"On the Button" - By Sandy Eastlake (as featured in the Napanee Beaver)

Bill Ryan would like to thank his helpers assisting him ‘sprucing up the club and renovation the benches. Thanks to Andrew Hanna, Phil Berry, Al Thompson, Tom Ayling, Chris Ramshaw, Ron Reynolds, Jack McNamee and Darrell Pritchard.

The 19^th Annual Senior Men’s Bonspiel convened by Walter Genereux with his committee of Hugh Sharpe and Ron Reynolds was a great success and a lot of fun for 64 of our ‘more experienced’ curlers. Thanks to the sponsorship of Briar Fox Golf and Country Club and Quinn’s Meats all winners went home with a nice prize. Walter did not have to give the mike up right away as his team won the Bonspiel with David VanVlack, Doug Pennell and Allan Wrigglesworth. Walter started his thank you’s with ‘it has taken me 17 years to get my name on the trophy once again – not bad eh! Excellent food all day long kept all the curlers in top performance for their three six end games. Starting with morning goodies by Lia Dufour, then a delicious lunch by Marilyn Cole with her team of Jane Wittish, Liz Griffiths, Lorraine Wilson and Helen Brown and ending with a scrumptious dinner by Gail Maracle with helpers Marg Isbester, June Hicks, Lana Jaeger, Sue Weir, Elaine McWhirter and renown carver Hugh Sharpe. The runner up team of Mullins men from Killaloe with Joe as skip, Jim, Gerry and Terry continued the thank you’s with praising the ice by Frank Dunham, Bill Casselman and Steve Eastlake then thanking the bartenders Lia Dufour, Jack Barker, Bert Kea, Moira Sickling, Karen Brant and Dennis Snider. Well done Walter!

Our ladies team of Heather Ramshaw, Christine Ramshaw and Kim Dickson won the bonspiel at the Quinte Bonanza Invitational last weekend. Great curling ladies. We had a couple of other teams out and about but at this time I do not have any results. Two club teams were curling in Picton with these teams playing each other for the C Event bragging rights;  Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Dave Travers and Andy Graham  bested Phil Wilson, Tom Shillington, Scott Webber and Andrew Hanna. Our OCA Dominion Senior Ladies team of Sheryl French, Gayle Johnson, Louise VanHeighten and Kelly Roantree are going to the Regionals later in January. I do not have any results for our OCA Senior Men’s team of Paul Dickson, Andy Palmer, Don Currier and Darrell Scott.

Monday at the club we hosted the Grandmasters again this year thanks to Steve Eastlake. Three teams are in this over 70 event. Alex McKiney from the Loonie club won both games and will face the winner of Friday’s 9am game being played between our team of Walter Genereux, Frank Dunham, Paul Spooner and Kees VanGent against Bob Bateman from Tweed…Good curling and good luck guys!

 The host committee is getting very excited as should you all. Tickets are now on sale so stop in or call the SPC 613-354-4423. Volunteer jacket/accreditation pick up has been set at the Strathcona Paper Centre in the Shelin Pool lounge on the second floor on Friday, 20^th January from 6-8pm, Saturday 21^st from 1-4pm; and Sunday 22st from 1-4 pm. All volunteers should have received an email on this but if you have any questions do not hesitate to call me 613-354-7138.

Curlers have now limbered up from the holidays and are trying to curling their best to aid their team’s winning the 2^nd or 3^rd draw depending on the league.

First of all, I want to congratulate the Junior team of Chris Lewis, David Staples, Scott Chadwick and Geordin Raganold on their participation in the Junior Pepsi Provincial Playdowns at the Russell Curling Club last week. These four gentlemen were true ambassador’s for the Napanee & District Curling Club plus I know they had a lot of fun at the same time. This team curled 7 games ending the round robin with a 5-2 standing thus putting them in 2^nd place. Although losing a tough game in the semi finals, these four ensured to all that a team from a small club like Napanee can and will be representing us in a National Junior competition in the not to distant future. Give yourselves a pat on the back, guys!!!

Back at the club Monday Men’s have completed their second draw with the team of Rob Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Scott Dickson, Dave Hart winning A and runner up was Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Paul Murphy; B winner was Dave Travers, Steve Eastlake, John Stimpson, Dennis Snider with runner up Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Jim Head, Andy Graham; C winner was Brian Chadwick, Mark Lyons, Frank Banks, Drew Chadwick with Walter Genereux, Doug Pennell, Art Dawson, Peter Wilkie taking the runner up prize. The Travers/Munro teams move into A division and the Chadwick/Genereux teams move up to the B divison. In the Wednesday Senior League Bill Hogg, Don Walker, Al Thompson, Bill Ryan won the draw with Dave Travers, Murray Halliday, Jaan Lees, Gerald McCracken taking the runner up spot.

Come out and see some great curling at our annual Men’s Senior Bonspiel on Saturday 14^th of January. Next on the club calendar will be the Ladies Open Saturday, February 25^th followed by the Town & Country on Wednesday 29^th February. In between these events the club will be closed from Monday, January 30^th with league curling starting up again Monday, February 13^th to allow us to be the host of the 2012 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championship. The host committee is getting very excited as should you all. Tickets are now on sale so stop in or call the SPC 613-354-4423. Volunteer jacket/accreditation pick up has been set at the Strathcona Paper Centre in the Shelin Pool lounge on the second floor on Friday, 20^th January from 6-8pm, Saturday 21^st from 1-4pm; and Sunday 22st from 1-4 pm. All volunteers should have received an email on this but if you have any questions do not hesitate to call me 613-354-7138.

Happy New Year to all of you. I hope you all had as great a holiday as Steve and I did.

One of our juniors, Bryce Garrett competed in the BDO draw to the button and made it to the finals. Congratulations Bryce!! For the finalists of Draw to the Button Competition the prize was One set of curling shoes, a broom, curling gloves provided by Gold Line ( $400.00 value) and a curling jacket signed by all the curlers participating in the BDO and a two year free membership provided by Capital One.

The ‘refresher clinic and skips training set for Sunday 8^th January has been cancelled. I guess all our members are satisfied with their game, plus the fact that,  most use this day to get back into the groove but because of how the holidays ended have already curled their first game of the season and limbered up that way. If for some reason you do still require some assistance just call me 354-7138 and I will arrange one on one training for you.

Next up on our calendar of events is our Men’s Senior Bonspiel on Saturday 14^th of January.

          OCA zone playdowns are now reaching their end with Regionals and Provincials still to follow in the new year. I am happy to congratulate the team of Gayle Johnson, Jane Pearson, Cynthia Woodcock and Lana Latimer on their winning the Intermediate Women and continuing on to the Regionals at the Richmond Curling Club January 21/22.  The Team of Robert Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Kyle Martin and Scott Dickson will be representing us in The Dominion Men’s Tankard at the Brighton & District curling club December 16/18. Have fun and good curling guys. This is the event that leads to the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship (Tankard) which we hosted in 2010.      

On the home front, congratulations to Glenn Jerome, Bill Creighton, Ray Taylor and Andrew on their win in the Thursday Men’s League with Steve Eastlake, Mark Baker, Paul McDonald and Gerry McCracken winning the runner up prize. The second draw has now commenced with a 10 team round robin taking these men into the new year.

We are again hosting a ‘refresher clinic’ and ‘skips training clinic on Sunday, January 8^th at 1 pm. There is a sign up sheet at the club on the main bulletin board. This clinic is normally held the first Sunday in January but I thought I would give all you participants and my instructors a break; couldn’t see anyone learning or teaching with one of those ‘morning after’ not feeling so well, days.

I am please to announce that the organizers of the BDO Canadian Open curling event being held at the KRock center from Dec 14^th to the 18^th have added a little something for all area juniors. Seven of our club’s juniors will be competing on Saturday at 11:00 am. This is an open event - no charge to come and watch the competition. The CBC will be there filming this event for later broadcast. All members are invited – come out and support these participants. The "fans" will be directed to designated areas per club and per player. The CBC will be panning the designated areas during the event, to show crowd reactions. This sounds like a lot of fun for Emily Murphy, Gordon Servage, Bryce Garrett, Avery Smith, Joey Botting, Caleb Posterski and Cameron Woodcock. If you are interested in tickets for the event itself, please check out www.k-rockcentre.com/

For any organization or business thinking about renting the club for a funspiel, please do not wait too long to decide. Most weekends in the new year are already booked so call Shirley Bush 354-5659 as soon as you can to book one of the last free spaces. It is never too late to join the club, if you are new to the area and/or have a free day or evening; please call me 613-354-7138 and I will try to find you a position. Curlers are into their second draw but the third draw will not start until after the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships which we are hosting February 4^th to the 12^th. Tickets are now on sale at the Strathcona Paper Center so if you are undecided on a Xmas present or two , this would make a great gift for all you avid curlers.

I want to wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. There will not be an article next week as Steve and I will be laying on a beach with drinks in hand at a gorgeous resort in Puerto Plata. Here’s to a prosporous 2012!

          Congratulations to our junior team of Chris Lewis, David Staples, Geordin Reganold and Scott Chadwick who curled in the OCA Pepsi Junior Men’s Regional playdowns at the Smith Falls Curling Club last weekend and won the B side to move on to the Provincials January 4-8 at the Russell Curling Club. The boys lost the A final in a very close game against Brett Lyon-Hatcher from the Huntley Curling Club then went on to win the B final in an extra end against Ryan McCrady from the Rideau Curling Club. You are now one step closer to representing us at the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championship being held here in Napanee, February 4th to the 12th.

          On the subject of junior curlers, our Junior Director, Dave Travers would like to thank all of the volunteers who have donated so much time to the Wednesday junior Curling program up to the Christmas break. Thank you to Ian Munro, John Deman, Mark Dunham, Scott Webber, Melissa McNichols; and Allen Wrigglesworth. Dave hopes that their support continues throughout the rest of the season. Dave would also like to ask for additional volunteers to assist in the junior program. This would expand the availability of individuals and relieve the strain when some cannot make it out. Currently we have 38 Junior Curlers and hopefully we will keep expanding. Please call Dave at 613-373-0016 or talk to him at the club.

          The board, and I am sure most of the members would like to thank Bill Ryan and his crew of Chris Ramshaw, Dave Travers, Bill Spencer, Ron Reynolds, Darrell Pritchard, Cor Vandengerg, Gord Mitchell and (naturally Eleanor Ramshaw ensured the workers were all fed well) for installing the temporary weather shelter on the steps of the curling club. It looks great guys and the crests look like they have been there forever. This will keep the weather and the mess out of the club until we can get on with more in depth outside renovations.

          On the subject of volunteers, we have a lot of ‘behind the scene’ volunteers who never seem to get recognized in my article so I thought now is a good time to do so. A few of these dedicated people are: Shirley Bush who looks after the club coffee fund and ensures free coffee is available for all club bonspiels by selling coffee on Tuesday and Thursday; Eleanor Ramshaw who dedicates her time weekly to satisfy our hungry Senior men; Tom Ayling who is forever lugging beer cases, assisting Eleanor, assisting Beau, assisting – well whoever needs something done around the club and our Ice Technician, Don Currier who has been very helpful assisting our new members with a quick lesson or two just to refresh what they were taught at the free clinic at the start of the season. Thanks to all of you.

          The General Meeting held last Sunday did not take long. President, Phil Wilson called the meeting to order and immediately closed the meeting as we lacked a quorum to continue with club business. Once the meeting was closed Phil opened up a discussion period so we could get the feelings of those 11 who were present on some items the directors will now move forward with themselves. I am really disappointed. I am sure you all know how many hours your directors put in during the season but I guess you do not realize the extra effort and time they spend preparing reports to keep you all up to date. On the other hand, we assume you are all quite happy with the running of things and the way the board is handling the day to day operation of the club or you would have attended on Sunday to voice your opinions and/or concerns.

           The annual Ladies Open Bonspiel last Saturday was another success for the club thanks to convenors Heather and Christine Ramshaw with their committee of Liz Graham, Eleanor Ramshaw and draw master Andy Graham. The winning team from Gananoque Dorothy Campbell with Lynne VanDalen, Chris Fox and Kathy Grier thanked the kitchen ladies starting with breakfast by Eleanor Ramshaw with Joyce Woolley providing a wonderful assortment; followed by a delicious lunch by Sharon VanGent with Susi Reinink, Sandi McNamee, Phil Berry, Sandy/Jim Kennelly; and ending with an incredible stuffed pork supper by Beth Clancey with Ken Clancey, Don/Brenda Kerr, Lana Jaeger, Phyllis Babe, Elaine McWhirter, Doreen Brummel and San Yallup. The other two game winners continued the thanks with Caroline Deans from Quinte thanking the bar staff of Tom Ayling, Andrew Hanna, Brian Hobin, Dan McGrath, Ken Clancey and our December captain Brian Woodcock; Gayle Johnson’s Kingston/Napanee team thanking Don Currier and Frank Dunham with helpers Jim Stapley, Hugh Sharpe and Darrell Latimer for great ice to curl on and ending with Rebecca Murphy thanking all the above and handing the mike back to Heather. Heather thanked all for coming and asked for a round of applause for the sponsors Playground Licensed Childcare (Christine Ramshaw), Michele Penner, Sandra Semple and the raffle prize donators Eleanor Ramshaw, Gail Spencer, Shelley Alkenbrack, Heather Baker, Debbie Currier, Heather Ramshaw. Way to go Heather and well done!!

          Congratulations are in order for some of the first draw winners. In the Tuesday morning Up&At’Em it was the team of Ed File, Elaine Badgley, Steve Anderson, Liz Griffiths with co runnerup teams of Walter Genereux, Lia Dufour, Phil Berry, Janie Alkenbrack. In the Tuesday night Mixed the team of Louise VanHeighten, Murray Halliday, Arnold VanHeighten, Roger Trumen won the draw with Brian Hobin, Janet Hobin, Laurie VanStraalen, Joane Wright having a close runner up finish.

          Our members are now competing in other club’s bonspiels and I am pleased to relate winners or those just having fun as they occur. First up we had 4 Napanee teams competing in the Tweed Senior Men’s Bonspiel last Thursday with the team of John Deman, Paul Spooner, Murray Halliday and Phil Berry winning their event while Bill Casselman, Robert Paul and Ray Snider’s teams all had a great day of fun and socializing. This time of year is also busy with Ontario Curling Association zone playdowns and I am happy to announce that our junior team of Chris Lewis, David Staples, Geordin Reganold and Scott Chadwick won the A side of the Pepsi Junior Men and will be competing in the Regionals – good luck and great curling to the four of you next weekend in Smith Falls. We were fortunate to have a second Junior team representing Napanee at this event and the team of Braden Scott, Cam Woodcock, Keegan Scott and Gilmour Johnson curled some good games losing the B side on Sunday. Congratulations to all of you, what better way to advertise our great junior league at the Napanee & District Curling Club and by the way this event was/is the first step up a ladder ending here in Napanee with the 2012 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships. Meanwhile on the adult side the team of Paul Dickson, Robert Paul, Robert Hough, John Deman represented Napanee in the Tim Horton’s Master Men zone playdowns and although curling some great very close games they are not moving on to the Regionals.

          Let me know of your success when you go away curling, but please remember, I have a deadline so would appreciate your information by Monday noon.

         See you on Sunday at 1 pm for our Semi Annual Meeting.

        The Pie Social and Talent Auction Sunday Nov.20th at the Napanee & District Curling was a great success. Convenors Shelley Alkenbrack and Ellyn McEwen with their helpers Gail Maracle, Liz Graham, Elaine Badgley, Cheryl Rattray with Bill Ryan and Tom Ayling as our greeters did a great job displaying a huge number of items donated by many, many members and local businesses such as Community Living, Abigail Spear, April’s Image, Chit Chat Café, Copuntry Quarter Quilt Shop, Empire Theatre, Fairmont LeChateau Montebello, Grand Theatre, Hampton Inns, Labatt’s Brewery, Marion Coon, Maritime Travel, Marj Pearce, Milady’s Lace, MY-FM, Picturesque, Royal Coachman, Sand’n Sea, Sears Home, IT Assistance, Susan Garnett, Toronto Blue Jays Club to bid on. The event was well attended by members and guests and thanks to Neil Lambert’s Auction Service the auction ran smoothly with most folks going home after an enjoyable afternoon with a tangible item, either a pie or a sale item or service. To Neil, Sally and Marion, thank you. The big winner is the club, as we can add to our coffers for the renovations yet to come. We are indeed fortunate to live in such a generous community. Set up and clean up of any event is always important so we need to add to the above list Linda Blake, Deb Currier, Sherry Pringle, Elizabeth Vandenberg, Jack McNamee. Wow, almost forgot the most important person after Shelley and Ellyn; thank you David VanVlack for keeping all thirsts quenched.

          As promised last week, here are the winners of the Monday night Men’s League. A – Robert Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Scott Dickson, Dave Hart with runner up Andy Palmer, Jim Stapley, Stephen Paul, Gord Mitchell; B – Darrell Scott, Keegan Scott, Brayden Scott, Cam Woodcock with runner up Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Jim Head, Andy Graham; C – Glenn Jerome, Jim Head, Neil Sunstrum, Gerry McCracken with runner up Walter Genereux, Doug Pennell, Art Dawson. Congratulations to all of you.

          On the subject of volunteers, we have a lot of ‘behind the scene’ volunteers who never seem to get recognized in my article so I thought now is a good time to do so. A few of these dedicated people are: Shirley Bush who looks after the club coffee fund and ensures free coffee is available for all club bonspiels by selling coffee on Tuesday and Thursday; Eleanor Ramshaw who dedicates her time weekly to satisfy our hungry Senior men; Tom Ayling who is forever lugging beer cases, assisting Eleanor, assisting Beau, assisting – well whoever needs something done around the club and our Ice Technician, Don Currier who has been very helpful assisting our new members with a quick lesson or two just to refresh what they were taught at the free clinic at the start of the season. Thanks to all of you.

          Come to the club Saturday and watch some terrific curling during our Ladies Open November 26th convened by Heather Ramshaw. Our Semi Annual General Meeting will be Sunday, December 4th at 1 pm so mark your calendar and help your Board of Directors ensure the day by day operations at the club are being carried out to the best of everyone’s ability.

        The annual Men’s Open Bonspiel last weekend was a huge success with lots of fun and curling by 112 men from far and wide. The comments from many of the teams was about the food, how they have never been fed to the extent they were here.  The teams wanted to be sure the ladies of the kitchen were acknowledged along with the support of the local sponsors that allowed this to be a major cash spiel.  Phil Wilson and his committee of  Rob Dickson, Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Jim Head, Paul McDonald, Paul Dickson, Hugh Sharpe and Beth Primeau ensured all were welcome upon arriving and welcome to come back on their departure. The winning team of Robert Dickson, Ryan Rowe, K. Martin, Scott Dickson reiterated all curlers comments that the ice was in top condition thanks to the ice crew headed by Frank and Don with helpers Steve Eastlake, Ken Healy, Steve Anderson, Robert Hough, Rob Moffat, Murray Halliday, Al Thompson, Bill Casselman, Mark Dunham, Tom Ayling and Bill Hogg. The runner up team from RKCC, Jonathan Buek, Jay Boyce, Greg Higgs, Al Cram thanked the bar staff of Captain David VanVlack, Tom Ayling, Brain Woodcock, Jack Barker, Dennis Snider, Karen Brant, Bert Kea,  Laurie VanStraalen plus some of the curlers assisted. The winners of the B,C,D events were Steve Lodge Brockville; Ken Healy/Bob Tester – Napanee/RKCC; and Ian Munro – Napanee along with the rest of the curlers asked for a standing ovation to all the kitchen crews for the excellent meals and snacks starting Friday and not ending until lunch was served on Sunday. Thank you captains Sherry Pringle, Lana Jaeger, Sandra O’Neill, Linda Blake, Moira Sickling, Shirley Bush, Benita Murphy helpers Brenda Kerr, Louise VanHeighten, Sandy Semple, Joelle Dickson, Joanne Fenwick, Jane Wittish, Mary Jane Elvins, Margaret Palimaka, Sheryl French, Jo Sutton, Janet Hobin, Gail Spencer, Jamie Alkenbrack, Lana Latimer, Cindy Woodcock, Elizabeth Goldie, Karen Brant, Jordan Van Vlack, Gail Maracle and Nancy Larouche.

