Team beer challenge at St. Pete Shuffle to benefit Florida's waterways

Sip freshly poured beer, say hello to a new friend or neighbor, and support local Florida waterways during the Great Beer Challenge on August 29 in St. Petersburg. Do all of this while teams of four compete in a shuffleboard showdown at the world’s largest and oldest shuffleboard court – St. Pete Shuffleboard Club, which opened in 1924.

The inaugural Great Beer Challenge, sponsored by Atlanta-based Sweetwater Brewing Company, will feature craft beer from the brewery, an array of games, and the opportunity to meet other locals.

Chris Favaloro, one of the event’s organizers, says that staging the special event at St. Pete Shuffle “was an easy choice. The City of St Pete is exploding and the community is friendly, strong and together.”

That sense of community, combined with the talking point distinction of being the oldest and largest shuffleboard court in the world, makes the group "happy to be there," Favarolo says. "With our enthusiasm for craft beer and meeting new people, we saw this as an opportunity to introduce something exciting and reinvent the weekend events that Tampa Bay loves." 

Other, similar events “are typically places where you go with your friends to have a few drinks, try some food and go home. You never end up meeting someone new," Favaloro explains. But during the Great Beer Challenge, Favaloro says that event organizers hope to see new friendships form.

To help ease participants into working together or mingling, Favaloro says that event organizers will employ an array of “social ice-breakers to encourage meeting new people outside of your team.” 

The Great Beer Challenge is anticipated to bring out between 40-60 teams of four, giving locals the opportunity to meet and mingle with around 150-250 participants. For $30 in advance or $45 at the door, challengers in the event can score commemorative swag from local sponsors or vendors; enjoy games like cornhole, flipcup, and, of course, shuffleboard; or simply attend the event as a spectator (tickets are $20).

A limited amount of teams can participate in the shuffleboard events, so head over to the event website to learn more or sign up. Groups of four who register together will save $10. Don’t have a team of four? No problem; event organizers will assign you to a group.

"Our event is focused around meeting new people and having fun,” Favaloro says.

When it came to selecting an event sponsor, “we have done our due diligence,” he explains. “Sweetwater Brewing Company was born with the same mission in mind: to connect good people with good beer.”

Another one of the reasons that the group called upon Sweetwater Brewing Company to sponsor the Great Beer Challenge is the beer brewery’s connection to the Sarasota-based nonprofit group Suncoast Waterkeeper.

Suncoast Waterkeeper “focuses on protecting and restoring the Florida Suncoast’s waterways,” Favaloro explains. “We love this and support this.”

Five dollars from each ticket sale will be donated to the organization.

The Great Beer Challenge will be held from 2-5 p.m. on Saturday, August 29, at St. Pete Shuffle, 559 Mirror Lake Drive N in DTSP. To purchase participant or spectator tickets, visit the event website.

“The goal of the Great Beer Challenge is to introduce a new type of social event to Tampa Bay,” Favaloro says.