Winter Slam puts it right on the button

Tim Ruhnke  •  Special to The Recorder and Times
Jan 22, 2019  •  January 22, 2019  •  2 minute read
Tim Ruhnke, The Recorder And Times / Lorraine White sets up her teamís next shot at the Brockville Country Clubís inaugural Winter Slam curling showcase on Saturday.

It was a full house at the Brockville Country Club (BCC).

The club’s inaugural Winter Slam was held Friday and Saturday. The curling showcase featured two bonspiels and included a three-course dinner, live entertainment and craft brewery tasting sessions.

Winter Slam is a follow-up to BCC’s successful Summer Slam golf showcase held in June. Bob Jordan, chair of the organizing committee, noted in an interview on Saturday that Winter Slam is a way of promoting the game of curling to the community.

“Anybody can feel comfortable playing here,” he said.

The ‘business mixer’bonspiel on Friday evening had a corporate challenge theme. Teams played shorter modified games as part of the fun mixer. Most of the participants were novice players with little or no curling experience, Jordan said.

The Winter Slam main event on Saturday morning and afternoon had a classic points bonspiel format; each foursome was guaranteed two six-end games. Both bonspiels attracted full fields of 24 teams to the six-sheet facility.

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The rink skipped by Steve Wilson won the overall title on Saturday. Best dressed rinks in the two draws on Friday were Bernie Lachance (Bud the Spud and Alzheimer’s) and Henderson Digital Marketing & Printing. The awards for best spirit on Friday went to Your TV and Custom Decor and Carpet.

Perth Brewery was at BCC on Friday, and Windmill Brewery was on hand for the Saturday afternoon tasting. Spencer Evans played in the BCC curling lounge on Friday evening; Bob Londry and the G-Men performed on Saturday evening.

There was also a silent auction on both days. Proceeds from that and Winter Slam go into the BCC Curling Capital Reserve Improvement Fund.

Plans for the showcase event started taking shape in the summer.

“You’ve got to put the first one under your belt,” said Jordan, who noted that Winter Slam will be an annual event.

The 2020 edition is set for Jan. 17-18. This year’s BCC Summer Slam will take place July 20-21.

The range of curling options at BCC includes the Keystorm rookie league on Tuesday evenings and TGIF beer and doubles leagues on Friday evenings. For more information, visit brockvillecountryclub.com.