The 100 Mile Curling Club hosted 14 teams from across the Cariboo for a weekend of camaraderie and competition at the annual Ladies Bonspiel.
Held from Friday, Feb. 28 to Sunday, March 2 the bonspiel saw 10 100 Mile House teams compete against three from Quesnel and one from Williams Lake. In addition to the three days of curling participants enjoyed a banquet Saturday night with a 50/50 draw and a safe ride home provided by the 2025 Peter Skene Ogden Secondary School Grad Class. Suzanne Morin, one of the organizers of the Ladies Bonspiel event and the skip for Team Morin, which ended up winning the A event, said that it was "fantastic" to hold the tournament.
"The ladies are wonderful and it's our final event of the season. We have four bonspiels in total, so it's nice to finish it off with the ladies," Morin said.
She added that teams from Quesnel and Williams Lake come to 100 Mile House for the event because the bonspiel has established itself as having a reputation as a "really fun event."
"The pay-as-you-win is very popular because people don't necessarily have to win the entire event to win some money and get a little bit of their entry fee back," Morin added.
One of the players from Quesnel, Carly Backer, who ended up winning the B event in the Ladies Bonspiel, said that it was always fun getting out of town and supporting other clubs.
"We like it when other clubs come to our bonspiels, so we like to do the same for other clubs, and it's a good getaway for us girls," Backer said. She noted that the Ladies Bonspiel had been great, albeit not without some challenges.
"The ice has been challenging for us because it's pretty heavy compared to our ice at home, but it's been fun to learn and play on new ice," Backer said.
Meanwhile, Sandra Coldwell, who was the third for Team Morin, stated that the team involving her and Morin formed around two years ago, and has already participated in around three or four bonspiels. She remarked they have a lot of fun, even when they don't place well.
"I'm super excited about this one because I'm also a big organizer for it. So I'm very invested in it, and it's always such a lot of fun," Coldwell explained.
Coldwell agreed with Moron that it's the reputation of the Ladies Bonspiel that attracts curlers from out of town.
"We put on a great bonspiel. And I think that's why we're seeing so many people. I think we would have had more out-of-town teams this year as well (if not for the Brier)," Coldwell said.
She noted she believes that the 2025 Men's Brier in Kelowna, which runs between Feb. 28 to March 9, likely attracted some teams that would have otherwise come to 100 Mile House.
Coldwell said that the motto that curlers live by is "when we curl, let's play well."
The results of this year's 100 Mile Curling Club's Ladies Bonspiel are as follows:
A Event Winner: Team Morin (Skip: Suzanne Morin, Third: Sandra Coldwell, Second: Barb Byrne, Lead: Louise Crothers)
B Event Winner: Team Backer (Skip: Carly Backer, Third: Angie Curle, Second: Maryanne Morrison, Lead: Deanne Nickolet)
C Event Winner: Team Hamilton (Skip: Maria Hamilton, Third: Lynn Gerwing, Second: Celeste Faessler, Lead: Jean Dall)
