Stellar Club hosts Brier cup curl

STELLARTON - The Stellar Curling Club will be throwing well above hack weight this weekend as it prepares to host one of the sport's most coveted prizes, the Brier Tankard.
The trophy, claimed first by Nova Scotians in 1927, is part of a Brier Trophy Super Saturday event at the club.
Stellar Club member, and Nova Scotia Curling Association northern region director, Pat Williams, said the day will include a six-team tournament - 'a nice social spiel,' as he says - and the arrival of the tankard. The 2010 Tim Horton's Brier takes place in Halifax March 6-14.
Additionally, event organizers will be on hand to unveil a unique Pictou County silver coin for the Keith's Brier Patch. The coin will be one of six in circulation for the Brier tournament, and each will represent an NSCA region.
For those who aren't familiar, the Brier Patch is the social hub of the Brier tournament and the coins are a type of currency for it.
The Super Saturday event is great exposure for the local club, said Williams. He's hoping for a packed house for this rare opportunity.
"It's a social event that represents the spirit of the game of curling. There will be good curling, good fellowship and a piece of history right here in Pictou County," he said.
The teams involved are Williams' Stellar Club rink, John Marshall of the Bluenose Curling Club in New Glasgow; two New Caledonia rinks: Scott Maston's and Mike Murdock's; and two Westville rinks: Yvonne Legere's and John Thompson's.
Draws are at 9 a.m., noon and 4 p.m. The Brier Patch coin unveiling will take place - and the Brier Tankard will be on hand - between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The event also appears to be a win for both the local club - and for the Brier tournament itself.
Co-chair Hugh Avery, who may be familiar to some curlers in this county, said he sees the tournament as an event on the provincial level.
"I want the entire province to feel part of it, especially a lot of the smaller clubs. That's where I grew up," he said.
"Just taking the trophy to some of these smaller clubs, I thought, would be a really great idea. At the end of the day, it's your regular Joe curlers across the entire country that really support this sport and allow us to be as successful as we are," he said.
Avery said he recognizes the impact an event like this will have on a smaller club like Stellarton's.
"Even if it's a few hundred dollars extra in sales. Those go a long way to a club, which is non-profit. It helps keep the doors open, and that's the idea."