Middleton curlers wear hearts on sleeves for Valentine Spiel
After a slow start to the month, February suddenly picked up steam at Middleton Curling Club – and not just because there was lots of Olympic Curling with Canadian contenders.
On Wednesday, Feb. 7 the Afternoon League held its annual Frank West Memorial, a one-day event that has been held for 20 years within the club. Frank was an ardent curler who lived on the same street as MCC and curled for many years. After his death, his friends decided that his years of loyal attendance were worthy of remembering with a trophy and so the event was begun.
The teams are made up on the day from those in attendance, play six ends and then stop for a lunch that is followed by another six ends. This year’s winning team was skipped by Norm Moffat and included Ron Keilbach, Rick Arsenault, and Gordon Delaney.
The 14th annual Valentine Spiel took place on Saturday with a full house of curlers wearing their hearts on their sleeves, ties, hats, and assorted other places. The ice was brilliant with all the red as teams played two draws of six-end games in the morning followed by a soup and sandwich lunch.
The points from the morning games were used to divide the teams into two flights, and then two more draws were played in the afternoon.
Organizers Dave and Nancy Acker make sure it is a successful day by having lots of door prizes over the lunch period in addition to great food, and then when the afternoon is over, everyone gets a prize for their curling.
Each year there is acknowledgement of the efforts that curlers make in their costumes, and this year Bonnie Morine won for her Valentine-themed cowgirl, and Ernie Killen for his “tuxedo” which relied heavily on duct tape for much of its styling.
The bragging rights for the day – and the trophy – went to Cody Spidle’s team with Dave Acker, Kathy Mackay, Buddy Mackay, and Howard Selig.
The one-day funspiels are a great addition to the club’s curling year, as entries are individual so you don’t have to work at finding a team. Those who register are divided into teams by the organizers, and Dave and Nancy will be hosting their second event of the year on March 10 – the Spring is Here Spiel, which is open to all whether a member of MCC or not.
On Feb. 18 youth co-ordinator Dawn Spidle is holding her Friends and Family Funspiel in which the teams are half students and half adult curlers. This is run along the same lines as the adult funspiels except the games are four ends, and since Dawn has been running the program, it has become a welcome fixture in the club calendar.
Chase the Ace on Friday as usual and more info at www. middletoncurlingclub.com