Utica Curling Club event

Utica — The Utica Curling Club will host the 135th Mitchell Bonspiel, which includes 36 teams from the U.S. and Canada, from January 9-12. The Mitchell Medal was donated by industrialist Alexander Mitchell to the Grand National Curling Club, an organization of eastern curling clubs. It was first competed for in 1885 and the Utica Curling Club has hosted the tournament since 1910. Made of 18K gold it is one of the oldest medals played for on the North American Continent. The name of the winning team is inscribed on a plate attached to the medal which adds to the tradition and to the competitive atmosphere of the event. Although the Mitchell Bonspiel is an invitational, Utica teams are determined through a club championship play down which this year involved 14 teams. Five teams qualified form the UCC club championship play downs. Their skips and rankings are as follows, Utica #1, skip, Roger Rowlett, Utica #2, skip, Dean Kelly, Utica #3, skip, John Davis, Utica #4, skip, Pat Costello, Utica #5, skip, Conrad Law. Utica #6 was selected as a curling ambassador and will be skipped by Israel Acosta. The Utica Curling Club is open to the public to view any of the matches which start at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, January 9. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11, and 11:30 a.m., Sunday, Jan. 12 respectively. They will also be streamed live via UCC’s web site. For more information regarding streaming, local curling, upcoming clinics and information regarding the Mitchell Bonspiel contact www.uticacurlingclub.org. The club is located at 8300 Clark Mills Road, Whitestown.