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Full house for annual Native Bonspiel in Haines Junction

The 36th annual Yukon Native Bonspiel from Feb. 2 to 4 saw 22 curling teams from across the Yukon make the trip to Haines Junction for the three-day tournament.
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Andrew Staples throws one of the last rocks to win the A-side final at the Yukon Native Bonspiel in Haines Junction on Feb. 4. (Crystal Schick/Yukon News)

The 36th annual Yukon Native Bonspiel from Feb. 2 to 4 saw 22 curling teams from across the Yukon make the trip to Haines Junction for the three-day tournament.

Hosted by the Shawkwunlee Dunena Sports Society, the bonspiel included prizes for a variety of categories and a banquet and dance on Saturday night.

Brenda Jackson, president of the Shawkwunlee Dunena Sports Society, said 22 teams is a great number for the event.

“Any time we get more than 24 teams, we have to do around-the-clock curling,” said Jackson. “We had breaks. It all depends on the weather and when we host it.”

The bonspiel was historically held in January, but has been in February the last few years.

Entries mainly came from Haines Junction and Whitehorse, but two teams travelled from Carmacks and one from Pelly Crossing.

A team from Teslin was also scheduled to curl, but had to cancel.

The curling was a triple-knockout format, meaning teams were guaranteed at least three games over the weekend.

All three finals were held in the afternoon on Feb. 4.

In the A final, the Wrixon rink defeated the Hume rink, while the A535 rink took third.

The Hotte rink beat the Johns rink in the B event final and the Craig’s List rink finished in third place.

The C final saw the Istchenko rink beat the Hatherley rink and the Sheet Disturbers rink placed third.

There were a number of other prizes given to teams after the curling was done.

The Wabisca rink was recognized as the “first out rink”, the most sportsmanlike team was the Skookum rink and the “first in the thirst” award went to the Oakley rink.

The “high-end rink” was the Hatherley rink, best dressed was the Reich rink, Chuck Hume was the vintage curler winner and the A535 rink won the furthest away award.

Contact John Hopkins-Hill at john.hopkinshill@yukon-news.com