The Stonewall Curling Club hosted the largest tournament of the Manitoba Stick Curling Tour (MSCT) last weekend.
Stick curling, which follows most of the same rules as curling, is played in teams of two with six ends and six rocks for each team per end.
From last Friday to Sunday, the Quarry View ESSO Stonewall Open, the eighth stop on the MSCT, welcomed 30 teams as they vied for MSCT points over three days. A local duo won Sunday’s Open Division Final.
Stonewall’s Team Nespor/LaCombe duo won the Open Final and earned the most MSCT points, defeating Team Johnson/McDonald 8-3 in the Open Division Finals.
Harold Peterson and Herb Sulkers from the East St. Paul Curling Club defeated Barry and Terry Proctor of Woodlands 5-2 in the A-Event. The B-Event winners were Val Kolsun and Lorna Marr from the Springfield Curling Club who defeated Harold Hamilton and Willie Friesen from the Fort Rouge Curling Club 4-2.
“With 30 teams, Stonewall is one of the largest events because the number of sheets at some clubs can’t go as large,” said Manitoba Stick Curling Association co-founder and coordinator Fred Spiring. “It was also the top in awarding prize money. It’s a unique design there, and Ralph (Nespor, who also helped organize the tournament) has come up with a draw with a round-robin on the first two days and a championship and consolation round on Sunday to get everyone involved. Well done on a five-sheet rink, where normally we’d play on six sheets; Ralph made it work.”
Clayton Wadge of Quarry View ESSO, the tournament’s title sponsor, also played a big part.
Nespor, who now leads this season’s MSCT Open Rankings alongside his partner Rob LaCombe, said Wadge’s contributions made the tournament a smashing success.
“He ran the best bonspiel on the tour this year. He deserves a lot of credit for making it successful. Without him, the financial part of the tournament wouldn’t be as successful so he helped us big time,” said Nespor.
The MSCT has five tournaments remaining before the Open and Women’s Provincial Championships in mid-February. Fred Spiring and his wife, Britta Spiring, are responsible for organizing the schedule and tracking MSCT points, which will determine seeding for the Provincial Championships.
This year’s Open Provincial Championships will take place in Stonewall from February 21-23, while the Women’s Provincials will be held at the East St. Paul Curling Club from February 14-16. The winners of both Provincials will earn a bid to represent Manitoba at the Canadian Stick Curling Association Championships, scheduled for April 2-5 in Grande Prairie, AB.
The tour will continue next week with the Marquette Open, taking place from January 24-26 at the Marquette Curling Club. Teams of two, regardless of stick curling experience, are eligible to compete.
