2016 Pincher Creek Town and Country Bonspiel

Josh Davis

Pincher Creeks Town and Country Bonspiel ran for 6 days two weeks ago, with draws starting on Monday and a banquet.  22 teams competed, including men's teams, women's teams, and mixed teams. Players competed in teams of four; however, many teams were larger, with players switching out with each other and taking turns as spectators. The Town and Country bonspiel is a long running event in the town of Pincher Creek. Curling is a great activity that is open to participants of all ages. The Town and Country is the last bonspiel Pincher Creek's curling club put on for the season.

I had a conversation with Lee Hochstein, an organizer who said he has been doing the draw for over a decade. He's been a curler for around 35 years, "I know a lot about curling. I enjoy it, its one of my passions," said Hochstein. He explained that a lot of curlers get involved in lining up the prizes, and that the event is very well supported by businesses in the town. "We try to get new curlers to come in, to support curling" explained Hochstein. "We try and get our teams to bring in at least one or two new curlers in, so that they can get the hang of curling, and see if they like it. Hopefully from that we can get new curlers in our league." 

Hochstein indicating that 22 curlers is slightly up from the previous year. "This year we've got eight men's teams, up from five. But there wasn't too long ago when curling was really popular in Pincher Creek, and we had as many as twenty-eight teams." Hochstein sited issues with the building being one cause for the decline in participants. "But we're coming back, in full force."