Spartans over Devils

A number of local athletes stepped to the podium at the first-ever Eastern Regional Summer Senior Games that attracted 319 participants to Smiths Falls, August 23.

Participants representing the local District 8 which includes Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell and Akwesasne brought home a number of medals in bridge, euchre, golf, cribbage, darts and horseshoes.

Leading the way were Jim and Judy Scott of Morrisburg who claimed the gold medal in darts.

Rene and Rheal Giroux added a gold in horseshoes and Hilda Bouvier and Marlene Neal, a gold in cribbage.

On the links, golfers from South Dundas gave a good showing.

Elise Muir (who plays out of Cedar Glen) won the golf medal in B flight and Joan Findlay (also Cedar Glen) backed her with a bronze. Nancy Warner claimed the silver in A flight, while Monique Patenaude (who plays out of the Morrisburg Golf Club) won bronze. In the Callaway category, Barbara Phifer (Cedar Glen) won silver.

In men’s action, Donald McMillan was third in B flight, and Dale Swerdfeger won the Callaway division.

Pat Durin and Mary McDonald picked up bronze in contract bridge and Clifford Duquette and John Cadieux teamed for a silver medal in euchre.

District 8 will host the Eastern Regional Summer Games in 2013.

The senior games are run seasonally as winter and summer events, and every second year (alternately between the two) qualifiers lead to activities at the provincial and federal levels.

Next year’s summer qualifiers will lead to play at the Ontario 55 plus 2012 Summer Games to be hosted by Brampton in August and the Canadian 55 plus Summer Games in Sydney, Nova Scotia, August 29-September 1st.

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Anita and Larry Cooper’s daughters, Amy and Ashly, continue to curl up a storm in major competition. Last week they had their Cornwall team, skipped by Mitch Baker, in the big Royal Lepage Bonspiel in Kemptville. They won four games and lost two, just missing the quarter-finals. One of their wins was against a team from Arsenal, in Halifax. 

Some of the best female curlers in the country were there, and in a thrilling final, Sherry Middaugh defeated Jen Hanna for the title. Amy and Ashly still curl here in the competitive league, and you can watch them on Thursday nights, competing with some of the best curlers in our club.   

     Cornwall held their Ladies’ Senior Invitational Bonspiel last week, and the Morrisburg Club was represented by two teams. Alice Thompson, Susan McIntosh, Betty Locke and Sharon Van Allen competed in the early draw at the six-sheet facility. They defeated their first opponent, Lancaster, handily before lunch, but were pitted against a strong team from Brockville in the afternoon, dropping that match 6-3. Brockville took home cash awards, but our ladies were too far down the list for that. There were a number of prizes drawn, though, and two of our folks won there.

Our other team, Gretta McGann, Cheryl Thompson, Yvonne Mabo and Claire Locke, lost their first game to an R.A. quartet, and then played a tough Vankleek Hill foursome in their afternoon game. They almost pulled off a win, but fell just short.

Prescott’s senior men came to town for a friendly match against our fellows. While these were friendly, they were quite competitive. Jack Barkley, Dwight Gilmer, Doug Jarvis and Paul Gunther bowed to their opposition in the last end, with Larry Berry, a rather youthful retiree, making some good shots against us. Don O’Brien, Len Bellamy, Dave King and Jim Millard triumphed over Lloyd Bilmer’s foursome on centre ice, while in the final match, Martin Shneckenburger, Neil Williams, Ron Beaupre and Robert Martin played their opponents to a draw. The usual sociabilities and a fine lunch ended the event, with enough sandwiches left over to treat the Thursday morning curlers.

Susan McIntosh announces that her second two-person bonspiel will be held here on November 20th, with 24 teams in the mix. Get your name in early. These bonspiels fill up fast.

Our best wishes go out to a few of our curlers, with injuries, health problems and deaths in the family of concern to them.

 Finally, a sobering thought from Raymond and Sandra Benoit, who sent us a copy of the Montreal Gazette. We learned that the Ste. Anne de Bellevue Curling Club in the Montreal region has folded. With only 54 members and a $60,000 annual budget, the club, founded in 1923, will have its property rezoned and sold. Senneville is the West Island’s smallest municipality, with about 900 residents, and it is expected that three houses will be built on their land. While our club is managing financially, under careful stewardship and support from many local businesses, more members would help, and frequent rentals and bonspiels would assist with our own finances. Keep us in business, folks!

That’s it for now. 

Good curling! 

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