The 2015 Osoyoos Junior Bonspiel was a roaring success with close to 60 youngsters from Osoyoos and across the South Okanagan participating. (Keith Lacey photo)
The future for the sport of curling in and around Osoyoos looks very bright.
Close to 60 junior curlers from across the region gathered at the Osoyoos International Curling Club this past Saturday morning for the club’s annual Junior Curling Bonspiel.
The parking lot outside the facility was packed as not only was there a tremendous turnout of young curlers, but a crowd of close to 60 parents, grandparents, sisters, brothers and friends cheering on the young curlers.
“This might be our best turnout yet for the junior bonspiel,” said organizer Kelsi Bissonette, who has organized this particular event for the past four years. “We not only had a lot of kids from Osoyoos, but we also had kids from Oliver, Penticton, Summerland and Grand Forks.”
The whole idea of the junior bonspiel is to introduce youngsters between the ages of seven or eight and 14 to try out the sport and have some fun in a non-competitive environment, said Bissonette.
“The hope is at least a few of them will sign up for our junior league,” she said. “We would love to see more kids in Grades 6 and 7 get into curling because we really need kids between the ages of 13 and 17 to start playing and hopefully be interested in joining our senior leagues down the road.”
There were a lot of volunteer parents who showed up on Saturday to keep score and provide tips to the young curlers and she really appreciates the assistance of everyone who helped out, said Bissonette.
Curling is one of the most economically affordable sports there is and you get to meet some wonderful people, get in decent shape and have a ton of fun every time you hit the ice, she said.
The Osoyoos Junior Bonspiel is here to stay and hopefully the event will continue to grow in the future, she said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
