The Cloverdale Curling Club’s annual ‘Candy Cane’ Bonspiel was a great success. Twenty-four teams competed, travelling from across the Lower Mainland, Howe Sound and Oregon, whose Portland team made the big trek up the I-5 to join in the tournament.
By all accounts, the women enjoyed great games and had a lot of local fun.
The club was decorated in the Christmas style, and a generous amount of breakfast goodies for the curlers was always near. There were 50/50 draws every day, raffle prizes for the weekend and each draw on ice had prizes for scoring ‘3’s or better at the end of that draw.
Club President Laureen Hull said the success of the bonspiel was the direct result of the committee group’s thorough efforts.
Volunteers dedicated hours to prepare the club for the bonspiel, decorate, organize team draws, obtain prizes and be there around the clock.
And the impressive part of this was that most of the members of the hardworking committee were out curling with their own teams in between volunteer work.
“It not only takes a village to raise a child, but it appears to also take a village to run a successful bonspiel,” said Hull. “I’m extending a big thanks to all the committee members as well as the volunteers who worked behind the scenes.”
“You can’t run an outing such as this without that help,” she said. “We also really need to thank Cloverdale club manager Judy MacKinnon, who was a constant calming presence throughout the weekend, making sure many, many things went off as they should. Marj, Fran, Donna, Susan, Betty, Beryl, Judy B. and Laureen G., we couldn’t have done it without you!”
Hull also said that the club was thankful for all the local sponsors and individuals who contributed prizes and support, and it was their help that made the annual event such a success.
“Last but certainly not least, we want to thank the curlers themselves who always come out and make this bonspiel a hit,” said Hull.
The winning team was Team Clark from the Cloverdale Curling Club.
Second place went to Team McFadden from the Royal City Curling Club and the third place winner, again from the Cloverdale club, was Team Roemer. A big congratulations to all winners and all teams who competed.
The Christmas Candy Cane Bonspiel for Senior Ladies will be back next year, so if you’re thinking of getting in, check the club’s website next fall and register early. This one fills up fast.
There is still time for you to curl at the club this season. There is room for individuals, teams and drop-in curlers right up until March.
The next bonspiel at the Cloverdale Club will be The Open in late January, 2017. Open bonspiels are played with regular teams of four but can consist of any combination of men, women or juniors.
For more information or to register, visit www.cloverdalecurlingclub.ca or call the club at 604 574-4483.
-Gary McLaughlin for Cloverdale Curling Club
