Source: http://www.innisfailprovince.ca/archives/0706.pdf
Kissick qualifies for the World Championships
Dan McGeady, Innisfail Province
Myrna Kissick doesn‘t look like she plans to retire anytime soon. The twelve-time Alberta Women‘s Horseshoe singles champion from Innisfail just won the Western Canada Classic and has again qualified for the World Horseshoe Championships.
Next week she heads south to Gillette, Wyoming to try her luck against the best women in horseshoes for a Canadian record ninth time.
—Throwing horseshoes is very popular, more so than people realize,“ said the energetic 70-year-old originally from Stauffer, Alta.
—Think about any campground you visit - what‘s something you always see people doing? Throwing horseshoes - it‘s a sport that the whole family can play.
“I pose the question carefully to Myrna - is throwing horseshoes really a sport?
—Well, everybody has their opinion, but I certainly believe it‘s a sport, and according to the federal government it‘s classed as a sport,“ said Kissick, whose throwing arm is more toned than many 20-year-olds.
—It‘s like any sport, it takes skill and the mind. If your mind isn‘t in it, you‘re not going to have any success.
“Kissick began throwing horseshoes for fun, but in her first competition, the 1972 Alberta Summer Games held in Innisfail, she managed to win a bronze medal.
Kissick has been hooked on competition ever since.
—I didn‘t have a clue what I was doing when I first started,“ she said.
—I set pegs up in my yard 50-feet apart. A friend came by and asked me ”what are you doing?‘ They were only supposed to be 40-feet apart; I had been practicing throwing them 10 feet farther than I had to.
“Women‘s horseshoe throwing has changed over the years. Now the pegs are set 30-feet apart, unlike the men‘s division, which are still at 40-feet.
There have been many highlights through her 34-year career. She was personally awarded two Alberta Achievement awards (1980 and 1982) from then - Premier Peter Lougheed for outstanding achievement and competitiveness in the sport of horseshoe pitching (the only Alberta pitcher to receive this award).
She was inducted in the Alberta Horseshoe Pitchers Association Hall of Fame (Player Category) and the Canadian Horseshoe Hall of Fame. But in the end, it‘s not about the awards for Kissick.
—I love the sport, and I love the competition,“ she said.
—I‘m not alone, it seems every town in Canada has a horseshoe pitch.
“Kissick credits the town of Innisfail for helping in the sport‘s growth in Central Alberta. She said that the pitch here is one of the best, funded by the town and the Lions Club
- almost every night someone is using it.
—I have to give credit to this town. It is very sports minded and encourages groups like ours to get involved.
“Joining Kissick at the Worlds are nine other competitors from Canada. She said that she hopes to do well, but as long as she is competing, she is happy.
—The better the competition, the more I like it! “Kissick‘s best finish at the World Championships is fifth.