Old and young. Experienced and novice. Laughs and fun. Great shots, and the hog pot.

In a nutshell, that was the 2023 Tetra Tech Sportsman’s Bonspiel held Feb. 11-12 at the Whitehorse Curling Club.

Steve Fecteau’s fearsome foursome emerged from the pack of 24 men’s teams to claim first-place in the event.

Fecteau and 15-year-old son Benjamin were joined by Ben Robinson and Colton Jarvis in collecting 52 points to win Pool A and the overall title in the alternate-scoring event.

“The bonspiel was awesome,” said the elder Fecteau. “It’s a great format that gives an opportunity for all skill levels to compete and have fun. My son Benjamin really enjoyed it.”

Teams were divided into four pools of similarly-skilled teams in the competition. Each team played five six-end games over the weekend, and earned two points for each end won and one for each end lost. The results of the five games were then added up for the final standings.

In second place was the Matt McIver foursome, who won Pool D with 50 points, followed by the Scott team (four guys named Scott!) from Pool B, also with 50 points, and in fourth was the Solberg team, skipped by 13-year-old Aaron Solberg, from Pool C, with 47 points.

Teams also took part in a skills competition after their first game, the results of which served as tie-breakers in the standings. The word ‘skills’ was used loosely, as out of a possible 20 points, the highest team score was nine (the Sinister Curling squad), and one team (you know who you are) scored exactly zero in the event.

“It has been a long time since we’ve had this many teams in the Sportsman’s, it was a great weekend for all,” said organizer and participant Bob Walker. “And I would like to thank Chad (Cowan) and Tetra Tech for sponsoring the bonspiel, and also for their commitment to sponsor it in 2024 and beyond.”

Ages in the ‘spiel ranged from 11 to the mid-80s, and more than 100 curlers took part in the event. There were Brier curlers, first-time curlers, many father-son duos, and several rock-chuckers who had to search closets and dusty attics to find their long-neglected curling tools. A shout-out goes to the Special Olympics curlers who provided many moments of raw enthusiasm on the ice over the weekend.

Rounding out the top 12 teams who made it to the prize table (from 5th to 12th): Chad Cowan, Darol Stuart, Thomas Scoffin, Mike Tuton, Sinister Curling, Wade Scoffin, Frank Taylor and Inspired Interiors.

Next up on the calendar is the season-ending 69th Annual International Bonspiel from March 17-19. The event will feature women’s, men’s and mixed divisions. Contact the club for more information, or to sign up.

– Submitted by Bernie Adilman