Simcoe County is a hotbed of curling, and there’s no better proof than when a World Champion shows up at the local Curling meet to play with the local clubs.
That’s what happened this week on the first night of the second-annual Major League Curling Challenge at the Cookstown Curling Club.
Glenn Howard and Brett Laing showed up on one of the teams from the Atlas Block Major Curling League out of Penetanguishene.
“It’s one of the great things about this sport,” said organizer Ken Leach of the Microworks Curling League in Barrie. “Everyone comes out of the same zone so we can see how good you have to be to win the worlds.”
Leach matched up against Howard in the first round and, with luck on their side, bested Howard 5-3. It was the only win for the Barrie Club in the first night of play but as Leach said it was a “nice win.”
“When you go up against them (Howard’s team) most of the time we’re at a disadvantage since they’re so good,” he said. “But the ice here is a little tricky. That levelled the playing field.”
Begun last year to promote competitive curling within the area, the four top teams from three Curling Clubs within Simcoe County compete at the tournament: the Microworks Major Curling League based at the Barrie Curling Club, Brown's Major League in Cookstown and the Atlas Block Major Curling League in Penetanguishene.
The top four teams from each league play each other on an aggregate points basis, with the league with the most wins coming out on top.
The winners take home their share of the entry fees plus something more important.
“The winners take home the bragging rights,” said Don Hickson, president of Brown’s Major League. “Or at least for the next twelve months until the next one.”
There’s been a great response to the Challenge from the clubs and the organizers plan to make it an annual event that will go on for decades.
“It’s tremendous to get the top teams out against each other,” said Leach, saying that the teams see each other regularly in more competitive situations but that this is more relaxed. “There’s great competition and great camaraderie. It’s about pride of league.”
Additional first round results include John Owen (Brown’s) over Al Corbeil (Microworks) 7-6, Tim Belcourt (Atlas) over Cory Heggestad (Microworks) 7-2, Bill Hiller (Atlas) over Dale Matchett (Brown’s) 8-2, Todd Gillard (Brown’s) over Al Moreau (Atlas) 7-5, and Andrew Thompson (Brown’s) over Cam Bain (Microworks) 8-7.
The second round is to be played on Tuesday, April 8 at the Cookstown Curling Club.
