. in 2015 (dates will be: August 12-15, 2015)!
Here are a few pictures and some useful links:
2014 Canadian Championships official page
Final results