The ice went in October 1. Curling started October 12 to open the new season.
The Yorkton Curling Club (YCC) leagues have been set up for the year. Monday nights the Knights of Columbus take to the ice at 7 p.m. followed by the super league.
The super league has grown to 12 teams this year, an increase of four teams from last year, reports YCC manager Neil Weinmaster.
Tuesday at 7 p.m. a men's and ladies' leagues curl.
Ladies league curling begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday evenings.
The men's league returns each Thursday at 7 p.m. with the mixed league curling goes ahead Friday nights.
The unseasonably warm weather didn't hamper the installation of the ice nor the curling. reports Weinmaster. "We've run into this warm weather a few times during our install and we kind of know how to deal with the warm weather and keep things going. As long as our plant runs we're okay," he states.
The first major curling event of the year, the Grain Millers Sask. Men's Curling Tour went ahead over the past weekend, featuring 12 teams from across the province. "It's a good event with some excellent curling," Weinmaster reports.
The event had six qualifiers, similar to an ABC event, two from the A side, two from the B side and two from the C. Those six play off to determine a champion, Weinmaster explains.
The event final at 4:30 Sunday evening had Mark Herbert of Moose Jaw taking on Dale Craig from Saskatoon.
The event was sponsored by Grain Millers for the first time this year, Weinmaster notes. "We hope to continue with them down the road," he adds.
While the YCC doesn't have a lot of major events scheduled this season, Weinmaster says the next big event is the ladies' cash bonspiel sponsored by the Corner-stone Credit Union featuring the Sask. Ladies Tour December 2, 3 and 4. The event is currently full with a full complement of 16 teams entered. Another eight teams are currently on a waiting list, Weinmaster reports. "We have a really good turnout of ladies this year and lots that want to get into our events so that's encouraging to see," he continues.
The YCC bonspiels will begin in January with a Knights of Columbus provincial bonspiel at the end of February. March will see the regular ladies', men's and mixed bonspiels, Weinmaster lists.
While league participation has increased, the YCC is always open to more curlers, says Weinmaster. "We're up slightly but we have lots of room to grow," he suggests. "If anyone is looking to enjoy some evenings out, we encourage you to contact us at the curling club at 783-4127," Weinmaster closes.
The winner of the Grain Millers trophy and the cash prize was the Herbert rink of Moose Jaw. Team members included skip Mark Herbert, third Rob Auckland, second Matt Froehlich and lead Travis Gansauge.
Herbert says the team had a good weekend in Yorkton. "It was nice to get some points on the Sask. Curling Tour to help us get a berth on the provincial Tankard. That's our goal," he declares.
The YCC cash spiel is the fourth bonspiel for the foursome. "We've had a tough season already but we'll play three more events before the playdowns so it'll be seven spiels in total," Herbert explains.
The competition on the Sask. Curling tour is excellent. Every game is tough. "You come out and hopefully you've prepared yourself and played enough events. You come out and weather the storm. We got a couple of breaks that went our way and we were fortunate enough to win," Herbert states.
He suggests his team plays a bit on the defensive side. "We like not as many rocks in play. We play a little more defensively and then when we get the opportunity to score multiple points we try to make good on those," Herbert explains.
The ice was excellent all weekend as were all the volunteers who worked the event. "All the volunteers work hard to make these great events for the curlers," Herbert closes.
