A BOARD GAME THAT DOESN’T BORE! Top: There was a 78-year age difference between them, but Pat Scott (left) of Oliver and Auna-Joy Mahan, formerly of Oliver and now from Bonney Lake, WA, enjoyed a round of crokinole together on Saturday. At 83, Scott was the oldest participant in the seventh annual B.C. Crokinole Championship and at five, Mahan was the youngest. Players from around the province and beyond participated in the event at the Oliver Community Centre. Bottom right: Chuck Van Dusen (left) of Oliver faced Laska Hughes of Summerland in a round of the seventh annual B.C. Crokinole Championship Tournament, held in the ‘Crokinole’ Capital of Canada.Richard McGuire photos
Board game’s dexterity draws players of all ages to seventh annual tournament
Judging by the intent expressions on the faces of participants, Crokinole players take their game very seriously.
On Saturday, Oliver was briefly rebranded as “The Crokinole Capital of Canada” when the town hosted the seventh Annual B.C. Crokinole Championship.
More than 30 players came from all parts of B.C. and beyond, including a participant from Ontario and another from Alberta.
Even Oliver Mayor Ron Hovanes and the Oliver Ambassadors showed up to bring greetings.
Crokinole is a game played on a round board involving little wooden disks shot with the fingers. It requires dexterity and aim.
“I’m really oriented for angles,” said Quin Erzinger, of Peachland, who won in doubles on Saturday. “I see angles really well, kind of like pool, so I’m very good at it.”
Learning to get a straight shot is important, he said, because then you can control the angle at which the pieces strike and where they go.
The first tournament was organized by Clif Antypowich of Oliver seven years ago and has been held in Oliver ever since, said his wife Joyce.
Antypowich is no longer able to play for health reasons, but he watched this year’s tournament intently from his wheelchair.
One match brought together the tournament’s youngest player with its oldest. Auna-Joy Mahan, five, who now lives in Bonney Lake, WA, but is originally from Oliver, faced off against 83-year-old Pat Scott of Oliver.
“Auna-Joy first started flicking the buttons when she was only a few months old,” her mother Alta Mahan posted on the B.C. Crokinole Players Facebook page. “This year, for the first time, she was able to play in the tournament. She might not have been the best player there, but she played with heart!”
Erzinger, the Peachland doubles winner, also began crokinole at a young age, playing at his grandmother’s house 15 years ago when he was five.
“It’s fun and you get to flick a wooden piece around with your fingers really fast,” he said. “It’s awesome. It’s a lot of fun.”
Richard McGuire
Special to the Chronicle
