Mission curlers can enjoy a blast from the past as the Mission Granite Curling Club brings back an old favourite, just in time to celebrate this community’s 125th anniversary.
The 2017 McLachlean Bonspiel is set to take place March 31 to April 2 at the curling club, located in the Mission Leisure Centre.
“This is a spiel that we used to do years ago,” said club member Shirley Olson. “What it was, years ago, was a way to bring in new curlers.”
The event is designed for teams to be made up of two experienced curlers and two inexperienced curlers. It allows for novice curlers to enjoy tournament play.
Olson couldn’t remember the exact year the club stopped hosting the McLachlean, but thinks it was in the mid-1990s.
“What we are doing now is making the McLachlean Bonspiel an ‘in memory of’ event. So this year it is in memory of Mary Rockwell. Next year it might be in memory of someone else.”
Rockwell was a long-time curler and club member.
Interest in the new version of the old bonspiel is high.
“We have people coming from out of town, who used to belong to our club, for this event,” said Olson.
There are already 22 teams signed up for the bonspiel, but there is room for more.
“It’s good to bring back these things that we used to do.”
The 2017 McLachlean Bonspiel/Mary Rockwell event takes place March 31 to April 2. The cost is $30 per curler and every team is guaranteed three games.
To register, call 604-826-7444, or call Mike Freeman at 604-855-3137. You can also email missioncurling@gmail.com or visit the website at missioncurling.ca.