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VENUES

If you build it, you can play washers…….Greg Pines

THE GRASS

This is the oldest and first place washers was played. Pretty simple to get started, just drop the boxes 17ft apart and start tossing washers. This was used for the first time in tournament play during WSOW III when the driveway was getting too crowded. The scenery is pretty nice here, lots of trees and usually the grass is green. There are some hazards though. Washers can get lost in those palms sometimes(Loftis) and at times the washers skip into the street and roll away. Playing for an extended amount of time may create a muddy throwing area here. It can be embarrassing though when cars drive by and wonder what the hell you are doing.(neighbors probably think the same thing)

GAMEDAY VENUE

Just like the title says, this is where we play washers before football games. It’s a very simple venue, just grass. It is usually shaded and this is one of the few grass areas on campus that is always green. The only problem with this venue is that many people stop by to interrupt our game by asking questions like, “what are you doing?”, “what game is this?”, “how do you keep score?”, “can I play next?”, “how come you can’t get it in the cup?”.

THE STADIUM

The stadium was a pretty good venue even though it only lasted 4 months. It was first used on Mother’s Day 2011 and torn down sometime during mid August. The New Stadium is currently under construction right next to it on the grass. This works just like bigger stadiums such as Yankee stadium. The old one gets old and you need to build a new one close by. This stadium had lights so you could play washers all night long. The throwing platforms were dug a few feet into the ground so you were somewhat hidden from neighbors. It had wood bark surrounding the boxes so there were no Gandys. It was a nicely done and thought out, just maybe a little too close to the wall making it cramped for playing doubles. Another problem with this venue is the bark would get knocked onto he grass or onto the sunken throwing areas, the bark would also give you splinters if you picked up the washers…..this probably sparked the idea for the monstersticks.

THE NEW STADIUM

This is my second attempt at creating a permanent washers playing area at my house. It may not seem like a good idea to mortar bricks in the middle of the grass of your backyard and keep your two hyper dogs locked up on the concrete, but I did it anyway. I have to say that this is a pretty nice venue. Natural grass surface, bricks keep washers from rolling too far away, plenty of room for doubles, stones sunk flush with the grass to throw from. Genius.

PATTERSON’S ROOM

This is Patterson’s venue where washers can be played if it is really hot outside between practices. Just turn on the AC, move some desks, set up the gallery and play. It appears to be a great place to play with the cool air and an even surface, but it’s horrible. The ground is so hard and there is no give when the washers hit the box. The washes that miss the box roll all over the place, like behind the desks in the picture to the left. This will probably never be used again. It was worth trying though.

INDOORS

This is a picture of each end of the indoor venue. It is impossible to get both ends in the same picture. There is barely enough room for this venue to fit in the patio room. It is crammed in the room diagonally. Although this seems like a great place to play, it has not been used yet. This venue may make its debut during the very late hours of the night during the Guiness World Record attempt. The backstops are a must here, otherwise the washers bounce off the washer boxes and hit the windows or walls. This room was the inspiration behind the backstop construction. The problems with this venue are that this room gets super hot or super cold depending on the time of year. Another problem is because of the shitty carpet you can get a “Terminator” almost every time.

PARENTS GRASS

One the first washer venues and a very common place where washers is still played. This was the site of David’s bachelor party washers tournament. It is a pretty solid venue, but it does have its share of hazards. Washers always seem to get lost in the bushes on both ends of the court. There has been lots of washer playing time spent searching for the”gold one” or someone’s bad toss. The sun can also be very tough if you are standing at the same end that Aaron and Myron are in the picture. One nice thing about this venue is that there is never any wind and you don’t get any Gandy’s or Terminators(there are links to both these above, I don’t feel like making more links, you should know what they are by now).

TURF VENUE

This is a throwback to the older baseball Astroturf days. Take a closer look. Doesn’t the washer boxes look like bases. This actually hasn’t even been used yet as I’m typing this now. Even though we wont be running, sliding, or taking any ground balls on this turf, it will provide consistent hops if you try to bounce your washers into the box.