It was far from the most well attended major tourney the Innisfail Curling Club has ever hosted but the quality of competition was nevertheless stellar for the annual ladies classic.
The 2016 Innisfail Ladies Bonspiel is in the books after almost 50 curlers from 13 teams from Innisfail and the region battled it out from Jan. 29 through to 31.
Typically the club attracts between 24 and 32 teams, but competition from other events in the region forced organizers to hold the local bonspiel in late January instead of the usual mid-February dates around Valentine's Day.
“We are trying to find a way so that we do not coincide with all these other events,” said Joanne Daines, who organized the bonspiel with Lowell Peterman, club ice tech manager and Doug Schaefer. “We are going to try and switch it up next year and have it the last weekend of February.
“The Innisfail farmerettes bonspiel was just on, and then the ladies bonspiel and now we all head to the Red Deer farmerettes tournament,” she added. “We want to have a little break in between and change it to the last weekend of February.”
But even with fewer teams this year the Innisfail Ladies Bonspiel, which was sponsored by Sylvan Lake's Cabinet Creations, produced excellent and fun competition, said Daines.
The A title was won by the Sylvan Lake team of skip Leanne Sather, third Carol Robertson, second Marian Oehlerking and lead Lesley Hill. Along with their trophy, the A winners also picked up a cheque for $500. The B title went to the Innisfail squad of skip Irene Saunders, third Sheila Schimke, second Bev Romane and lead Dev Graham. The B winners claimed a plaque and a cheque for $400.
“It was really good; a lot of fun. Everyone totally enjoyed meeting the new teams. We had a great game against the A team winner,” said Daines, who was on the Innisfail team that lost the fiercely contested A title match.
“It is really good. Every team is tough,” she added, noting there is a lot of hope for the future in local women's curling. “We are starting to get young girls, some juniors coming in. We are getting more and more younger teams, which is what we want because in a while there will only be just a few of us around to do it.”
Meanwhile, the club's next major event is the Innisfail Mixed Bonspiel from March 11 to 13. For more information on the Innisfail Curling Club visit its website at www.innisfailcurling.com.
Joanne Daines
"It is really good. Every team is tough. We are starting to get young girls, some juniors coming in. We are getting more and more younger teams, which is what we want because in a while there will only be just a few of us around to do it."
