Hi all,

I hope you are all enjoying your beautiful end of summertime and beginning of Autumn up in North America.
In South America we are saying goodbye to the wintertime and waiting desperately for our summer to start.
I would like to update you on the future ISA Championship locations.
The 2012 ISA World Team Championship will take place in Seattle, Washington from 6 -10 August 2012. Rob and Margaret Robinson will be running the show and they tell me it will surpass the 2011 ISA World Singles Championship which was held in Dieppe, Canada.
I have selected Rocky and Gigi Briggs to be the Men's and Women's United Nations Team Captains respectively.
As you can see planning starts 11 months in advance for ISA Championships.
The 2013 ISA World Singles Championship, by unanimous vote among the National Presidents, will take place at the
St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club in St. Petersburg, Florida sometime in the latter part of October 2013. Final dates are yet to be determined. ISA Committee Chairman Jim Allen is spearheading this event.
In November of this year, TAFISA will be holding its World Congress in Turkey and proudly Dieter and Birgitt Hussmann will be representing the ISA.  And a final note, the ISA Delegation headed to Siauliai city, Lithuania from 5-12 July 2012 for the 2012 TAFISA World Sport Event has been selected.  Dieter and I will be taking 3 Germans and 3 Brazilians as well as 2 Canadian Senior players. Within the delegation are 5 youth representatives and 2 women. My selection was made on players having additional language abilities. Among our delegation we have the capability to speak 6 different languages and I feel this is extremely critical for communications with the public and media.

Quote: If the shot can be made by me, I'll probably miss it, however it is not the end of the world because it's only a game !

Michael Robert Zellner
ISA President

On behalf of the International Shuffleboard Association  and myself, I would like thank the Mayor of Dieppe,            Jean LeBlanc for the exceptional support that he and his wonderful City of Dieppe provided to us during our international championship in August. Through the various letters of praise that I have been receiving from participants all over the world, it is quite obvious that this was the finest International Shuffleboard Event held to date. Special thanks also goes out to his Deputy Mayor, Paul LeBlanc and the super team of professionals from Dieppe City Hall, who gave their all and truly went out of their way to insure that this event went off as smoothly as possible. The tireless efforts performed by Jason Nadeau, Pauline Cormier, Natalie and Phillip never went unnoticed and was truly appreciated by myself, our Board of Directors and the participants from eight visiting nations. The dedication and support provided by them reflect great credit upon themselves and the City Of Dieppe. And best of all, the memories and friendships established during this week together will be carried home to many corners of the globe and the City of Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada will forever have a special place in our hearts.

Equally important was the superb job that was done by NBSC President Don Breau and his lovely wife Bernie. They ran non-stop for 6 straight days and nights. The super team of volunteers from the NBSC club were top notch and all performed above distinction.

Finally Glenn Monroe, tournament director once again held it all together and provided a championship fit for professionals.  

Truly a job well done by all 3 groups.

Sincerely,
   
Michael Robert Zellner, President
International Shuffleboard Association

Shufflers,

International Tournament time is once again upon us.  We are in the final planning stages for what will be the largest ISA event in history. 
In just a few days,  80 competitors from the nations of  Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany,Holland, Japan, Norway and the United States  will converge  in Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada  to compete in the 2nd ISA World Singles Tournament.   From 3-7 August,  the finest shufflers in the world will be battling it out to see who will walk away with the title, The Top Male and Top Female Shuffler in the World for 2011 in addition to receiving a finely crafted Gold Cue donated by the one and only Jim Allen of Allen R. Shuffleboard Co. Due to unfortunate circumstances with travel visas, the Russian Delegation was forced to withdraw yesterday. They will be missed, however we can expect to see them in Seattle, Washington for the 2012 World Team tournament. Under authority granted me as ISA President, I have extended personal Presidential Invitations to the following individuals to fill these unforeseen vacancies, which occurred after the cutoff date for National President entries.  These players were individually selected based on their outstanding shuffling abilities as well as their keen interest in helping shuffleboard expand around the world.  I thank them from the bottom of my heart for accepting my invitation.
Gerald Curwin,  Roy Norman
Stan McCormack, Charlie Bryan
Lois McCormack, Murray Burnett
Muriel Burnett, Gloria McLaughlin
Marjorie Taylor, Joanne Gallivan
Shirley Bryan

And now,  fellow shufflers, I am about to start my 7300 mile flight from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Moncton, Canada.  After preliminary meetings with the Tournament Host and Dieppe City officials, I will await your arrival while visiting some of the wonderful landmarks in the area.  I hope and pray Continental Airlines at least has some current films on board to help pass my 17 hour flight.  See you in Dieppe !!!

Michael Robert Zellner
ISA President

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Time is rapidly closing in on the start of the 2nd ISA World Singles Tournament.  The cuttoff dates for player submission have passed and a few minor
player changes may need to take place for unforseen emergencies, however I am excited to announce this is a Record Breaking Event for the ISA.
Top seeded players from the following countries will be competing against each other: Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, Holland, Germany, Japan, Norway, Russia and the United States.  Forty four (44) Men and thirty six (36¨) Women for a total of 80 competitors will battle it out on the courts from 3 - 7 August 2011     in the beautiful city of Dieppe, New Brunswick, Canada. The Canadian National Shuffleboard President, Mr. Gary Pipher has been working closely with me to see that this tournament is a big success and at the same time actively involved in planning the huge Canadian Provincial Tournament which will take place also during August. He definately has his hands full.   Mr. Don Breau, President of the New Brunswick Shuffleboard Club (Host Club) along with Dieppe city official Jason Nadeau, have been going over the setup and operation of the event to insure its success. We can't do it without them.  Beth Allen our Treasurer has been busy counting and receiving the ISA player fees and covering necessary expenses. Under her control I am confident the ISA will not need a Federal Bailout.
Pam Hill our ISA Curator has been busy collecting flags for each and every nation participating in this tournament even with some time away to take home the Ladies 1st place trophy in Russia. Way to go Pam.  Tournament Director, Glenn Monroe has been beating his head against the wall to come up with the fairest competition schedule to accomodate 80 players on 20 courts within the allotted timeframe.  I know he will come through just fine, and the headache will go away.    
In closing, during this event, 2 new nations (Norway and Russia) will request to become official members of the ISA, making this a truly exciting time for my Presidency and the growth of International Shuffleboard.  And to top it all off,  2 new members will be inducted into the prestigious ISA Hall of Fame during this event. If you are not a competitor in this tournament,  I would like to extend my heartfelt invitation for you to come and see this history making event in our International Shuffleboard Association.
 
Sincerely,
 
Prof. Michael Robert Zellner
ISA President