St. Isidore Council to host state KC horseshoe tournament

LEOPOLD, Mo. — St. Isidore Knights of Columbus Council will host the 41st Missouri Knights of Columbus State Horseshoe Tournament on the council grounds this weekend, Friday through Sunday, in Leopold.

This is the fifth time the Leopold council has hosted the tournament. Other years were in 1987, 1997, 2006 and 2014.

"It is a great showing of honor and confidence by the Missouri State Knights of Columbus Horseshoe Board of Directors in awarding the tournament to St. Isidore Council," said Stan Seiler, grand knight for the Leopold council. "Our history of hosting the tournament, our atmosphere of hospitality and our council facilities make Leopold a premier location for holding this tournament."

Alan Beussink was named tournament director of the event, with Tyler Clubb serving as co-chairman.

The tournament will have 466 two-person teams competing in 12 classes with participants in each class determined by qualifying scores. There will be seven men's and four ladies' classes, along with one senior men's class. more than 100 sets of horseshoe pits will be used over the weekend in the double-elimination tournament.

A mixer will be from 5 to 11 p.m. Friday, Seiler said, at which competitors will have "the opportunity to renew friendships with others who they probably have not seen since last year's tournament, enjoy food and drink, review the brackets of each class, and compete in cornhole, Texas hold 'em and euchre tournaments, and special 'bragging rights' games."

Saturday's opening ceremony will be at 8:30 a.m. Competition will start at 9 a.m. and continue throughout the day until 5:30 p.m. A Mass at 6 p.m. will conclude the day.

On Sunday, competition will start at 9 a.m. and end with the presentation of trophies to the top four finishers in each class.

Breakfast will be served each morning and refreshments will be available through the weekend. There will be souvenirs available and raffles conducted both days.

Seiler said everyone is welcome to come out and view the competition, enjoy the food and drink, and spend some time in Leopold. He added that many participants will bring their families, which will increase the number of visitors to as many as 2,500.

"The economic impact for this area is tremendous," said James Lewis, one of the five general chairmen for the event. "We encourage our guests to shop in our local shops and eat at our local restaurants. I know the local motel has had this weekend completely booked for months. There will be a large group of competitors, friends, family and visitors over the weekend as the council will make this fifth time they host the tournament one to remember."

Clubb said the council has been planning and readying its hall and grounds for the last several months.

"As you might guess, an event this size requires a lot of work, and that takes a lot of people working diligently over a long period of time," he said. "We are very blessed to have our council membership, members of the Ladies Auxiliary, community members and youth who have really stepped up to the plate and have put in a ton of hours to get ready and actually carry out the tournament over the weekend."

For more information, visit www.kofc5898.org or Facebook at Knights of Columbus 5898.