The main rules at the St. Pete Shuffle are to play nicely and clean up after yourself; image courtesy of VisitStPeteClearwater.com

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – It’s not your grandfather’s shuffleboard because it’s come a long way, baby (written with apologies to advertising copywriters for Oldsmobile and Virginia Slims.)

No longer a cruise ship cliché or just retirement home recreation, shuffleboard is downright hip and cool in some places.

The implements of shuffleboard have various names. The items that slide are blocks, pucks, weights or discs; image courtesy of VisitStPeteClearwater.com

Just consider the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club (yes, there really is a permanent shuffleboard club, and there has been since 1924, thank you very much). It’s where you go to experience the St. Pete Shuffle.

A St. Pete Shuffle player aims her disk at a triangular target 39 feet away; image courtesy of VisitStPeteClearwater.com

The St. Pete Shuffle is a 7-10 p.m. happening every Friday when families, young couples and, yes, some retirees, too, use sticks, cues or poles (choose the term you like) to push blocks, weights, pucks or discs (again, terminology varies) toward those triangular targets 39 feet away.

The St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club is private, but members open the courts for the Friday night frivolity. The rules, such as they are, are simple. Keep the atmosphere family friendly, no more than eight people in a group, don’t walk on the courts and dispose of any trash you generate, since you’re welcome to bring food and drinks.

An important etiquette tip is to erase the chalkboard where you record your scores, and then return the chalk, eraser and equipment to the clubhouse.

It’s casual, low-key, fun and free. What’s even more amazing is that the sport actually has a long and colorful history.

When you’re pushing pucks in the Florida moonlight, just try to imagine 500 years ago when King Henry VIII and others of his sort began sliding coins on smooth tabletops in a game called shove-groat. That’s where it all started.

More heritage: Playwright Arthur Miller mentions shuffleboard in “The Crucible,” which was about the Salem witch trials; there was a Pennsylvania court case in 1848 to decide whether shuffleboard was a game of chance or skill (skill, the judge said); and New York newspapers covered shuffleboard along with prizefighting and baseball in the 1890s.

Youngsters are welcome at the St. Pete Shuffle, where no one thinks fun has an age limit at either end; image courtesy of VisitStPeteClearwater.com

The historic St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club is on Mirror Lake not far from baseball at Progress Energy Park, boat watching at the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina and fancy dining at the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort.

Although the St. Pete Shuffle is a free activity, the club’s website suggests a $2 per person donation. Compare that to a movie ticket or a Florida theme park ticket. Shuffleboard wins that contest hands down.

Trip-planning resources: StPeteShuffle.com and VisitStPeteClearwater.com

(Travel writer Tom Adkinson’s new book, 100 Things To Do in Nashville Before You Die, is available at CornersOfTheCountry.com.)