A family affair

The Shirtsleeve Bonspiel got its name eight decades ago when curlers would play the game outdoors, wearing shirt sleeves as a chinook breeze gusted in.

As the mercury plummeted outside the Lethbridge Curling Club Sunday afternoon, curlers taking part in the 80th annual Men’s Shirtsleeve Bonspiel were likely a little more content to be doing their rock chucking indoors.

For the Gary Jensen rink, that was a family affair that ended a week of curling with the $1,000 top prize as the historial bonspiel celebrated its 80th year.

Jensen and his rink of lead Merle Smith, Merle’s son, Cody at second and Jensen future sonin-law Spencer Cartmell defeated Calgary’s Rick Bishop, third Dave Keim, second Doug Puzzie and lead Daniel Hennessey 8-4 in the A-event final Sunday afternoon

“I’ve been on a winning team before, but never skipped a winning team. It's definitely an honour,” said Jensen, who hails from Picture Butte. “It went really well. We had a lot of fun, I curled with some buddies and my daughter’s fiancée. So that was kind of nice, we got the chance to curl together.”

For Jensen and Merle, the 80th annual Shirtsleeve Bonspiel is a tune-up for a little more competitive curling ahead.

“Merle and I are going to senior men’s provincials in two weeks (in Spruce Grove),” said Jensen.

As it heads into its eighth decade the Shirtsleeve Bonspiel continues to be the go-to event for curlers.

“It’s been going great. We’ve introduced a bit of a new pool format this year that the players really like. They play in pools and then move to a playoff system. It's been going well,” said Lethbridge Curling Club general manager Kirk Mearns. “It’s one of those things that has tradition. Curlers have just put it on their calendar every year. At the start of the year they say ‘Where is the Shirt Sleeve? Here it is.’ and that’s based on the value they get for their entry fee, never mind the prizes. It’s meals and all the value for the whole week. It’s just a tradition of good fun and good curling.”

Winning the B event and $800 was the team of skip Grant Gillies, third Darren Gillies, second Brady Gillies and lead Dustin Gillies.

The Kyle Beauchamp rink of third Les Lyckman, second Gary Lyckman and lead Tim Koba won the C-event and $700 prize.

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Herald photo by Dale Woodard Gary Jensen releases the rock as lead Merle Smith and second Cody Smith get the brushes down during the A-final of the 80th annual Men’s Shirtsleeve Bonspiel Sunday afternoon at the Lethbridge Curling Club. Jensen and his rink, which also consists of Spencer Cartmell defeated Calgary’s Rick Bishop to capture this year’s title.