Earl Ball

It has been an honor to serve as your President of the International Shuffleboard Association.

We completed two very successful Tournaments in keeping with our very long tradition of great International competition and friendship. We held our first ever Singles Tournament in Zephyrhills at the Betmar complex, a very successful endeavor. We crowned our Champions, Sachiyo Takata of Japan and Jim Bailey of the USA, in grand fashion. We followed that up with our 28th team tournament in Hohenroda, Germany, crowning a women’s team from Canada and a men’s team from the USA, Germany did an outstanding job with the tournament. We also witnessed Australia fielding a complete team of men and women outside of Australia for the first time ever and how about those Youth Teams, we fielded two such teams.

The immediate future is assured with our second Singles Championship scheduled for Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada next August followed by our 29th Team Tournament scheduled for the summer of 2012 in Seattle, Washington, USA. It is interesting to note that we already have one request to host our third Singles Championship in 2013. If we can hold the World together we have a bright future!

 

Off the courts we have accomplished some amazing things also. One of which you are looking at right now. The World Shuffleboard web site; it took some convincing and then some very dedicated work by a few to bring the site about, but now we have it and it is getting better and better. The World Shuffleboard League, which gives all of us a chance to compete with each other year around, continues to grow and will allow us to pay for the site. We refurbished the Hall of Fame, bringing it up to date and we inducted 11 new members. We added a new Country, Norway, yet to be confirmed by the Board; but one day that too will be completed.

 

Michael Zellner

The most important single item to take place over the last few years actually started when I was Executive Vice President, that being the revision of the Constitution and By-laws. Those revisions placed responsibility for the future into the hands of the member Nations with each Nation having one vote. The changes also allowed for a team to be formed with fewer players thereby giving new Countries a better chance to field a team.

The time has come to turn our leadership over to the new President, Michael Zellner of Brazil. This is history in and of itself as this is the first time the President has resided outside of the United States. I have full confidence in Michael; he has been a leader in the ISA for many years and has International Shuffleboard’s best interest in the forefront of everything he does.

 

Good Luck, Good Shuffling and may we all be friends forever.

Earl Ball

December 12, 2010