OXFORD – For the last six years, Bob Marshman and his wife Linda have been wintering in sunny Zephyr Hills, Fla., where one of their favorite pastimes is playing shuffleboard.

“It’s one of those things you get hooked on,” Marshman said.

The couple was first introduced to the sport only a few years ago, but has moved quickly up the competitive ranks. During the months they spend down south, the pair compete in as many as two tournaments a week, in which they are ranked as “pro” players.

In the past, when has come time to return to their home in Oxford in the spring, they have had to resign themselves to spending a few months away from the sport. But this year, they won’t have to do without their bi-weekly shuffleboard fix. With the help of two other couples who share their passion for the sport, the Benjamin’s and the Larson’s, as well as a third, Dave and Mary El Emerson, who was interesting in taking it up; they have started a shuffleboard club.

The four couples pitched in to purchase two 40’ long portable shuffleboard mats, at a cost of roughly $925 each, to get the group started. Before long their numbers had swelled to over 20 members, at least a dozen of which turn out at 6 p.m. every Wednesday and Sunday to play.