A summer ritual

By Mallory Panuska
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT July 23, 2008 08:40 pm

— From croquet to Baggo, summer lawn games are a hit during the long, hot days of the season.
A manager at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Morgantown said lawn games are played by people of all ages and during all types of events.
Whether it be families playing in their back yards, relatives or friends playing on picnics and camping trips or people tailgating before events, she said outdoor games are very popular this time of year.
“Tailgating is a big time for lawn games,” she said. “The weather has definitely helped move the products, too.”
At Dick’s, Ladder Ball and Baggo are the two most popular games this year.
According to a Web site dedicated to Ladder Ball, the game is very similar to horseshoes. It is played with two or more players or teams and each player has three golf ball bolas. A bola is two golf balls attached by a nylon rope. The object of the game is to wrap the bolas around the steps of the ladder, which consists of three steps — a top, middle and a bottom.
Baggo, another toss game, involves eight beanbags, two boards with holes to toss them into, and two or four players standing on opposite ends of a playing area, according to a Web site dedicated to the game. The manager at Dick’s said that the most popular Baggo board in the local store is one that looks like a football field with West Virginia University emblems.
“The biggest seller is the WVU one,” she said. “It does pretty well in Morgantown.”
She added that many people also prefer old stand-by’s, like badminton and volleyball, when choosing summer lawn games.
Another popular lawn game is Frisbee golf, or disc golf. According to Disclife.com, a Web site dedicated to the game, disc golf is very much like traditional golf. Only instead of using golf balls, players use Frisbees and throw them for par at an above-ground target instead of a hold in the ground. And with a playing field at Morris Park, disc golf is very popular among Marion County residents.
The manager at Dick’s said games like croquet are also still played, but are not among the top ten best sellers. There are professional matches held for croquet in the area, however, that people get into, she said.
E-mail Mallory Panuska at mpanuska@timeswv.com.

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