The best horseshoe players in Canada are heading to Guelph next month.
The 2023 Canadian Horseshoe Championships will be hosted at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 234 on Watson Parkway Aug. 9 to 12.
This year marks the second time Guelph has hosted, and first time since 2017.
"We bid on them in 2019, and then we got cancelled out twice because of COVID," said Tom Gallina, head organizer, a former Canadian champion and a Guelph Sports Hall of Famer.
Last year, the tournament was held in High Prairie, Alberta.
While the 73-year-old can't play as much as he used to, he feels a sense of pride a national tournament will take place on horseshoe pitching courts he developed.
But it's not just the nationals being held. The weekend before, the Elmer Hohl Memorial tournament will take place, named after the late six-time world champion from nearby Wellesley.
"We decided to combine both because the world tournament is based in Lansing, Michigan on July 29, and a lot of people from the west and the east, they want to just come right here," Gallina said.
"That's why we scheduled these two tournaments together, so they can come and spend a week here."
The event is free to attend. Gallina said the legion building will be open for those looking to escape the heat, have a drink, or dig in on a BBQ.
