CANORA — After the disappointment of cancellation during the pandemic in 2021, a Family Day curling tradition returned to Canora on February 21.
The 16-team stick bonspiel was held at the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre. Vern Schick, organizer, said curlers appreciated the opportunity to hold the event again, especially after missing it the previous year.
“Sixteen teams worked out well because we have eight teams on the ice at a time during round robin games, and no one has to play back-to-back games, at least until the semifinal and final,” said Schick.
Adult curlers taking part are expected to deliver rocks using the stick method, but students are allowed to choose how they shoot.
“Students can use their sliding delivery if they want, we don’t want to mess up their regular delivery for other bonspiels,” explained Schick.
The rules for stick curling are a bit different from the regular game. Each team throws six rocks per end, no takeouts are allowed until the fifth rock including rocks in the house, games are six ends, and no sweeping is allowed until the rock has passed over both hog lines. Teams are allowed one timeout per game.
At the stick bonspiel, the teams were divided into four pools for the round robin portion, and each team played the other teams in their pool once. The top team in each pool advanced to the playoffs, which turned out to be four local teams.
In the first semifinal, Ron Hoehn and Arnie Makowsky took on Bill Foreman and Robert Waselenko. Foreman and Waselenko got off to a hot start and cruised to victory, booking a spot in the final.
There was a lot more suspense in the second semifinal pitting Natalie Trebick and Peter Wiwchar against Bob Kolodziejski and Joey Palagian, a student at Canora Composite School. The teams traded single points and battled to a 2 to 2 tie after four ends. But Trebick and Wiwchar kept applying pressure, and scored a 4 to 2 victory.
The final was a high-scoring game from the start. Wiwchar made a delicate last-rock tap to score three in the second end for a 3 to 1 lead, and it looked like Foreman and Waselenko might be in some trouble. But Foreman replied with a tricky last rock takeout in the following end for a massive five points, and he and Waselenko went on to claim victory.
The draw to the button competition was sponsored by Del Palagian in memory of her late husband Ted. Bob Kolodziejski of Canora took the first place prize of $60, and Don Probe of Canora won $40 for his second-place finish.
In addition to the top four teams mentioned earlier, the other teams taking part included: Blaine Medlang and Nick Bodnar of Sturgis, Donna and Bob Lumley of Norquay, Jan and Laird Gervais of Crystal Lake, and Vickie and Darryl Stevenson of Burgis Beach. Other local teams were: Nick Woloschuk and Brian Herriges, Vern and Judy Schick, Ernie Gazdewich and Don Probe, Bill Gulka and Dave Zbeetnoff, Bailey and Shawn Kolodziejski, Lenny Bazarski and Lionel Dutchak, Al and Jackson Palagian, and Kelly and Leanna Beblow.
