Off the Broom - Kincardine Curling Club news

The Thursday Early Draw has now completed its final schedule and the winning team was Anne Burton, Nancy Boyer, Steve Meldrum and Mike Bunker. Hot on their tail, were the second-place finishers, Noel MacIntosh, Rob Ross, Beth Mimnagh and Courtney Lingaitis. The Late Draw will continue until the end of March with a mini-bonspiel format. A little late in reporting it, but the winners of the Thursday Late Draw first half, were Sam Turcotte, Joel Van Geest, and Anne and Doug Kukurudza.

Peter Kirkpatrick, Jim Roberts, Mark Luckhardt and Art Doughty were first-place winners at the Hanover Open bonspiel.

On a somewhat blustery day (and we have had a few!), Shelley Henderson, Jenny Showalter, Marion Fink and Fran Barnes headed off to Belmore to participate in the Ladies bonspiel. They lost their first game against Wingham but came back with a win over Belgrave in their second game and finished the day in third spot. According to one member of the team, the food was wonderful and they had a great time but there was no wine!

The first annual Fam-Fest took place Feb. 17 in Kincardine. The curling club was one of the places where friends and family could come to give curling a try, from 1-4 p.m. There was a good turn-out of participants, and many were young kids. We hope that everyone enjoyed their experience and may even join up next curling season. Thanks to the volunteers who helped out.

Our club hosted the Baseball and Brooms Mixed Bonspiel, Feb. 23, which was Curling Day in Canada. First off, a big thank you to Erin Simmons who undertook the running of the 'spiel even though she is not curling this year. Not everyone is a Blue Jays fan but they were vastly outnumbered by the many curlers who were decked out in Blue Jays shirts, hats and even capes and socks, in staying  with the theme.
The Early Draw was full with eight teams, and the winning team included Barb and Ray Kester, and Robert and Barb Ross. Finishing in second place for the second straight year, was the team of Anne Burton, Noel and Gail MacIntosh and Frank Paquet—always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Third place was won by Gord and Margaret Cale, and Dan and Jenny Showalter. The remaining teams were skipped by Dan Norman, Russell Lee, Doug Kukurudza, Pat Pringle and Marie Pringle.
There was a slight mix-up with the entries for the Late Draw, so there were only six teams participating. Taking first place, was the team of Kevin and Michelle Brown, and Archie and Tracy Bonifacio. Second place went to Craig and Helga Urie, and Craig and Jill Ellis. Both of these teams curl out of the North Halton Curling Club in Georgetown. Craig, a former Kincardine resident, was in our Junior Curling program many years ago. It is always nice to see some of the former curlers returning to the club. Third-place winner, was the team of Cathy Alcombrack, Bob Lockwood, and Chris and Fran Barnes. Team Gord Shantz, Team Sam Turcotte and Team Jen Lawrie rounded out the participants on that draw.

The Huron Heights Public School students have been coming to the club to try their hand at learning the game of curling. The winter weather certainly played havoc with their schedule but all the students did finally get their turn. A huge thanks to Chris Turcotte for organizing this, and to all the volunteers who helped out. It is our hope that the kids enjoyed their time on the ice. More than one student remarked that it was sure a lot harder than it looks like on television. Isn’t that the truth!

Our Ladies Bonspiel will be held March 23, and we could do with a few more teams. Sign-up sheet is at the club or call Ashley Knight for more information.