KENNEWICK, Wash. – The National Horseshoe Pitchers Association World Championship is being held in the Tri-Cities for the first time in its history, according to Visit Tri-Cities. Visit Tri-Cities Sports Development Manager Natalie Clifton said over 500 pitchers are taking part from all over the U.S., including some from Canada, Norway, and Germany.
Clifton said the preliminary rounds began on Monday, and the championship rounds started on Thursday. Pitchers range in age from eight to 94. Visit Tri-Cities expects over a thousand people to attend the championships, which is expected to bring close to a million dollars to the area.
“A lot of these people will come in and they want to go explore,” Clifton said. “So they’ll go to all the restaurants; they go to the attractions. All the kids want to come in and do junior parties and such. So it’s great to see the community be influenced like that.”
One of the athletes is 94-year-old Charlie Tapper from Portland, OR. Tapper loves to exercise, and this sport is good for that. He started running marathons at the age of 50.
Tapper said he got into competitive horseshoe pitching in the 1970s after a neighbor introduced him to the sport. During his 50 years of competing, Tapper said he’s been in all of the tournaments in Washington, some in Oregon and Idaho as well. Tapper said he’s won numerous tournaments, but this is his first time competing for a world title.
“Probably 40 patches,” said Tapper. “I used to get usually around five patches a year. I have to pitch in between 20 and 30 tournaments a year.”
Tapper has finished second and third quite a few times but is proud to say he’s never finished last. While he is a competitor at heart, he hopes everybody does well and can go home and remember all the fun had at the tournament.
Clifton said Visit Tri-Cities has worked alongside the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association for the past year, providing tours and site visits to bring this event to the area.
The next time the world championships come to the Tri-Cities will be in 2027. The event lasts through this weekend. Pitchers will start the next round at 7 am as competition will last through the evening.