Phil took the mike back and thanked his many sponsors for their continuing support of this annual event: North Key Construction was the event sponsor followed by Access Automotive, Boyer Napanee, Wartman Funeral Home, Burke’s Printing, Woodcock Automotive and Tire Center (Maui Woodcock), John Belanger Farms, Tim Hortons Napanee, Quinn’s Meats, Emmons Welding, AM Sports, The Wine Store, Mainstay Natural Foods, Wager & Myatt (Barry Brummell/Greg Wager), Dr Andy Palmer, Sam’s Door & Window Centre, Precision Siding, Glengrove, Oran, All About Signs, Hallam Auto Sales, Clow Farm Equipment, Pringle Ford, State Farm, The Loaf N’ Ale, A Cut Above, Strathcona Solar Initiatives, D&D Electrocraft Ltd, La Pizzeria, Brian Chadwick Farm, Exit (Wade Mitchell) Hampton Inn, LCP, Bob McGaw Insurance, Century 21, TD Bank Napanee, Grant’s Insurance, Rigney Building Supplies, Stonemonk Clothing, Summit Roofing, Fox Motor Inn, Dickson Lawn Care, Lens Bakers, Tammy’s Country Kitchen, What a Wash Napanee, Saputo Cheese. The raffle table was full of a variety of items for curlers to win thanks to  Kingston BDO Committee, Marriott Courtyard Inn, Shoeless Joe’s, Spuds Griddles, Delmers Auto Centre Oil and Lube, Al Oldfield Sales, Napanee Home Hardware, Walmart, Rob Dickson, Napanee Canadian Tire, Threadworks and Adsnack.  Congratulations Phil, another great Men’s Open Bonspiel.

            See you this Sunday Nov.20^th at the Napanee & District Curling Club, 178 York Street – at 1:30 with the auction starting at 2:15 pm for our Pie Social and Talent Auction which is open to curlers and non curlers alike. Here is a sneak preview of items….. A Collector's item for sure - New York Rangers Leather jacket--"Original Six" style/colours;  Blue Jay Jose Bautista print, autographed and custom framed;  an offer to create an audio-visual CD presentation of your favourite vacation or family event photos;  passes to a couple of Kingston Frontenac home games in Nov/Dec; Golf anyone? local or farther afield, passes for two with a cart; several beautifully custom designed and quilted items. 

Next up on our bonspiel slate will be the Ladies Open November 26^th convened by Heather Ramshaw. The Monday men have completed their first draw and I will have the winners for you next week.

           Come on down to the Napanee & District Curling club for it’s annual Men’s Open Bonspiel this weekend from Friday the 11^th to Sunday the 13^th and see some terrific curling. Teams from all over the area will be vying for that ever sought after ‘winner’s circle with the top team getting their name on the trophy. Our club raffle has been lucky for Shelley Alkenbrack $80, Walter Bell $ 80.50, Phyllis Babe $ 80 and Marg Isbester $ 80 all having their number picked for our 50/50; drawn each Friday until there is a winner. For those members who have not signed up yet, it is never too late. Just put your name and $1 for each week that you enter on an envelope and place in the box provided.

            The Board of Directors heartily thank all our many, many sponsors whom without we would not be able to carry out all the daily, weekly, monthly procedures required to make the club the success it is. Thank you Dominion of Canada Insurance Co, AM Sports, George A. Grant Insurance Brokers Ltd, Quinte Curling Supply, Aura by Colour Connection, Money Concepts, Scotia Bank, Wagar & Myatt Rea; Estate (Barry Brummell), Murray Drywall, Sun Life-(Peter Wilkie), Brenda's Pizza Factory, The Napanee Beaver, Country Traditions Frozen Foods, Napanee Oil Change Centre, Tim Horton's’ D&L Carpentry & Kitchen & Bath Design, Napanee Opticians, True Comfort Heating and Cooling, Exit Realty, North Key Construction, Waste Management, Giant Tiger, Nudura Integrated Building Technology, Wilcon Garage Doors, Hart 'n Hart, The Co-operators Insurance, Woodcock's Automotive & Tire Centre, Home Hardware Building Centre, Pet Panache, Homestyle Deli, Pringle Ford, L&A Mutual Insurance, Pritchard's Decorating & Linens, Lafarge Canada, and Quinn's Meats. We do have a great number of other sponsors who support our bonspiels each and every season and I will be thanking all of them in one of my articles throughout the season.

Next up on our bonspiel slate will be the Ladies Open November 26^th convened by Heather Ramshaw; but before that is our:

            “PIE SOCIAL & TALENT AND TREASURES AUCTION Sunday Nov.20^th at the Napanee & District Curling Club, 178 York Street – time 1:30 with auction starting at 2:15 pm. Shelley and Ellyn will have a great variety of items for you to bid on thanks to Neil Lambert offering his services as Auctioneer. COME ONE !!! COME ALL !!!

            The Napanee & District Curling Club hosted an OCA Level three coaching clinic last Saturday and Sunday. There were 60 persons involved on Saturday and 20 on Sunday including Richard Hart who was a nice surprise for those of us working that day. We have not seen him since the 2010 Ontario Curling Championships (Tankard). Steve Eastlake convened the event with Don Currier ensuring the ice was ready, Paul McDonald at the bar for drinks, and myself looking after the 10:30 and 3:00 snacks (assisted by Steve). The 60 participants enjoyed a delicious lunch on Saturday made at home by Michele Penner with Gail Spencer assisting her and then the 20 curlers on Sunday were pleased to be served another delicious lunch by Lana Jaeger and I believe Steve assisted Lana or so he says. The OCA was very grateful to Napanee for giving up a weekend and allowing them to train a great number of level three coaches for future events. Thanks Steve!!

           As promised last week I now have some added information on our first ever Pie and Talent Auction from Shelley Alkenbrack. Quote: Sunday, Nov.20, is fast approaching, and with it our first ever “PIE SOCIAL & TALENT AND TREASURES AUCTION”. Thanks to all members who have completed their auction donation forms, and signified their intent to donate a service or item for the bidding event. It is still not too late to make a contribution—decide on what you wish to donate, fill out the auction details form, available at the club on the main bulletin board, and place it in the box located on the bar. We need these details in advance to make up the program listing for the day of sale. Bring the actual item to Friday night curling, NOV.18, or on Saturday from 9 am- 12 noon for set-up. You will be amazed at the variety of donations thus far—from computer coaching to genealogical research, quilts to Christmas baking packages, a gourmet dinner to some very special items for the sports fans among us. This is the perfect opportunity to find that unique gift for someone special, and help out the Renovation Fund at the club in return. Plan to attend on Sunday Nov.20th, at 1:30 pm and bring your appetite for delicious pies to start off the event on a tasty note! Auction commences at 2:15 pm. Unquote.

           This event is open to members and non members alike so mark your calendar and come to the club on November 20th for a chance to bid on a vast variety of items such as: Have you ever wanted to try ice fishing? Does your family tree need some more research? What about a unique gift for the sports fan at your house? Who can advise me on quilting accessories and patterns? Solve all these dilemmas and more at the Pie Social/Talent &Treasures Auction on November 20th at the club, 1:30 pm until all is sold.

           Our new 2011 cookbook ‘From Our Home to Your Home’ is selling like hotcakes so get your copy soon. The Men’s Open, November 11-13 and the Ladies Open November 26th are both getting close to a full slate so call Phil Wilson (Men’s) or Heather Ramshaw if you are interested and have a team or as an individual wanting to be on a team.

            The Volunteer Appreciation luncheon was a lot of fun thanks to convenor Lana Jaeger and her helpers Moira Sickling, Jane Pearson, Lana Latimer, Shelley Alkenbrack, Helen Brown plus this month’s bar Captain, Paul McDonald. Volunteers with their spouses were served a delicious ham and scallop potato lunch and Paul kept all glasses topped up. Lana added an extra bonus for all the wine drinkers by having Anita Ramski from Pelle Island Winery display their wines after lunch. Anita had a wide variety of wines for attendees to taste and purchase. Thanks, Lana. The telephone directories are now ready for pick up in the bottom information box thanks to the kind sponsorship of Burke’s Printing.

          The Swing & Sweep convenor Heather Ramshaw gives thanks to Country Traditions Frozen Food Outlet, East Creations/Carrie East (Homemade Custom Bracelet); New York Café; Richmond Grocery; The Napanee Golf Course; and The Playground L.C.C.C for their kind sponsorship which made the Swing and Sweep the success it was (as reported in last week’s The Napanee Beaver).

          Our new 2011 cookbook ‘From our Home to Your Home’ is now on sale thanks to co-ordinator Sandi McNamee and her crew of Michele Penner who started the procedures, Eleanor Ramshaw, Sharon VanGent, Liz Graham, Janet Hobin who all helped edit plus the proof readers Jordan VanVlack, Eleanor Ramshaw, Liz & Andy Graham, Roger Trueman. Sandi especially thanked all members and friends for your contribution of recipes for this new cookbook. I know from over 4 calls myself on submission errors this endeavour was not an easy task.

          The 2012 Canadian Junior Media Event held Monday, 24th October at the Napanee & District Curling Club had some 40 persons listening to Mr. Stephen Paul update all on this exciting event being held from 4th to the 12th of February. This was covered by the Napanee Beaver so I will say no more.

          The sign up sheet for the Men’s Open, November 11-13 and the Ladies Open November 26th are now posted. As are volunteer request sheets for all the many events we host over the season. If you have not signed up or can work a different event than you stated on your application please call Lana Jaeger or just check the sheets on the bulletin board in the kitchen. If you have Smart Serve and are not already volunteering for the bar please call Beau Maracle. Next week I will have further information for you on the Pie Social and Auction

            This year’s 9th Annual Swing and Sweep convened by Heather and Christine Ramshaw began with everyone debating if the rain would hold off. In the end, everyone did golf with a Shot Gun start at 10AM at the NGC. Some got a little wet but were welcomed at the club by Eleanor Ramshaw with her crew of Sandi McNamee, Heather and Jonathon Wright and Jane Hough with bowls of piping hot soup and sandwiches. Paul McDonald had the bar open and with helpers Maui Woodcock and Dan McGrath kept everyone served all afternoon. Don Currier was thanked more than once for great, fast ice. Dinner was prepared by Eleanor Ramshaw with help from Jordan Van Vlack, Jane Allen-Cortes, Kim Dickson (mac and cheese) and Christine Ramshaw which included smoked ham, scallop potatoes, caesar salad, vegetables and apple crisp for dessert. Chris Ramshaw presented the trophy to the winners –Jim Sunstrum’s team of Neil Sunstrum, Rob Galt, John Botelho (golf)/Bill Ryan (curling). John Dickson’s team of Sandra Semple, Joelle Dickson and Dave Hollis were runner-ups. Other winners were Men’s Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive – Bill Spencer; Ladies Longest Drive – Cindy Woodcock; Ladies Closest the Pin – Tracey Dickson. Christine Ramshaw sold “mulligans” as a fundraiser and everyone who entered got their name in a draw for a great prize table with all monies going towards the 2011-2012 Fundraising Campaign. Heather thanked all participants, volunteers and supporters for an excellent day once again; with a special thanks to Eleanor Ramshaw, for her tireless efforts. Heather – we applaud you for another very wet but successful Swing and Sweep.

          Preparations for the 32 rink Men’s Open Bonspiel on the weekend of November 11-13; followed by the Ladies Open Saturday, November 26th are well under way so watch for sign up sheets at the club. Organizing any event takes lots of preparation time and the Canadian Junior Curling Championship is no different. The host committee is busy setting up their schedules to ensure all is in place and that enough volunteers are signed up to enable us to make this event successful and fun for all. If you are planning to offer your time during this exciting period please let us know as soon as you can so committees can make sure they have enough help, jackets can be sized and ordered - the list of ‘to do’ goes on. The NDCC, Sports Association along with the Town of Greater Napanee thank you members and non members alike for offering your services during the week of this event from February 4th to the 12th. Call me 613-354-7138 with any questions you may have. 

          Remember to sign up for the first ever "Pie Social/Talent and Treasures Auction", to be held Sunday, Nov.20/11 at 1:30 pm at the Curling Club on York St. Details are posted at the club or call Shelley Alkenbrack 354-5660 or Ellyn McEwen 354-1769 for more information. Bring your family and friends for a unique shopping experience. Also remember the club Appreciation Day Saturday October 22nd from 3 to 5pm to thank all the volunteers for assisting in the beautiful renovation project and giving us an opportunity to show off the new lounge/kitchen/bar. Not a member but thinking about joining, please drop in Saturday and I will be happy to show you around.

          Our Fundraising directors at NDCC are pleased to announce the first ever "Pie Social/Talent and Treasures Auction", to be held Sunday, Nov.20/11 at 1:30 pm at the Curling Club on York St. The event begins with dessert and coffee, and auction viewing, with the auction start at 2:15 pm. The $5.00 admission will provide you with a piece of delicious homemade pie, tea or coffee, and an auction program with your bidding number on the back. There will be silent auction items as well as a live auction portion, under the capable leadership of our own Neil Lambert. Already our members are talking about what item or service they might like to donate for the cause. We encourage our juniour members as well to participate, by donating some volunteer time to help a senior with fall cleanup, or perhaps a night of babysitting during the Christmas holiday season. There are many suggested items that might help stimulate your creativity, so check out the details posted at the club and fill out a donation form today. All proceeds go to the Renovation fund at the club. Call Shelley Alkenbrack 354-5660 or Ellyn McEwen 354-1769 for more information. Please remember...this event is open to anyone in the community for bidding. Bring your family and friends for a unique shopping experience. These items/services would make great holiday gifts for anyone on your list!

          It is still not too late to sign up for our weekly 50/50 drawn on Friday evenings. You do not need to be there to win, you just need to be signed in. There is a list and envelopes on the table as you enter the club right beside the 50/50 House.

           Your bar and kitchen directors are busy compiling their list of volunteers for all the different bonspiels we host during the season so watch for the sign up sheets and/or talk to Lana Jaeger or Beau Maracle. Beau would like to thank Dennis Snider, Barry Brummel, David VanVlack, Paul McDonald for volunteering to be a Bar Captain again this year. I believe Beau is still looking for a couple more Captains. (sorry if I missed someone)

           The first club event will be the Swing & Sweep on October 15th which has a full slate; followed by the 32 rink Men’s Open Bonspiel on the weekend of November 11-13.

          Thanks to Beth Primeau this season’s first Newsletter is at the club for you to read so if you have not read it, take a minute and do so as it is very informative.

          Organizing any event takes lots of prep time and the Canadian Junior Curling Championship is no different. The host committee is busy setting up their schedules to ensure all is in place and that enough volunteers are signed up to enable us to make this event successful and fun for all. The NDCC, Sports Association along with the Town of Greater Napanee thank you members and non members alike for offering your services during the week of this event from February 4th to the 12th. Call me 613-354-7138 with any questions you may have.

          Sandy

          Wow, it’s that time of year already – or some might say – its’ about time. The Napanee & District Curling Club welcomes all members new and old to its 2011/2012 curling season. Just to warn you, you better have your sunglasses on when you walk into your newly renovated lounge, kitchen and bar. Many, many, many volunteer hours under Co-Ordinator, Bill Ryan and his Committee of Chris Ramshaw, Darrell Pritchard and Beau Maracle with consultants Brian Woodcock and Connie Pritchard were chalked up this past summer. Along with the above, great thanks goes to (in alphabetical order) Steve Anderson, Tom Ayling, Jack Barker, Phil Berry, Don & Debbie Currier, Lia Dufour, Frank Dunham, Steve & Sandy Eastlake, Andy Graham, Jim Head, Brian Hobin, Jim & Sandy Kennelley, Shirley MacDonadl, Gail Maracle, John Marshall, Gerry McCracken, Jack & Sandi McNamee, Ian Munro, Eleanor Ramshaw, Ron & Joan Reynolds, Sandy Semple, Bill & Gail Spencer, Dave Travers, Cor & Elizabeth Vandenberg, Kees & Sharon VanGent, Linda Veley, Len Weir, Phil Wilson for their tireless hours spent on these renovations. Bill Ryan stated the volunteers put in over 700 hours and this is not counting his 700 hours – thanks does not quite say it Bill. We are planning an appreciation day at the club so watch for an email and/or a flyer at the club announcing particulars on this important event Saturday, October 22^nd.

            I am happy to say that the ice will be ready for members to ‘brush up’ on Thurs 22^nd/ Friday 23^rd from 7 to 9pm. The new member clinic is slated for Sunday, 25^th at 1 pm so if you have not been called/emailed yet please call me at 354-7138.

            On another note, I am sure you are all aware of us hosting the 2012 Canadian Junior Curling Championships in February especially with The Beaver’s informative article a couple of weeks ago. As volunteer chair I am now receiving volunteer forms and we will need more than the 200 we had for the successful Tankard as both venues are being curled in. You do not need to be a curler to volunteer for this event hosted by the NDCC, the Sports Association and the Town of Greater Napanee. Feel free to call or email me at s_seastlake@kos.net plus the form is available on our web site www.ndcc.ca , at the club and at the Strathcona Paper Center. The town businesses realized a lot of extra February revenue from the Tankard and we see no reason that the Juniors will not be the same as they are 26 teams strong versus the 11 at the Tankard.

            See you on the ice……………..

As promised in last weeks’ article here are the third and final draw winners. Monday Men – Club Champion – Robert Dickson, Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Dave Hart with runner up Andy Palmer, Kevin MacLean, Stephen Paul, Gord Mitchell; B – Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Rick Siegner, Andy Graham and runner up Bill Hogg, Dan Reynolds, Barry Small, Tim Smith; C – John Deman, Ted Davie, Paul Spooner, Barton MacLean, runner up Chris Galamb, Troy Galamb, Jim Emmons, Ashley Arnold. Moving on the Wednesday Mens Seniors showed winner Dave Travers, Barton MacLean, Bill Ryan, Bruce Finley with runner up Paul Dickson, John Deman, Wayne Chadwick, Larry McNeill and finishing the men with Thursday’s winner Ryan Rowe, Bill Creighton, Eric Bishop/Rick Lombardi, Andrew Hanna and runner up Darryl Latimer, Doug Pennell, Terry Young, Don Pearson. The Tuesday Up & At’Em had Shirley Bush, Gail Maracle, Barb Graham, Roger Cole as the winner with Eleanor Ramshaw, Lia Dufour, Phil Berry, John Kennelly getting the runner up prize. The Wednesday ladies winner was Sheryl French, Kelly Roantree, Linda Gray, Sandy Semple with runner up Cathy Palmer, Beth Clancey, Brenda Kerr, Joanne Fenwick and the Thursday ladies winner was Shirley Bush, Norma Jackemeck, Barb Graham, Joan Banks with Jane Hough, Lorraine Wilson, Heather Baker, Janie Alkenbrack coming in second. The Tuesday night mixed had David & Jordan VanVlack, Laurie VanStraalen, Dan McGrath taking home the trophy while Bill & Sandy Casselman, Lynn McPherson, Gale Rogers received the runner up prize. Last but definitely not least – this league has 24 teams vying for the winners circle – is the winner Kees & Sharon VanGent, Linda Blake, Andrew Hanna with second place Gayle & Guy Johnson, Jane & Don Pearson and third was Sheryl French, Darrell Scott, Bob St. John, Deb Kowalik.

The Annual Meeting was well attended and a lot of business was conducted. Your board thanks you for helping us make some hard decisions.

This season we had 16 teams in the closing Martin & Walters. Thanks to Steve Eastlake for assisting me the day was a great success. We started with breakfast by Sandi McNamee, Karen Brant, and myself; then lunch by Shelley Alkenbrack, Maureen McDonald and Eleanor Ramshaw. The 4 table pot luck was supervised by Sharon VanGent. Keeping all thirsts satisfied were Jim Mullin, Beau Maracle, Jim Sunstrum and Phil Wilson. The ice was terrific thanks to Frank Dunham and Steve thanks all those strong men who assisted him in carrying the rocks downstairs. The bonspiel was won by Stan Yallup, Tom Ayling, Phyllis Babe, Linda Veley with 2^nd place going to Moira Sickling, Kees VanGent, Barry Small, Jackson Readman; and the top button award went to Christine Ramshaw, Geoff  Perry, Allison Madden, Bill Madden. The famous barefoot turkey/ham toss supervised by Rick Guthrie, Marg Palimaka, Wayne Guthrie, Chuck Galaway showed all the spectators how making it to the button is really not that difficult. My thanks to John Little who after winning the turkey donated his half of the winnings back to the juniors and Jane Allen-Cortez winning the ham did the same.  There were also a couple of other donations made by curlers not willing to ‘get their toes cold’. Thanks to you all, the juniors are now $ 102 richer. What a great way to end the 2010-2011 curling season. Wait a minute, it is not quite over as we have the banquet on Friday, April 29^th. Please call me if you forgot to get your ticket.

           The closing Martin & Walters has a full slate of 16 teams and all is ready to go. If any of you decide you have the day free, call the club or myself and maybe I can get you playing game or two. Our Annual General Meeting on Sunday at 1 pm has a lot of important items on the agenda so come out and view your opinions on how to possibly make the club even more successful than it already is. In case you cannot make the meeting I am happy to relate that this has been another very successful season for the club. All our bonspiels were well attended with curlers far and near having a great time;  a lot more than usual of our members entered OCA events with some (as previously reported) even making it to the Regionals; and a lot of our members entered bonspiels at other area clubs; and most of the weekends at the club were booked with club events or community events. I want to take this time to thank all club volunteers who have donated their time over and over again all season long. Without you, it would be impossible for your Directors to continue offering the best of the best to members and outsiders alike. You can see from the volunteer charts in the foyer how many of you it takes to complete the many, many tasks that we have to contend with year after year. To all our club sponsors who are thanked officially in articles during the curling season, again -  thank you, thank you, thank you. I would love to list all of you again but I do not believe I would be granted 4 pages of the Napanee Beaver to do so.

