SUNDRE — For the first time in nearly two years since pandemic restrictions were introduced, curlers returned to the local sheets to enjoy some friendly competition and camaraderie.
“This was the first spiel since, it would have been since 2020,” said Glen Smith, a Sundre Curling Club organizer for the open mixed bonspiel that was hosted at the local rink on Jan. 28-30.
The club had last hosted a few events near the end of 2019 and early in 2020, but had until recently been unable to make plans for any bonspiels.
“Obviously, you could tell that it’s been a while since they’ve had a chance to curl together at a bonspiel,” he said.
But despite perhaps being a little bit rusty, everyone really enjoyed themselves and organizers were pleased with the turnout.
“We got 16 teams, which we were trying to get,” he said, adding about half came from out of town including places like Olds, Didsbury and Cremona, while the rest were from Sundre. “So, it was a nice mix.”
All of the teams were full, meaning 64 players were on the ice with the spiel breaking down into four events.
The winners of the A event was a rink skipped by Lorn Anderson, while a team skipped by Colby Brian won the B event, the team skipped by Kyle Dunbar won the C event and the rink skipped by Smith won the D event.
“It went real good,” he said, expressing gratitude not only for the contributions and donations of the local business community, but also appreciation for the club’s members and volunteers who helped organizer and run the spiel.
Offering some feedback on their way home after the spiel, some of the visiting teams told Smith they were already looking forward to coming back out again next year.
Meanwhile, plans remain in place to proceed with this upcoming weekend’s ladies bonspiel, which according to the club’s website is booked for this Thursday, Feb. 10 to Sunday, Feb. 13.
“They still need a few teams,” said Smith when asked if any interested players might still be able to register.