Dozens of curlers took part in the 100 Mile Curling Club’s Mixed Bonspiel last weekend.
Club president Eugene Gerwing said the competition went smoothly with 16 teams of men and women competing to see who was the best. Gerwing said the majority of the teams come from the club’s own mixed league but that several out-of-town teams from Ashcroft, Clinton, Kamloops and Williams Lake also came out to compete.
“As long as you run a good bonspiel people seem to like coming back and taking part,” Gerwing said. “It’s been really good this year.”
The bonspiel was separated into three categories with teams competing for the top position in each. By Sunday Gerwing said the C Event winners were South Cariboo locals Karen Smith, Gord Smith, Hollis Ney and skip Ed Ney.
In the B Event meanwhile, Pat Hamilton, Jean Dall, Tom Dall and skip Maria Hamilton beat out the competition to take home the bragging rights and first place. Skip Lorne Folk led Trudy Folk, Deanna Zielke and Allan Mitchell to victory in the A Event.
Gerwing noted that the ice was in great condition compared to last year after the club inadvertently flooded the rink with untreated water. The main challenge this year has been the unseasonably warm conditions which has led to a buildup of frost on the ice that club members need to scrape off before events.
“We’ve got some help from the Cariboo Regional District to make the facility a good facility to use and curl in. The CRD has agreed to help us with dehumidification and we’ll take away the problems we have in October and March out of the equation,” Gerwing said. “Then we’ll have excellent conditions for the whole season. All the big problems are solved so now we’re focused on the small problems so we can get some good championship ice. We want people to come enjoy it with us.”
Anyone interested in curling this year can still join, Gerwing said. The club’s leagues are always in need of alternates to fill in for players and runs a drop-in league on Wednesdays. Those interested in getting involved can email 100milecurling@gmail.com.
“You can do as much curling as you want this year then register in a league next year.”
The club’s next bonspiel is the men’s bonspiel scheduled for Jan. 12 - 14, 2024.