The Social World of Shuffleboard

In this article the author examines a leisure social world among senior citizens. Specifically, the social world of shuffleboard incorporates participants from several regions of the country that share meanings, events, procedures, and forms of communication. Attention is focused on "shuffling" as an expressive leisure activity and the attendant contingencies that may enhance or detract from a commitment to and integration in the social world. Secondarily, aspects of the shuffleboard subculture are highlighted. An analysis of the shuffleboard social world, its subculture, and the career progression of "shufflers" provides a generic model of leisure that may be generalized to other spheres of activity.