The Lacombe Curling Club hosted their annual Seniors Bonspiel, this year with 96 curlers competing.
“We have the seniors bonspiel and in order to be in the bonspiel you have to be 50 years or older. We have a lot of people in this bonspiel who are 80 plus,” Organizer Ken Brown said.
The ‘spiel runs Nov. 18 to 22 and features multiple divisions, comprised of multiple skill levels.
“There is a stick division, which requires two stick users; we have a mixed division which requires at least one woman; and we have two masters groups where the aggregate age has to equal at least 265, so the average age ends up being around 66,” brown said.
Everyday is packed full of curling and there’s even money to be made for precision rock throwers.
“The ‘spiel runs two draws everyday, one at 9:30 a.m. and one at 1 p.m. After the first game, there is a shootout for prize money. Everyone throws one rock and we could one, two , three and four. They get points according to that and the team with the most point wins a fair money prize. The winner gets $100, $60 and $40 to third,” Brown said.
Brown was thankful to the local sponsors who allow the bonspiel to be a success every year.
“It is excellent and the sponsors have been great. We have sponsors to help us with payouts; we have sponsor to help pay for the event; we have sponsors for our banquet; we have sponsors for each division; and we have a bunch of door prizes which are all sponsored by the community,” he said.
The bonspiel fills up every year and Brown said 96 is a perfect number for what they do, with any more requiring another draw each day.
“The way our spiel is set up, that is all the numbers we can handle. If we went larger, we would have to have another draw everyday. We have no trouble filling the bonspiel,” he said.
The divisions are divided up fairly, meaning every competitor has the opportunity to have some fun.
“We looked at who entered and place them according to ability,” brown said.
Everyday features a lunch donated by the competitors and Wednesday features a catered dinner by Leto’s Steakhouse and Bar.
“We charge $50 per person, which equals a $200 entry fee. It does raise a bit of money for the Lacombe Curling Club. People come back every single year. The preregister and they really enjoy it. They want to come back,” Browns said.
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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