On Feb. 4, Snow Lake's Ladies Bonspiel kicked off as it normally does with teams of women curlers made up, done up, and dressed up, streaming onto the ice surface to the strains of some very loud bag pipe music! Oh, and it only got better from there! Entries were up; there were 24 primarily local rinks entered in the affair, with others coming from around the North. Moreover, from the outset, the curling seemed secondary; having a good time was first and foremost on the minds of many of these bonspielers!
Mary Ann Otto took to the microphone shortly after 8 p.m. Friday night, declaring the 58th Annual Bonspiel open. After waiting for the whooping, wailing, and whistling to subside, Otto welcomed the curlers and then asked former Snow Laker (now a resident of Flin Flon) Michelle Simpson to lead the group in the singing of "O Canada." Prior to calling on the club's president to say a few words, Otto thanked the bonspiel committee for their work on the event.
President Judy Peterson welcomed curlers and wished them luck during the weekend, as did event sponsors HudBay Minerals and Snow Lake Home Building Centre.
Back at the microphone, Otto asked everyone to join her in wishing Ben Foord a happy 91st birthday. Ben is a fixture at the rink during women's bonspiel; both as a permanent spectator and in making sure everyone knows who is curling on which sheet! Otto also thanked the workers in Gina's Hole in the Wall downstairs and Sharon's Clubroom upstairs. Following this she introduced Zone 1 Champions and Provincial Scottie representative team of Kelly Wiwcharuk, Jodi Cockle, Georgette Sicotte, and Shelia Ritchat, who threw the first rock that officially opened the bonspiel.
After a day and a half of curling and a banquet that I'm told was loaded with laughs, the spiel came down to the final games on the afternoon of Feb. 6. Those games saw Snow Lake's Kelly Wiwcharuk rink of Jodi Cockle, Larissa McLaren, and Shelia Ritchat win out in the HBM&S First Event final with a 14-1 drubbing of Flin Flon's Leclair foursome (five-ender). Snow Lake's Macleod team and Flin Flon's Evans rink were third and fourth respectively. In the Cornerview Second Event, Flin Flon's Sharon Beck rink of Bev Lantz, Sharron Russell, and Michelle Simpson bested the Kluke team from Snow Lake with a final score of 12 - 2 (five-ender). Flin Flon's Leptick foursome and Snow Lake's Jackson rink ranked third and fourth in the event. In the Snow Lake Home Building Centre Third Event, it was Flin Flon's Wanda Rogers foursome of Lois Moberly, Sara-Lynn Koop, and Kendra Moberly winning 8-2 over fellow Flin Flonner, Terry Kennedy. The Pas' Smigelski team and Snow Lake's Brew rink were third and fourth. First out of the bonspiel (out of town) was Limoges (FF) and the first out (in town) was the Sicotte team. The biggest end award went to Pam Wiwcharuk's team who scored a six-ender and Shelly McCartney took home the Hogged Rock Award.
After the awards were handed out, Jodi Cockle made a special mention of the Sicotte rink. Cockle noted that the Sicotte matriarch and patriarch, Nancy and George, were a big part of the community of Snow Lake and the sport of curling within the community. She noted how wonderful it was to have a team of their offspring out to curl in the annual ladies event. She called forward the Sicotte rink, made up of Georgette, Julie (who travelled all the way from Kelowna B.C., Madeline (Lydia's daughter), and Michelle, and presented them the key to the town and the first out award.
