The Tournament is open to the public and with 3 amateur divisions you might go home a champion.

I am looking forward to seeing you all there.

Mike Piskie – Acting High Commissioner of Stone Skipping

Watch live video from mackinacislandstoneskip on www.justin.tv

We welcome her keen ear and jubilant spirit as the latest ‘Gerplunking Judge’

Looking forward to seeing you all on the 4th.

Sincerely,

Patti (a.k.a. the T-shirt lady)

MACKINAC ISLAND, MI – Stone Skipping legends W. T. “Bill” Rabe and Commander E. M. Tellefson, Ret. were inducted into the Mackinac Island Stone Skipping Hall of Fame at the organization’s annual induction ceremony staged as part of the Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club’s annual Winter Rules Committee meeting on Saturday February 5, 2001 at The Heather’s Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. “We are thrilled and inspired to kick-off the Stone Skipping Hall of Fame with these two legends”, says Hall of Fame director Karl Rabe, “Together they played a key role in turning this pastime into a sport in North America.”

Bill Rabe and Commander Tellefson were inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame and as such bypassed the normal election process. Nominees for future inductees will be cast in October and then inducted if they receive a minimum of two Plinks (affirmative votes from the Screening Committee) and six Pitty-Pats (affirmative votes from the Honors Committee).

Bill Rabe founded the Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club (MISS&GC) with the inaugural Mackinac Island 4th of July Stone Skipping Contest in 1969. He continued to be the tournament director and for the next 23 years, until his death. Bill endlessly promoted Mackinac Island, Grand Hotel and Stone Skipping nationally and internationally through broadcast and print media. Bill published The Boulder, the avant guard journal of stone skipping. He also established and presided over the MISS&GC Winter Rules Committee Meeting.

Commander Tellefson was known as the “The grand old man of stone skipping” and was a legendary ambassador of the sport. His 17-skip stone at Mackinac Island’s Point Aux Pins in 1932 stood unchallenged for 25 years and was the inspiration for the founding of the Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club. The Commander opened the Mackinac Island 4th of July Stone Skipping Tournament annually with his traditional and now famous cry: “Let he who is without Frisbee cast the first stone.”

Formed in 1969, the Mackinac Island Stones Skipping and Gerplunking Club has hosted the annual stone skipping contest on Mackinac Island for over forty years. The Mackinac Island Stone Skipping Hall of Fame is dedicated to recognizing competitors, officials, and others who have made a significant contribution to the sport of Stone Skipping. Visit the Hall of Fame online at www.misshof.com.

Currently The Tellefson Rock, or as stone skipping professionals casually call it, The Rock, consists of the crowing stone, two tiered levels, and two levels of uniform size. The trophy stands at 33 inches and weighs 5.3 stone (75 pounds). Each Inductee is commemorated on the trophy with a hand painted skipping stone bearing their name and year of induction. Should Hall of Fame membership outgrow the trophy, additional tiers will be added. If necessary, older tiers will be retired and proudly displayed in The Great Hall at the MISSHOF.

Each year upon induction of new Hall of Fame Honorees at the Mackinac Island Stone Skipping and Gerplunking Club’s Winter Rules Committee Meeting, a year of celebration begins, as each new Inductee will enjoy several months with The Rock in their personal possession*.

Overshadowing other championship trophies, the legend and glory of the Tellefson Rock continues to be a beacon of inspiration, living in the hopes dreams of competitors.

New Inductees to the MISSHOF are also presented with a skipping stone hand selected from the shores of Mackinac Island to commemorate their induction.

* Inductees are responsible for transportation of The Rock.

To learn more about the MISS Hall of Fame (MISSHOF) please visit the Hall of Fame site at www.misshof.com

The 2010 Stone Skipping Competition brought viewers and new contestants from all over the US and Canada.

CBS Sunday Morning is hoping to re-run the segment this Sunday, September 26^th.  The show airs from 9 to 10:30 AM.  The Emmy Awards Ceremony is Monday, September 27^th.

Bill Geist in Action

GOOD LUCK TO BILL GEIST & OUR FRIENDS AT CBS SUNDAY MORNING!

