Stick to it

Bluenose Curling Club hosts provincial tournament

Twenty-eight teams competed at the Bluenose Curling Club this past weekend at the Harding Medical Provincial Stick Curling Championship.

It’s a vast increase from the first championship held in 2007, when only eight teams took part, says Keith Bennett, president of the Nova Scotia Stick Curling Association.

He believes the sport is growing in popularity because it appeals to seniors who want to stay in the sport.

Instead of crouching to throw a rock, in stick curling, participants use a stick to slide the rock while they stand.

“You look at the demographic of curling,” says Bennett. “A lot of the curlers are getting older. Their hips and knees and other body parts don’t work as well. This is a way for them to still play and be competitive.”

At last year’s championship, there was one game where three of the four players competing were in their 90s.

There is also less sweeping involved because there is no sweeping allowed between the hog lines.

The spinoff benefits are that it gets people out of the house and socializing, he said.

John Marshall of the Bluenose Curling Club was one of the local competitors in the tournament who made it to the semifinals this year.

“It’s a lot of fun,” he said. “If you’re in sync with your other partner on the other end, it’s a real good sport.”

ADAM MACINNIS/THE NEWS Paul Doucet of Yarmouth Curling Club watches a rock during the semifinal round of the open division of the Harding Medical Provincial Stick Curling Championship held in New Glasgow Feb. 16 and 17. Doucet and his teammate Dave MacDougal went on to win the competition.