            If you have not received your Banquet Ticket for Friday, April 29^th prior to the end of curling, please call me at 354-7138 to get your ticket. If you have a couple of hours to assist with the set up on Thurs 28^th or the clean up on Saturday 30^th morning please call Sandi McNamee 354-2414.

Next week will be my last article and I will be listing all the third draw winners so make sure you get your copy of the Napanee Beaver to find out who all made it to the winner’s circle. I heartily thank the Napanee Beaver for allowing me this article and Beth Primeau for our monthly newsletter as without these periodicals, you would have no idea on the hustling and bustling that goes on day after day at the club.

           The curling club is into it’s last three weeks and it is hard to believe the season is almost over. All your directors are getting ready for the closing General Meeting, Sunday April 3^rd and at the same time your Vice President, Sandi McNamee is busy ensuring all is ready for the Banquet on the 29^th of April. Tickets are being sold as you read this and Sandi has a signup sheet on the bulletin board for helpers needed for set up and clean up. Hopefully you can find a few hours on the Thursday before or the Saturday after to help because more bodies means less hours for each person who does volunteer has to work. If you find you have a few hours to spare after curling has ended, just call Sandi 354-2414.

The signup sheet for the closing Martin & Walters on Saturday, April 2^nd is filling quickly and it looks like there may be three draws vice two. However, I never know until the very last so I will call or talk to all skips during the last week of curling to ‘fine tune’ when you curl. I have heard that Rick Guthrie is very anxious to see you all out there in your bare feet trying to win a turkey or ham, not sure if this is true or not. There are still spots open so talk to your neighbors, family and friends - sign up and enjoy this fun filled day of curling. Everyone gets a prize and I try to make sure the prize table is full of ‘glittery’ gifts to choose from. You will be served a delicious lunch and supper will be a three table spread of tasty home cooked dishes as it is a pot luck. Oh, don’t forget your skates and for those really ambitious, probably a dry pair of socks.     

            This season has been and is still a very successful one for the club. Lots of exciting things have happened around the club and the community. For one, we have been fortunate to be awarded the 2012 M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships next February. Members and non members alike have been submitting the volunteer form that was circulated a few weeks ago. There are still copies at the club and you can also get a copy off our web site www.ndcc.ca so look one over and let us know of your willingness to participate in the organization of this exciting event. The host committee members will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have on the job descriptions, so talk to: Stephen Paul - Chair, Robert Paul, Chris Ramshaw, Steve Eastlake, Andy Palmer, Paul Murphy, Joe Jackemeck, Kevin Hill, Robert Plumley or myself. The host committee will be working all summer completing the organization plans and set up which is necessary to make such a large event successful and fun for all who attend but mostly for the curlers themselves.

            Also exciting is the kitchen/bar renovations we have planned to start in late April/early May. Just think about how the club will look and how much room the kitchen staff will have when you walk in for your first game next season. If you have not seen the rough drafts of what we are planning, they are on a board in the lounge. This project also needs volunteers and you do not have to be a professional to offer your services. Just talk to Bill Ryan, Chris Ramshaw, Beau Maracle or Darrell Pritchard and volunteer some hours of your time.  The volunteer form which was mailed to all members, is also on our web site and/or you can just call one of the guys. 

The closing Martin & Walters on Saturday, April 2^nd sign up sheet is now on the bulletin board. You may enter a team or just place yourself as an individual in the position you normally play. This is a lot of fun and great way to end the season. The closing general meeting is at 1 pm on Sunday, April 3^rd so mark your calendar and attend with your ideas on how to make the club more of a success than it already is.

I am already getting calls on our Open House on March 13^th from 1 pm to 4 pm (see full advertisement page ____ )so if you are/were thinking of joining the club next season; call me 613-354-7138 and come out and try throwing a rock or two.

Lastly, the final event of the season is the Annual Banquet which is Friday, April 29^th. Tickets are now on sale so get yours today. There is a list on most bulletin boards for you to find out who is selling the tickets.

                       Here we are into the last month of curling so teams in all leagues are curling their hearts out as this is the last chance to get their name on a trophy. Congratulations to the Thursday Men’s second draw winner Walter Genereux, Al Thompson, Phil Berry, Dave Hollis with runner up Ian Munro, Steve Cooper, Terry Young, Grant Miller.

                        The Town & Country bonspiel held last Wednesday was another success for the club thanks to Jack McNamee, Hugh Sharpe and Robert Hough. The winning team of Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Rick Siegner, Andy Graham thanked Captain Sharon VanGent and helpers Heather Baker, Shirley MacDonald, Connie Pritchard, Debbie Currier for morning goodies and a delicious lunch. The second place team of Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Frank Dunham continued by thanking the bar staff of Beau Maracle, Sandi McNamee, Arnold VanHeighten. The third place team skipped by Vince Brennan from Sterling had great comments on our ice thanks to Frank and Don with helpers Steve Eastlake and Robert Hough. Jack ended the spiel by thanking all his sponsors for their generous donations: My CanDo Tech, Canadian Tire Gas Bar, Waste Management, Clow Farm Equipment, O’Neills Farm Supplies, Country Depot, Moore Bros and Labatts.

            The Highland Lassie Bonspiel held last Saturday added another paragraph to our book of successes thanks to Director Heather Ramshaw and her committee of Eleanor and Christine Ramshaw, Liz Graham and drawmaster Andy Graham. All the 64 curlers started off the day with coffee cakes, fruit, yogurt, coffee and/or tea by Eleanor Ramshaw; then these ladies were piped on the ice by Hugh Goldie with Marj Pearce having the honor of throwing the first stone. The winner of the bonspiel, Heather McMillan from RKCC along with her team mates Cathy Lyman, Lynn Witheridge, Kelly Tindale thanked the ladies for a delicious lunch by Captain MaryJane Elvins and helpers Susi Reinink, Norma Jackemeck, Elaine Badgley, Moira Sickling, Ann Roantree and a scrumptious supper by Captain Sandi McNamee with Jane Wittish, Anne and Merv Connery, Roger and Marilyn Cole. The second place team winner Janet Fowlow raised her glass to the bar staff of Tom Ayling, Doug Baker, Phil Wilson, Arnold VanHeighten, Ken Clancey, Brian Woodcock while third place Betty Bush commented on the terrific ice by Frank Dunham, Don Currier and Phil Wilson. The fourth place team Colleen Bennett was also RKCC although our team of Cathy Palmer did make it to the prize table.  Our ladies will just have to curl harder next season, right girls! Heather asked for a round of applause for her sponsors Marj Pearce for wonderful gift bags from Starlet and Playground Licensed Childcare Centre (Christine) for beautiful table centerpieces from Janet’s Flowers of Napanee. She continued with thanks to the ladies who donated to the raffle table: Marj Pearce, Christine, Eleanor and Vivian Moore. Heather also donated and ran a very well organized event which is why all these ladies keep coming back and keeping our bonspiels full. Hats off to you, Heather.

 The Ford Hot Shots competition, Sunday, March 06^th is cancelled as there was not enough curlers to make it practical. Remember to mark your calendar for the closing Martin & Walters on Saturday, April 2^nd and the closing general meeting April 3^rd at 1 pm. On that note, you should have the agenda by now, but if not please call me. There are six Directors whose term is up so take a look at the statement of duties on the counter with the nomination box  and offer yourself  for a two year term assisting us in ensuring the smooth day to day operation of the club. The nomination form is included with the agenda; but if you would like further information on what is involved talk to the current director of the position you are thinking of filling.  

I am already getting calls on our Open House on March 13^th so if you have ever considered joining the club; call me 613-354-7138 and mark your calendar.

                The very successful sweetheart dinner last Wednesday was well attended by 63 of our lady curlers. We were welcomed by convenor Phil Wilson and past convenor Ron Graham, served delicious appetizers carried around on trays by the kitchen staff of Kees VanGent (also MC), Joe Jackemeck, George Elvins, Robert Hough, Darrell Pritchard who then delivered a very tasty three course supper. This well presented meal was prepared by chef Dennis Snider, Bill Ryan, Tom Ayling, Roger Cole, Andy Graham. The ladies were entertained by Tim Hallman with Kee’s assistance describing anecdotes of life for women. We really needed his input and I am sure all went home with fresh information on handling husbands. The whole evening was magical with Jack McNamee and Jack Barker keeping the glasses topped up. Phil thanked the sponsors for their generous donations which assisted in making this evening the success it was: Connie (Pritchard Decorating and Linen), ChitChatCafe, Threadworks, Natalie Parent, Pampered Chef, Classic Cuts, Heather Baker and Elaine Badgley. Although not helping during the evening, she wined and dined with the rest of us, Phil’s second pair of hands, Lia Dufour deserves a round of applause along with all the ‘guys’. Hats off to you all!!! Oh, I almost forgot, although it is still blooming in my window, to end the evening on a high note, Phil and Ron distributed a beautiful carnation to all of us.

            Congratulations are in order for the 2^nd draw winners of the Thursday ladies: Eleanor Ramshaw, Susi Reinink, Elizabeth Goldie, Joan Reynolds with runner up Shirley Bush, Debbie Currier, Heather Baker, Sandy Kennelly; the Wednesday ladies showed Gayle Johnson, Beth Clancey, Sandra O’Neil, Chris Downey with runner up Marcia Difazio, Heather Wemp, Karen Brant, JoAnne Fenwick winning; the Up&At’Em was the team of Frank Banks, Lorraine, Wilson, Phil Berry, Joan Reynolds with Ed File, Bill Ryan, Elizabeth Vandenberg, Phyllis Babe coming in second; the Tuesday Mixed was won by Bill and Sandy Casselman, John and Norma Collins with Louise VanHeighten, Liz and Andy Graham, Gale Rogers taking the runner up spot. The Friday night mixed and the Thursday night Mens is not yet determined so I will have those for you next week.

The boys KASSAA (schoolboy/schoolgirl) team of Robert Kaiser, Denis Holden, Gordon Servage, Cameron Woodcock came home with the C event trophy while the girls team of Heather Raabe, Chris Galamb, Jenna Raabe, Braden Scott won the A event and are now proceeding to the EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario) in Brockville at the end of the month. Good luck, good curling, and have fun!!

The OCA Mixed and Senior Mixed last weekend showed spectators a lot of great curling thanks to convenors Steve Eastlake and Michele Penner. Eleanor Ramshaw and Vivian Moore kept all fed while Brian Wood, Jim Sunstrum, Tom Ayling, Ken Clancey ensured all thirsts were satisfied. Frank and Don with helpers Rick Siegner, Tom Ayling, Hugh Sharpe, Kees VanGent, Bill Ryan made sure the ice was in topnotch condition all weekend long. David Collyer from the Quinte Curling club and Scott Kerr from Trenton continue on to the Regionals on the Mixed side; while Randy Hutchinson from Land’O’Lakes and Alex Tosh from RKCC proceed on the Senior Mixed event.

The Ford Hot Shots competition, Sunday, March 06^th is a lot of fun. I have heard that the winner last season, Brenda Travers is competing to get her name on the trophy twice in a row so let’s all try to best her this season.

The club is holding a free Open House (advertisement also in this weeks Beaver) on March 13^th so if you have ever considered joining the club; call me 613-354-7138 and mark your calendar.

          Most of the leagues are finishing their second draws and signing up curlers for the last and final draw of this season…What…already…oh, my!!! The volunteer board in the foyer is filling in quickly and I thank all of you for offering your time in assisting with making our events the success that they are. There are still a few names without one of my little ‘x’s so please check your calendar against our event calendar and sign up today. Monday Mens are now into the last draw of the season and I am happy to relate the 2^nd draw winner to you. A- Robert Dickson, Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Dave Hart with runner up Don Currier, Kirk Donald, Al Thompson, Rome Dorval; B-Mark Dunham, Frank Dunham, Murray Halliday, Phil Berry with runner up Chris Ramshaw, Don Walker, Jim Mullen, Ray Taylor; C-Hugh Sharpe, Walter Bell Steve Cooper, Barton MacLean with runner up Brian Chadwick, Mark Lyons, Frank Banks, Mark Baker. The teams of Munro and Wilson move to B and Maracle and Deman move to C while the winners of B and C move up.

The team of Rebecca Murphy, Louise VanHeighten, Cynthia Woodcock, Lana Latimer are curling in the Intermediate Regional playdowns the Feb 26^th weekend at the Cataraqui Golf and Country Club, so good luck and good curling. Our junior team of Scott Chadwick, Jenna Raabe, Chris Galamb, Heather Raabe had two great games at the OCA Junior Mixed Zone last weekend at the Stirling Curling Club, but did not make it to the winners circle. I heard you all had a great time and lots of great shots…way to go!!! The teams of Ian Munro, Bill Hogg, Dave Travers, Paul Spooner and Paul Dickson, Robert Paul, Robert Hough, John Deman finished 3^rd and 4^th in the round robin Cataraqui senior league. Good luck to Ian who is now in the playoffs and has won his first game.

We are hosting the OCA Mixed and Senior Mixed this weekend and have two teams entering each event. The winning two teams from the Mixed and the Senior Mixed will curl in the Regionals being held at the Carleton Place Curling Club. Best of luck to our entry teams of Andy Palmer, Rob Dickson, Don Currier, Paul Dickson. I wonder if you can determine which two teams are in which event??? Not sure, come to the club Saturday and/or Sunday and watch some terrific curling.

The Town & Country bonspiel is next Wednesday February 23^rd, followed by the Highland Lassie on Saturday, February  26^th, plus there is a sign up sheet on the bulletin board for the Ford Hot Shots, Sunday, March 06^th.

By now you should have received the Volunteer Form for the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championships but if not there are copies on the bulletin board at the club. This event has 26 teams (13 Men/13 Women) curling their best during a full round robin and then playoffs with the goal being the prestigious gold medal and a chance to curl in the Worlds. The volunteer form is also on our website www.ndcc.ca so if you have a friend or two who want to offer their time during this 9 day event do not hesitate to give them the address; and of course you can always call me at 354-7138 s_seastlake@kos.net.

Our Junior curlers are having fun and learning the finer details in the sport of curling at the same time. We have 28 junior members curling on Wednesday afternoon and/or Sunday evening. Dave Travers, our Junior Director thanks Ian Munro, John Deman, Heather Wemp, Scott Webber, Mark Dunham and Bill Spencer for their many hours assisting him. The Napanee Junior Boys entered the Ontario Curling Association (OCA) competition for Bantam Boys at the Royal Kingston Curling Club for the first time in many years.  The team consisted of skip: Liam Kennelly, Third: Cameron Woodcock, Second: Gordon Servage, Lead: Denis Holden and Spare: Rob Kaiser. The Team played an exceptional first game, however losing 6-4 in favor of the Welch rink. This lead the boys into the B division where again they had another great game unfortunately lost again by a score of 5-4. This event provided the boys with a great deal of experience and exposure to curling competition. Also a team was entered into the Under the Sea bonspiel at the RKCC on the 5 Feb 2011 on a last minute call up on the morning of the bonspiel. The team consisted of Skip: Liam Kennelly, Third; Denis Holden, Second: Rob Kaiser and Lead: Bradley Hartin. The RKCC coordinators thanked the boys and the parents for pulling together a team at the last minute to enable the event to be completed with a full draw. It was a great event and the team stood third overall in the point spiel. Dave thanked the parents of the players for supporting the boys and the club for this event. I want to thank Dave for giving up many, many hours coordinating, instructing, and travelling with our juniors both at the club and away. Our junior program allows new members to join all season long and any new curlers get to curl for two weeks to ensure they like the sport (although I do not know what’s not to like). If you have a son or daughter or friend who might like to try, call Dave Travers 373-0016. Good luck and good curling to our junior team Braden Scott, Jenna Raabe, Chris Galamb, Heather Raabe at the OCA Junior Mixed Zone playdowns Feb 11-13^th at the Stirling Curling Club.

 On the adult side we had a team of men and a team of women curl in the OCA Intermediate zone playdowns but neither made it to the podium. Thank you Paul Dickson/Rebecca Murphy for representing the club and better luck next year. I will again remind you that if any of you are travelling to another club for a bonspiel, please let me know as the rest of us would like to know of your bonspieling success. We are hosting the OCA Mixed and Senior Mixed February 19^th weekend and have two teams entering each event. Good luck to all of you.

             There may be a ticket or two left for the Sweetheart dinner, February 16^th so call Phil Wilson 396-2226. The Town & Country bonspiel is on Wednesday February 23^rd, the Highland Lassie on Saturday, February  26^th and please note: The Ford HotShots has moved to Sunday, March 06^th.

The annual Mixed Open bonspiel last weekend was a great success thanks to the hard work of Rebecca Murphy and her committee of Jane Pearson, Lana Latimer and Cindy Woodcock with drawmaster Cor Vandenberg and Hugh Sharpe. Walking into the club was like going thru a mirror to the Rome Empire days thanks to additional decorators Louise Van Heighten, Lana Jaeger, Kelsey Pearson, Darrell and Connie Pritchard, Ken and Beth Clancey. The winning team of the event was Andy Palmer, Sheryl French, Darrell Scott, Cathy Palmer who thanked Rebecca and the ladies for the delicious food that was made available all weekend long. Starting on Friday evening with Heather and Doug Baker, Sandy Semple, Don and Genny Payne and continuing with Saturday breakfast by Sandra O’Neill, Vivian Moore, Chris Downey, Rebecca Murphy; Saturday lunch served by Lucille MacDonald, Bob Deline, Paul and Maureen McDonald, Marg Palimaka, Sandi McNamee (director); then Rebecca organized a delicious catered Roman supper complete with antipasto by Cedar Crest Catering.  The event runner up team skip Neil Oswald – from Dundas, Ont thanked the bar staff of Beau Maracle (director), Tom Ayling, Jack Barker, Steve Eastlake, Doug Baker, Linda Veley for ensuring all thirsts were quenched and maybe some more thoroughly than others. The B winner Ian Munro, Liz Graham, Andy Graham, Lia Dufour besting RKCC’s Dave Poirier continued by thanking Frank Dunham, Don Currier with helpers Tom Ayling, Steve Eastlake, Al Thompson, Andy Graham, Kees VanGent for terrific ice to curl on. The C event winner Robert Dickson, Trish , Scott Dickson, Marcia Difazio outcurled Garrison’s Williams team and the D event team of Don Currier, Debbie Currier, Kirk Donald, Ingebord Donald bested Jack McNamee, Sandi McNamee, Jim Kennelly, Sandy Kennelly. The mike was returned to Rebecca who thanked her sponsors of Grant’s Insurance, Shoeless Joe’s, Home Hardware for their continuing  support.  Rebecca has been convening this very popular and successful bonspiel for over 8 seasons now and deserves a lot of credit. Way to go girl!!!! 

The team of Andy and Cathy Palmer, Robert and Jane Hough curled in the Cataraqui Invitational Mixed and ended runner up in the A event. I believe they ended up runner up in A last season too. To the west Frank Dunham, Hugh Sharpe, Bill Casselman, Robert Paul received the runner up prize in the Brighton Senior Men’s bonspiel.

For those of you who have still not been able to participate in a club event, do not dispare, there are still many events on the calendar. Next up is the Town & Country bonspiel on Wednesday February 23^rd, the Highland Lassie on Saturday, February  26^th and the Ford HotShots Sunday, March 13^th, plus the Martin and Walters Saturday, April 2^nd which ends the season each and every year. Meanwhile, all us ladies are getting ready to be wined and dined at our annual Sweetheart dinner on Wednesday 16^th so get yourself and a friend a ticket and join us for an evening of fun and camaraderie. 

Members and non members alike need to look at the Club bulletin board – yes - it is the ‘long awaited’ Volunteer Form for the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championship that we are hosting in partners with the Napanee Sports Association and the Town of Greater Napanee, February 4^th to 12^th in 2012. If you have any questions at all or you are not around the club, do not hesitate to call or email me. Sandy 613-354-7138 s_seastlake@kos.net  

I am so looking forward to being wined and dined at our annual Sweetheart Dinner on Wednesday, February 16^th. The first annual “Sweetheart Dinner” in February 2006 was started by Ron Graham during his presidency and Lia Dufour, our Treasurer. This event was decided upon by the men of the club as a thank you to all club ladies for their many volunteer hours and also as a club fundraiser. Liz Graham, our ladies director at the time, after talking to the curlers, suggested Wednesday night so these ladies could attend as they already had babysitters, were not working, etc. This event was such a great success that discussion on the second annual was actually started that night. The meal is completely organized, cooked and served by our gentlemen curlers. We are wined and dined starting with greeters taking coats upon arrival and being presented with a carnation. We are served appetizers and wine with our dinner. At the end of the evening, we are helped putting on our coat as we leave with very satisfied smiles on our faces.

