BetweentheSheets
SUNOVA CLASSIC SCORES BIG
Curling fever has really infected our community if the lounge packed with spectators at the recent Sunova Classic is any indication. All of those who gathered to take in the action at this major Manitoba Curling Tour event were treated to terrific displays of curling prowess by some of the Province’s best-known curlers and a number of recent Junior champs. In the Women’s Division the Kerri Flett rink from Selkirk, a perennial contender from Junior ranks, rolled to an 8-1 victory in the final over the Karen Rosser rink of Springfield. Meanwhile in the Men’s Division, the Beausejour team skipped by Daley Peters prevailed in a nail-biter, 5-3 over Kyle Peters of the Pembina Curling Club. Kyle Peters is a former Manitoba Junior Men’s champion, while Daley Peters, as the son of curling legend Vic Peters, sports some impressive curling credentials himself. For their efforts the Daley Peters rink took home winnings of $3,500, while the Flett team also sported bulging wallets to the tune of $2,200 following their decisive win. Photos of the two winning teams appear below. Ice-maker par excellence, Dennis Adams, did himself proud by preparing an ice surface that the competitors were raving about, no easy feat when the ice went in only a few days before the event. The hard work put in by bonspiel coordinator, Doug May, ably assisted by Megan Adams, resulted in a top-notch competition. A bonspiel featuring high-calibre curling, excellent fan support and very few glitches…what more could we ask for? Doug would like to express particular appreciation to event sponsors, Sunova Credit Union, Speedy Car Wash, Beausejour Co-op and FritoLay Canada for their generous financial support, as well as to UPCOMING BONSPIELS Are you finding that typical bonspiels featuring four players throwing two rocks apiece per end are too much of the same old, same old? For those of you thirsting for innovation, November 15 and 16 features Beausejour Curling Club’s firstever Mixed Doubles Bonspiel. Each team consists of only two curlers (one male and one female…it is a mixed bonspiel after all). Since there are only two curlers some serious multi-tasking will be involved…throwing the rock and sweeping, holding the broom and sweeping or all of the above. To avoid paramedics being called in to administer oxygen to the curlers, each game starts with one rock placed on the centre line in from of the house and one placed on the button just back of the t-line. So if you’re up for some real fun and a cutting edge curling experience at a reasonable price of only $50 per team, don’t miss out on this one. Just get in touch with either Doug May (268-4612 d_may@mts.net) or myself (268-1556 platimer@highspeedcrow.ca) to register. For the younger set (younger means under 21, not under 61), November 28 to 30 features our annual Junior Bonspiel. Entries from both junior men’s and junior women’s teams are welcomed in this last minute tune-up for the Christmas bonspiel in Winnipeg. So if you meet the stringent age requirements, get in touch with Dennis Adams (268-2440) by November 24 to register. Even if you don’t meet the age
The Newsletter of Beausejour Curling Volume 10 • Issue 1 29 Oct 2008 Editor: Peter Latimer
the numerous volunteers. The success of an event of this magnitude is directly the result of this type of community support. Well done!
requirements, please pass this information on to any junior aged curlers who may be interested and then come out and cheer them on. Also, a bonspiel like this doesn’t run by itself. If you have a little time to spare (and who doesn’t in the month of November), Dennis could really use your assistance. So please let Dennis know if you would be willing to help out. WEBSITE After many years of managing our website, Stuart Parrott has moved on to focus his energies on developing Beausejour’s speed-skating program. We are truly indebted to Stuart for his efforts in establishing our website in the first place and in keeping it updated with all the news from around the club. All is not lost, however, as Andy Taylor has generously agreed to step in and keep our website updated with all the latest BCC news. Although Andy claims that his web development skills are on a par with his curling skills the night after he has thrown his back out, a look at the website shows a relatively seamless transition. So make our website a regular part of your surfing habits. It can be found at www.beausejour.curlingclub.ca. INSTRUCTIONAL OPPORTUNITY Have you ever said to yourself, “Self, I wish I could deliver my rock without sliding on my knees or without using my left elbow as a rudder?” If so, a golden opportunity awaits you to
2 BETWEEN THE SHEETS OCTOBER, 2008
master the basics of the sport of curling or to fine-tune your already-exceptional curling skills. Seven members of our curling club, who have qualifications as instructors, have volunteered to offer their expertise to anyone wanting to improve their game on Monday evenings from 7-8 p.m. To take advantage of this great opportunity just let Leon Dionne know of your interest (on the rare occasions he is not at the curling rink, he can be reached at 268-3550) or simply drop by the curling club any Monday evening at 7. Best of all you can’t beat the price…FREE! Our sincere appreciation goes out to the seven volunteer instructors: Bob Rondeau, Reg Black, Rick Kaatz, Roger Bates, Dennis Adams, Stan Pleskach and Lance Wadelius. We would also appreciate you letting anyone who might have an interest in curling know of this opportunity. BIRD’S EYE VIEW Upon your first visit to the Ice-breaker Lounge for this new curling season, I’m sure you are awe-struck by the array of television sets above the window. While not offering the latest episode of Desperate Housewives, each of those television monitors delivers to you the live action from the away end of the sheet below. Thanks to overhead cameras above the house at the “away” end of each sheet of ice, you will no longer need to squint or pester the person beside you who brought along binoculars in order to figure out what is taking place at the far end. Each missed shot