By Julia Ziolkowski
Centretown curling fans are in for a treat when the City of Ottawa Bonspiel rocks the capital March 17.
The 44th annual event attracts over 1,000 curlers, says Revia Fisher-Titus, secretary manager of the Ottawa Valley Curling Association (OVCA). Fisher-Titus expects teams from all over Ontario, Quebec and New York state, and even one competitor from Finland.
There will be 17 Ottawa Valley clubs involved in the bonspiel with 22 curling teams.
Fisher-Titus says the event is very important to the city.
“It certainly allows for a good camaraderie through all the different clubs and through all the players,” she says.
“You meet a lot of good friends.”
The winner of the bonspiel is awarded the grand aggregate trophy.
The finals include four teams who’ve played eight games and haven’t lost one.
The team who wins the finals is the grand aggregate winner.
“It’s not an easy competition,” says Fisher-Titus. “It’s a prestige thing.”
The trophy will be displayed in the winner’s club, engraved with the team’s names.
The winners will also get a crest, stating “Grand Aggregate Winner,” which they usually put on their curling jacket, says Fisher-Titus.
The bonspiel is open to men only and has three main divisions — the open event, open to any age; the senior event, open to those 50+; and the senator event, open to those 65+.
The bonspiel is open to men only because “it’s just always been that way,” says Fisher-Titus.
Last year a questionnaire was distributed to the curlers to see if they wanted to make the bonspiel mixed but, she says, the overwhelming response was to keep it “men only.”
Fisher-Titus points out the women have their own “women only” bonspiel called the Crystal Heart Classic in February.
This year they raised $12,500 for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.
There is also a mixed bonspiel in January called the Ottawa Valley Mixed Bonspiel.
A part of the entry fee curlers pay for the bonspiel goes towards their Friday night meal and entertainment.
“The association (OVCA) doesn’t make any money off this — money comes in and it all goes back out to the clubs,” says Fisher-Titus.
Because there will be individual banquets held at the clubs on the Friday night instead of one big banquet at the Ottawa Civic Centre, the clubs are able to make a small profit.
Steve Amyot, manager of the Ottawa Curling Club, welcomes the revenue generated by the bonspiel, explaining local clubs operate on a small budget.
“I wouldn’t say that they’re lacking money, but there’s not a club in town that doesn’t need more,” he says. “Curling operations are very expensive to maintain.”
Amyot says his club has been preparing over the past month and a half for the bonspiel.
Most of the curlers from the Ottawa Curling Club who will participate in the bonspiel play at least twice a week, says Amyot.
Sometimes they practise up to four times a week, he says.
The Rideau Curling Club is also participating in the bonspiel and has been preparing for it over the past month.
“It’s something that a lot of the teams at the club level look forward to every year and start gearing up for,” says Greg Richardson, manager of the Rideau Curling Club.
Richardson also says he likes the banquets being held at the clubs because it’s a more personal venue and generates some much needed money for the clubs.
Opening ceremonies are March 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the R.A. Centre on Riverside Drive.
Ottawa mayor Jim Watson will throw the first rock and the curling begins at 7 p.m.
The bonspiel ends March 21 with closing ceremonies at the Ottawa Curling Club on O’Connor Street.