Big Dog's Winter Tournament

February 26, 2005

 It seems many Quoit players in this area begin to get a little stir-crazy for some envigorating Quoit competition about this time of year.   So, what better way to remedy the frustration than to organize a local quoit tournament in the middle of February!   Pitching in the winter cold just doesn't seem to be a deterrent to these die-hard players!   To make the event interesting, four inches of snow fell on the pits just a few days before the event.  Fortunately, the grounds were plowed and the pits were cleared in time for the bare soil to freeze solid by the morning of the event!

Everyone came bundled for the cold when they arrived early in the morning for the 8 o'clock start.    The temperature was a balmy 22 degrees at the start of the tournament!  Most players were wearing gloves of some kind to protect their hands from the cold metal quoits, and along with extra clothes and heavy coats, it was quite a challenge to pitch a quoit accurately .  Add to that the changing conditions of the pits, and everyone had to adapt continuously to every situation.   During the first few rounds of the 10-game Pool Play, the pits were rock hard and the quoits were bouncing and sliding everywhere.  Once the sun rose higher in the sky, the frosty ground melted an became a slippery, muddy slop for the next 5 rounds.  Finally, later in the afternoon, after a lot of the mud had been scraped off the pits with a rake, the ground became soft but stiff enough for quoits to stick as they should, and the last 3 rounds of Pool play and the playoffs were completed in more suitable conditions. 

 Willie Wandress and Jerry Reitmeyer of  The Ringlords won the tournament and the first place prize money.  Finishing second was

The day was still cold and gray when teams started

arriving for the tournament around 7:30 am.

This is the condition of the pits just before the

start of Pool Play.  Frosty and rock hard!

Willie Wandress suckers another poor sap

 into taking over his shoveling duties...

...Then Willie headed directly over to the bonfire

to warm his frigid little fingers!

Pool Play begins, and the quoits bounce and slide

across the frozen pits.  Notice how far behind the hob

 Jerry Reitmeyer is picking up these quoits!

It's best to stand WAY back in the "rough" to

avoid all those wild quoits!

Four sets of pits were used for this tournament, keeping

the teams pitching with little break between games

Finally, the sun comes out to brighten the day.

Randy Kelly pitches into the sun.

 On the opposite pit, Michelle Kelly examines her

husband's scoring efforts.

Randy keeps trying for those elusive ringers...

...While "Big Dog" takes control of the game.

 Big Dog looks toasty in this over-stuffed snow suit

as he poses in his pitching stance...

Ah, but maybe I'm wrong...Maybe THIS is Big Dog...

It's really hard to tell - They both seem to be

wearing identical over-stuffed snow suits -

They're even the same color!

The highlight of the day for Ken Kaas was crushing

the Quoit Master's team 21-6 in the mud, especially

 by finishing-off the game with a big 4 points! 

Jason Conrad, one of the 2004 World Quoit Champions, demonstrates his perfect pitching form

Bill Conrad reaches full extension as he

pitches against Willie Wandress.

This fellow looks like he is trying to keep that big evergreen tree from falling onto the other players, using only

a single finger.  Timberrrrrr!!

An overview of the courts as the Playoff Rounds begin.  The mud from the pits have spread everywhere!

The start of the playoffs sees plenty of blue sky

and puffy clouds - not a bad day for February!

Billy "Bowlhead" Tricoski (right) throws from a very soft pit. Fortunately, The mud caked on his right shoe acts as the perfect counter-balance to the quoit as he pitches!

Larry Farman pitches from the near pit...

...and his partner Ken Kaas (center, in waders) wallows

into the muddy pit to check the results.

A short time later, Ken and Larry sit dejectedly after being eliminated 11-0 in the first round of the playoffs...

...and the remaining teams tauntingly wave

goodbye to all those first-round losers!

Jason Conrad pitches against Randy Eagle on Pit #3.

Over on Pit #4, Brian Schutt aims for the hob as

Bowlhead Billy waits his turn.

This fine double ringer was pitched by the Ringlords

to win the first round of the playoffs.  They

continued on to eventually win the Tournament.