Shuffleboard Club encourages new members to join in the fun for fall

The Shuffleboard Club is one of the oldest clubs in Leisure World, with records of league teams going back to 1963, about the time that units were first being occupied. The only pause in league play was from March 2020-August 2021, during the COVID-19 shutdown.

Fall season evening league play is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, Sept. 22, and the morning league on Friday, Sept. 25. Team assignments and schedules for games will be available at the monthly club meeting on Monday, Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. in Clubhouse 1. Visitors are welcome to attend club meetings.

The question about how to join a league team comes up often and the answer is simple: attend open play, join the club, learn the basics of the game, and sign up for a team when dates are announced for the next season. Sign-ups for the winter league will begin in November.

New members are always welcome. Last November, new resident Rita Filohoski walked into the courts building on a Monday morning after having read about open play in the LW Weekly. Shel Magnuson and Fred Carpenter, regular players and mentors at open play, greeted Filohoski and showed her the first steps for learning the sport. Filohoski says that within an hour and a half she knew she wanted to join the club and become proficient in the sport.

Within a week or two, Rod Osgood, a club vice president and mentor for many club players, met Filohoski and her husband, Mark, and extended their training. Lynn Haines, Shuffleboard Club president for 2026-2027, also met Rita and Mark and quickly appreciated the potential of excellent players.

As the Filohoski’s still have their home in Pennsylvania, they spent much of the winter league time there. However, they returned to Seal Beach in time for Rita to be on a spring league team. Mark regularly served as a substitute for teams with absent players.

Rita says her family in Long Beach is the reason she and Mark wanted more time in Southern California. After finding the perfect place—Leisure World—they began settling in. After finding the indoor sport of shuffleboard and warm, inviting people, Rita claims that now both her Long Beach family and shuffleboard are what make her want to continue to spend time on the west coast.

Rita and Mark have already introduced their favorite sport to another new Leisure World couple, having hosted them at the courts and inspiring them to be the next new members of the LW Shuffleboard Club family.

For more information, contact Lynn Haines at 562-3352433 or Patty Peterson at 562714-7072.

—Kay Mount