will be clearly visible for all to see. It is truly amazing that this project is now essentially completed when it was nothing more than an idea early in the summer. Accolades are due to Lance Wadelius and his committee of Gary Plohman and Glenn Lowery who pulled this all together through endless hours of hard work. Not only that, but through soliciting sponsorship from local businesses and individuals, Lance has managed to already recoup almost half the cost of this project. Others who deserve recognition for their contribution are Doug May for his invaluable assistance with preparing the decals, Dennis Adams for his patience and technical advice and the crew who assisted with the installation. These included George Kowalchuk, George McDougall, Jake Friesen, Leon Dionne, Don Kubish and Fred Muth. We plan to continue our sponsorship campaign with the goal of completely paying off the cost of the project by next year. Our thanks to our current sponsors: Lorne Ryall ($1,000), McMunn and Yates ($1,000), First Street Auto ($500), Len Wilke Real Estate ($500) and Superior Inn ($500). A second sponsorship opportunity is to have your name added to the plaque that appears by the monitors. Our contribtors to date consist of: Dr. Vivian Jacob, Beausejour Chicken Delight, Dr. Chris Kiazyk, P.J. Gmiterek Autobody, Back in Action Wellness Centre, Gary Plohman and Lance Wadelius. In addition, Dr.Garth Campbell has made a $200 donation to the project. Why waste your money on frivolous items, such as milk for the baby or new jeans for your teenager, when for only $100 you or your family can be recognized in perpetuity for your contribution to this invaluable addition to our curling club. Just let Lance Wadelius know of your interest; he will be delighted to hear from you. WHAT’S YOUR EXCUSE? To the great relief of most of you, the editors have decided to replace Shot/Flub of the Month with a new audienceparticipation feature, entitled What’s Your Excuse?…an idea that comes courtesy of the Pat Lachance MCA bonspiel entry last year. So this year we are looking for the most creative reasons heard for a sub-par performance, whether it relates to flawed curling technique or breaches of curling etiquette. So whenever you hear a particularly creative gem, be sure to let me know at platimer@highspeedcrow.ca or share it with any member of the club executive, who will pass it on to me. The best ones each month will appear on these pages. Of course your own team will never need excuses, and so you will have to
listen carefully to the ones conjured up by those n’er do wells whom you are curling against. ANNOUNCEMENTS Although our curling season is now underway, we would still be pleased to receive entries from those interested in curling in any of our leagues. So please get the word out. Our Wednesday Women’s league and Friday Mixed leagues are in particular need of additional teams or individual curlers. Anyone interested in registering or getting further information should get in touch with Evelyn at 268-3023. The co-ordinator of our Junior After-School program, Lisa Hnatyshyn, has been trying to recruit an individual to replace her in this role, but has had no takers. These youngsters are the future of our club and without anyone to co-ordinate this worthwhile program, the young people will find other alternatives to replace curling as their favoured winter activity. The organizational demands aren’t heavy, but still we need someone to take care of the ongoing details to make sure that the program runs successfully. If you would consider helping us out with this, please get in touch with Lisa at 265-3436. She will provide you with all the help you might need. A level 2 coaching course is being held on Thursday evenings from 6-10 p.m. at the Granite Curling Club from November 627 inclusive. To register go to: www.curlmanitoba.org/registercourse?id=118. Further information is available from Elaine Owen at the MCA office 925-5723. We are creating an e-mail mailing list of members so that we can keep you up to speed with fast-breaking news here at the club. So if you haven’t completed a registration form yet, please do so in order not to be left out of the loop. If you’ve registered but didn’t provide an e-mail address, please pass it on to me so that I can add your name to the “hot list”. VIEW FROM THE LOUNGE After being saturated with the coverage of the major sports on TV for the last few weeks, it occurs to me that a key aspect of curling’s universal appeal is the ease of slipping into “game mode”. Unlike football, baseball and hockey we don’t have to endure an extended pre-season period, practically as long as the regular season, just to determine the final team make-up. In curling a skip sizes up a new prospect by determining whether he or she has two arms and two legs, all attached in the correct position. He then poses a few pertinent questions to the prospective team member aimed at ascertaining whether he or she drives a vehicle with enough trunk room to contain the team’s curling equipment and can be counted on to purchase sufficient post-game refreshment to celebrate the team’s victories or to drown the sorrows of their defeats. If all checks out, the team is in place to begin the season. The phenomenon of pre-game strategy sessions also differs markedly between curling and other sports. In football and hockey the coach charts out plays on a chalkboard for hours in advance of the game itself covering practically every possible means of exploiting their opponents’ weaknesses. In curling , on the other hand, pre-game strategy consists of enjoying a pregame refreshment during which such curling-related essentials as grain prices and the intricacies of team members’ latest medical procedures are discussed at length. Any consideration of the upcoming game is limited to trying to determine which sheet of ice the team will be playing on and who their opposition will be. So if you’re looking for a sport where all you have to do is assemble a few warm bodies, shake hands and then begin play, curling is clearly the sport for you. Isn’t that what brings you back to it each winter? Until next month!