Shuffleboard With Patrck Kester

Retiree Patrick Kester never pictured himself playing competitive shuffleboard. But seven years ago, he decided to spend an afternoon with the Vero Beach Shuffleboard Club, which holds court at Pocahontas Park, and was hooked.

“I was looking for something to do,” recalls Pat, who now serves as club president. “And, like any competitive sport, once you get into it, it becomes addictive.”

For more than three decades, locals and part-time residents have been playing friendly/competitive shuffleboard games and tournaments organized by the Shuffleboard Club. The group has open play on Mondays, Tuesday and Fridays in the afternoons, with league games taking place on Wednesdays.

On a warm Wednesday in January, a majority of the 10 courts at Pocahontas Park are in action. Most of the players are retirees, yet there are a couple of self-employed men who have slipped out of the home office to push the pucks.

Read the entire article in the April 2008 issue