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ENLARGE
More than 730 marble players gather to beat a Guinness World Record for the largest marble tournament in a parking lot at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Roseburg on Saturday.
VIDEO
See a video from the event at the bottom of the article.
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Organizers at the registration table celebrate after registering the 678th player to beat a Guinness World Record for the largest marble tournament.
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Denise Loberg and her daughter Issabella, 2, play marbles with more than 730 other players to beat a Guinness World Record for the largest marble tournament.
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Marbles are on display at the Melrose Marble Madness at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Roseburg on Saturday.
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More than 730 people knuckled down Saturday afternoon and flicked their shooters right into the Guinness World Record books.
Hundreds of people attended Melrose Marble Madness, and as a result, Roseburg was named the new world record holder for the largest marble tournament. The feat surpassed previous record holder Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum’s mark of 677 players that was set in the summer of 2008.
With just 15 minutes until the 2 p.m. start time Saturday, the event was still short 100 players. But in the final minutes, carloads of people filed into the Douglas County Fairgrounds and gave Melrose School enough players to take the title.
The 678th player — the one needed to beat the record — was Roseburg’s Ed Havicus. Havicus arrived at the fairgrounds a couple of hours earlier but waited to register so he could be No. 678. Havicus said his wife collects marbles but he’s not much of a marble enthusiast.
“I’ve never played marbles in my whole life,” he said. “I don’t even know how to hold one.”
The event drew in beginners, novices and collectors of all ages. Ben Hervey, 13, said he practiced with his younger sister before attending the event Saturday. When it came to strategy, Ben preferred the distraction technique.
“Pretty much just yell at them when they throw,” he said of his technique.
Ben’s friend, 13-year-old Raluca Gosman, said instead of shooting marbles, she chooses to trade the marbles with other people so she can collect the rare ones. But Raluca decided to play Saturday because she wanted to be a part of the world record attempt.
“I think it’s really cool because Roseburg is a little city in Oregon and not many people know about it,” she said. “Maybe now they’ll start to find out about it.”
The idea for Melrose Marble Madness came from someone nearly 2,000 miles away in Kansas City, Missouri. Self-titled Marble Lady Cathy Runyan-Svacina challenged the students last year when she was in town to give a marble presentation.
“I have not seen a school with that kind of enthusiasm and love of marbles,” she said of Melrose Elementary.
When it was time for the tournament to begin Saturday, players got into groups and found circles drawn with chalk on the parking lot. The players each picked a shooter — a larger marble — and arranged the 25 smaller marbles in the center of the circle. They took turns flicking marbles and collecting the ones that rolled out of the ring.
After four rounds, it was time for the final game.
“This is the last game,” Runyan-Svacina told the players. “Shoot hard. Shoot fair. Shoot straight.”
As soon as the one-minute round ended, Runyan-Svacina checked scores and awarded trophies — filled with marbles, of course — to the top four finishers.
The title of marble champ went to Melrose fifth-grader Sam Homola. In five rounds, he collected 51 marbles.
Sam said he plays marbles at school and has too many marbles in his collection to count. Sam said he and his family thought it would be pretty cool to take part in the record attempt, but he didn’t worry too much about a game-winning strategy.
“I just got out and played,” he said. “Had fun.”
Hundreds of people attended Melrose Marble Madness, and as a result, Roseburg was named the new world record holder for the largest marble tournament. The feat surpassed previous record holder Kansas City Toy and Miniature Museum’s mark of 677 players that was set in the summer of 2008.
With just 15 minutes until the 2 p.m. start time Saturday, the event was still short 100 players. But in the final minutes, carloads of people filed into the Douglas County Fairgrounds and gave Melrose School enough players to take the title.
The 678th player — the one needed to beat the record — was Roseburg’s Ed Havicus. Havicus arrived at the fairgrounds a couple of hours earlier but waited to register so he could be No. 678. Havicus said his wife collects marbles but he’s not much of a marble enthusiast.
“I’ve never played marbles in my whole life,” he said. “I don’t even know how to hold one.”
The event drew in beginners, novices and collectors of all ages. Ben Hervey, 13, said he practiced with his younger sister before attending the event Saturday. When it came to strategy, Ben preferred the distraction technique.
“Pretty much just yell at them when they throw,” he said of his technique.
Ben’s friend, 13-year-old Raluca Gosman, said instead of shooting marbles, she chooses to trade the marbles with other people so she can collect the rare ones. But Raluca decided to play Saturday because she wanted to be a part of the world record attempt.
“I think it’s really cool because Roseburg is a little city in Oregon and not many people know about it,” she said. “Maybe now they’ll start to find out about it.”
The idea for Melrose Marble Madness came from someone nearly 2,000 miles away in Kansas City, Missouri. Self-titled Marble Lady Cathy Runyan-Svacina challenged the students last year when she was in town to give a marble presentation.
“I have not seen a school with that kind of enthusiasm and love of marbles,” she said of Melrose Elementary.
When it was time for the tournament to begin Saturday, players got into groups and found circles drawn with chalk on the parking lot. The players each picked a shooter — a larger marble — and arranged the 25 smaller marbles in the center of the circle. They took turns flicking marbles and collecting the ones that rolled out of the ring.
After four rounds, it was time for the final game.
“This is the last game,” Runyan-Svacina told the players. “Shoot hard. Shoot fair. Shoot straight.”
As soon as the one-minute round ended, Runyan-Svacina checked scores and awarded trophies — filled with marbles, of course — to the top four finishers.
The title of marble champ went to Melrose fifth-grader Sam Homola. In five rounds, he collected 51 marbles.
Sam said he plays marbles at school and has too many marbles in his collection to count. Sam said he and his family thought it would be pretty cool to take part in the record attempt, but he didn’t worry too much about a game-winning strategy.
“I just got out and played,” he said. “Had fun.”
Video
• You can reach reporter Marissa Harshman at 957-4202 or by e-mail at mharshman@nrtoday.com.
