Plainfield Curling Club

I tend to think that this time of year is bittersweet for curlers. Only the truly insane don’t start to look forward to some warmer weather. Perhaps the golf clubs start to beckon. A few of us think it wouldn’t be so bad for the knees to get a break. And the ice crew starts to imagine lives of leisure, freed from midnight scrapes and compressor alarms. 

But there’s also some great curling on television at this time of year, including Canada’s Tim Horton’s Brier and the World Championships in early April. Watching the level of play in those events makes curlers want to either practice more or simply get comfortable with our own mediocrity. If you’re in the vicinity of the club tonight around 8 PM, I would suggest stopping in for the Page 1-2 Game that will be a rematch of last evening — Martin vs. Howard. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a rivalry this good — two teams at their absolute peak, making every shot available while playing slightly different styles. When they face off, I am further convinced that our sport —  not soccer or, if you prefer, football — is The Beautiful Game. Seriously. I look forward to seeing one of these two teams — although a Gushue, Stoughton or Menard win is still quite possible — battling Scotland’s David Murdoch and the U.S.A.’s John Shuster at the Worlds in Moncton. 

This time of year also brings the kind of fun bonspiels that remind us why we enjoy curling so much. These events offer a chance to curl with different people and play the game for flat-out fun. They’re called toaster spiels in Canada — the winners wind up perusing a prize table full of slow-to-move inventory from local merchants. We may not have the toasters but we do have some great events. The Bonsqueal, of course, wraps up the season at our club and, as proof of its enduring popularity, is full again this year. There’s nothing like a long, loud weekend to wrap up the winter. Even if you’re not in the spiel, I’d recommend stopping by at some point. 

Our men’s  spiel, the PCC Stone, was held last weekend. Thanks again to Link Heffner for acting as organizer and affable host. Throughout the weekend, I don’t think I was ever at the club without seeing him and Patty. (I did notice that Patty always seemed to be working and Link always seemed to be talking. But both activities are essential to the success of the spiel.) As usual, the club really came together to make this a good  event. I loved the buzz behind the glass during many of the games, much of it owing to our Baggett Rule and the tidy sums available from the Calcutta. Great stuff. 

Final results from the Stone will be recorded this  way:

1st Event Winner: Dean Gemmell, Bill Peskoff, Steve Langanke, Michael O’Neill (PCC and The Canadian Club of Boston)

1st Event Runner-Up: Peter Austin, George Austin, Dan Tufaro, Bill Pekowitz (Ardsley)

2nd Event Winner: John Wilman, Bob Howell, Dean Roth, Ed Klug (PCC)

2nd Event Runner-Up: Bill Vallier, Karl Lohner, Dixon Fung, Ron Janes (PCC)

3rd Event Winner: Aaron Dubberley, Erik Conrad, Mike Matts Dave Capers (PCC)

3rd Event Runner-Up: Walter Baggett, Tim Klein, Jeff Klein, Dave Asano

4th Event Winner: Tony Steiert, Art Wilson, Rich Hess, Craig Sykes (Philadelphia CC)

4th Event Runner-Up: Benjamin Yeung, Barry Nichols, Richard Chin, Bob Bridgeman

Congratulations to all the teams that captured events and the cash that went with it. There are also a couple of additional statistics I should note. Bill Peskoff wound up capturing what he described as a, “…cheesy Triple Crown.” What’s this, you ask? Well, Bill was a member of the winning rink for all three of our club spiels so far this season — the Founders, the Thrifty and the Stone. Perhaps Foxy has a suitable trophy for this achievement — I’m thinking something along the lines of the rear end of a horse. Finally, Aaron Dubberley had to face the aforementioned Walter Baggett in two pressure-cookers in the same spiel. Aaron emerged victorious both times, allowing him to avoid the roll in whatever patch of ice chips the ice crew can find. Jason Valetutto was not so fortunate but accepted his result with honor and at least as much dignity as one can muster under the circumstances. Honestly,  I think we all lose when the Baggett Rule is invoked. 

In other results over these last few weeks, we saw John Wilman’s team (Sarah McCulloh, Dean Roth, Grace Roth) capture the 2nd Event at the Kayser in Rochester. A great showing for this rink in this 5-and-Under Mixed event. 

Our juniors have also been busy, with a full crew traveling to Schenectady for a bonspiel that took place the same weekend as the Stone. Our curlers played on a number of different teams — all had a terrific time. It’s great to see our young players traveling to events and discovering that curling is a sport that builds friendships for a lifetime. Thanks to Don Arsenault for driving a group to Schenectady, dropping them off, turning around and heading back to Plainfield for his game in the Stone at 9:30 that Friday night. (Okay, 10:25 that night. His game — and mine — followed the epic Baggett-Austin-Valetutto tilt.) 

That’s all for now. Enjoy the last few weeks of the season.