The first ever Brad & Big Rich’s Washers Tournament was thrown on Saturday as part of their annual Cajun Chef’s Cookoff. Twenty-four teams signed up for this inaugural event and tossed washers under clear and breezy skies. It was the perfect day for large crowds to watch as the teams competed for the $500 first place prize. All styles of teams registered including Knuckleheads, Hairy Crabs, No Shoes Nation, and 4 Reelz, to name a few. Some rolled in to sign up and come up with a name on the fly, like husband and wife team Will and Debbie Prince.

Stepping up to the sign-in table, Debbie announced, “His regular partner couldn’t make it, so he has to play with me,” further adding, “and I’ve never played before.” Certainly Will was missing his son’s partnership at this moment. But maybe she’d make him proud. As Will was filling out the form he turned to Debbie and asked what their team name should be. She replied, “It don’t matter.” So that was the name of their team.

The tournament started at 1pm and ‘It Don’t Matter’ played ‘Darin & Shayne’ in the first round. A short time later, Debbie walked up to the scorekeeper and, with a big smile, beamed, “We won…and I scored 1 point!” As the tournament progressed, ‘It Don’t Matter’ kept knocking off the competition. They made it all the way to the finals where they were up against ‘4 Reelz’, the father and son team of Jake and Clay Bostian. ‘4 Reelz’ was coming out of the Loser’s Bracket but they were confident they could win two games for the championship. But, did Will and Debbie have other plans?

The first game progressed quickly to a score of 16-15 with ‘It Don’t Matter’ needing only a 5 to win. It went back and forth a few times with no scores. The sun shone brightly as Debbie calmly stepped up to the board for her next turn. Her opponent had finished his turn with no score. As she had done all afternoon, she eyed the board and let her washer go. It landed squarely in the 5-hole. There was a moment’s hesitation before she realized, “We Won!”

Congratulations to Will and Debbie Prince. When asked whose name goes on the winner’s check, Debbie quickly answered, “Me. Of course.” Naturally.

Congratulations to all the teams and players. The inaugural event was a success and everyone should look forward to next year.

[Oct-19-2020]