The Athabasca Curling Club Society’s mixed bonspiel last weekend drew 22 teams and saw a rink helmed by Trevor Martin win the A event.
The Deren rink won the B event, while the Cornelis rink won the C side of the three-day event at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex.
All teams started on the A side and were guaranteed three games; depending on whether they won or lost, they stayed in the A event or moved to the B or C events.
Curling club executive member Stan Lyle said 22 teams is a good turnout given the state of curling in Alberta as a whole.
“Curling clubs are struggling right now,” said Lyle. “They’re struggling to keep people in regular league play; they’re struggling with their bonspiels.”
The sport has a great deal to offer, said Lyle.
“It’s not just about the curling; it’s about the social aspect of the game.”
He said the mixed bonspiel had few frills, though there were commemorative glasses for winners and a dinner on Saturday evening. Other bonspiels offer more entertainment to entice teams, said Lyle — Athabasca’s ladies bonspiel, for example, usually features karaoke and door prizes.
“They put on a very good bonspiel, but the entire ladies league (18 teams) is involved. They all take on a little aspect and they all make it happen.”
Athabasca’s mixed bonspiel did attract one out-of-town team, from Legal.
“To attract teams from other communities can be difficult,” said Lyle. “They’re struggling with their own clubs and bonspiels.”
As for why the sport is flagging, Lyle suggested Albertans have too many other demands on their time.
“We’re an extremely busy province, work-wise,” he said. “It’s difficult, for league curling, to commit to that night every week. A lot of teams have maybe five or six players and struggle to get four guys every time.”
He noted anyone who works a night shift or spends weeks away in the oil patch can’t make the league commitment.
“You start to see a general age in the membership, and you’re always looking to see 30-year-olds starting to curl,” he said.
But those younger adult demographics have other sport commitments, often on behalf of their children, said Lyle.
Still, he said, Athabasca’s leagues are much healthier than some in neighbouring communities, which may no longer have enough teams for a league.
“And then they’re sitting there with their facilities … they’re hurtin’,” he said.
Athabasca’s curling club, by comparison, has a strong executive and substantial funds from working casinos. It spent a good chunk of that money on a new feature for the sheets at the multiplex this year.
“What used to happen is that pre-season, they would come out and they would paint the sheets white. They would paint the rings and everything — put all that down, and then flood. It would be about a two-week process,” said Lyle.
This year, however, the curling club purchased $18,000-worth of floor coverings with all the markings and advertisements pre-painted on them.
“They just roll out, kind of like big carpets,” said Lyle, and ice is applied on top of them, turning what was once a two-week process into a one-day setup. “It’s a labour saver. In a few years, the multiplex will realize savings.”
As for the overall quality of this year’s mixed bonspiel, Lyle — whose team lost out in the A semifinals — said, “All any curler wants is a good game where the skill dictates the game, not ice conditions … And sure, you want to win, but … you don’t want to kick anybody’s arse.” That standard of play, he said, was attained.
