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|  | Washer Game Newspaper Write-Up
« Thread Started on Jul 22, 2005, 11:58am » | |
Pitch in for fun
By Reporter Debra D. Bass (St. Louis Post Dispatch)
06/24/2005 (reprint)
This story was originally published in the Post-Dispatch on Saturday, 1/29/2005
THE ORIGIN of washers is cloaked in mystery, according to the International Association of Washers Players, but speculation is rampant. Some folks postulate that a lazy summer day of not much to do led to the following wager: "Betcha I can toss this here washer into that oil can over yonder." Next came a few colloquial rules, and a long-standing pastime with a dedicated following was born.
Pat Ortmann, owner of Cat's Meow Inc., a Soulard tavern, is hosting its annual washers tournament today. "We get teams from a couple states away coming in to take part in the tournament," Ortmann said. "It's a tradition, but it's a real community event."
Washers has many incarnations and variations; it is also called washer pitching, washer toss or washoes, which is based on the similarity to horseshoes. And in the true spirit of the grassroots sport, most of the sets still are homemade.
We asked Norman Benne, who constructed the sets for the Cat's Meow tournament, and consulted the washers association Web site to sort out tips for quick and easy construction.
==
MAKING YOUR OWN GAME OF WASHERS
Shopping List
* 9-inch long, 4-inch PVC pipe
* Two 2-by-4s, enough for two 16-by-16-inch boxes (Soulard tournament), or two 8-foot timbers for a 5-by-3-foot box (official)
* Optional plywood for the bottom
* Wood nails to suit your building materials
* Set of at least 4 standard round metallic washers, 2 1/2 inches in diameter with a 1-inch hole
Washers: Each pair of washers should be painted or otherwise marked to distinguish them from others, and should be the same weight and thickness. Bright colors are recommended, particularly in grassy or wooded environments where errant washers might easily be lost.
Cups: The game of washers is played with two pits, boxed washer targets or at the very least two cups. The easiest, although not necessarily the best, option for cups is a standard 32-ounce coffee-type tin can (4 inches in diameter). Remove both ends, and push the can down flush with the earth in each pit. A better choice is thick-walled PVC pipe of the same dimensions. Repeated hits of the tin can will distort its shape and necessitate regular restructuring, while the PVC can sustain years of washer abuse. White or light-colored PVC is recommended as an aid to aiming, and will allow competitive matches well into dusk.
Pits: Although not absolutely essential to the game, "pits add an aura of legitimacy," according to the washers association, and aid in scoring. A pit is typically constructed from two 8-foot landscape timbers, each cut in 5-foot and 3-foot lengths. The pit is then filled with earth to a level even with the top of the framing timbers. To allow room for sliders, cups should be positioned closer to the far end of the pit than the front. When using the 5-by-3-foot measurements, a distance of 31 inches from the front of the pit is the recommended positioning for each cup. The official distance from cup centers is 25 feet.
Options: Some washer games are built as two platform boxes covered in AstroTurf with one hole each; go online to www.laidbackracing.com/washers.html for building specs.
Some sets are constructed with three holes (the closet hole is worth one point, the middle three points and the farthest five points).
Some games give each player three washers to throw instead of two. If different-size washers are preferred, make sure the holes are at least 1/4 inch bigger than the washer (you might want to go with a hole that's an inch bigger, unless you're an expert).
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