Heads-Up: World Crokinole Championship 2019

Posted by Emily Ogle on

It may come as no surprise to you that we here at Original Hobby love crokinole, the board game and table sport that has taken our world by storm. We’re an online retailer for crokinole boards and accessories—as well as board games and other hobbies—and we’re constantly on the lookout for crokinole news and opportunities to learn all we can about this unique, flexible, and memorable game.

Ever since finding out about crokinole, we understood that it had the potential to grow and the ability to spread traditions both new and old. It’s currently ranked 77 overall and 5 in family games on BoardGameGeek; and unlike some other highly ranked games, it’s by no means inaccessible. Crokinole has been called both a board game and a table sport, a nudge to its versatility as a game—it’s a perfect marriage of dexterity and strategy so that competitive players get the intense play they seek but new players aren’t left out. In crokinole, players flick discs across the board and try to get them to land within high-scoring areas while knocking opponent’s pieces away. Like the similar pool, curling, and shuffleboard, crokinole fits as well in a casual environment like a bar as it does in a competitive tournament.

Even if you’ve heard of crokinole, you may not know that there is an annual World Crokinole Championship. The organization holds the championship every year on the first Saturday in June; and, for this 21st year, it will take place on Saturday, June 1st, 2019.

Justin Slater, 2018 World Crokinole Champion
Justin Slater, 2018 world champion!

Reflecting the game’s Canadian roots, the World Crokinole Championship is held in Tavistock, Ontario, Canada at the Tavistock & District Recreation Centre on 1 Adam Street. Eckhardt Wettlaufer created the first documented crokinole board in Sebastopol, Ontario, Canada in 1876, so the location of the championship is fitting. To read more about crokinole’s history, click here.

Although the championship is in Canada and crokinole’s history is in North America, anyone from all over the world can register for the tournament. And the championship isn’t exclusive to professional players, either: there are recreational categories should you be entirely new to the game or interested in something less competitive. Players of all ages and skill levels are welcomed to enter and attend: the 2019 championship’s welcome page mentions that, of the 591 players at last year’s tournament, 31% were new players; the oldest was 90 years old, and the youngest was six. There truly is no barrier for entry, if you’re interested, and the World Crokinole Championship has all the resources you need to play.

Like crokinole and its players, the World Crokinole Championship is constantly changing and adapting. If you end up attending, please let us know! We’d love to see pictures, hear stories, and share in your love of crokinole.


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