This year will be the fifth annual as last season was cancelled because of the Tankard. The Sweetheart Dinner this year is Wednesday, February 16^th  and there are a limited number of tickets sold so talk to your family and friends and get your ticket(s) soon by seeing/calling Phil Wilson 396-2226 or Lia Dufour 354-1174. This dinner is open to members, past members and friends alike so get your ticket today and you will not be disappointed. How many times do we get to see our men curlers all decked out with tie and all!!!! 

Last Friday at the club we hosted the Ontario Zone Grandmasters Curling Event. I am pleased to say that the team of Walter Genereux, Don Walker, Paul Spooner, Gerry McCracken won both their games so advance in the A event being played Friday, February 4^th. Walter will play against the winner of the B event being played earlier on the 4^th with the teams of Ted Davie, Ray Snider, Al Thompson, Andy Graham trying to best the team from Land O’ Lakes with Bob Bateman, Don Bittle, Lloyd Danford, Lloyd Juniper. The winner of this B game will play Walter at 1 pm. This is a double knockout event so depending on who wins this game, these teams may play again on Friday, February 11^th. The winner of the event will go to Thornhill for the Ontario Grandmasters Provincials late March. Good luck to all of you. The team of Walter Genereux, Ed File, Paul Spooner, Andy Graham won our zone last season and had some great games in Thornhill in 2010. The team of Andy and Cathy Palmer, Robert and Jane Hough curled in the Cataraqui Invitational Mixed and ended runner up in the A event. I believe they ended up runner up in A last season too. Good curling guys!!!

This weekend is our annual Mixed bonspiel starting Friday and ending Sunday, so if you would like to watch some great curling games or if you just want to socialize with Romans and Senators drop in for a visit.

Welcome to all the new and returning curlers who have joined our club for the remainder of the season. We hope you will have fun in our club and if you have any questions do not hesitate to call me or talk to your League Director. Please take a minute and check out all the information posted on various bulletin boards thoroughout the club. 

The fourth annual Ladies’ In-Club bonspiel last Sunday was a huge success with 56 ladies each curling two 6-end games. The bonspiel committee of Benita Murphy, Eleanor Ramshaw, Janet Hobin, Debbie Currier, Lorraine Wilson, Liz Graham with drawmaster Cor Vandenberg and greeters Bill Ryan and Ron Reynolds did a great job coordinating this event with the help of many other club members. The winning team of Beth Clancey, Susi Reinink, Anne Whalen Knapp, Sandy Kennelly thanked Eleanor Ramshaw assisted by Joelle Dickson, Sandy Semple, Lia Dufour, Jim Kinnelly and Barry Brummel for a delicious lunch. The second place team of Shelley Alkenbrack, Peggy Sunstrum, Joane Wright, Janie Alkenbrack thanked the bar staff of Captain Daryl Latimer and helpers Jack Barker, Brian Chadwick, Beau Maracle, Gerry McCracken and Barry Brummel. Thank you’s continued by the third place team of Laurie VanStraalen, Debbie Currier, Kim Manning, Genny Payn as they thanked Don Currier, Tom Ayling and Al Thompson for terrific clean ice. All the teams were thankful to Jim Head who ensured they all went home with a team picture. The day ended with  Liz Graham taking back the mike and asking for a round of applause for the sponsors Jennifer Clarkson and Lambert Auctions and continued with thanking Elaine Badgley, Gail Maracle and Jim Kennelly for setting up the pot luck supper. The aim of this bonspiel is to allow ladies from all the different draws to get to know each other and have fun together. Way to go ladies….you really succeeded. I just hope I can join you all next season for the fifth annual!!!

Last weekend we had three teams travel to Montebello to curl. The team of MaryJane Elvins, Sue MacConnell, Donna Malekos, Shelley Alkenbrack (two are RKCC members) won two of their 3 games and made it to the prize table. . I understand that this is an annual trip for most of these ladies so better luck next time to Sandi McNamee and the Jean Morrison rinks. We also had a team in the OCA Masters with Frank Dunham, Ted Davie, Paul Spooner, Kees VanGent and although they curled well and won two games they did not advance to the Regionals. Two teams also curled in the Picton Sportsman bonspiel last weekend with the team of Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Steve Eastlake, Andy Graham winning runner up in the C event. The other team of Phil Wilson, Ken Healy, Tom Shillington and a gentleman from Kingston had close games and a lot of fun.

You will all notice that those ‘little x’ marks on the volunteer board are multiplying nicely. I want to take a minute and thank some of our ‘behind the scene’ volunteers. Beau Maracle has a great crew of monthly captains and we thank you Tom Ayling, David VanVlack, Dennis Snider, Daryl Latimer, Brian Woodcock and Jack McNamee for making Beau’s job a little easier. On the house side, Tom Ayling is always around to assist Bill Ryan, Frank & Don, Sandi McNamee or just about anyone who needs assistance including being Beau’s second set of hands all season long. Chris Ramshaw is always available with an extra pair of hands for anyone asking as is Darrell Pritchard. The Wednesday Senior men do not have enough praise for Eleanor Ramshaw for feeding them lunch each and every Wednesday and with very little assistance (Eleanor does allow Sandi McNamee or Sharon VanGent to fill in occasionally). Shirley Bush ensures all day leagues have a hot full pot of coffee available. Sharon VanGent makes it possible for Friday night curlers to have a bite to eat by setting up teams to make meals each Friday – thank you  to the teams who have already fed the hungry curlers. Kirk and Ingeborg Donald make Cindy Woodcocks job easier by looking after Tuesday night mixed and Ken Clancey assists Bill Hogg with Thursday night men. I know there are a lot more ‘behind the scene’ volunteers and I will report on them as I receive further information from your board directors. For those who have not had a chance to volunteer yet – please check our calendar of events and sign up now. Fact or fiction, you tell me, men can find their way around a kitchen too!!!

By now all members should have ‘limbered up’ after the holidays. I wonder how many of you noticed the fresh look of the ice. Thanks to Frank Dunham and Don Currier a thorough cleaning was conducted over the holidays. This involves closely watching gauges while the ice melts, sweeping up all the debris, resurfacing the sheets with new floods to be able to continue with normal shaving and pebbling. This took a lot of hours over the holiday season and we are grateful for all your hard work ensuring us the best ice possible to curl on.

The Senior Men’s Bonspiel held last Saturday was another success thanks to Walter Genereux and his committee of Hugh Sharpe with drawmasters Steve Eastlake and John Deman. Tony Bush’s winning team thanked all the ladies for their many hours of cooking although he did comment that the smells from the kitchen would have been hard to take on a empty stomach but thankfully he was fed all day long so did not have to worry. The day started with morning goodies by Shirley Bush, followed by a delicious lunch by Marilyn Cole with helpers Doug and Joyce Meredith, Jane Wittish, Lorraine Wilson, Roger Cole. Elizabeth Vandenberg and helpers Sue Sharpe, Joan Reynolds, Diane Davie, Barb Graham, June Hicks and Liz Goldie served a scrumptious supper. The second place winner Ian Munro continued with thanks to Walter and the bar staff of Lia Dufour, Jo Sutton, Brian Woodcock, Paul McDonald, Phil Wilson, Karen Brant. The two game high winner Ed File thanked Frank and Don with helpers Hugh Sharpe, Steve Eastlake, Brian Chadwick for great fast ice. Walter took the mike back and asked for a big round of applause to his sponsors Quinn’s Meats and Briar Fox G&CC.

While the Seniors was being held at our club the team of Scott Dickson, Kevin MacLean, Daryl Latimer, Chris McTaggard curled in the OCA Fairfield Inn & Suites (Marriott) at the Campbellford Curling Club. Although they had two very close games they did not make it to the winner circle. However, also at Campbellford, our ladies team of Sheryl French, Gayle Johnson, Marcia Difazio, Karen Mills won the OCA Best Western Challenge besting the Mary Stewart Ross RKCC team in the finals and are proceeding to the Provincials being held at the Prince Edward Curling Club January 21-23. Congratulations ladies and good curling in Picton! Our other team of Louise VanHeighten, Jane Pearson, Cindy Woodcock, Lana Latimer had two tough games and also had a lot of fun.

The refresher clinic last Sunday attended by a dozen members was well run thanks to Beau Maracle and Scott Chadwick (ended up helping by being in the club – thanks Scott). Thanks also to Andy Palmer for giving his Sunday to train some new club skips.

 The annual Ladies Club Funspiel is next on Sunday 16^th so if you did not sign up but now are free, call Debbie Currier at 388-9228. The Annual Mixed Bonspiel January 28-30 is getting closer and I have heard there will be a lot of Romans, statesmen and gladiators attending; sounds like great fun!!!

Belated Happy New Year from the Napanee & District Curling Club. I hope you all had the great holiday I did. With the curling club being my home away from home or sometimes my home is actually my second home --- who can keep track --- I really enjoy using this article to keep you all up to date and well informed on club events, the success or lack of success of our members who travel to other clubs competing for that honor to be the team with their name on a trophy, plus any other bit(s) of curling information that happens throughout the curling season. I can’t thank the Napanee Beaver enough for allowing me space each and every week.

All your league directors have now finished setting up the second draw and most of you have already completed your first game of 2011. I am happy to congratulate the first draw winners starting with the Wednesday Ladies – Sheryl French, Jordan VanVlack, Lana Jaeger, Chris Downey; runner up Louise Van Heighten, Beth Clancey, Brenda Kerr, Cindy Crowson winning by a few ends as they were tied with Rebecca Murphy and Gayle Johnson at 5 wins each. The Tuesday Up & At’Em winner was Marj Pearce, Al Thompson, Bernice Pringle, Heather Baker; runner up Grant Miller, Kees VanGent, Tom Ayling, Joan Banks. The Tuesday Mixed winner was Hugh Sharpe, Sue Sharpe, Louise VanHeighten, Anne Whalen-Knapp; runner up Robert Hough, Jane Hough, Jann Lees, Joane Wright. The winner of Friday Mixed could not be determined until the end of the very last game on Friday Dec 17^th with the team of Don & Debbie Currier, Hugh & Elizabeth Goldie coming out on top with Gayle & Guy Johnson, Don & Jane Pearson a close second. Better luck next draw to the team of Kees & Sharon VanGent, Linda Blake, Andrew Hanna who missed both first and second by only a couple of ends. The Monday men are already well into their second draw, so I will continue with the winner of the Wednesday Senior Men’s  being the team of Paul Dickson, Ray Snider, Murray Halliday, Roger Cole; runner up Walter Genereux, Doug Pennel, Phil Berry, Jack Barker. The Thursday Men’s winner was Ryan Rowe, Don Fox, Bill Creighton, Eric Bishop/Rick Lombardi; with runner up Brian Chadwick, Steve Eastlake, Bill Spencer, Dennis Snider besting Ian Munro and Bill Casselman by just a few ends. Last but definitely not least is the Thursday ladies winner Debbie Currier, Lorraine Wilson, Lia Dufour, Charlene Huffman; runner up Shirley Bush, Janet Hobin, Heather Baker, Diane Davie. Congratulations and good curling to all of you.

Next up on our schedule of events is the refresher clinic / skips training on Sunday 9^th at 1 pm. Please sign up at the club or call me. I do not want to have my instructors on hand if none of you are interested in a few tips to get rid of the bad habits picked up in the first draw or to just throw rocks.  I know a couple of you are interested in the Skips Training with instructor Andy Palmer but there is room for more curlers so sign up or call me. You do not need to be a Skip or even a Vice to take this training therefore learning a little more about the game and the strategy behind rock delivery.  The Senior Men’s Bonspiel on Saturday the 8^th is full so if you want to see how ‘the old guys’ do it, come on out and watch. Our annual Ladies Club Funspiel is next on Sunday 16^th and the sign up sheet is posted on the bulletin board. This is a fun day for all club ladies and if you want more information talk to Debbie Currier or Benita Murphy. Also remember to mark your calendar for the Annual Mixed Bonspiel January 28-30. Rebecca is still looking for helpers and I believe she can also use a few more individual curlers so call her 354-5445. Peggy Sunstrum is busy setting up her annual Hospice Bonspiel on Saturday 22^nd so if you are interested call Hospice today.

Here it is only the 6^th of January and already the club is back into ‘hustle and bustle’ mode. I really do not want to miss relating winners, runner up teams or teams just having fun at other curling clubs so don’t forget to call me after you return home. I understand a couple of ladies teams are off to Montebello….good luck and great curling.

Our annual Ladies Club Fun Bonspiel has been moved to Sunday, January 16^{th .} The convenors felt that with the popular Hospice Bonspiel on Saturday 22^nd a lot of the ladies would not want to curl two days in a row. If you would like further information on the Hospice Bonspiel please call Peggy Sunstrum at 354-2664. This is a very worthy fundraising event that shows all curlers a great time on the ice, tasty food and lots of socializing.

We had two teams enter the Dominion Men’s Tankard Zone playdown in Trenton last weekend, although they all curled well, neither made it to the finals. Thank you goes to Paul Dickson, Andy Palmer, Kevin MacLean, Darrell Scott and Robert Dickson, Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Brad Simpson for representing our club in this event. Without area clubs offering ice time to host these OCA events there would not be the need for any of the Provincial playdowns such as the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship which we successfully hosted last season. In February 2011 we are hosting the OCA Mixed and Senior Mixed zone playdowns. Steve Eastlake stated that he goes to all the OCA symposiums and is pleased to be able to offer our club for an event or two, thus easing the responsibility of other area clubs. Steve went on to say that we also have hosted and will again host the GrandMasters Senior Zone playdown on Fridays in February. In fact, last season our team of Walter Genereux, Ed File, Paul Spooner, Andy Graham won the zone playdown and had the honor of representing us at the Provincials at the Thornhill CC March 26-27^th,2010   

            All leagues are now into their last game of this draw and I will have the results for you in my article on Thursday, January 6^th. A lot of the leagues are holding pot luck luncheons and/or evening goodies so members get a head start on ‘that extra bite’ of xmas goodies. Remember not to over indulge too much…that first game in January is always a ‘groaner’. Merry Xmas to all and to all happy curling !!!!

Leagues at the club are now finished or close to finishing the 1^st draw so all are adding ‘that little extra’ to try to make it to the prize table. I do have some interesting standing for you though as of Friday 3^rd Dec. There are 2 teams tied with  5 wins each (Marj Pearce and Frank Dunham) in the Up & At’Em with 4 teams right behind them with 4 wins. In the Tuesday mixed there are 4 teams tied with 5 wins each (Hugh Sharpe, Andy Palmer, Robert Hough, David VanVlack); Thursday ladies also show a 4 way tie (Debbie Currier, Shirley Bush, Benita Murphy, Sandy Eastlake. This closeness lets you know that even with ‘drawing from a hat’ teams are very closely matched.  The Wednesday ladies has Sheryl French in the lead followed closely by Rebecca Murphy; Wednesday Seniors has Frank Dunham with second place being Paul Dickson. The Friday night mixed has about 7 teams all close with Louise VanHeighten and Daryl Latimer having only a one game lead.

Monday night Men’s have now started their second draw with the winners of Draw 1 being: A Division: 1st - Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Paul Murphy; runner up - Paul Dickson, Steve Angel, Daryl Latimer, Darrell Pritchard; B Division: 1st - Ian Munro, Brian Hobin, Rick Siegner, Andy Graham. Runner up - Phil Wilson, Ken Healy, Tom Shillington, Chris McTaggart C Division: 1st - David VanVlack, Barry Brummel, Bill Creighton, Karl Gray; runner up - Beau Maracle, Jim Head, Phillip St. Jean, Gerald McCracken. Congratulations to all. The B winners and runner up moves to A and the C winner and runner up move to B. The two bottom in A and B move down, therefore each draw now has new teams to compete against.

On December 5^th was our Semi Annual General Meeting was held . All club business was discussed, moved and approved allowing your Board to continue with the day to day required duties to ensure the rest of the season is as productive as the first half.

The sign up sheet for our annual Ladies Club Fun Bonspiel Sunday, January 23^{rd .} is now posted so sign up soon. There is a sign up sheet for our annual ‘refresher’ clinic on Sunday, January 9^th  at 1 pm. Andy Palmer will be holding a ‘skips training’ clinic at the same time in the lounge. This clinic gives you the opportunity to get tips/help on the bad habits developed since the start of the season. I will have clinic instructors there to assist anyone who asks. Also in January is our Senior Men’s Bonspiel on the 8^th, convened by Walter Genereux and our annual Mixed Bonspiel from 28^th to 30^th convened by Rebecca Murphy. Rebecca has posted the sign up sheet for the Mixed and as usual the first 12 teams are guaranteed a spot with excess teams on the waiting list. She is usually looking for a few individual curlers to fill spots where someone has gotten sick so if you would like to curl call or get in touch with Rebecca.  You might offer some volunteer time to Rebecca and be on her committee, thus ensuring the event is the success it always is without Rebecca running around trying to do three jobs.

            If you have not seen a sign up sheet for any of the second draws by now, please call your league director to ensure your spot on a team in January.

I am happy to report that teams from the club continue to represent Napanee at other bonspiels. On Thursday, 25^th we had three teams compete in the Tweed Senior Men’s Bonspiel. The Land O’ Lakes Curling Club (Tweed) always shows us a good time both on and off the ice. The team of Paul Dickson, Bill Casselman, Kees Van Gent, Barry Brummel won the honor of being first to the prize table while Ted Davie, John Deman, Barton MacLean, Paul Spooner and Frank Dunham, Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Hugh Sharpe both had one win and one loss. Paul Dickson had a very busy 3 days as he then entered into the OCA Senior Men’s Zone playdowns with teammates Andy Palmer, Don Currier and Darrell Scott held in Stirling Friday and Saturday. They curled well but lost in an extra end on Saturday. The Stirling Curling Club also offers great fun and sport during any event they host.  

Back at the club, the Ladies Open last Saturday convened by Heather Ramshaw with committee members Eleanor and Christine Ramshaw, Jennifer Clarkson, Liz Graham with drawmaster Andy Graham. Sixteen teams of ladies from as far away as Ottawa and as close as Kingston curled their best to be the ‘winner’ and first to the prize table. This year it was Maelane Hums with Diane Costantin, Brenda McNeely and Linda Miller from Carleton Place. Maelane thanked all the kitchen help starting with  coffee cake, fruit and yogurt by Eleanor Ramshaw and Jennifer Clarkson followed by a tasty soup and sandwich lunch by Ingeborg Donald with helpers Kirk Donald, Jane Hough, Phil Berry and Susi Reinink. A delicious supper of stuffed pork with all the trimmings by Beth Clancey with helpers Ken Clancey, Brenda Kerr, Ron Kerr, Cindy Crowson, Tom Ayling and Linda Veley. The other two games winners were Heather Ramshaw-NDCC, Gayle Johnson-NDCC and Betty Bush-RKCC who continued to thank the bar staff of Tom Ayling, Linda Veley, Daryl Latimer, Ken Clancey and Brian Woodcock. Frank Dunham with Robert Hough, Al Thompson, Rick Seigner and Peter Wylie ensured the ladies had terrific ice to curl on. Heather Ramshaw ended her announcements by thanking all for attending, her committee for their many hours of work, all the volunteers and lastly, a special thank you to the event sponsors: Jennifer Clarkson, Shirley Bush, Christine Ramshaw,  Playground Licensed Childcare,  Colio Wines-Gerry  Henderson, Eleanor Ramshaw and Gail Spencer. Way to go, Heather another successful event for the club to brag about.

On December 5^th at 1 pm is our Semi Annual General Meeting. Be sure to get there early to ensure yourself a good seat. Remember to mark your calendar and sign up at the club for our annual Ladies Club Fun Bonspiel Sunday, January 23^rd..  Also in January is our Senior Men’s Bonspiel on the 8^th, convened by Walter Genereux and our annual Mixed Bonspiel from 28^th to 30^th convened by Rebecca Murphy; so check the main calendar or call the convenor if you are interested.

            All leagues have posted or will post soon their sign up sheet for the second draw starting early January 2011. Any curler or new member wanting to join and curl for the rest of the season, please call Sandy Eastlake 354-7138. If you are a member but wish to join a league you are not currently curling in, you can also call me or call the League Director him/herself. The full Executive is listed above the main bulletin board. Do not wait too long as each and every league fills up quickly. Any junior wishing to start curling or just wanting more information , please call Dave Travers 373-0016.

In case you have not read a paper, been listening to the radio or talking to a friend, I thought I better inform you that it is true and not just a rumour - we are hosting the 2012 M &M Meat Shops Canadian Junior Curling Championship. The club will host this event in partnership with the Town of Greater Napanee and the Napanee Sports Association. I am very excited and I imagine most of you are too. This is a real honor for the Napanee & District Curling Club and a ‘boon’ for the Town of Greater Napanee not to mention all our junior curlers or soon to be juniors and how excited they must be to realize they will be able to watch the best of the best. I am glad I have the Annual Men’s Open Bonspiel held last weekend to report or I would go on and on and on.

