Willow Creek 4-H District holds curling bonspiel, dance

By Alexis Way, Willow Creek 4-H District and Fort Macleod Midnight Riders 4-H Horse Club
The Willow Creek 4-H District hosted a curling bonspiel and dance on Saturday, Jan. 6 at the Claresholm Curling Club.
The event was open to clubs, 4-H members in the 4-H South Region of Alberta.
Each club in our district was represented at the bonspiel, as well, we had 4-H members from Pincher Creek, Del Bonita, Seven Persons and Medicine Hat, which made up the eight teams of four members, as well as six cleavers.
When you walked through the door you were greeted, checked in and informed as to which team you were on.
The Claresholm 4-H Beef Club mainly organized the event, so we had teams called…Team Hereford; Team Charolais; Team Simmental, Team Limousin; Team Speckle Park; Team Longhorn; Team Angus; and Team Highland, which all added to the fun.
We had two pools with four teams in each. The teams consisted of a mixture of skill and ages, six to 18 with a variety of experiences, as many had never curled before, as well as mixing up the members from different clubs.
At 9 a.m. we started with the 4-H pledge and had a brief curling workshop “Learn to Curl”, for all of us and especially for those of us, who had never curled before. We then jumped right into our first game in a round robin tournament. Each game had four ends, except in finals, which had six ends. We also had a draw to the button, where the closest rock to the centre won a water bottle and toque, which was captured by Wyatt Dersaph, from the Seven Persons 4-H Beef Club.
While 4-H members were curling on the ice, the cleavers had a blast playing games upstairs. Games played included rocks and rings, bean bag toss, tie dyeing, floor curling and table curling as well as others. For lunch we had smokies and chips.
Our last curling game was at three o’clock which was finals. At 4:30 p.m. was our awards.
First place, with trophies and gifts, went to Team Longhorn, with Ward Murray, Levi Penner, Brooklyn Konynenbelt and Berkley MacLeod. Second place trophies and gifts went to Team Hereford, with Rylen Guitton, Matthew Donahue, Eva Mensaghi and Mini Habraken. Third place went to Team Limousin, with Josh Penner, Jocelynn Foote, Sophia Slettede and Alexis Way. Nobody went home empty handed, as all remaining curlers got to choose gifts from a selection of toques, tractors, coasters, wine gums, chocolate, card games, yoyos, flashlights and special gift bags with goodies for our cleavers.
For dinner we had a meal of pulled pork, caesar salad with ice cream floats. After our absolutely amazing dinner, we had a dance, but in true 4-H style. Members aged six and up had a blast line dancing, waltzing, doing the limbo (which I think Rylen Guitton went the lowest) and other fun games.
4-H curling is a great opportunity for 4-H members to get out, be active and have fun, all while participating, learning curling skills, developing leadership and sportsmanship, as well as interpersonal skills. The day was about working together, encouraging each other, making new friends, visiting with old friends, making memories, “Learn to do by Doing”, and most importantly having FUN! Oh Yes … and many of us learned a new language “SWEEP!! HURRY! HARD!”
The day was definitely, a huge success, and we have been asked as to when the next one is … “as they will be back” … so, hopefully, a second bonspiel next year. The day could not have been so successful without all the planning and preparation involved, by committee and parents, as well as cooking up some awesome food. Our appreciation also goes out to the Claresholm junior curlers, for lending us their brooms and equipment.