The Third Annual Stellafane
Horseshoe Pitching Contest

by Wayne Zuhl

We are very proud to report the success of the third annual Stellafane Horseshoe Pitching Contest. The event took place on Schupmann Hill, just south of the McGregor Observatory. This year's contest had 19 participants, competing in singles matches. Pplay was divided into two separate categories, adults and juniors. The weather was great during the contest, even a little warm, but the competition was what was really hot.

The six junior contestants competed vigorously for the top prize! The eventual winner was 7 year old, Anna Bealo, who made the trip to Stellafane from Plastow, New Hampshire. Anna first had to beat Victor Maldanado, from Bronx, New York, she then had to beat, Robbie Locke, from Litchfield, Maine, for the grand prize. All of the junior contestants won Stellafane shirts and water bottles for their efforts. Second place finisher, Robbie Locke also received a coupon for five free trips to the Ben & Jerry's stand for free ice cream. Anna collected the first part of her prize Saturday morning. Along with the help of Stargazer Steve Dodson and STM President, Junie Esslinger, Anna built a 5" f/6 Newtonian reflector. After a few hours of construction, Anna left with her scope in hand. She will also be receiving an autographed copy of David Levy's book, Skywatching.

As for the adults, it was a hard fought battle to say the least. The matches were well played and lighthearted. Six pitchers made it to the semi-final round. There, Jim Carrol of Fairfield, NJ handily beat Phillip Vietje of East Thetford, VT. Glenn Burke, of Newton, NJ, put away Larry Westby of West Hempstead, NY. As a side note, Larry was the only player to have a double ringer, other than Ringer Pompa. Speaking of the Ringer, Paul, of New Hartford, CT, beat Ron Lewis, of Brandon, VT to move on to the final round. The finals were to be played in a round robin format based on numbers picked from a hat. The first round final match placed Paul against Glenn. It was a hard fought effort, but Paul came away victorious. This meant that the final and deciding match would be a repeat of last years final match. Paul the Ringer Pompa vs. Jim Carroll. The final match was exciting and well played, but as seemed to be the case in years past, the Ringer came out victorious. For their efforts all finalists received free passes to next years convention. Glenn Burke also received a Stellafane tee shirt. Jim Carroll won Stellafane hat and Tye-dye shirt and the Ringer received a denim hat and Sweatshirt. Talk among the contestants echoed the fact that they want to dethrone the Ringer. I'm sure that they'll be practicing hard during the year.

Special thanks go to "Stargazer" Steve Dodson and Junie Esslinger for providing their time to construct Anna Bealo's grand prize for this year's event. Special thanks also go to David Levy for his generosity.

Wayne "Waynbo" Zuhl
Secretary, Springfield Telescope Makers

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