DAWSON CITY – The Dawson City Curling Club hosted the fourth annual Akio Saito Cup on Saturday to decide the league champions.

Eighteen mixed teams participated in the event, which had a particularly festive atmosphere to it.

In the end, it was the Ham Dogs, skipped by Paul Robitaille – alongside lead Jaimee Gilson, second Jemmy Laurin and third Connie Reimer – that took home the prize, beating Fraser 1, skipped by Ian Fraser.

Fraser’s rinkmates included lead Brenda Warren, second Chuck Barber and third Bonnie Barber.

Robitaille’s rink fell behind 4-0 in the first two ends, but proceeded to battle back, scoring a double and stealing one more in the third and fourth ends.

A hit by Fraser in the fifth end led to a single and a 5-3 lead.

The final end saw a ton of stones in play and with the last stone, Robitaille drew to the eight foot, scoring three, and winning the game.

Following the game, Robitaille said: “Ian Fraser was shooting darts out there, and we were lucky enough to have an opportunity to score points when it mattered most.”

This was a back-to-back victory for the Ham Dogs, and their third victory in the four years of the event.

The Akio Saito Cup was a single knockout format tournament, and ran over the course of one day.

The club was abuzz with players and supporters well into the night.

A turkey shoot occurred during the pizza dinner, with winner Ricky Mawunganidze drawing to the button on multiple occasions. For his win, Mawunganidze was awarded two buckets of KFC, which he graciously shared with all present.

The Dawson City Curling League had a great year, with 24 teams and more than 100 participants.

This was the fifth year for the reinvigorated league, which features beginner players and seasoned veterans.

– Report by Paul Robitaille