World's best shuffleboard players compete in Zephyrhills

Some of the planet's top shuffleboard players began testing their skills against each other this afternoon at Betmar Acres Mobile Home Park, with men and women from seven countries vying to take home the coveted Golden Cue Stick.

"There's no money in this," said Terry Rainwater, president of the Betmar Acres Shuffleboard Club. "These people are coming here because they love the sport."

The International Shuffleboard Association's World Singles Tournament, which will crown both men's and women's champions, runs through Sunday. Participants came from Australia, Japan, England, Brazil, Canada, Germany and the United States.

Betmar Acres landed the job as host a year ago, beating out shuffleboard clubs from around the state.

Rainwater, who was busy Wednesday making sure everything was functioning smoothly, wouldn't have envisioned himself in this role just a few years ago.

"I never played shuffleboard," he said. "I had no intention of getting within a block of it."

About four years ago he gave it a try, discovered competitive shuffleboard, and was hooked.

"It takes stamina," Rainwater said. "These people are playing all day every day for five days."

The youngest competitor is 14-year-old Torben Hussmann of Germany. At the other end of the age scale is 80-year-old Kieko Sakuta, who is something of a shuffleboard legend. She is a 2009 inductee into the International Shuffleboard Association Hall of Fame.

"We Japanese honor her," said Masashi Higaki, who is playing in his first international tournament.

Sakuta said she was having fun. She also said her English isn't the best, so she recruited Higaki as interpreter.

Despite her age, Sakuta said she thinks she has the stamina for five days of nearly non-stop shuffleboard. She exercises, swims and plays tennis, and her legs are in good condition.

Originally, eight countries were to be represented in Zephyrhills.

The Norwegians, including Norway's top shuffleboard player, Hallvard Flatland, didn't make it. In a development possibly unprecedented in international shuffleboard play, Flatland was forced to bow out and his countrymen stayed home, too, because he is participating in Norway's version of "Dancing with the Stars."

Flatland is a television personality in Norway. He had been confident his weak dancing skills would ensure him an early exit from the TV dance competition, Rainwater said.

Apparently, Flatland is a better hoofer than he realized.