The Men’s Open convened by Phil Wilson with committee members John Deman, Jim Head, Paul McDonald and Hugh Sharpe, drawmaster, Beth Primeau, 50/50 coordinator did another terrific job of ensuring 96 curlers had a great weekend. Frank Dunham and Don Currier with helpers Steve Eastlake, Barry Small, Don Pearson, Bill Casselman, Brian Chadwick, Steve Angel received nothing but praise for the fast ice conditions. The winning team  from Napanee, Robert Dickson, Ryan Rowe, Brad Simpson, Scott Dickson thanked all the ladies for keeping them fed from Friday to Sunday. The meals never stopped starting Friday with Captain Eleanor Ramshaw and helpers Christine Ramshaw, Heather Ramshaw, Sandi McNamee (Kitchen Director-who seems to hang around assisting with most meals), followed by breakfast Sat am with Gail Spencer and helpers Bill Spencer and Jim Kennelly; lunch by Linda Blake with Maureen McDonald, Jo Sutton Heather Wemp, Joanne Wright. The runner up team also Napanee, Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Paul Murphy continued thanking Moira Sickling with helpers Lana Jaeger, Gail Maracle, Lana Latimer, Linda Gray, Karen Brant, Jordan VanVlack for a delicious prime rib dinner. The B winner from Napanee Andy Palmer gave thanks to Shirley Bush with Joan/Frank Banks and last but definitely not least lunch by Liz Graham with helpers Janet Hobin, Benita Murphy, Susan Snider. Naturally, to go along with the food and curlers really needed refreshments so the C winner Ed Warren from Carleton Heights and the D winner Vic Matthews from RKCC thanked Bar Captain David Van Vlack and his crew of Bill Ryan, Karen Brant, Laurie Van Straalen, Ron Van Straalen, Tom Ayling, Ken Clancey, Brian Woodcock, Ray Snider, Beau Maracle (Bar Director-whose face was also quite recognizable most of the weekend), Arnold Van Heighten, Dan Mc Grath and Jack McNamee.

Phil Wilson took the mike back and asked for a round of applause for our sponsors without whom, this bonspiel would not be the success it is each and every year. Thank you Shoeless Joe’s, Quinn’s Meats, Courtyard Marriott Kingston, Burke Printing, Woodcocks 401 Automotive & Tire, Threadworks Custom Embroidery, Canadian Tire Gas Bar, NorthKey Construction, M&M Meat Shops Kingston, Moore Bros, George A Grant Insurance, Dr. Andy Palmer, Barry Brummell-Wager & Myatt, James R. McCutcheon Insurance, CanDo Information Technology, Emmons Welding, State Farm Insurance, AM Sports, The Wine Store, MainStay Natural Foods, Frankie G’s Gourment Pizza & Sub. Way to go Phil….another success to mark up on the board.

Next up is our annual Ladies Open Bonspiel being held this Saturday the 27^th. Come out and watch how our ladies plus ladies from all over the area make curling look so easy. On December 5^th at 1 pm is our Semi Annual General Meeting and I hope to see a lot of you in attendance to help us settle items needing actioning, thus allowing us to complete the day to day operation(s) of the club.

On Sunday, January 23^rd is our annual Ladies Club Fun Bonspiel including lunch, dinner, snacks, prizes and lots of fun. The sign up sheet will be soon on the bulletin board so mark your calendar and sign up for this fun filled day of curling and socializing.  Curling events never stop from the start of the season until the end so take a minute and check the main calendar for an event or two that you want to participate in. You may also want to check the OCA event sheets, put a team together and curl in an event involving many other area clubs.

Did I mention we are now the proud host of……yes, I did.

Yesterday at the club a dedication ceremony was held to thank the Ontario Trillium Foundation for their kindness in granting us funds towards the procurement of 64 new curling stones. I want to thank Marj Pearce for offering to ‘deliver the first stone’ as part of this ceremony. (being fully reported on by The Napanee Beaver)

Now that most of the curling equipment has been upgraded including these rocks, a new ice plant, new headers (pipes), new heaters, an overhauled dehumidifier and many new motors, all since 2002; it is time to start upgrading the ‘social’ area of the club. Over the summer a subcommittee gave up many hours helping the Directors ‘fine tune’ a shopping list drafted by The Board for items needing attention in the rest of the building.  This committee delivered a report back to the Directors with their list which includes tables, chairs, toilets and new lighting plus diagrams and a plan to enlarge the kitchen, move and enlarge the bar, plus add an addition to the front entrance. This Committee was put in place to prioritize items for procurement using the funds received from the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship. The funds are only available because of the hard work and long hours of you, our curling members and the volunteers from other organizations. The decision on these purchases and these renovations was decided by a majority vote at the Special General Meeting held September 25^th, 2010.

The new tables and chairs will be arriving soon and the four new toilets are ready to be installed. Once the furniture is in place, members can look around and see the results of their many hours of volunteer duties at the Tankard. The Board heartily thanks the committee of Chair Brian Woodcock, Secretary Bill Spencer, Chris Ramshaw, Ron Reynolds, Connie Pritchard and Paul Spooner. The large renovation project will be ongoing and we again thank Brian, Connie and Chris for staying and assisting us through with this large undertaking. The ‘draft’ diagrams of these projects are on the bulletin board for any member interested to see what we are planning.  The sub committee report also had a list of ‘future’ items needing attention and your Board have these items noted and all will be taken into consideration as funds become available.

See you at the Men’s Open Bonspiel tomorrow, Saturday and/or Sunday. If you are busy this weekend then come and watch the ladies at the Ladies Open on Saturday 27^th.

Curlers are now settled into their games and all is running smoothly at the club. Your league directors can now take a big breath before they have to do it all over again when compiling the second draw. Due to the hard work of Christine Ramshaw, I am pleased to take this opportunity to thank all our club sponsors whom without the club would have a much more difficult time managing the day to day costs at the club. A big round of applause to Woodcock’s 401 Automotive & Tire Centre, Scotia Bank, Home Hardware Building Centre, Bert’s Golf, Aura By Colour Connection, A M Sports, Country Traditions Frozen Foods Outlet, Exit Reality, Tim Horton’s, Napanee Opticians, Quinte Curling Supplies, Murray Drywall, Wagar & Myatt Ltd Real Estate Brokers- Barry Brummell, Sunlife-Peter Wilkie, George A Grant Insurance Broker Inc- (Dougall Ins), Napanee Beaver, Pringle Ford, Giant Tiger, D & L Carpentry & Kitchen Design, Colio Estates Wine- Gerry Henderson, Pritchard’s Decorating & Linens, North Key Construction & Orkney Residential, The Dominion Of Canada General Insurance Company, Quinn’s Meats, Sign Me Up Hart N’ Hart, Patricia Dafoe Insurance Agency Inc, L & A Mutual Insurance Co., Homestyle Deli, Waste Management, Napanee Oil Change (Wayne Clark), Goodyear Canada. We have many more generous local companies who sponsor each of our Bonspiel events and they will also be thanked as the event occurs.

Congratulations to the team of Robert Dickson, Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe and Brad Simpson on winning the Trenton Men’s Cash Bonspiel and collecting the $ 1,200 prize. Any member who has something they would like passed along, with the generosity of The Napanee Beaver, this article is the way to get your information to members and the general public too. On that note, I need to apologize to Walter Genereux, Bill Casselman, Doug Pennell and Kees Van Gent who came seventh while Frank Dunhams team came eighth (not seventh) at the Senior Mens Bonspiel at the RKCC (as reported in my November 4^th article). There was a mix up in information passed to me so I hope there are no hard feelings on this error.

The Men’s Open Bonspiel, on 19^th-21st November is still looking for a couple of teams so check your calendar and call Phil Wilson 396-2226 for a weekend full of food and fun and curling and did I mention food.

The committee for our annual Ladies Club Bonspiel being held on Sunday, January 23^rd are now hard at work organizing this event. All lady members are invited to participate with lunch, dinner, snacks and prizes. A sign up sheet will be posted early December but mark your calendar now so you do not miss out on this fun filled day.

As we pause and bow our heads, today on Remembrance Day, we remember those brave men and women who courageously volunteered for the cause of freedom and peace.

At the Napanee and District Curling Club we are enjoying excellent ice which, for those of us still struggling with the game, causes some frustration as we cannot, honestly, blame missed shots on the ice! Thanks to Frank, Don, and their many helpers, for giving us such wonderful ice. With 64 brand new rocks thanks to an Ontario Trillium Foundation Grant, it is a real chore for Frank and Don to stay on top of shaving and temperature techniques to ensure the ice is consistent with ‘new rock’ requirements.  Also, Mr Weatherman is certainly not making it any easier for them but we are certainly not complaining about the mildness.  Our guest curlers coming for the Men’s Open Bonspiel, on 19^th-21st November, and the Ladies Open, 27th November, will be in for a real treat. There are still openings for curlers wishing to curl in the Men’s Open, if interested, call Phil Wilson 396-2226.

The 2010/2011 NDCC telephone directories are now available at the Club. Thanks again to Burke Printing for their continuing support in the printing of these directories. If you would like a name tag there is a sign up sheet on the main bulletin board. Speaking about bulletin boards, there is a lot of information for all members on various boards in different areas of the club. Take a minute or two before your next game and read up on club happenings, events and other interesting information such as volunteer chart in the foyer, which is now ready to have those cute little ‘x’s added as the season progresses.

Club members are continuing to represent the club at bonspiels throughout the area. On Saturday we had four teams at the Royal Kingston Senior Men’s Bonspiel. The team of Robert Paul, Robert Hough, John Deman, Paul Spooner came 4^th while Frank Dunham, Dave Travers, Bill Creighton, Ken Healy came 7^th; with the other two teams skipped by Walter Genereux and Ian Munro having some good games but not making it to the prize table. Two teams were at the annual Tweed Cashspiel but neither brought back a prize. It must have been some game between Robert Dickson, against dad, Paul Dickson, with dad coming out as the victor. Paul with team mates Andy Palmer (Kevin MacLean), Don Currier, Darrell Scott beat Bruce Delaney (representing Canada at the 2010 World Senior Championship) on Friday night so Robert with teammates Scott Dickson, Ryan Rowe and Brad Simpson did not mind losing to ‘good old dad’.

By the time you are reading this article, you should have received the agenda for the upcoming Semi Annual General Meeting on Sunday 5^th of December at 1 pm. If you have not received it and it is not at the club for pick up call me 354-7138. On that same note, if you do receive it by ‘snail mail’ and have an email address please let me know. 

With the first week of curling completed your league directors can now breathe a sigh of relief that all their many hours compiling and comparing lists of members to come up with a draw to please as many curlers as possible actually succeeded, with only a few minor hiccups. I can assure you from firsthand experience, all your sore muscles should/will be throbbing less and less as the weeks progress. Monday Men have 21 teams; Up&At’Em-18 teams; Tuesday Mixed-10 teams; Wednesday Senior Men-13 teams; Wednesday Ladies-9 teams; Thursday Ladies-9 Teams; Thursday Men-9 teams and Friday Mixed-25 teams.

            Your kitchen and bar directors are busy compiling their lists of captains and helpers to cover all the bonspiel volunteer requirements, so if you did not indicate on your application where and when you would like to work please check with Beau Maracle or Sandi McNamee. Our bonspiels are very popular and normally full with waiting lists and this is because of all your many hours of volunteer time.  There are a new set of guidelines on bar procedures being tried this season, so please, all you smart serve volunteers take a minute and read the ‘redbook’.

I would like to welcome aboard Beth Primeau who has kindly offered to publish our monthly ‘Newsletter’ usually published close to the 1^st of each month. Any news of interest please contact Beth so she can add it to the next edition.

            Another reason the bonspiels are very successful is the willingness of local sponsors to step up and add their contribution to the clubs’ events. Already proving their generosity are Aura By Colour Connection, Canadian Tire Gas Bar, Country Traditions, Dairy Queen, Mark’s Work Wearhouse, Metro, Movies N More, Paul’s Pizzeria, Pizza Hut, Napanee Golf Course, New York Café, Richmond Variety, Serendipity Studios & Serendipity sweets, Shoeless Joe’s Restaurant, Spuds Griddle, Sunlife – Scott Buckley, The Playground Licensed Childcare Centre and The Source plus members Eleanor and Heather Ramshaw allowing Christine to have a wide variety of items for the raffle table at the Swing and Sweep. Thanks to all of you.

            Although the season has just begun the club has already been represented at the OCA Dominion Men’s Club Championship held at the Land O Lakes curling club last weekend. Don Currier, Kirk Donald, Al Thompon, Rome Dorval curled well winning their first two games making it thru to Sunday but then unforetunately came in second at the Sunday games. Nice try, guys.

The Mens Open Bonspiel – 19^th-21^st  November, followed by the Ladies Open - 27^th November will show you some terrific curling or maybe you will be in one of them and showing us your great shots. The General Meeting is Sunday the 5th of December at 1 pm.

If your organization thinks it may interested booking the ice to hold an event for your workers/fellow members you better call Shirley Bush 354-5659 soon as the calendar of empty weekends are filling quickly.  

The Napanee & District Curling Club warmly welcomes you to another season of socializing  and curling. Your Board of Directors: President/Mens-Mixed Bonspiels – Phil Wilson;  VicePresident/Kitchen – Sandi McNamee;; Mens Games – Bill Hogg; Mixed Games – Cynthia Woodcock; Juniors – Dave Travers; Ladies Bonspiel - Heather Ramshaw; Fundraising - Christine Ramshaw; Ice - Steve Eastlake; House – Bill Ryan;  Ladies Games – Debbie Currier/Gayle Johnson,  Bar/Rental – Beau & Gail Maracle (Shirley Bush), Treasurer – Lia Dufour; Secretary – Elizabeth Vandenberg and myself your Membership Director are available at any time to answer any questions you may have.

            You must have noticed the extra ‘shine’ when you stepped onto the ice for the first time. Steve Eastlake, ice director thanks Bill Ryan, Tom Ayling, Andy Graham, Rick Siegner, Brian Hobin, Walter Genereux, Dave Travers for assisting in painting the whole ice area plus a special thank you to our Ice Techs Frank Dunham and Don Currier for their many hours over and above ice installation with painting, laying of new carpet, and the list goes on.

            Your house director, Bill Ryan thanks Tom Ayling,  Robert Hough, Jack Barker, Al Thompson, Gord Mitchell, Cor Vandenberg and Ron Reynolds for their assistance in ‘sprucing up’ the club in general.

            Sandi McNamee, kitchen director thanks the strong crew of Brian Woodcock, Darrell Pritchard, Bill Ryan, Don Currier, Steve Eastlake, Tom Ayling and Darryl Latimer for moving, cleaning and installing the extremely heavy new gas stove.

This year we have 248 members (up 12), 28 of whom are new to the club and/or to curling in general. I would like to thank Gayle Johnson, Beau Maracle, Cam McFadyen, Ian Munro, Kevin MacLean, Joe Jackemeck and Robert Dickson  for all their time insuring our new and returning members had full instruction prior to their first game.

After the Tankard “Junior Day’ last year, our Junior program is already showing a rise in numbers and we hope this trend will continue. All new juniors get to curl for two weeks prior to paying , just to make sure they like it plus do not have to purchase any expensive equipment. It is not too late to join; come to the club any Wednesday at 4 pm or call Dave Travers at 373-0016.

Remember to mark your calendar for the Mens Open Bonspiel – 19^th-21^st  November; Ladies Open - 27^th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 5th of December at 1 pm.

            To all new members, if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to call me 613-354-7138; although any of the directors listed above will be happy to assist you. See you on the ice…..

 Sandy Eastlake

 BONSPIELS 

Mens Open – Nov 19-21st – Friday to Sunday

Ladies Open – Nov 27^th – Saturday

HotShots – Dec 12th – Sunday 

Senior Men – Jan 8^th – Saturday

Ladies Club – Jan 23^rd – Sunday

Mixed Open – Jan 28-30^th – Friday to Sunday

OCA Senior Mixed and Mixed Zone event – Feb 19-20^th – Saturday and Sunday

Town & Country – Feb 23^rd – Wednesday

Highland Lassie – Feb 26^th – Saturday

Ford Hot Shots – Mar 13^th – Sunday

Closing Martin & Walters – April 02^nd – Saturday

Banquet – April 29^th - Friday

The closing Martin & Walters had 20 teams ending this season with a fun filled day of curling, eating, curling and eating. Starting with morning snacks, followed by lunch, snacks (yes again) and ending with a 4 table pot luck. Thanks to Sandi McNamee and her helpers Eleanor Ramshaw, Bernice Pringle, Joanne Wright (daughter Allison), myself, and Sharon VanGent who coordinated the pot luck supper. These ladies were assisted by many of our curlers also. Keeping everybody’s glass topped up was Tom Ayling, Barry Brummel, Maui, Eleanor Ramshaw, Beau & Gail Maracle, Bill Ryan, Ken Clancey and Elaine Badgley. The winning team of Tom Ayling, Shirley MacDonald, Cindy Crowson and Jim Wood thanked all the organizers but especially Don Currier for terrific ice to curl on. Ayling also thanked those dreaded little pieces of paper of which ensured his win. The Button High winner was Marc & Vicki Babcock, Lucille McDonald, Bob Deline followed closely by runner up Don & Jane Pearson, Darryl & Lana Latimer. The annual Turkey toss organized by our Junior Director Dave Travers with helpers Brenda Travers, Steve Eastlake and the Rick Guthrie team was won by Don Pearson and I won the Ham. We both donated our winnings back to the Juniors who ended up with another $50 in their kitty. I have been told that all had a great time and my head confirmed this on Sunday.

The General Meeting held Sunday to finalize business for the season was well attended and your Directors have a few new business items to attend to over the summer. Your Directors thank you for your caring about the daily operation of this, your curling club.

Last week I promised you the rest of the league’s winners so starting with Monday Mens we have A-Don Currier, Kirk Donald, Al Thompson, Rome Dorval; B- John Deman, Ted Davie, Paul Spooner, Barton MacLean; C-Phil Wilson, Cam McFadyen, Tom Shillington, Chris McTaggart. The Wednesday Senior Mens winner was Chris Ramshaw, Kees VanGent, Ron Reynolds, Wayne Chadwick followed by the Thursday Mens Daryl Latimer, Paul McDonald, Jim Emmons, Terry Bawn. The Tuesday Mixed showed Robert & Jane Hough, Laurie VanStraalen, Jack Green making it to the winners circle and the Friday Mixed had Ken & Beth Clancey, Daryl & Lana Latimer followed closely by Rebecca & Paul Murphy, Laurie Bradshaw, John Taylor and Don & Debbie Currier, Hugh & Liz Goldie.

Wednesday night ladies winner was Gayle Johnson, Kelly Roantree, Phyllis Babe, Linda Veley and the Thursday ladies was won by Jane Hough, Susi Reinink, Bernice Pringle with a spare. The ever popular Up & At’Em winners were in last weeks article.

Before saying adios for this 2009/2010 curling season I want to thank The Napanee Beaver for allowing us to have space in the paper for this article and I again thank Ted Davie for all his many articles keeping you informed on club happenings.

See you all at the Banquet Friday, April 23^rd. Tickets are still available so call Sandi McNamee 354-2414. Have a great summer and see you in the fall; boy I hate that sentence as now I know for sure that the season is over. SOB!

LITTLE ROCKERS COME 5^TH IN ZONE COMPETITION

Volunteers at the Napanee & District Curling Club have again this season ensured the success of all our bonspiels and they have been thanked in previous articles. Our club rentals are also very important and we keep organizations returning year after year because of our Smart Serve volunteers who step forward most weekends during the season. These same Smart Serve persons step forward each day of the week to ensure the bar is manned and all can get their opposition a drink after a tense, close game. Beau Maracle and his February Bar Captain Barry Brummel thank Bill Ryan, Al Thompson, Cindy Crowson, Ed File, Andy Graham, Eleanor Ramshaw, Kees VanGent, Dennis Snider, Jim Mullin for their assistance at these rental events.

The bar is only one area of need followed closely by the kitchen, bonspiel committees, Director committees, Maintenance assistants, Ice crews, Robert Hough who makes sure we have somewhere to sit, Earle Bush who ensures the club is never full of all that dreaded recycle, and the list goes on and on. The success of your club depends on all 264 of you stepping forward and giving a few hours of your time and I thank you. The vast number of “little check marks’ on the Volunteer Chart in the foyer shows all how many persons it takes to complete all these necessary duties. If for some reason you have not been able to assist much and you have some hours prior to the Banquet there will soon be a sign up sheet at the club for you to help us make this seasons’ banquet great fun and a happy way to end the season. The more who sign up to set up or clean up means less working hours for just a few.

Paul Dickson, Don Currier, Mark Dunham and Darrell Pritchard lost in an extra end at the Colts Regional last weekend. That must have been some terrific curling, nice try guys!!

Dave Travers once again took one of our junior little rock teams to enter the Zone 4 Playdown for the Little Rock Championship held at the Trenton Curling Club 7 March 2010. The team consisted of Maclean Marlin, Kyle Hartin, Cody Milligan and Logan Kennelly. The boys played two really good games finishing 5th and receiving a medallion each for their effort. They really looked professional in their new NDCC Junior jackets provided by the club. To all you juniors, keep up the good work and naturally good curling; congratulations.

