What’s in the Truck?
An inside look at the history and current status of your NHPA Equipment
by Jerry LaBrosse, 4th Vice President and Charter Communications Director
Back in 2007, the NHPA officers decided to build new courts for our World Tournament. I was entrusted to direct the project by then-president Paul Stewart. We brainstormed several ideas and came up with what we believe is the ultimate design for a portable horseshoe court, specifically designed to be assembled and disassembled quickly and easily.
The original design was from Hall of Famer Curt Bestal from the great state of Wisconsin. We made a few modifications to suit our needs, but the basic design was from Curt. However, we didn’t stop there, as there were other issues to consider. Paul suggested that we explore finding some sort of rubber floor covering to use on our pitching platforms. After a lot of research and development, we arrived at what you see at the World Tournament today.
The NHPA inventory includes 60 complete portable courts and the rubber walkways under each of the 120 boxes, as well as fencing to create seven complete “banks” of eight courts, and four playoff courts. It also includes plenty of various rugs and other floor coverings to protect the floors of the venues we visit. Additionally, there are a lot of miscellaneous tools such as shovels, pails, shoe-check tools, judging tools, and more.
The NHPA equipment is very valuable, and we try to handle it with care. At the end of the WT in Topeka, this equipment was meticulously packed into the NHPA semitrailer, directed by NHPA Vice President Bill Marvin, who has been involved with that task ever since the 2009 World Tournament in Springfield, Illinois. The trailer has already been hauled to the next World Tournament site in Montgomery, Alabama.
We are planning a maintenance day before next year’s World Tournament setup where the lines on the rubber mats will be repainted and some of the pit components will be replaced. Those components will be made during the winter and shipped to Montgomery, along with the electronic scoring equipment. We need to build some boxes each year to replace the oldest ones that are beginning to deteriorate and warp. The stakes are all holding up wonderfully with not one stake being broken yet! We have played eight World Tournaments on these courts, and I think the design and quality of this equipment speaks for itself.
The NHPA also owns electronic equipment to support the scoring activity and the stats room. Each scoring station consists of two monitors mounted on a tripod stand, a small table, a laptop, and some supporting outlets and cords. We have 30 complete scoring stations. Additional inventory includes office equipment and supplies for the stats room, as well as a few large monitors, video cameras, printers, radios, server laptops, routers, and miles of cable, cords and components. These electronics are carefully packed into five wooden crates for easy shipping.
Currently, these crates of equipment are stored in a climate-controlled environment at my business in Minnesota. The World Tournament stats room director Rob Hagman lives 30 minutes from where it is stored, so is very convenient for him to access this equipment for updating and maintenance.
We have assembled the largest collection of state-of-the-art horseshoe equipment ever. You, the membership of the NHPA, own this equipment. With regular planning and maintenance, we will support this equipment for decades to come, and run fantastic World Tournament events for our members.
The NHPA has made huge advancements in the equipment area. Electronic scoring has grown from a demonstration on a playoff court in 2009 in Springfield, Illinois, to a full inventory and stats room operation like you see today. The portable courts, along with the rubber walkways, have created what we feel are the best conditions possible.
Many world records have been broken since the introduction of these new courts in 2008 in York, Pennsylvania. I had a conversation with Andre Leclerc, Canadian statistician, and he was convinced that the new equipment was partly responsible for these broken world records.
The newest feature of our world tournament involves live-streaming video. The number of cameras has increased to 15, with more growth being planned. This video streaming has been a big hit with our members, and we are hopeful it will help us secure sponsorships as well.