SUNDRE – The local curling rink was pretty well packed to capacity and brimming with the energy of enthusiastic players over the past weekend for the annual season wind-up open bonspiel.
Sundre Curling Club organizers were pleased by the turnout, with the event maxing out with a couple of rinks that were on a wait list.
“We just went with 28 teams; that’s pretty much full for the lounge as far as what we can feed and handle for meals,” said Lonnie Halladay, club president, adding the teams mostly came from the region but that one rink of younger players from Edmonton also came down.
“There was some top-notch curlers,” said Halladay.
And they all not only got to satisfy their desire to play, but along the way also to satiate their palates while enjoy the chance to catch up, he said.
“The food was good, the friendship and camaraderie was outstanding,” he said.
Players enjoyed an opportunity to feast merrily on Friday night during the banquet, with the Sundre Community Van standing by to provide the revelling rinks with safe drives home that evening as well as Saturday. The service, which Halladay himself put to good use, was offered at no cost to the curlers courtesy of the Sundre Oilmen’s Association.
“It was a whole lot easier to do that than worry how I was going to get home after closing everything up,” he said.
Final games wrapped up on Sunday, with the bonspiel breaking down into four events.
The team skipped by Travis Phillips defeated the Parker Konschuh rink to win the A event, while Skip Colin Jorsvick and his team beat the Kevin Irving rink to claim the B event title.
Brian Krall led his rink to victory in the C event against Colby Brian’s team, and the team skipped by Taylor Olsen defeated Kala Notley’s rink in the D event.
“Our bonspiel ended this season in a huge a success,” he said. “It was good to see some action in the lounge, the rink was alive; it was great, it was fantastic.”
Beyond a chance to socialize and curl, the spiel also offered an opportunity to build some intergenerational bridges, he said, adding one family that attended had members from four generations in the building.
“I think for me, one of the best parts was the children that were wandering around the curling club; it was so nice to see,” he said. “Whether they were one year old to 12 years old, they were welcome; there was no issues of squealing kids, they were all having fun.”
“I’ve got a place in my heart for the little ones, and just seeing them wandering around barely able to walk and there’s people looking out for them; everybody’s looking out for them,” he said. “For me, that’s what it’s all about.”
Looking back at a year that featured an eight-week curling introduction program for Grade 5 students as well as a physical education curling component through the Sundre High School, Halladay called the past season a great success and expressed gratitude to the many helping hands who make it all possible alongside appreciation for sponsors who help keep the sport affordable.
With the Sundre club’s 2022-23 curling season now in the rearview mirror, the group is already looking ahead to the spring and summer with plans to ensure the rink will be ready to host events including the weekly farmers’ market that gets started in May.
