4 clubs, 56 teams, 1 prize

For the hobby curler this weekend is a date circled in red on the calendar.
It's a time when 56 teams will congregate in Pictou County to play in four curling rinks and battle for the coveted Ship Hector Trophy.
The 38th annual Ship Hector Curling Bonspiel hosted by the four Pictou County curling Clubs kicks off once again this evening with play continuing through to Sunday afternoon.
Originally started to commemorate the 200th Anniversary of the arrival of the Ship Hector in Pictou, the bonspiel has evolved over the years from one of the first large cash bonspiels on the provincial curling circuit to a more family-oriented event.
The bonspiel is open to any team whether they be junior, senior, male, female or any age or mix. A $1,000 top prize and with 40 per cent of the teams sharing the prize money makes this event about a little more than just bragging rights.
This year's competition has been expanded to match the popularity, but even still all positions were filled a month ahead of the entry deadline.
The action will get under way tonight at the clubs around this evening with a reception for curlers followed by draws at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Throughout the day Saturday all the clubs will be busy. The championship draw will be held on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at the Stellar Curling Club in Stellarton, where the Ship Hector trophy will be presented following the draw.
There is no cost for people who wish to attend.
Since over half of these teams come from outside the county, the event has a very positive impact on the local economy, said publicity committee member John Wilkes.
"It generates quite a bit of income for all the restaurants around and also the motels and hotels," he said.
But dollars aren't the top priority of the event- fun is. It's a chance for the four clubs to extend their hospitality to each other and beyond.
"It's a really fun family spiel because you get 56 teams in it and you have the four clubs around, so you rotate around on your games," Wilkes said. "You get to play on the different ice surfaces."
Playing at the different clubs adds to the challenge of the event.
"If you're on this ice sheet and you go to another rink, the conditions are altogether different and you have to adjust your game and how you throw the rock and everything," he said.
Wilkes has competed in the tournament for about 15 years himself, but this year plans to stick to a more organizational role.
He remembers how fun it was though.
"I didn't curl that competitively, so to get around to the four different clubs that was sort of the highlight of the curling season for Joe average curler," he said.
Dale Kaye, a member of the New Glasgow Curling Club, said he is looking forward to another year competing in the bonspiel, which he has been part of for the last four or five years.
"It's the first time I've actually put my own team in, so I'm looking forward to that," Kaye said. "Each club is a little bit different and poses a challenge."
He said he doesn't do anything extra to prepare for the event.
"I curl three nights a week anyway," he said.
He said he loves the strategy involved in curling. There are so many options about how to make each throw and any one of them could work, he said.
But he also likes the social aspect of it and that's one of the great things about this event. Many of the people from outside the county are ones who have been here before and you get to know them pretty well over the years, Kaye said.
Don Fanning played in the bonspiel last year and enjoyed it, he says. He knows you have you have to be prepared for anything when competing in this.
"Starting the weekend you never know where you're going to end up," he said. "You get to play all the Pictou County rinks and play teams that you haven't seen before and haven't seen at all coming from all parts of the province."
And you never know which game could be your last.
"One thing about it is you don't know where you're going," he said.
He said there is a good mix of lower and higher quality teams.
"The competition is there for the ones who want it and the fun is there for the ones who just want to have a good weekend," he said.
The hospitality is great everywhere, he said.
"That's the key," he said. "They make you feel welcome to get into in every one of them."