Off the Broom: Thanks to all for a great curling season!

Another bonspiel under our belt—the ladies held their annual spiel in late March at the Kincardine Curling Club, and there was a nice mix of local and out-of-town teams that attended. The format was two eight-end games with points determining the winners. 

The overall winner of the day was the late draw team of Tania Dickson, Erica McKeag, Bobbi Jo Patterson and Kyla Dickson with 36¼ points. Finishing second in that draw, was the Guelph team of Donna Buchan, Linda Tartt, Katrina Lindsay and Giselle Vanneste.



Overall winners in the ladies bonspiel, from left, are Bobbi Jo Patterson, Kyla Dickson, (young fan), Erica McKeag, Tania Dickson; photo courtesy of Anne Burton

Early draw winner was the Walkerton team of skip Tracy Cassidy, Michelle Elphock, Mary O’Hagan and  Brenda Schumaker, with the Kincardine team of Anne Burton, Gail MacIntosh, Heather Struthers and Margaret Cale finishing hot on their tail. 

When the prizes were awarded, everyone mentioned how great it felt to be able to get back to playing in a bonspiel and some normality again. Thanks to all the fellows who were in charge of the kitchen and the ice—you did a marvellous job! Canadian Tire, Sleepers Bed Gallery, Country Depot, Gordon Pharmasave and Carol Quinn provided prizes and raffle items. Thank you, sponsors!

Port Elgin has been awarded next year’s Ontario provincial championships for both men and women. The club had a successful run this year, hosting the men’s provincial Tankard during which many Kincardine club members volunteered their time to help. I am sure this will be the case next January as well. The 2023 Ontario Tankard and Scotties will take place January 23-29.

The latest Pinty’s Grand Slam event was held in Toronto at the Mattamy Athletic Centre - this historic venue previously was known as Maple Leaf Gardens. Several members of our club were there to watch some of the best in the world compete. This was the last chance to personally see these teams before the big changes being made for next season. The curlers have one more Slam event in Alberta to finish off their season. It will be exciting to see who will be making up the new teams and who we will now want to cheer for or against.

One final fund-raising event for this curling season is happening soon. Join us for dinner at Boston Pizza, Thursday, April 28, from 5-8 p.m. The more diners, the more dollars we make, so mark that date on your calendar.

The third session of our season has come to an end. Winners of the Tuesday competitive draw A flight, was the five-man team of Les Shane, Mike Meraw, Gord Cale, Nate Capeling and Maurice Wilson. Monday night mixed winners were headed up by skip Pat Pringle, Russell Lee, Marie Pringle and Kathleen Young. Wednesday doubles winners were Brian MacEachern and Kevin Fournier. The Thursday night draw top dogs were Sam Turcotte, Andrea Turcotte, Matt Murphy and Kathleen Young. The other draws, such as the OFL and Thursday 3’s, did not declare winners.

There is still time to sign up for our “Fore”th annual golf tournament to be held at Ainsdale Golf Course, Sunday, June 26. The tournament is open to everyone. For more information go to the Kincardine Curling Club Facebook page or our web page.

And finally as our season ends, a big thank you to our board of directors for all the work it has put into this season to make it a great and safe one. These past two years have not been easy to navigate but with all the board’s hard work, we did. Thanks to our ice man, Chris Turcotte, and his helpers throughout the year, and finally, a huge thanks to all the businesses in town that sponsor and support our club. We could not do it without your help.