Skee-ball, the hundred-year old coin-operated boardwalk game for misfits, cheats and beach bums, is receiving its due in an unlikely yet inevitable setting: a Williamsburg bar.
On November 29, the first-ever competitive Skee-Ball league will launch, with a brand new bar, Full Circle Bar (318 Grand Street), poised to serve as its national home.
Full Circle co-owners Eric Harris Pavony and Evan Tobias, founded the league, Brewskee-ball, in 2005, which featured 16 teams rolling balls in bars in the East Village. Since then, the league has grown to more than 1,000 rollers and includes teams in Wilmington, DE, San Francisco, Austin, and Charlotte as well as Brooklyn.
Nevertheless, Pavony and Tobias had always hoped to have a venue to showcase skee-ball competitions in a bar that would also serve recreational players, in the same vein as Floyd’s bocce court and Barcade’s 80s era video games. On November 6, they opened Full Circle.
“We thought that skee-ball is too good of a game for adults not to be able to play it on a daily basis,” said Pavony. “It’s a perfect mix of brew and skee and it turned out other people thought so as well.”
The bar will feature three skee-ball lanes, with bleacher and lane-side seating (really), as well as a Hall of Fame Wall of Champions for the league’s most beloved competitors.The plan is to host skee-ball leagues, tournaments and game nights, as well as special events and parties for those looking to play the nostalgic boardwalk game. Full Circle will also serve Nathan’s hot dogs to evoke the true Coney Island experience without trekking an hour south on the Q train.
“Skee ball breaks down all the barriers,” said Pavony. “When you get to a skee ball lane, its impossible not to have a conversation, share some jokes, or experience some competitive rivalry going on.”
On February 12-14 2010, Full Circle Bar will play host to the first-ever Brewskee-Ball National Championship. The 64 best rollers in the country will compete in a single elimination tournament to earn the title of number 1 skee-ball player and the inaugural class of the Brewskee-Ball Hall of Fame will be inducted.
Of course, beginners will feel just as welcome.
“It’s also very good for male-female relationships too.If a guy is a little shy, there’s no better pickup lane than challenging a lady player to a frame of skee-ball,” said Pavony.
Teams interested in signing up for November 29 Brewskee-Ball NYC (Skeeson XIII) at Full Circle Bar need to e-mail join@brewskeeball.com with the following information: witty team name; three-roller roster (plus alternates); roller’s e-mail addresses; and division preference (Sunday, Monday or Wednesday).
For more information about Brewskee-Ball, visit brewskeeball.com.
