INNISFAIL - Originating in 15th-century England, shuffleboard was an indoor game of sliding a British coin called a "groat" to the edge of a table.
That morphed into what was later called shovel-penny, and its early days was not always well received as it was considered by some as a form of gambling.
In fact, King Henry VIII outlawed shuffleboard because he felt the game was too distracting.
But shuffleboard had a resurgence, especially with the upper class in the 19th century, a pastime that became especially popular on the decks of luxury passenger ships.
Today, shuffleboard is played all over the world, either on floors or tabletops by the young and old from every social class.
And that holds true in Innisfail and the region as well.
For the enthusiastic players, shuffleboard is not a game but a true sport.
There were 104 shuffleboarders from across North America who competed at the 2025 Art Scott Floor Shuffleboard Singles Tournament from June 9 to 13, an event held annually the past 20 years at the Innisfail Curling Club.
An official floor shuffleboard court is 1.8-metres (six-feet) wide by 12-metres (39-feet) in length plus a 1.8-metre (six-foot) shooting area at each end.
The object of the game is to move discs by a cue into the opposite end scoring areas for points, and to prevent the opponent from scoring, or both.
The sport is somewhat like curling, with players in the roaring game shooting for the centre of the house, the button, while shuffleboarders are going for scoring zones in the opposing end’s triangle, with 10 at the top, followed by eight and eight, seven and seven, and a minus 10.
Jack Sell, tournament director, is an 80-year-old Red Deer County resident who has been playing shuffleboard for the past 30 years.
He has been president of the Alberta Canadian Shuffleboard Association (ACSA), which has played out of the Innisfail Curling Club since 2002, for the past 11 years.
“You can go around the world. They have world championships,” said Sell, noting the worlds were held in High River in 2018 that featured 24 teams and 96 players from Australia, Brazil, Japan, United Kingdom, Austria, Germany, Vietnam, United States, the Netherlands and Canada.
“It's the camaraderie you have, the friendship you have,” added Sell. “You got all kinds of social activities going on. We used to get as many as 35 trailers parked out here.”
But getting interest from Innisfail has been challenging.
Sell said from the 104 singles tourney entrants none were from the town.
“Nobody from Innisfail. Nobody comes. I come every Wednesday, and it doesn’t cost you anything,” said Sell. “We have the sticks, we have the pucks, we have everything here. It doesn't cost anything. Just show up and we'll teach you.”
From May until the third week of August the ACSA is the main tenant at the Innisfail Curling Club.
Shuffleboard is played for free every Wednesday evening.
The ACSA also hosts two major tournaments: last week’s singles tournament and the Memorial Team Tournament, which is being held at the club from Aug. 11 to 15.
Sell said each player in last week’s singles tournament had to pay a $20 fee to enter, with 50 per cent of the total paid out in prize money.
Most importantly, everyone who plays becomes an automatic ACSA member.
When this year’s singles tournament was completed on June 12 there were 16 winners from four divisions.
The winners from the A Division were:
• Jim Brock, first place;
• Linda Nykolaishyn, second place;
• Dave Crucq, third place, and
• Susan Sawchuk, fourth place.
The winners from the B Division were:
• Gary Butt, first place;
• Denis Piquette, second place;
• Mike Mitzel, third place, and
• Donna Gunderson, fourth place.
The winners from C Division were:
• Brad Sawchuk, first place;
• Claire Embury, second place;
• Jim Lawson, third place, and
• Ray Abercrombie, fourth place.
The winners from the D Division were:
• Joyce March, first place;
• Jim Spencer, second place;
• Fern Dugan, third place, and
• Lorna Forbes, fourth place.
For more information on the ACSA call Sell at 587-796-1634, or for the upcoming Memorial Team Tournament call Brian Scott at 403-896-5133.
