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Roaring Game Alive and Well in Myrnam
Roaring Game Alive and Well in Myrnam
Michelle Pinon - News Advertiser
Canadians coast to coast have a special love for the sport of curling. The great winter pastime is one of the few remaining amateur sports that promotes friendliness, honour and good sportsmanship.
The Roaring Game originated in Scotland, and has been a mainstay in communities throughout Canada for well over two centuries. The first organized curling club formed in Montreal, Quebec in January of 1807. Today, there are around 1,000 curling clubs in Canada.
One of those club’s is the Myrnam Curling Club. Orest Wisniewski, who hails from Hairy Hill, was one of 64 players who participated in the Myrnam Curling Club’s Farmer’s Bonspiel this past weekend. Wisniewski has been curling for 56 years. He started curling back in high school and hasn’t stopped since. “It’s good exercise and there’s a lot of socializing,” smiled Wisniewski.
Curling has been a constant in the Village of Myrnam for many years, the present location of the Myrnam Curling Club marked its 50th anniversary in 2017, but had been played by locals long before that.
Club President Connor Yackimec said he’s been curling out of the Myrnam rink for almost 20 years! “My parents were always avid curlers, so the decision to get into the sport was an easy one for myself. This is my second year as the President of the Club. We have a great executive that is always bringing new ideas to the table.”
Yackimec was very pleased with the response and support for the Farmer’s Bonspiel. “We had a great turn out with 16 teams in the bonspiel this year from local communities. We had teams from Myrnam, Derwent, Two Hills, Innisfree and even a few players from Edmonton! Obviously, we couldn't run a spiel like this without the help of our volunteers and numerous sponsors!”
As far as regular league play throughout the season, Yackimec said, “We have 14 teams in our league this year. We operate an open league so any teams are welcome!
The club is hosting a men's and ladies bonspiel in February, and will be trying out a two-person bonspiel in early March. “It will be a first for our club so hopefully it goes well!”
