The 2026 Pop Top “GAYP” Youth Checkers & Southern Open Championship Tournament 
JR Smith will sponsor and the Waxhaw Woman’s Club and Mule Barn Mercantile will host this event.
This Tournament will be held at The Waxhaw Woman’s Club banquet hall in Waxhaw, 200 E South Main St, Waxhaw, NC 28173
contact: Mark Hernig, pob 545, Waxhaw, NC 28173   mhernig@yahoo.com  704-292-5115

The 2026 Pop Top “GAYP” Family Orientated Youth Checker Tournament will be held Thursday, June 25th, and the Southern Open aka Southern States is scheduled a day after the Pop Top event.  The Southern Open will be a two day tournament. This allows both tournaments to combine resources and participants for sustainability.  The Southern will be “GAYP” scheduled for 5 rounds on Friday and 2 on Saturday. This tournament requires the player to record games and use a clock. They will play on a table, and player is required to bring a regulation checkerboard and checkers. The prize fund is paid out to the Southern tournament. There will be a Pop Top “GAYP” Youth Checker Tournament event for everyone else who enjoys checkers as a friendly family recreational atmosphere as Parents are invited to play with a son or daughter. This event will be set up as family recreational social games, and a later youth checker tournament. In the recent Woman's Club meeting 3/10/2026 it was voted on to just have a Pop Top “GAYP” Youth Checker Tournament. Of course, this family/youth event will take place at the Woman's Club and we will use the PopTop checkerboard, bottle-cap checkers and stacked table-crates.  The participants will receive trophies & certificates. There will be the same tournament amenities as last year. Both events, Pop Top, and Southern participants are requested to pre-register on the Waxhaw Pop Top Checkers website.  PopTop Checkers plan to offer several youth checker workshops prior to the youth tournament. These sessions are designed to improve checker skill & knowledge. The first of these workshops is scheduled for March 15th, 2PM-4PM at Mule Barn Mercantile.

You may read a little about Waxhaw Woman's Club | Mule Barn Mercantile 

It seems the town of Waxhaw has rallied around a “Preserving Our Heritage Festival Theme” while restoring historic building and remembering & honoring their past! You can see this vibrant, busy activity in the public traffic in Waxhaw, with a 24,000 population in West Union County 30 miles South of Charlotte. The Pop Top Checker Tournament is just on example of what Waxhaw has going on!  Mark kept the Mule Barn motif in honor and remembrance of his Grandfather, owner and operator of The Mule Barn "mule auctions".  This is a befitting recognition for the checker games which took place there as a favorite pastime, and social gathering place. 

Quality Inn & Suites - Monroe, NC is an economical option
2351 W Roosevelt Blvd Hwy. 74, Monroe, NC 28110 | 704-218-9089 or 1-888-895-5278 |14 miles/25 minutes to venue
The hotel is old but clean, nice, comfortable, and staff/service helpful, (1-2 star hotel). Rate is $59+tax $66 for king or DQ & discounted via Expedia or Booking.com
from usual $74 + tax = $82.70 through our tournament date, they charge cc $100 incidental fee / security deposit immediately but doesn't come back immediately.