Come to the club Saturday and see some terrific shot making as all participants try to win the trophy at this years Ford Hot Shot Competition; then sign up for the Martin and Walters closing funspiel open to members, family and friends being held March 27^th. Then attend the closing General Meeting Sunday, March 28^th at 1 pm.

Banquet tickets being co-ordinated by Sandi McNamee are now available thru Sandi McNamee, Bill Hogg, Sandy Eastlake/Shirley Bush, Ingeborg Donald, Gayle Johnson, Debbie Currier and Cindy Woodcock. Phil and Cindy are also looking for crews to set up and clean up the banquet, April 23^rd. Cocktails at 6 pm, dinner at 7 pm and dancing at 8 pm. What a way to end another great season - plus, as an added thank you for the successful 2010 Ontario Men’s Curling Championship - we are leaving the cost at $20 per person this year even with the rising cost of food and music.

NAPANEE JUNIOR CURLS WITH THE GOLDEN GAELS

Queen's University Golden Gaels Skip Jon Beuk,  Third Andrew Inouye, Second Chadd Vandermade, Lead Scott Chadwick Alternate Andrew Minty are curling in the 2010 CIS/CCA UNIVERSITY CURLING CHAMPIONSHIP being held this year in Edmonton, Alberta March 10-14^th.

 The season is not over yet. Sign up and mark your calendar for the Pringle Ford Hot Shot Competition Saturday, March 13^th – call Christine 354-1511, the closing Martin & Walters Saturday, 27^th March – call myself 354-7138 and the Annual General Meeting Sunday, March 28^th at 1 pm. Your agenda has been emailed to you or is available at the club. See, still lots of events to  come at the Napanee & District Curling Club.   

            Saturday, March 13^th is our annual Ford Hot Shots Competition. With the kind sponsorship of Pringle Ford we are hoping for a full roster of men and women. This is a fun day with lunch and prizes. Divisions are made by what position you normally play so Skips will throw against Skips, Vices against Vices, Seconds against Seconds and Leads against Leads. This competition is for all to come out and try your luck and/or natural skill of throwing a rock. Watch for the sign up sheet soon to be posted on the clubs’ bulletin board. Check it out www.fordhotshots.curling.ca  just register free and play

Wow, a week of curling has passed since the finals of the 2010 Men’s Curling Championship and I have seen some terrific shot making; I guess a lot of us did take lessons.

First of all I want to thank Ted Davie for his dedication in ensuring the Clubs’ article was included in each and every week’s edition during the curling season and I would be remiss to not thank The Beaver for allowing this article to happen. Ted, good luck with your new endeavour - see you around the club and who knows I am probably curling against you next Tuesday AM .

Publicity about the club has been over welming and is not over yet. The team of Paul Dickson, Don Currier, Mark Dunham and Darrell Pritchard won our Colts Zone playdown and will be representing us at the Regionals in Gananoque March 6^th and 7^th.  Good luck and good curling. A couple of other teams are curling in other Zone playdowns this coming up weekend and we all wish you luck too.

The Monday Night Men’s is now in their third and final draw with the second draw winners being A – Don Currier, Kirk Donald, Al Thompson, Rome Dorval with runner up Paul Dickson, Steve Angel, Darryl Latimer, Darrell Pritchard topping Bill Hogg’s team by a couple of ends only. B – Chris Ramshaw, Ron Graham, Bill Spencer, Jim Mullins with runner up Walter Genereux, Ken Healy, Phil St.Jean, John Lees. C- Andy Palmer, Stephen Paul, Jim Emmons, Gord Mitchell with runner up Braden Scott, Darrell Scott, John French, Chris Goody. Congratulations to all of you.

Still to come around the club is the Highland Lassie Saturday 27^th of February. The bonspiel is full but Heather Ramshaw is looking for helpers during the day and also a nice gift for the raffle table would be nice. The Ford Hot Shots is next on Saturday March 13^th so watch for a sign up sheet;  followed by the closing Martin & Walters, but I will not go there yet as I am still very into curling --- not having if over

As the Volunteer CoOrdinator of the Tankard I want to remind all the volunteers to attend our Thank You Wine & Cheese, Saturday 20^th from 1 to 3 pm at the Strathcona Paper Centre.

                The Tankard has left the building!  I’m thinking it is already on its way to the engraving shop to put Glen Howard, and the names of his teammates, on the trophy, again, the fifth year in a row.  They deserve a loud CONGRATULATIONS for their achievements and now go on to represent Ontario in the Canadian curling playdowns.  The curling was incredibly good all week.  The eleven teams were quite well matched so that any one team was capable of beating any other team on any day depending on their consistency.  Howard won all his games but was seriously challenged several times, including the final against team Cochrane.  The Howard team will be excellent ambassadors for the province at the Brier in Halifax in March.

                When Glen Howard made his acceptance speech, he said that the attendance at this Tankard was the best he had experienced. All went very well and an event Napanee can be very proud to have hosted.  Much credit has to go to the 2010 Tankard Host Committee chaired by Stephen Paul.  His father, Robert Paul, was the Sponsorship Chair assisted by Patti Sharpe and Karen Mills; Chris Ramshaw was the Social Chair supported by his wife Eleanor, and daughters Christine and Heather; Joe Jackemeck was the Advisor/Media Relations Chair; Steve Eastlake was the Ice Chair assisted by our two ice makers: Frank Dunham and Don Currier; Paul Murphy was the Finance Chair supported by his wife Rebecca;  Rob Plumley was the Game Operations Chair assisted by Andy Palmer looking after the timekeepers/scorers and Bill Casselman responsible for the team hosting; Kevin Hill, the Director of Parks, Recreation & Culture Dept, was the Facilities Chair assisted by his staff members: Vicki Hallam and Janet Uens;  John Deman was the Logistics Chair assisted for the many facets by Ron Graham and Phil Berry for security and Phil Wilson for communications;  and Sandy Eastlake was the Secretary and Volunteer Coordinator of the nearly 200 volunteers required to cover all the areas of responsibility.  As one of the many volunteers, I can attest to a very well run event supported by comments from Howard and many other out-of-town visitors. To all those who contributed time and talent, and especially those committee members, thank you, thank you!  To the many volunteers who came out every day, thanks for supporting the Tankard event.

                Meanwhile, back at the Club, curling will never be the same for most Napanee curlers.  Overwhelmed by the beautiful, smooth, consistent deliveries and the amazing broom and weight control witnessed this week, most of us have seen the many areas where we can improve and have seen firsthand, every day, what is possible if you get it right – and practice enough.  It is going to be a tough week dealing with reality at the NDCC.

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Well, it is here!  The Tankard curling event finally arrived and the Town is a abuzz.   The OCA and the ice makers from the Club did a wonderful job transforming the Strathcona Paper Centre, on the Goodyear side, from a hockey rink to five beautiful curling sheets in the short period from Wednesday midnight to Sunday noon.  It is magic just to see, without the best provincial curlers even on the ice.  Then they arrive!  Seeing them warm up by sliding half way down the sheet and throwing a few rocks each to get a feel for the keenness and curl of the ice is a thrill too!  They make it look sooo easy.  Then the curling begins.  Every team in the competition is worthy of you taking the time to see a game or two.  It will never get closer!  Get out there, the stands have lots of room for you.

It appears all is well as all the planning for the event has come together nicely and everyone seems content.  The curlers are very happy with the ice and apparently they have been overwhelmed by the hospitality.   The many volunteers can be seen in their ‘volunteer black and red jackets’ performing many tasks: timers and scorers at the end of  each sheet for every game; the busy ice helpers cleaning, scraping, pebbling, placing the bumper pads and arranging the rocks; the cooks preparing the meals for sale and all the food supplied to the curlers; all the helpers in the Ice Hut gathering dirty dishes and empty bottles, squaring off the area and cleaning tables and floors; the security teams checking the tickets and watching the various areas that need supervision/control and doing taste checks on the Horton boxes; manning the tables at the front entrance giving directions and information to all who ask; selling 50/50 tickets all day, every day; hosting each curling team and assisting them when necessary like eating their sandwiches; parading the curlers on for each draw; and the list goes on. 

The organizing committee deserve much credit for making this truly a memorable event for Greater Napanee.  Congratulations!  The local hosts who accepted the challenge of running the event (Napanee and District Curling Club, Napanee Sports Foundation and the Ontario Curling Association in partnership with the Town of Greater Napanee) are still busy making sure everything runs as expected.    Whereas the Dominion Insurance is the Tankard sponsor, our local sponsors deserve much credit for supporting this  rather large undertaking for a Town our size: Premier sponsors: Century 21 Lanthorne Real Estate Ltd, BMO, Lafarge Canada, and Waste Management; Gold sponsors: CKWS, My FM, Napanee Guide, Kingston Whig Standard and Belleville Intelligencer, Prince Edward and Lennox Addington Community Future Development Corp, and Cogeco; Community sponsors: Geo A Grant Insurance, Hampton Inn, Hart N’ Hart, M&M, Snappy Print, Jet Ice, Shoeless Joe’s and Gay Lee.  Please support them.

They have scheduled great entertainment daily/nightly at the Ice Hut. The main event takes place following the evening curling at 9:30 pm.  The bar stays open until 1:30 am and they are having a fun time there every night.  If you have not been there yet, get off your behind before you miss it all.  For more details see the Tankard website at www.2010tankard.com.

By the way, the actual Tankard (trophy) is in the building.

                The Tankard week is fast approaching and there are some neat side events being planned, besides the Ice Hut!  For example, the committee has invited about 400 local school children to attend a two hour free curling seminar and watch the morning game at the Strathcona Paper Centre on Wednesday morning of February 3^rd, with no admission fee.  This is a great idea to introduce these kids to the game of curling and for them to see, close and personal, the best curlers in the province competing.

                A local team of Frank Dunham, Hugh Sharpe, Jack McNamee and Kees VanGent went to Campellford on the weekend for the Master Seniors Bonspiel (that’s as old as it gets) and won their flight.  They had won the bonspiel last year and are awaiting word on their finish this year.  Well done (for your age!).

                Curling is continuing this week at the Club but I daresay most of the time and effort is being allocated to next week and the Tankard.  Our ice making volunteers start on Wednesday converting the Strathcona Centre hockey ice to curling ice for the event.  As mentioned last week, their results will be tested by the Fun Spiel for volunteers starting at noon with three groups of forty curlers participating.  I think I heard that Pringle’s Ford, or was that Boyer’s, were considering something new and shiny for the big prize.  And whether you are a curler, a tv curling fan or an ice fisherman, you do not want to miss all the shenanigans scheduled for the Ice Hut during the week.  So, come out, see our best provincial curlers in action and enjoy some of that home grown, warm Napanee hospitality.   See you at the Ice Hut!

          I think I see signs of the after holiday blues at the Club.  You know, everyone feeling lethargic, bloated from too much holiday food and not enough exercise, wishing they were someplace warm for a week or two, wondering why their curling hadn’t improved after the long layoff…  It’s easy to feel sorry for oneself until you look at the images coming out of Haiti.  We have so much for which we should be thankful, besides curling.

            Meanwhile, back at curling, there were several bonspiels in the area last weekend.  Reports received include the Andy Palmer rink of his wife Cathy with Jane and Robert Hough placing runner-up in the “A” event at the Cataraqui Annual Mixed.  Phil Wilson took his rink of Ken Healy, Ray Vesey and Tom Shillington to Picton for the Sportsman and was runner-up in the third event.

            Great fun was had at the Club last Saturday during the annual Mixed Open Bonspiel.  The weekend event was modified to a one day ‘spiel because of fewer entries.  However, they demonstrated again that size does not matter as everyone still had a great time.  The event was organized by Rebecca Murphy assisted by her committee members: Jane Pearson, Lana Latimer, Cindy Woodcock, Beth Clancey and Louise VanHeighten.  Michele Penner and her team in the kitchen of Lucille McDonald, Bob Deline, Rick Guthrie and Marg Palemeka contributed to the bonspiel theme by serving delicious Mexican food.  The excellent dinner was catered by Krysta Huyck.   Winners were Scott Buckley and his team from the Royal Kingston CC: Kim Dickson, Dan Boers and Heather Ramshaw.  The runner-up was Napanee’s Ken Clancey with Louise VanHeighten, Daryl Latimer and Beth Clancey.  The bar was ably handled by Tom Ayling, Linda Veley, Peggy and Jim Sunstrum, Jordan and Dave VanVlack with special margueritas by Brian Wookcock, apparently one after another, after another, after another. Thanks to drawmaster Hugh Sharpe and ice assistants Mark Dunham and Rick Seigner helping Don and Frank.

            Yes, there is curling going on at our Club as usual but most curlers have their minds on the Tankard week and the various events already scheduled.   The first event, named Olympic Day by the organizing committee, starts on Sunday, January 31^st, when forty of the Tankard volunteers take part in a Funspiel on the new ice at the Strathcona, using Tankard rocks.  This will also be a test of the new ice and allow the icemakers a chance to observe the results of their icemaking before the real competition begins.   The draw starts at noon with each team curling four ends and continues with new volunteers curling at 1 pm and again at 2 pm.  Sandy Eastlake is coordinating the Funspiel and has posted the names for the teams at the Club.  Obviously, not all volunteers are able to curl in the Funspiel but Sandy has a list of “stand-by” curlers ready to participate should any of the original curlers have to cancel out.

            The Ice Hut, at the Strathcona Paper Centre, will be open to the public from 3 pm to 9:30 pm on Sunday and will host a fun-filled programme of ‘Olympic Events’ coordinated by Chris Ramshaw. A reminder to all that the Ice Hut events are open to the public and will include games, trivia, dancing and food.  And, those at the Strathcona will be able to watch the Tankard teams practice from 5:30 to 8:30 pm.  The popular group “On Tap” will entertain in the Ice Hut from 6:30 – 9:30 pm.  So, get in the Tankard mood by coming out to the Ice Hut on Sunday and enjoy some fun and games with curling on and off the ice, a hockey shoot out, cross country skiing and more - and you might even win a gold medal before the Olympic games begin.  See you at the Ice Hut.

            All volunteers for the Tankard received a letter from Stephen Paul, Chair of the 2010 Host Committee, this week outlining what is expected from volunteers and explaining when and where to pick up their accreditation, what the pass means and restrictions, expected dress when on duty, parking areas, check –in policy coming on duty and general responsibilities as ambassadors throughout the week.  If you didn’t get your copy, you should ask and make sure you have one.

 A reminder that the Club will be closed for the duration of the Tankard 31 Jan to 7 Feb.   Hope you are all practising for the Ice Hut activities.     

            A reminder of the 2010 Mixed Open Bonspiel being held on January 16^th.  Last I heard, there is still room for more rinks.  This is an event you do not want to miss if you are looking for curling and lots of fun.  The Mexican theme this year has got to be good for some laughs and many neat costumes with curlers using those trinkets and hats left over from their last trip south of the Rio Grande. For more information and entry forms see the club website www.ndcc.ca

            The Club offers a hearty welcome to all our new curlers and those returning after some absence.  You have taken a significant step towards making 2010 a happier year.  Finally, a special thank you to our instructors who conducted the curling clinics on Sunday, 03 January: Andy Palmer for the Skip’s Skool, Ian Munro for the new curler clinic and John Deman and Beau Maracle for doing the refresher clinic.  We all probably should have been there.  See you at the “Ice Hut”.

            On January 24^th there will be a Ladies In-Club Bonspiel and the annual Mixed Bonspiel is scheduled for 15-17 January.  The social side of the Mixed is something you don’t want to miss.  The dress theme this year is Mexican Fiesta.  Call Rebecca now at 354-5445 to enter or check our website www.ndcc.ca

            The Club will be closed from 30 January to 07 February while all the curlers volunteer at the 2010 Ontario Men’s Curling Championship.

            The Board of Directors, all curlers and club volunteers wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with hope, health, happiness and lots of curling.  See you at the rink in 2010.  Happy New Year!

A final reminder of the Men’s Senior Bonspiel on 9 January and the Mixed Open on 15-17 January.  The Mixed has a Mexican theme this year for the costumes, music and drinks and there is still room for teams wishing to enter. Call Rebecca at 354-5445.

A correction is required for last week’s article to the phone number for Dave Travers and Junior curlers.  It should have been 373-0016.  Please call and get your children involved in a life-long activity.  Get them involved and you will know where they are for years to come!

         Well, the Napanee Men’s Open Bonspiel has come and gone for another year but there are  some memories and images still lingering.  I am sure you have already read about the eight-ender that was scored on Saturday by a Napanee/RKCC rink skipped by Chris Ramshaw, vice Bob Helliar, 2^nd Tom Miller and lead Phil Berry.  Many curlers had never seen an eight-ender so it was a neat addition to the bonspiel.          

                Phil Wilson and his bonspiel organizing committee of Paul Macdonald, Jim Head, John Deman and Drawmaster Hugh Sharpe did a great job, according to all reports.  The support of the local event sponsors (Home Hardware, Quinn’s Meats, Burke Printing and Woodcock 401 Automotive and Tire) and other local commercial advertisers, teamed with the curling volunteers, made this event the attraction that brings teams back year after year.  Many thanks to all involved.  Well done, Phil.

                Of the 24 teams competing this year, 19 of them were returning from Ottawa, Winchester, RKCC, Napanee and Cataraqui with new entries from Toronto’s Tam Heather, Gananoque,  Killahoe, a new entry from Cataraqui and two from Prince Edward.   Winning the “A” event and the $1000 first prize was the Suddergaard  team from  Cataraqui  with the Helliar rink taking second; the Munro rink from Napanee won the “B” event,  with Buckley from Cataraqui coming second; Schneider from the RKCC won the “C” event with Hemming from Toronto placing second; and, the Mullen brothers from Killahoe won the “D” event by beating the Napanee Pringle rink.   The curling was great helped partly by the excellent ice provided for the contestants by Frank Dunham and Don Currier and their many helpers: Art Dawson, Mark Dunham, Steve Eastlake, Robert Hough, Dennis Snider and Rick Siegner.

                Of course, in Napanee, the big attraction after our hospitality is the food.  This year was as good as any other thanks to the kitchen volunteers.  The Friday night early evening snacks were prepared by Eleanor Ramshaw and Sandi McNamee and, later, the chicken wings were prepared by Christine and Heather Ramshaw.   Saturday morning breakfast was prepared by Diane Davie and her team of Tom and Pat Keech Stevens and Joan Reynolds.  The Saturday lunch was organized by Linda Blake and her team of Keith Chapman, Cory Royale, Charlene Huffman and Cindy Crowson.   The absolutely delicious beef dinner was prepared by Moira Sickling and her team of Lana Latimer, Mary Jane Evans, Ellen McEwen, Lana Jager, Gail Maracle and Cindy Woodcock with Hugh Sharpe doing the generous carving.  The Sunday morning breakfast was prepared by Shirley Bush with Joan and Frank Banks followed by Sunday lunch done by Liz Graham, Janet Hobin, Jo Sutton, Gail Spencer and Benita Murphy.  Well done ladies (and those few men assisting)!

                Yes, the bar was open and provided the friendly service curlers expect.   For a great weekend of service, we thank Brian Woodcock and his team of bartenders: Louise and Arnold Van Heighten, Beth and Ken Clancey, Gerry McCracken, Tom Ayling, Michelle Penner, Jennifer Clarkson, Jack McNamee, Cynthia Woodcock, Lana Latimer and Jim Head.  Everyone enjoyed the bar service, so thank you.

                The preparations for the Tankard playoffs in February are always going on within the Club.  During the weekend, the Ontario Curling Association (OCA) officials were in Napanee briefing the timers and scoring officials for the event.  Under the watchful eye of our coordinator for local officials, Andy Palmer, the volunteer officials had the opportunity to ask their many questions and were required to practice “timing” a couple of ends during the bonspiel play.   The Tankard event is proving to be very beneficial for the Club as already at least fifteen members are now more knowledgeable about OCA rules with respect to the Tankard playoffs – with lots more to come.  Get your tickets early at the Strathcona Centre.

         It didn’t take long for curlers to get in the swing (and sweep) of things although your curling reporter took considerably longer, missing his submission date for two consecutive weeks.  All leagues are well underway and those with some Club responsibility are busy trying to deal with those loose ends we all knew would arrive but were not sure what or where they would be. 

We are enjoying good ice again this year which, for those of us still struggling with the game, causes some frustration as we can no longer, honestly, blame missed shots on the ice!  Thanks to Frank and Don, and their many helpers, for giving us such wonderful ice.  Our guest curlers coming for the Men’s Open Bonspiel this week, on 20^th – 22^nd November, and the Ladies Open, 28^th November, will be in for a real treat.   And the ice is not the best part!

If members have not yet volunteered to help at one of the bonspiels, or for the many other jobs we need to do as volunteers at the Club, don’t be shy.  Step right up and ask any of the Directors what you would like to do or what needs volunteers and I’m sure we can fit you in someplace, sometime.  A reminder that we are able to keep our curling fees low, compared to other clubs in the area, only because we do so much with volunteers versus hiring personnel that then costs the Club which has to be passed on the members. Volunteering is a win-win situation so please do your part.

