A total of 24 teams, including all 12 teams that currently play in the Osoyoos ladies league at the Osoyoos International Curling Club, will be participating this weekend when the 2017 Osoyoos Ladies Bonspiel takes place. Action begins late Friday afternoon and continues Friday evening before resuming Saturday morning and continuing all day. Semi-finals take place Sunday morning, with the finals in all three divisions set for Sunday at 2 p.m. (File photo)
Being able to win your hometown bonspiel is a rather big deal and that’s why every team in the Thursday night ladies league has signed up to compete in this year’s Osoyoos Ladies Bonspiel at the Osoyoos International Curling Club.
“All 12 of our teams in the ladies league have signed up for the ladies bonspiel,” said tournament organizer Betty Steinbart. “Being able to win on home ice at your local club is always pretty exciting and all of the local teams will be trying their best at this year’s event.”
A total of 24 teams are registered for this year’s event.
The 2017 Osoyoos Ladies Bonspiel begins Friday afternoon with the first of three draws set for Friday.
Action will resume Saturday morning and continue into the early evening. The semi-finals in all categories will take place Sunday morning with the championship finals in the A, B and C draw set for Sunday at 2 p.m.
Other teams from Hope, Summerland, Midway, Oliver, Kelowna and Penticton will be competing along with the 12 local teams, said Steinbart.
Because local teams make up at least half of the field, Osoyoos teams traditionally do very well in this bonspiel, said Steinbart.
“We usually have at least one local team in each final, but there are some good teams coming in from out of town, so you never know,” she said. “It’s a fun event, but we do have some very good competitive teams every year and it’s a real honour to win the title at our ladies bonspiel.”
Local curling fans are invited to take in the action throughout the course of the weekend, said Steinbart.
The Saturday night social and banquet is reserved for competitors and their spouses, she said.
Unlike the recent Osoyoos Men’s Bonspiel, there won’t be cash prizes to the winning teams in each draw, said Steinbart.
“We talked to a lot of the ladies who signed up and they still prefer a prize table,” she said. “We get tremendous support from the local business community and there are some wonderful prizes up for grabs once again this year.”
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
