We are heading into the last two weeks of the curling season with one remaining practice on Sunday, April 7 at 3:00pm, one remaining bonspiel on April 13th, and our year-end banquet also on April 13. Here are the details:
- Our last regular Sunday practice will be held on Sunday, April 7 at 3:00pm for both Little Rocks and Bantam curlers – a final preparation for the K-W Granite Monkey bonspiel on the following Saturday. Note that our start time on Sunday is 3:00pm – the club hosts the BF Goodrich bonspiel earlier in the day.
- The K-W Granite’s Monkey Bonspiel is scheduled for Saturday, April 13 and Elmira has entered two Little Rock and two Bantam teams. Teams are still being organized for the bonspiel – if your child is interested please contact me as soon as possible. The bonspiel’s draw times are 9:00am for the first Little Rock game, and 10:30 for the first bantam game.
- Our year-end banquet and awards presentation will be held on April 13, immediately following the Monkey bonspiel, in the lounge at the Elmira club as part of our club’s annual year-end “Shindig”. Doors will open at 4pm for children who wish to play some party games (including Angry Birds) and we will be having a pot-luck dinner as well; if you are coming please bring a dinner item to share. For hot items, we will be able to use the club’s kitchen facilities for keeping things warm in the oven or heating to serving temperature.
The awards presentation will take place at 7:00pm on April 13. All Little Rock and Bantam/Junior curlers in attendance will receive a memento from the Junior program. In addition, we will start a new tradition at Elmira by presenting four special awards to youth in each age group. Each award honours the history of the game by being named after a famous player who no longer curls competitively. The awards are:
- The Ken Watson Sportsmanship Award, which will be presented to the player in each age category that exhibits the highest levels of sportsmanship both on and off the ice. The award is named after Ken Watson, three-time Brier winner from Manitoba in 1936, 1942, and 1949. Ken Watson is credited with the invention and championing of the slide delivery and, on his own initiative, started Schoolboy curling championships in Manitoba that were eventually adopted by all other provinces and became today’s provincial and national Junior championships. His contribution to curling is remembered each year during the Canadian Junior Championships, where a sportsmanship award is made to the most sportsmanlike player of each gender of the teams playing for the National junior title.
- The Vera Pezer Most Improved Player award, which will be given to the player who in the view of the coaching staff improved their curling skills the most during the past season. The award honours Vera Pezer, currently the Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan, four-time Canadian Ladies’ Curling champion, and the author of Smart Curling.
- The Sandra Schmirler Rookie of the Year Award will be presented to the Little Rock and Bantam/Junior player who exhibit the best mastery of the skills of curling in their first year in the program. This award honours Sandra Schmirler, Olympic gold medalist in Nagano, Japan in 1998 and three-time Canadian Women’s and three-time World Champion.
- The Russ Howard Most Valuable Player Award goes to the player of each age group who, in the opinion of the coaching staff, is the most valuable to their team or to bonspiel teams that are formed during the season. This award honours Russ Howard, who with 14 Brier appearances, an Olympic Gold Medal in Turin in 2006, and two Canadian and two World Championships to his credit, is arguably one of the most successful Ontario curlers ever to play the game.
Parents of the nominated players will be informed by email, with the winners announced at the Shindig at 7:00 pm on 13 April.