This past weekend, the Alameda Bonspiel Committee held a very successful bonspiel with 48 rinks participating.
Janelle Farnden, who was the event co-chair alongside Bonnie Thompson, was very impressed with the organization and turnout.
The previous large bonspiel was conducted in 2015 with 64 rinks participating. There were plans to hold another large event such as this in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, the Alameda Curling Club had equipment issues and was not opened for the season. The committee decided to go ahead with five sheets of ice at the skating rink with a 48-team limit.
Like seven years ago, the bonspiel committee obtained the services of well-known ice-maker James Gordon from Prairie Ice in Saskatoon. Gordon prepared the ice in 2015 and offered to help out again this year.
Gordon comes with a wide range of experience, from head ice technician at many curling clubs to assisting at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Said Farnden: “You can feel Gordon's passion for the sport of curling and the art of ice making that comes through in his final product."
Participants raved about the excellent quality of this year’s curling ice.
The bonspiel began on Thursday night and ended Sunday. There were 192 curlers, aged 10 to 75. Men’s, women’s and mixed rinks were entered. Because of lingering pandemic concerns during the planning phase, the committee decided against a formal banquet and instead offered soups, pies, burgers and fries from the rink kitchen and its many volunteers.
The committee also held an online auction on its Facebook page and raised $5,900.
Winners of the A event were Alex Huish, Cory Purves, Darin Trimble and Austin Blezy. The B event was won by Liam Rutten, Zac Martens, Austin Hammermeister and Dylan Hull. Winners of the C event were Reg Renwick, Darren Elliott, Kirk Rutledge and Ryan Hull.
Adding to the excitement was the scoring of an extremely rare eight-ender, with the feat accomplished by Rachelle Apperley, Cassie Carriere, Hayley Huish and Lindsay Huish.
Farnden was very pleased about the success of this event.
“It was so refreshing to see the great turnout of curlers and fans to our bonspiel. After two years of being confined due to COVID, it was like a homecoming or family reunion. There were smiling faces and lots of laughs everywhere. And it was great to see curling back in the community again.
“We would like to thank all of the volunteers and committee members; your hard work and long hours were greatly appreciated and made this event a success. The donations that were received from our many sponsors were greatly appreciated and of course we need to thank the curlers for participating in this event.
“Although final figures are not yet known, including the online auction, we expect to have made approximately $30,000 from this event. All funds raised will go directly back into the community for sports and recreation upgrades.”
At this time, it is not known when the next large bonspiel take place.