The 2009-2010 NDCC telephone directories are now available at the Club.  Thanks again to Burke Printing for their continuing support for these directories.

The John Deman team (Ted Davie, Bart Maclean and Phil Berry) curled in the Thousand Island Seniors at Brockville last Saturday and came second in their half of the bonspiel. Very keen ice is such a treat for us older curlers!

Preparations for the Tankard curling playoffs, being held in Napanee Strathcona Centre February 1-7, are well underway.  Timers will be trained during the Men’s Bonspiel this weekend.  For more information visit the website www.2010tankard.com or call 354-4423.

And, it is not too late to curl this year.  Come and see us at the curling rink, or call Sandy at 354-7138, and we should be able to accommodate your needs.  We are very interested in more Junior curlers and all queries for that can be addressed to Dave Travers at 373-9916.

And, it is not too late to curl this year.  Come and see us, or call Sandy at 354-7138 and we should be able to accommodate your needs.  We are very interested in more Junior curlers and all queries can be addressed to Dave Travers at 373-9916.

             It didn’t take long for curlers to get in the swing (and sweep) of things.  All leagues are well underway and those with some Club responsibility are busy trying to deal with those loose ends we all knew would arrive but were not sure what or where they would be. 

We are enjoying excellent ice again this year which, for those of us still struggling with the game, causes some frustration as we can no longer, honestly, blame missed shots on the ice!  Thanks to Frank, and his many helpers, for giving us such wonderful ice.  Our guest curlers coming for the Men’s Open Bonspiel, on 20^th – 22^nd November, and the Ladies Open, 28^th November, will be in for a real treat. There are still openings for teams wishing to curl in the Men’s so, if interested, call Phil Wilson 373-2252.

If members have not yet volunteered to help at one of the bonspiels, or for the many jobs we need to do as volunteers at the Club, don’t be shy.  Step right up and ask any of the Directors what you would like to do or what needs volunteers and I’m sure we can fit you in someplace, sometime.  A reminder that we are able to keep our curling fees low, compared to other clubs in the area, only because we do so much with volunteers versus hiring personnel that then costs the Club which has to be passed on the members. Volunteering is a win-win situation.

The 2009-2010 NDCC telephone directories are now available at the Club.  Thanks again to Burke Printing for their continuing support for these directories.

And, it is not too late to curl this year.  Come and see us, or call Sandy at 354-7138 and we should be able to accommodate your needs.  We are very interested in more Junior curlers and all queries can be addressed to Dave Travers at 373-9916.  

This season is an extra exciting one at the Napanee & District Curling Club as we are hosting the Ontario Men’s Curling Championship – February 1^st to 7^th in partnership with the Napanee Sports Association and the Town of Greater Napanee.  Ontario’s best and finest curlers from all over the province will be competing for the chance to represent Ontario in the Nationals (The Tim Hortons Brier) being held in Halifax this season. The host committee has been working hard all summer to get prepared for this event. As with any event a great number of volunteers are needed and as per normal our curling club members have ‘stepped up to the plate’. There is a requirement of 200 volunteers to cover the week and the club has filled 150 of these positions. The rest have been recruited from town organizations or other area clubs. Thanks to all of you.

Back at the club, league curling has the first week completed and most sore muscles should be healed by the time you are reading this article. Monday Men have 22 teams; Up&At’Em-20 teams; Tuesday Mixed-10 teams; Wednesday Senior Men-12 teams; Wednesday Ladies-7 teams; Thursday Ladies-11 Teams; Thursday Men-11 teams and Friday Mixed-22 teams. Gayle Johnson our Wednesday Ladies director is still looking for curlers to fill that 8^th team spot, so if you are interested please call her at 354-3581.

            Your directors are busy compiling all the bonspiel lists, league rosters, league assistants, junior assistants and all other needed volunteers to complete club duties for this season. If you notice help is needed to fill a spot on the lists soon to be posted please step forward and add your name.  

Upcoming events to remember: Mens Open Bonspiel - 20^th – 22nd  November; Ladies Open - 28^th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 6th of December at 1 pm.           

Sandy Eastlake (filling in for Ted Davie)

A hearty welcome to another season of socializing  and curling from your Board of Directors: President/Kitchen – Sandi McNamee; VicePres/Mens-Mixed Bonspiels – Phil Wilson; Mens Games – Bill Hogg; Mixed Games – Cynthia Woodcock; Juniors – Dave Travers; Ladies Bonspiel - Heather Ramshaw; Fundraising - Christine Ramshaw; Ice - Steve Eastlake; House – Bill Ryan/Gord Mitchell;  Ladies Games – Debbie Currier/Gayle Johnson,  Bar/Rental – Beau & Gail Maracle (Shirley Bush) and myself your Membership Director at the Napanee & District Curling Club.  

This year we have 243 members, 35 of whom are new to the club and/or to curling in general. I would like to thank Gayle Johnson, Beau Maracle, Cam McFayden, Ian Munro and Andy Palmer for all their time insuring our new and returning members had full instruction prior to their first game. Steve thanks our two Ice Techs Frank Dunham and Don Currier plus helpers Rick Siegner and Tom Ayling for installing the clean, fast ice you will be curling on. Bill and Gord thank Ron Reynolds, Cor Vandenberg, Chuck Gray and Dennis Snider for assisting with painting and general building cleanup. There are many more to thank as set up for a new season takes many, many hours of volunteer duties and those not listed above will be thanked in a future article.

The club telephone directory will be available by the end of next week so pick up your copy at the information centre. There are a lot of important flyers on the tables and the various bulletin boards so be sure to familiarize yourself with this information.

This years’ 7^th annual Swing and Sweep convened by Heather Ramshaw and Kim Dickson started off with a morning of golf; although on the crisp side the sun warmed everyone quickly. Lunch was served at the curling club (soup and sandwiches) by Eleanor Ramshaw with help by Jennifer Clarkson. Beau Maracle had the bar open and kept everyone served all afternoon with helpers Kees Van Gent, Brian Hobin, Brian Woodcock and Dennis Snider. Curling was played by all participants on the great ice prepared by Frank Dunham and his helpers.
Dinner was prepared by Kim Dickson, Eleanor & Heather Ramshaw with Anne Angel and Cyndie Belleveau being a great help in the kitchen at dinnertime. Christine Ramshaw prepared an amazing raffle table with donations by many local sponsors and all monies will go towards the 2009-2010 Fundraising campaign for which she will report separately. Heather and Kim thanked all participants, volunteers and supporters for an excellent day once again; and a special thanks to Eleanor Ramshaw, for her tireless efforts. Chris Ramshaw presented the trophy to the 7th Swing&Sweep winners- Paul Dickson, Steve Angel, Daryl Latimer and Robert Dickson and prizes to Runner up - Ian Munro, Brian and Janet Hobin and Robert Hough, Men’s Closest to the Pin – Robert Dickson; Men’s Longest Drive – Scott Buckley; Ladies Longest Drive – Louise Van Heighten; Closest the Pin – Rebecca Murphy. I think most participants went home with something or Steve just acquired the block of cheese he brought home.

Remember to mark your calendar for the Mens Open Bonspiel - 20^th – 22nd  November; Ladies Open - 28^th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 6th of December at 1 pm.

            To all new members, if you have any questions at all, do not hesitate to call me 613-354-7138; although any of the directors listed above will be happy to assist you.

 Sandy Eastlake (filling in for Ted Davie)

The Napanee & District Curling Club is just completing its last week of curling and members have been trying their best at their final chance to get their name on one of the coveted trophies…Good luck and good curling to all 259 of you. This has been a prosperous season for the Club with all our bonspiels being a great success thanks to the hard work of our club volunteers. Your Board of Directors thank each and every one of you for the many volunteer hours you have given freely to ensure this success.

Your league directors Bill Hogg, Janet Hobin, Gayle Johnson, Shirley Bush, Sandi McNamee, Cindy Woodcock, Jane Hough were busy compiling the awards that were presented this past week; the bonspiel crew – Eastlakes/Travers and Kitchen - Sandi McNamee / Bar -  Bakers are busy preparing for the closing Martin and Walters – April 4th; your Vice President, Sandi McNamee is trying to ensure all will be ready for the banquet April 24^th; and all directors along with the secretary and treasurer are typing their reports for the closing General Meeting – April 5^th at 1 pm. We hope to see you there with thoughts and ideas on improving the day to day operation of the club.

The GrandMasters Team of Frank Dunham, Hugh Sharpe, Frank Banks, Kees VanGent won their first game and had really close loses after that ending up as a semi finalist in the C event. There were 16 teams participating with a delicious banquet on Friday evening.  They all had a great time and plan on participating next season. 

If you have not bought your banquet ticket yet, it is not too late. Please call Sandy Eastlake 354-7138 However, we have a deadline due to ordering meals so ensure to request your ticket before April 17^th.

The young team of David Staples, Scott Chadwick, Nick Schroeder and Neil Roberts won the Napanee Curling Club championship this week by defeating Robert Paul’s team (vice Robert Hough, 2^nd Paul McDonald and lead Paul Murphy) in a close final that went down to the last rock of the last end.  What a way to finish the curling season!  These championship playoffs have gone on forever and it took many wins to get to the finals.  So, congratulations to the “kids” who showed us all how it should be done and we wish them all well as they go on to higher learning and more curling challenges.  We really enjoyed your participation this year. 

All the other leagues are running down to conclusion and those results will probably be available next week.

So, keep listening for and reading about the two curling events coming later this month: the Napanee Geritol team of Frank Dunham, Hugh Sharpe, Frank Banks and Kees VanGent are off to Thornhill on the 27-28 for the Provincial Masters and the Provincial Junior Mixed in Marmora that includes David Staples and Scott Chadwick.  We wish you good curling and luck, if required.

Forms for those interested in participating as volunteers in the 2010 Tankard Playoffs, to be held in the Strathcona Centre next February, are available on the Club web site: www.ndcc.ca. 

The big curling social event of the year, our annual banquet, will be held 24 April at the Club.  Tickets are now available from Sandy at 354-7138.  This may be your last chance to say ‘au revoir’ to your curling friends for the year.

This is the final reminder that our ice goes out on April 04^th this year with the traditional Martin & Walters Bonspiel and our General Meeting is scheduled for April 05^th at 1 pm.  See you at the banquet – wear your dancing shoes…

I am sure many readers have heard of, or seen, the television programme about the Week the Girls Left Town.  Well, last weekend, there was similar experience in Napanee  as many curlers were out of town, bonspieling, and it was very quiet for those remaining behind.  Here is a clockwise report of the various teams out there trying to put Napanee on the map.

In Kingston on Saturday, at the annual Kidney and Lung Foundation Stick Bonspiel at the RKCC, two Napanee rinks were pushing their rocks about.  At this annual fundraiser, the Chris Ramshaw rink (daughter Heather vice, Kim Dickson 2^nd and Tom Ayling lead) came out on top winning the bonspiel.  The other Napanee rink competing, and donating, was skipped by Hugh Sharpe, vice Bill Creighton, 2^nd Don Currier and lead George Elliott.

Meanwhile, in Picton on Saturday, three other local rinks were entered in the annual Heritage Mixed Bonspiel.  As usual, there was lots of good food, a few drinks, socializing and even curling.  The Johnson rink (Gayle skipping, husband Guy vice, Louise VanHeighten 2^nd and her husband Arnold lead) won two of their three games and placed fourth.  The HH team (Robert and Jane Hough, Janet and Brian Hobin) and the ML team (Rebecca and Paul Murphy, Lana and Daryl Latimer) both had a ball.

Also, in Belleville on Saturday, at the Quinte CC, two more local teams were enjoying the competition and hospitality in their annual Senior’s Bonspiel.  The Clancey team (Ken skipping, Ken Healy vice, Kees VanGent 2^nd and Walter Genereux lead) and the File team (Ed skipping,  Brian Chadwick vice, Frank Banks 2^nd and Andy Graham lead) both had a good day, both finishing in the top half of the sixteen teams entered.                                 

            Just to the north, in Tweed, on the same Saturday, two more Napanee rinks were competing in the annual Farmer’s Bonspiel.  The Casselman team (Paul Dickson skip, Bill Casselman vice, Scott Dickson 2^nd and Steve Cooper lead) had two out of three wins and the Davie team (Ted Skip, Murray Halliday vice, Paul Spooner 2^nd and Bart MacLean lead) managed one of three wins.  This is one of the most enjoyable ‘spiels in Eastern Ontario and certainly has one of the best prize tables in the area.  Everyone goes home full of wonderful food, a neat prize wherever you stand, and very satisfied because of their warm hospitality, high level competition and great ice.

            We are not through yet.  Two of our curlers, Dave Travers and Steve Eastlake, were in Renfrew at the annual Army Electrical Mechanical Engineer NCO bonspiel.  Their rink, who won the ‘spiel last year, came in second this year, losing by a quarter of one point.  I believe that is  equivalent to one point of the total scoreboard points for the bonspiel!  That is close.  Well done guys and better luck next year.

In Ottawa, on the same Saturday, a local Junior Mixed team of skip David Staples, vice Laura Brown, 2^nd Scott Chadwick and lead Gillian Moren were winning the “B” side of the Regionals and will go to the Provincial playdowns in Marmora on 28-29 March.  Congratulations.

Just down the river at Hawesbury, and yes on the same Saturday, more Napanee curlers were competing in the Senior Mixed Regional playoffs.  The team, skipped by Andy Palmer with his wife Cathy, and the Bakonyi’s from Trenton, had a great day but lost in the “B” semi-finals.  Well done and better luck next year.

Not on the same Saturday, but earlier, our Napanee schoolboys team had won the KASSA (zones) and the EOSSA (regionals) without comment.  Please accept my apologies for not reporting your curling success earlier.  Skip Scott Chadwick, vice Wes Kerr, 2^nd Braden Scott and lead Chris Galamb are scheduled to play in the Provincials in Grimsby on 28-29 March.  Congratulations!  However, if you have been paying attention, you will undoubtedly have discovered a problem – Scott is already playing in the Junior Mixed Provincials, on the same dates, in Marmora.  I do not understand!  I’ve been curling for nearly 60 years and have never had a problem like that – and here is young Scott, in his mid-teens, pulled between two Provincial playoffs on the same date.  I am waiting to see how he handles this predicament.  I know that mediocre curlers do not have these problems.

Last reminder that our ice goes out on April 04^th this year with the traditional Martin & Walters Bonspiel and our General Meeting scheduled for April 05^th at 1 pm.  Our annual curling club banquet is scheduled for 24^th April.  Avoid the rush, get your tickets now…

           Well, the local old guys did it with style and ease!   I’m talking about the Napanee Senior Master’s team (Frank Dunham, Frank Banks, Kees VanGent and Hugh Sharpe) who won the Regional playoffs on Friday.   That team (often referred to as the Geritol Guys) represent many years of curling experience and they are now off to the Provincial finals at Thornhill on March 27^th.  Reliable rumour has it that first prize this year is one year free room and board in the sponsor’s home for the aged  -  and the loser gets two years of the same!  Good luck guys and if we don’t see you around we will know you won one of the top prizes.

            The Intermediate Zone playoffs were held in Brockville on the weekend.  Apparently, the curling was top notch but our home team (Paul Dickson, Robert Paul, Paul Murphy and Paul McDonald) just failed to qualify for the Provincials losing both the “A” side and “B” side finals in well-played, close games.  Good luck to the Ottawa (Rideau) and Quinte teams who go on and better luck next year to our local Pauls.

            The club leagues play on but there is a noticeable lack of enthusiasm at the rink as many of our curlers are snow birds down south – and the rest wished they were.  It is a great opportunity for those who wish to curl more every week as someone is always looking for a spare or two.

            If you see people running out of the curling club, don’t be alarmed.  It may just be our weekly fire drill.  With a new system just installed, all curlers are being reminded of what to look or listen for in case of fire in the club and where to go and how to get there when alerted.   It reminds me of public school drills we all loved as it broke the monotony of a dull class and may just be a new way of getting away from a game that is very much not going your way, which we have all had.  In fact, I have had several, quite recently.

            A reminder that the Ontario Men’s Curling Championships (referred to as the “Tankard”) will be held in Napanee Strathcona Centre next year February 1-7.  To be successful, this event will require many volunteers.  If you are interested, and you do not have to be a curler,  in helping, please contact Sandy at 354-7138.

            Another reminder that our ice goes out on April 04^th this year with the traditional Martin & Walters Bonspiel and our General Meeting scheduled for April 05^th at 1 pm.  Our annual curling club banquet is scheduled for 24^th April.  Avoid the rush, get your tickets now…                

            Another Friday passed and the zone Masters’ playoffs continue.  There are now only two teams remaining for the finals scheduled for next Friday at the Napanee Club: Napanee’s Frank Dunham, Frank Banks, Kees VanGent and Hugh Sharpe and the Brown rink from Kingston.  As the Napanee team have already beat the Brown team once in round robin play, the Brown team will have to beat the Napanee team twice on Friday next to win the right to represent the Zone at the Provincials.  Good curling Frank and his senior boys.

            Last Thursday, Tweed held their annual Senior’s Bonspiel and there was one rink entered from Napanee. The Ted Davie team with John Deman vice, Paul Spooner 2^nd and Bart MacLean lead won second in their half of the draw and a cash prize. Very keen ice and very good curling made it a great day for all the competitors.

            The Highland Lassie Ladies Bonspiel was held at Napanee last Saturday. The well run bonspiel was coordinated by Heather Ramshaw, assisted by sister Christine, mother Eleanor, Liz Graham, Jennifer Clarkson and Liz Goldie.  Drawmaster was Andy Graham. Food is always a big draw for attending the Napanee bonspiels and this one was no exception.  Breakfast was a wonderful selection of coffee cakes, yogurt and fruit and was convened by Eleanor Ramshaw with many helpers.  Hugh Goldie piped the ladies for the first draw onto the ice to give the day that special Scottish connection and Marj Pearce threw the first ceremonial rock to officially open the ‘spiel.  Lunch, convened by Sandi McNamee, and assisted by many, was a very tasty sherry bisque, quiche, salad and butter tarts that received raving reviews from the curlers.  The prime rib dinner, with all the wonderful veggies, topped off with a light chocolate crepe, was convened by Shirley Bush and Barb Graham and their many helpers.   Fortunately, this meal was served after all the curling had been completed.  Jack McNamee and Doug Baker looked after the bar requirements and Frank, Don and Rick Seigner did the ice preps.  Sponsors were Marj Pearce and Christine Ramshaw (Playground Licensed Childcare Centre) with raffle and door prizes donated by Michele Penner, Bernice Pringle, Marj Pearce, Mary Jane Elvins, Christine Ramshaw, June Hicks and Eleanor Ramshaw.  Many thanks to all the contributors who helped make the Highland Lassie what it was.  Oh yes, there was curling too!  Sixteen teams from the Cataraqui, Garrison, Picton, Belleville, Toronto Dixie, Royal Kingston and Napanee clubs competed for the “silver”.  The top point winners were Judy Poirer’s team from Garrison that included Bev Bacon, Donna Wright and Cheryl Harvey.  The other two game winners included: second place - Rebecca Murphy from Napanee;  third place – Donna Poirier from the Royal Kingston, skipped by local Gayle Johnson;  and fourth – Heather Ramshaw from Napanee.  The best dressed Lassies were the Roberta Hutchings team from Cataraqui.

            The Napanee Intermediate team travel to Brockville this weekend to compete in the Zone playoffs for the right to represent the area at the Provincials.  Good luck to Robert Paul and the other three Pauls (Dickson, Murphy and McDonald) as they head out all decked out in their Lafarge jackets.  It must be handy to be able to yell “sweep Paul” and everyone jumps.

Another reminder that our ice goes out on April 04^th this year with the traditional Martin & Walters Bonspiel and our General Meeting scheduled for April 05^th at 1 pm.  Hoping to see you there….

            The curling season may be slowing but most of us are having trouble keeping up with all the curling opportunities and activities at the Club.  This past weekend was a demonstration of all this!

            On Friday, Napanee hosted the zone Master playoffs for the older curlers.   Five teams entered the competition, two from Napanee.  Once the rocks were all neatly placed in their corners after the last draw, one of our rinks had been eliminated.  Walter Genereux’s team (vice Ed File, 2^nd Andy Graham and lead Ron Graham) experienced two losses and are out of the competition.  Our other team, skipped by Frank Dunham, vice Frank Banks, 2^nd Kees VanGent and lead Hugh Sharpe,  stayed alive and will be back next weekend to continue the playoffs.  Senior seniors still curling enjoy the advantage of only having to compete twice/day but the competitions do go on, and on.

