GREENSTONE — Move over Hockey Night, it's curling time!
The Longlac Curling Club recently hosted the Northern Ontario Curling Association’s provincial playdowns for players under 18.
The games were held from Jan. 3 to 7.
With chaperones in tow, 16 teams (10 teams of girls and six teams of boys) from across the northshore gathered to face-off for the championship.
Greenstone’s Mayor Jamie McPherson said that it was a “very busy time,” but everything went smoothly.
“I saw daylight in the afternoon of last Tuesday and I saw daylight yesterday. The rest of the time I was in the building,” McPherson said with a laugh. “It was a sprint to start the year.”
Outside of his mayoral duties, McPherson is president of the local curling club.
He noted that the Longlac Curling Club is in a particularly good spot, geographically-speaking, to host events like the U18 championship, because it’s almost halfway between Fort Frances, Kenora, and North Bay – meaning no one involved had to drive more than eight hours to get there.
Fortunately, the weather also held out for everyone.
“No 40 below and no blizzards, so the weather was good the whole week people were here. The kids could walk from the hotel to the curling club,” McPherson said, adding that everyone involved had a fun time.
“We had very good playdowns, exciting curling - the curling club was full for a week,” he said.
In the end, the Dubinsky girls team from Kakabeka Falls Curling Club won the championship game and will be advancing to the national finals.
“It’s a very big thing for the young people. It was really good for the community."
Finals for the U18 category will be held Feb. 5-10 in Ottawa.