ELK POINT – The Elk Point Oilmen’s Bonspiel sweeps onto the Elk Point Curling Club ice on Thursday for the 40th time, but it can’t actually be called the 40th Annual Bonspiel. That’s because if there hadn’t been the two-year break in 2021 and 2022, this would have been the spiel’s 42nd year.
The 37th Annual Oilmen’s Bonspiel in 2020 was completed five full weeks before the escalating COVID-19 Pandemic shut down sports competitions along with much of life as we had known it before that time. The restrictions put in place following that time continued into the following two seasons, with Elk Point’s 2021-22 curling season cancelled after the requirement for double vaccinations in order to take park resulted in only six teams registering, which would not have covered the utility costs for the year.
The shutdown saw the start of a long planned renovation of the rink itself, with the sand base replaced by cement and the installation of Styrofoam insulation aimed at keeping the ice in prime shape when spring approached.
With the new ice in place, the Oilmen’s Bonspiel returned for its 38th year in 2023 with renewed enthusiasm, reportedly whetting the appetites to win for some of the many-time competitors, with 16 teams competing in the traditional four events.
That enthusiasm carried over to the 39th Oilmen’s in 2024 and saw the ‘A’ event grand challenge become a battle of past champions, with Leonard Gadowski and his Spring Park Knights taking on Jon Regnier and the Hahn Welding team in a rematch of the previous year, with the Knights successful this time around, by more than the “one point more” Gadowski said he wanted when he headed onto the ice for the final game of the weekend.
The 40th Elk Point Oilmen’s Bonspiel goes Thursday, Friday and Saturday of this week, and curling fans are welcome to come down and cheer on their favourites.
For the curlers and their guests, the bonspiel will wrap up Saturday evening with a banquet, dance and comedy entertainment.
