FRIENDLY COMPETITION
Annual Reggie Gaudet Memorial Cribbage Challenge celebrates 30 years between New Waterford, Truro
Cribbage challenge celebrates 30 years between New Waterford and Truro.
Alex (Sugars) Leadbeater remembers the day as if it was yesterday – the day a friendly game of cribbage turned into 30 years of memories.
Leadbeater and his brother Baldy were visiting their brother-in-law, Reggie Gaudet, in Truro during the summer pf 1988.
The family members had decided to play a game of cribbage, much to the pleasure of the visitors.
During the game, Baldy Leadbeater suggested to Gaudet they should create teams, one from New Waterford and one from Truro, to play against each other for fun in a tournament-style event.
“It didn’t mean much to us at the time,” said Alex Leadbeater.
“We started playing them and it was great fun and it went from there.”
The first tournament was held at the Cavalier Tavern in New Waterford. The tournament later moved to Johnny Gaetan’s garage on Queen Street in River Ryan after the local tavern was destroyed in a fire.
Unfortunately, Gaudet, a founding member, later died and the future of the tournament was in jeopardy. However, both teams wanted to continue the event in memory of Gaudet, which remains the case today.
“When he died they (the Truro team) asked us if we would keep this tournament going — we immediately agreed,” said Leadbeater. “It’s hard to believe we’ve hit another milestone.”
The 30th annual Reggie Gaudet Memorial Cribbage Challenge will take place on Saturday in River Ryan with cards being played at 12:30 p.m.
Each team has eight players in the tournament. Four games take place at once and, as they finish, the winning team “screams” their community’s name.
A trophy is presented to the winning team for their accomplishment at the end of the tournament.
Leadbeater, who plays cribbage every Wednesday at the Army and Navy Air Force Club in New Waterford, admitted at the time the tournament was created, he never thought it would last 30 years.
“It got bigger and bigger as the years went on,” said Leadbeater. “We never dreamed of it being as big as it is today.”
New Waterford and Truro take turns hosting the cribbage tournament each year. The New Waterford team currently leads the series 17-12 heading into Saturday’s tournament.
“We gave them a couple of games because we felt sorry for them,” laughed Leadbeater. “They’re a great bunch of guys and you can’t meet a better group — they’re excellent.”
“Both sides don’t want to lose. I remember one year, halfway through the game, Reggie gathered his team in a huddle in the corner to try to come up with a plan to beat us.”
Over the years, the players from both communities have become really good friends, so close the Truro players are invited to sleep on air mattresses in Gaetan’s garage when they come to Cape Breton.
“It saves them from having to waste money staying in a hotel for the weekend,” said Gaetan. “We’re all really good friends – if they have any players that
die, we usually go up for their funeral and they usually do the same for us — we’re almost like family.”
As part of the 30th anniversary, each player will receive a special jacket and T-shirt. Gaudet’s daughter, Karen, will also be presented with a gift during the event.
“I hope they’ve been practising because we’re ready to go,” laughed Leadbeater. “We’re looking forward to them arriving — they love coming down here and we love having them.”