Tisvildeleje Strand - Photo by Jesper og Pernille

Danish stone skipping is alive and well according to Mads Vind Ludvigsen in Copenhagen, Denmark.  Check out is ‘Danish’ report below.

“What a fantastic site! Thank you so much for making it!

I’m an artist from Denmark and I like to make social events, including stone skipping contests!

I’ve arranged a contest on the 22nd of july, 2010, 8PM -at a beach called Tisvildeleje Strand.

To my limited knowledge, there’s no danish skipping associations or annual competitions existing in Denmak today. I was gobsmacked to find this information on your site today:

”Smutklubben AF 1948:

Founded in Copenhagen by Carl Weinholdt, world champion 1957 to 1976.

Exclusive little smut club for stone skippers.” Wow… I looked it up on danish google and found nothing… Maybe it’s on microfilm in the library.. Thank you for that info!!!

But since no one is making these events now a days, I decided to call my event ”The National Danish Skipping Championships” -why not?

I have made a small film called ‘SKIPPER’ + a book with precise pencil drawings of natural stones found on my childhood Island, Als, a small, frog-shaped one, at the foot of the main peninsula, Jutland.

Here’s a list of future skipping aspirations:

• I have taken it upon me to undertake a massive, obsessive investigation into finding the perfect shape for a manufactured skipping stone. I have already produced quite a few proto types and currently I’m waiting for the results from a professional ceramist, who took interest in my project and directions in the shaping of the stone. 6 new types are all cooling down in a ceramic oven as we speak!

• A few days ago I founded a new facebook group, called: THE SKIPPING STONE ASSOCIATION, where I will upload all my findings, such as: footage, poetry, litterature, interesting links, history, physics behind skipping etc etc etc.

This was BEFORE I bumped into this wonderful site/goldmine of skipping information of yours! It must have been created quite recently?

-I find the act of skipping stones extremely interesting, seen from an artistic point of view. It’s such a ‘waste of time’ and at the same time it is as important as it can get!

• I keep thinking of new ways to use skipping in my art: skipping-choreography with multiple skippers or skeet shooting devices placed around a round small lake or ‘arena’.
• Skipping in the dark with fluorescent stones!
• To film Russ ‘Rock Bottom’ Byars, skipping one of my stones!

The list goes on and on. How do I sign up for the annual championships in Franklin, Pennesylvania? What’s your opinion on manufactured stones in general (I know they’re not allowed at the contest)? Will stone skipping ever find its way to the olympics? If you like, you are very welcome to visit my facebook group. In fact, I’d be extremely grateful if you did!

Again, thank you for making this site!”

Yours sincerely -  Mads Vind Ludvigsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

Questions about the July 22nd  tournament contact Mads at woulter@gmail.com

Another fantastic day of stone skipping had 567 1/2 in attendance to watch and participate in this years event.  World renowned Russ ‘Rock Bottom’ Byars who won the Pro division with an impressive skip of 30. Second place went to Todd ‘Mussels’ Callewaert with a 26 skip & rounding out 3rd was Glenn ‘Hard Luck’ Loy with a 22 skip.

The open  was won by Max ‘Batman’ Steiner with 24 skips beating out old rivals Will ‘Wildman’ Calleweart and Adam ‘The Hammer’ Eyman.  In the Pebbles division Trent ‘Dixe’ Dara skipped  a 16.  The Gerplunking division was won by Rachel ‘Rockslide’ Greer with a 9.1.

For a detailed look at the scores check out the 2010 Box Scores

Check out the 2010 photo galleries to see what you missed.

Other News:

• Jordan ‘The Wave’ Ingram announced he may retire at the end of the year.
• John ‘Skippy’ Kolar may have lost his sponsor ["BEER Chips"].
• Grant ‘HOT Dog’ Mitchel Wichita Kansas, did not perform well under the pressure, but his girlfriend still thinks he’s cute.  His entire family attended.
• The Governors Trophy [a new award] I believe was given to the First gentleman …
• Eric ‘The Voice’ Steiner acted as High Commissioner in Pauls absence.
• Winter Rules Committee received a petition to ban the use of the specified Oil City Stones [a.k.a. "Slicker" or "Oily" stone].   In light of the recent BP oil spill, the ban will probably pass. Comments are welcomed.