INNISFAIL – The Innisfail Curling Club welcomed young curlers from across central and northern Alberta for the 2020 Junior Bonspiel.
The annual event took place at the Innisfail Curling Club from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2.
“This is the third year we’ve done it. Every year we’ve grown so this year we have 20 teams in total and that’s the most we’ve had,” said Nancy McInerney, bonspiel co-organizer, along with Allison Dubray. “That’s 80 curlers plus coaches.
“We have a U-15 division and we have a U-18 boys' division and a U-18 girls' division,” she added.
The 2020 Junior Bonspiel winners were: Girls' U-15 - Team Northwood; Boys' U-18 - Team Chung; and Girls' U-18 - Team Yambao.
Curlers from across Alberta, including Innisfail, Red Deer, Edmonton, Rocky Mountain House, and Didsbury, competed in the bonspiel.
McInerney said the event also helped raise funds through entry fees and raffle draws.
“Any profit that we have at the end of the week ….goes back into the junior fund to support our junior curling program,” she said.
The Innisfail junior curling program runs September to March and helps young people learn to curl and provides opportunities for games every Monday and Wednesday.
“On Monday is the 12 and over (group) and on Wednesday is the 12 and under age group,” said McInerney.
One young curler who participated in her first U-15 Junior Bonspiel was 14-year-old Brooklyn Oxtoby.
She has curled for three years and was part of Team Banko.
“I dance and I golf so curling is just something kind of different,” said Oxtoby. “My dad won the farmers' bonspiel last year too and my great-grandpa curled, so it’s just kind of part of our family.”
Oxtoby said she and her teammates, all from St. Marguerite Bourgeoys School in Innisfail, were competing as a team for the first time and were learning from the experience.
“We usually don’t curl together. They had an extra spot open so we just put a team together and we practised every Friday for a couple of weeks,” she said. “This is our first bonspiel as a team and I think we’re doing all right.
“We lost both of our games so far, but I think we’ve learned a lot from it too,” said Oxtoby. “It’s just a fun experience too.”
McInerney said the junior bonspiel offers young curlers a chance to progress and learn the sport.
“In the U-15 division, we have a few teams that are just trying out the bonspiel,” said McInerney. “The U-15 (curlers) are getting their feet wet a little bit and seeing if they like it. Most of the U-18 teams are competitive.
“It’s good to have people from the community just come and watch,” she added, noting the community support and support from parents, grandparents and other family members.
McInerney said the annual event is also a chance to encourage young curlers in the sport.
“When you have your local club hosting an event it encourages the local players to start playing and then they put together a team,” said McInerney, noting one U-18 girls' team and one U-18 boys' team from Innisfail. “They see this (bonspiel), they play and then they start to curl competitively.
“It’s a way of spreading the branches, so to speak, and getting more and more people into the sport,” McInerney concluded.