            Saturday, Cataraqui G&CC hosted the annual Pat Lidd bonspiel.   If you ask ten curlers at the ‘spiel what the words mean you will get ten different answers so I am unable to interpret for you, and I was there!   The number of rinks is capped at twenty four and it is one of those bonspiels where it is almost impossible to enter.  Those who played this year will have first offer next year and no one knows who the last rink was that refused the offer.   It is the sort of thing you find in wills being passed on to the next generation of the same family.  Some of us were able to enjoy the experience because the original entry was short a player – snow birds not yet returned!   There were four teams from Napanee, and others from Ottawa, Quinte and all Kingston clubs.  Walt Genereux’s team (an active senior who had Friday night to rest before hitting the ice again Sat morning) with Robert Paul throwing last rocks, Kees VanGent at 2^nd and Ray Snider lead placed third; the Merv Connery rink with Ted Davie skipping, Al Little vice, Jim Head 2^nd and Merv throwing lead were the highest points single game winner and the Frank Dunham and Ed File rinks did well too.  All enjoyed a wonderful roast beef dinner before the prize presentation.  Oh, by the way, the Brown rink skipped by Larry Waller won the bonspiel taking home the coveted green fees at the Cat G&CC.  The winner for the past two years, Bob Hales (who apparently got his start in Adolphustown when he was the Anglican Priest there in the ‘70s) missed out this year by a quarter of a point.  Better luck next year Bob!!

            On Sunday, the Club held their annual Pringle Ford Hot Shots competition.  From all reports, it was a great event with some spectacular curling demonstrations and great moose chilli for all.  The event attracted more than thirty contestants this year with Ken Clancey winning the “car” with a score of 27 out of a possible 30.  Well done Ken!!  (Was that the same Ken Clancey I saw curling Monday night??)

            The Monday night playoffs for the Club championship continue.  It seems to be organized to end just about the time the ice goes out and is already starting to compete with golfing preps for the summer.  Nobody seems to remember how they handled all these activities before retirement….

By the time you read this, the annual Sweetheart’s Dinner will be over but will still be the talk of the Town.   The highland Lassie Ladies Bonspiel takes place at the Club on February 21^st.  It is full but Heather still needs volunteers to make this work.  Those interested and can help, please call Heather at 329-4313.  Our ice goes on April 04^th this year with the traditional Martin & Walters Bonspiel with our General Meeting scheduled for April 05^th at 1 pm.  Please put these dates on your calendar to attend and hoping to see you there….

  As winter moves on, slowly mind you, the various curling leagues at the Club are heading for their last stages too.  The groundhogs have now assured us of six more weeks of curling, or was that winter, so we still have time to perfect our delivery, win a game or even hit the broom, consistently.  Before we know it, we’ll be cutting grass again, wishing for Fall and the curling season to start.  It is a little quieter at the Club these days as many curlers have gone south to get ready for the golfing season or just to ‘hang out’ trying to replace that Canadian Pale with some Florida Red.

The Men’s Monday Night Curling league has completed its final round robin and has started their club championship double knockout play offs for the top 16 teams.  The other 6 teams will continue their curling in a consolation round robin event.  The round robin winners this year were: A Division:  1^st Ken Clancey, Joe Jackemack, Kees Van Gent and  Jack McNamee; 2^nd Andy Palmer, Bill Hogg, Steve Paul and Gord Mitchell;  B Division: 1^st Paul Dickson, Steve Angel, Darryl Latimer and Darrell Pritchard; 2^nd John Deman, Ted Davie, Paul Spooner, Barton McLean; C Division: 1^st Rob Marriott, Bob Eamer, Mike Wilson and Barry Graham; 2^nd Dave Travers, Steve Eastlake, Steve Cooper and Patrick Mueller.  Good curling in the play offs!

            Meanwhile, Napanee men’s rinks have been off bonspieling at neighbouring clubs with some success.  Recently at the Cambellford Super Senior’s Bonspiel (apparently, you must be over 70 to enter) the Napanee foursome of Frank Dunham, Hugh Sharpe, Frank Banks and Kees VanGent won the big prize.  And, at the Brighton Senior’s (these are the young guys over 50) another Napanee foursome of Robert Paul, Hugh Sharpe, Bill Casselman and Paul Spooner won the runner-up prize money.  Great curling guys and congratulations!

            We all wish Dave Travers a speedy recovery and hope to see his smiling face around the Club soon. His former service buddies in Petawawa all await his visit to the Senior NCO ‘Spiel.  Good luck up there and keep your heads up, so to speak.

The winner of the Draw 1 Wednesday Men’s League was Bill Hogg, Murray Halliday, Ron Graham and Gerry McCracken.                                                                                                                          

The Napanee Town and Country Bonspiel scheduled for February 11^th is full and teams are tuning up their skills for another chance to get to the prize table.

The final preparations for the Annual Sweethearts Valentine Dinner are almost complete with only a few tickets remaining.  If you haven’t already done so, call Ron at 378-0401 for tickets and we hope you are not too late.  Members are allowed to bring guests to the dinner, at the member’s price.

On Sunday, 15 February, the Pringle Ford Hot Shots Competition will be held at the Napanee Curling Club.  I am sure most will remember seeing this individual competition on television shown annually at the Brier.   Starting at 0900, the competition can accept up to 80 participants and there are still some openings.  The entry fee is $10 that includes a lunch of moose/venison/beef chili.  This is open to men and women curlers.  For those unaware of this competition you are encouraged to visit the Ford Hot Shots web site for details. If you want to see a live competition, come on down to the Club on the day.

Last weekend the zone Intermediate playoffs were held in Napanee and the winning rink was our own Paul Dickson, Robert Paul, Paul McDonald and Paul Murphy.  Congratulations.,

  You may have heard some noise from the curling rink on Saturday night as the curlers participating in the Annual Mixed Bonspiel played out their memories of “Woodstock”, the theme for this year’s event.  The rumors are that the costumes were truly fantastic, displaying both imagination and ingenuity, with the players acting out their parts as if they had been to the original event. And, there was some good curling all weekend too!

            Organized by a committee of Rebecca Murphy, Jane Pearson, Lana Latimer, Cynthia Woodcock and Phil Wilson, the event was another great success (from both a fun and financial perspective).  The committee, aided by Louise VanHeighten, had decorated the club to give the necessary atmosphere for total enjoyment. The drawmasters this year were Phil Wilson (I think he may have spent the weekend at the Club), Hugh Sharpe and John Deman.  In accordance with the NDCC reputation, the food and bar services were as good as it gets and were made possible by the hard working volunteers : Sandi McNamee, Gale Rogers, David Hart, Heather Wemp, Sandy Kennelly, Michele Penner, Eleanor Ramshaw, Joyce McClelland, Charlene Huffman, Phil Berry, Christine Peets, Sharon VanGent and Connie Pritchard in the kitchen.  In the bar, we thank Jim and Ann Angel, Sandra Semple, Kees VanGent, Jim Head, Tom Ayling, Arnold VanHeighton, Jim Peets and Doug and Heather Baker.  For good curling you need good ice and we thank Frank Dunham and Don Currier for their continued good work ably assisted by Mark Dunham, Steve Eastlake, Ron Reynolds, Steve Cooper and Robert Hough.  The sponsors for this year’s ‘spiel were Jean Morrison and the Napanee Beaver, Chris Good’s Commonsense Financial, Grant’s Insurance, Shoeless Joe’s Restaurant and Home Hardware.  Thank you.

            The big winner of the A event on Sunday was the Ron Long rink (Vice Sheri Henderson, 2^nd Steve Henderson and Lead Kirsten Long) from the Dundas Granite Curling Club.  The runner-up was the Alex Tosh rink (Vice Carole Rivington, 2^nd Randy Neal and Lead Nancy Tosh) from the Royal Kingston Curling Club.  The A event Consolation winner was the Donna Jeffery rink from RKCC (Gord Gillespie Vice, Debbie Gillespie 2^nd and Bruce Jeffery Lead).  The B event winner was former Napanee curler Dave Pallen and his St. Catherine rink (Vice Kristina Vanderlee, 2^nd Brent Craig and Lead Joanne McHenry) and the runner-up was our own Rebecca Murphy  (Vice husband Paul, 2^nd Jane Pearson and Lead Jim Head). In a real family affair, the C event winners were also from the NDCC as Heather Ramshaw (Vice Scott Buckley, 2^nd Kim Dickson and Lead Duane Buckley) defeated her parents Chris Ramshaw (Vice Eleanor Ramshaw, 2^nd Doug Baker and Leads Heather Baker/Susi Reinick).  Finally, the D event winners from the Trenton CC was the Bob Fish rink (Catherine Sutherland Vice, Mike Parry 2^nd and Catherine Holmes Lead) with the runner-up from the VanVlack clan out of the NDCC with Skip Dave, Vice Jordan , 2^nd Andrew and Lead Sandy – all VanVlacks.   Congratulations to all the winners.

            There is quite a buzz at the Club about the annual Sweetheart’s Valentine Dinner scheduled for Wednesday, February 18^th.  This year’s organizer, Ron Graham, has been busy with his volunteers organizing the menu and selling tickets.  This is a black tie event for the workers and the ladies get all dressed up and let their hair down for a well-deserved night out complete with wine and entertainment.  The maximum capacity for this event is 80 diners and any tickets remaining will be open to non-members as of January 26^th by calling Ron at 378-0401.  Cocktails are at 6pm followed by a delicious three course meal lovingly prepared and served by the men.  If ladies have the time and opportunity, you should put this event on your calendar.  Tickets $25.

            The Men’s Monday Flight curling concluded it’s regular draw this week so playoffs commence next Monday.  See the notice board at the Club, or call Bill at 373-8818, to find out when you curl next Monday night.

     Well, by now everyone will have read in the local newspapers the big news that the Tankard Curling Championships will be held in Napanee February 1-7 in 2010.  Well, I can confirm that the ten best Ontario Men’s curling teams in 2010 will be in town to compete for the right to represent Ontario at the Brier scheduled for Halifax that year.   The Napanee and District Curling Club, in partnership with the Town and the Napanee Sports Association, will organize and run this event.  To be held in the Strathcona Paper Centre converted to five curling sheets, this event will add to the momentum created by the U18 Hockey tournament held here last November of putting Napanee higher on the list of places to go in Ontario and National for sport.  Someone has predicted that we can expect an economic spinoff of $500,000 in the area from this event.   So, we have earned the right to hold this exciting provincial curling playoff in Napanee.  What remains is the participation and cooperation of our community, through volunteering, to help make this opportunity a real success.  I know we can count on our club volunteers to step up and help but not yet sure about the rest of the community although we have a good record.  As the plans develop, we will let you know how you can help.

A reminder to those signed up for the Skip’s Clinic on Sunday, 1^st of February at 1 pm.

The third annual Ladies’ In-Club bonspiel was held on Sunday with 16 club rinks participating.   This event is to give all ladies, especially those still in the labour market, in our club an opportunity to participate in a bonspiel.  Janet Hobin’s team of Heather Wemp, Liz Griffiths and Missy Hutcheson won the trophy for most points in the ‘spiel.  Second place went to Jo Sutton’s team of Louise Van Heighten, Anne Whalen-Knapp and Cheryl Lepine.  In third, was Cynthia Woodcock’s team of Donna Poirier, Joyce Meredith and Diane Davie. In fourth place was Sandy McPherson’s team of Heather Ramshaw, Cindy Crowson, Anne Angel and Diane Nolting.  Well done to the organizing committee of Benita Murphy, Eleanor Ramshaw, Janet Hobin, Lorraine Wilson and Liz Graham who did a great job with plenty of help from many other club members.  Breakfast and lunch were provided by Eleanor Ramshaw assisted by Chris Ramshaw, John Foster and Diane Nolting. The pot luck dinner was coordinated by Sandi McNamee, Elaine Badgley and Ingeborg Donald assisted by Roger Cole.   Andy Graham was the drawmaster, Brian Hobin and Jim Peets the registrars and Don Currier looked after the ice.  Bartending duties were handled by Jim Angel, Doug Baker, Tom Ayling and Jim Head.  The committee wishes to thank the ladies who donated the door prizes. The floral centrepiece was given by Sally Lambert. Other gifts were donated by Jennifer Clarkson, Jane Hough, Michele Penner, Eleanor Ramshaw and Liz Graham.  Thanks to everyone who helped make the day such a success.

       The  Mixed Bonspiel this weekend is full and the party hats have been ordered.  It promises to be a blast if the costumes are anything like they were last year.

       Get involved – curl.

Well another year has passed us by and many of us are still curling!

The results from the other curling club leagues for the first session of curling are in and deserve recognition.  Friday night winners were Rebecca Murphy, Paul Murphy, Jane Pearson and Don Pearson and the runners-up were Ken Clancy, Beth Clancy, Daryl Latimer and Lana Latimer.  Wed Ladies winners were Gayle Johnson, Donna Poirier and Louise VanHeighten.  The runners-up were Jo Sutton, Cheryl French, Laurie VanStraalen and Deb Kowalik.  The Thursday Ladies winners were Sandi McNamee, Susi Reinink, Cheryl Scrivens and Sandy Kennelly.  Runners-up were Shirley Bush, Elaine Badgley, Bernice Pringle and Joan Reynolds.  The Tuesday night Mixed winners were Bill Casselman, Sandra Casselman, Joyce Meredith and Doug Meredith and the runners-up were Robert Hough, Jane Hough, Arnold VanHeighton and Louise VanHeighten. The Thursday Men’s winners were Ian Munro, Stan Yallup, Steve Cooper and Karl Gray and the runners-up were Walter Genereux, Ray Moore, Tom Ayling and Mark Baker.  Well done to all the winners of the first session.

            Welcome to all the new curlers who have joined our club for the remainder of the season.  We hope this is just the beginning of a wonderful, long relationship.  We know you will have fun in our club but whether or not you win the Provincials or the Brier/Scott’s in time -  is really up to you.

Well the first section of club curling is now over and some of the results are in.  The Monday night Men’s Flight curling league has 22 teams and is divided into three different divisions. The team of David Staples, Scott Chadwick, Nick Schroeder and Neil Roberts finished first and Chris Ramshaw’s team second while Don Currier’s and Walter Genereux’s teams were demoted to B Division.  Brian Chadwick’s team finished first in B division and was promoted to A Division along with Frank Dunham’s team while the teams of Rob Marriott and Dave Travers were demoted to C division.  Ken Healy’s team finished first in C Division and was promoted to B Division along with Brian Hobin’s team.  It must be noted that the Staples rink, the only youth rink in the club, won all their games.   It was suggested at the annual meeting that the Staples rink should spot all other rinks at least four points to make it a closer contest.  Go guys, go and well done!

The only other league results in at this time are from the Tuesday morning Up & At'Em league.  The winner was the Ed File rink of Lorraine Wilson, Jo Sutton and Keith Chapman and the runner-up team of Ted Davie, Shelley Alkenbrack, Barb Graham and Cor Vandenberg.

As usual, the ice will be unavailable between December 23 – January 2 as the ice crew will be doing a melt-down, clean and re-flooding to get the ice in top shape for the next session.  Don’t forget to sign up for the Refresher Clinics to be held Jan 4^th.

It is not too late, although it is getting close, to join our club and get curling in the next session.  Dues are pro-rated considering the curling time remaining in the season so, don’t delay, call Sandy at 354-7138.  Guys, give your wife/girlfriend a special gift this Christmas by paying her fees for the rest of the season and let her get out and have fun.  Or, ladies, if you want to get your man out of the house, sign him up for curling and you may never see him parked in front of the television again.

The first club bonspiel in the new year will be the Senior Men’s on 10 January.  The draw has been posted so good luck to the older member participants.  If you think you are too old to curl, come out and watch the Seniors and you will realize just how old one can be and still curl.  Sticks have extended our curling time by at least ten years.

On January 18^th there will be a Ladies In-Club Bonspiel and the annual Mixed Bonspiel is scheduled for 23-25 January.  The social side of the Mixed is something you don’t want to miss.  The dress theme this year is the Woodstock 40^th Anniversary.  Call Rebecca now at 354-5445.

The Board of Directors, all curlers and club volunteers wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a new year filled with hope, health and happiness.  See you at the rink in 2009.

It’s amazing how time flies by when you are having fun!  Here it is December and some of the curling leagues are coming to a close.  Anyone interested in joining for the remaining two thirds of the curling season should make their wishes known soon as new teams are being formed for the start of the next session.  There are special rates for those joining late with newcomers only paying for the time left in the season.  To join any of the leagues, interested curlers are asked to contact Membership Director Sandy Eastlake at 354-7138 and she can tell you what the cost is depending on how frequently you plan on curling every week.  Don’t delay – call now.

One of the leagues with special interest in new curlers is the Wednesday Evening Ladies League.  Designed to allow working ladies a chance to curl every week, this league is pleading for more participants to make the league more exciting and more competitive.  Here is a chance to leave hubby at home with the kids so you can have an evening out with friends getting some fresh air, exercise and some good clean fun.  For those who used to curl before work took all your time slots, here is a chance to get back in the game.  For those who have not enjoyed the experience – you have already left it too long and need to get at it, now.

Our Junior programme has really taken off with over twenty five participants.  The numbers, their interest and the calibre of curling will allow a few teams from the Club to enter some Regional competitions to wet their appetites on that part of curling.   The Junior Director, Dave Travers, and his curler assistants, is very pleased with the enthusiasm of the Junior curlers and their curiosity to learn more about the game.   Thankfully, several parents have taken a keen interest in the programme too which has really helped the kids and the instructors.  Like the other leagues, it is not too late for Juniors to join the programme by calling Dave Travers at 373-0016 or Sandy Eastlake at 354-7138.

A Refresher Clinic will be held at the Club on January 4th from 1 – 3 pm.  New curlers and experienced curlers interested in improving their delivery should sign up on the sheets posted in the Club.  Free instruction is available to anyone who wishes to take the time.  If you just want to practice, that is also a good time to do so before the curling takes off again after the New Year.

A Skips Clinic will be held at the Club on Saturday 17 January run by Andy Palmer. For those curlers interested in advancing to the highest level on a team, come and learn what Skips need to know tactically to maximize the chances of winning.  Once you know the shot required, all you have to do then is to make the shot.  Deciding the right shot for the player is important, the second part is to get the amount of ice required and the weight necessary to make the shot.  Come and learn how this is done, perhaps not to be a Skip but to learn more about the game so that you can understand what is happening during the game and get more enjoyment when curling.

On Saturday the Napanee Curling Club was filled with female curlers from far and wide participating in the annual Ladies Open Bonspiel.  Heather Ramshaw, the Ladies Bonspiel Director, coordinated the event ably supported by Eleanor Ramshaw and Jennifer Clarkson.  Bea Moore and Kim Dickson greeted all the rinks as they arrived and helped administer the event during the day.
The 16 teams  included 7 from the Royal Kingston, teams from Ottawa, Carleton Place, Garrison and 7 from Napanee.   The top point winners were Donna Poirier’s Team with curlers from the Royal Kingston (RKCC) and Napanee & District Curling Club (NDCC) with 35 1/2 points.  The team was skipped by Gayle Johnson, vice Nancy Tosh and second Louise VanHeighton.  The other two game winners included: second place -  Betty Bush’s team from the Royal Kingston Culring Club (RKCC), third place – Hilary Casey’s team from the Riverside Curling Club in Ottawa and fourth –  Judy Poirer’s team from the Garrison Curling Club in Kingston.  Rounding out the top 8 teams who were all offered a wonderful selection from the prize table included – Benita Murphy’s team, Jane Hough’s team, and Rebecca Murphy’s team (all from the NDCC) and Maelane Hums team from the Carleton Place Curling Club.

If you like eating the curling club is the place to be.  Saturday’s fare maintained our reputation as the best food on the curling circuit.  Eleanor Ramshaw and her team  provided a wonderful breakfast of cakes, yogurt  and fruit, Ingeborg Donald and her helpers served a delicious sandwich/soup lunch and Beth Clancey and her team served an incredible stuffed pork dinner withal the trimmings plus Doris Oglie’s apple pie.  I suspect all the ladies were on their treadmills on Sunday!

No club can run a bonspiel without the usual volunteers giving their time and talents to make it all happen.  Bar Captain Doug Baker and his elves Ed File, Phil Wilson, Brian Woodcock, Jack McNamee, Ken Clancey, Mark Baker, Tom Ayling and Linda Veley looked after the ladies’ thirst needs.  Frank Dunham and Don Currier, and their many helpers, looked after the ice.   The ladies seemed very pleased with the keenness and curl of the ice.

Our sponsors were Sharon VanGent and Jennifer Clarkson.  Raffle and Door Prizes were donated by Michele Penner, Bernice Pringle (Community Living), Jennifer Clarkson, Norma Jackemeck, Eleanor Ramshaw, Christine Peets, Pat Benn, Debbie Currier, Jane Hough and June Hicks.

A great time was had by all involved and special thanks to Heather for all her work and the good results.

Michele Penner has organized a Napanee and District Curling Club food drive to support the community needs through the Salvation Army.  This is the last week to bring in your donations (place them in the Christmas decorated boxes just inside the door) as the drive ends 9 December.  Thanks Michele for reminding us of all those in need at this time and giving us the opportunity to share.

Don’t forget to attend the General Curling Meeting on Sunday 7 December at 1 pm. 
 

The Napanee & District Curling Club is nearing the completion of the first draw of curling prior to the holiday break. Curlers in all leagues are putting their best game(s) together hopefully to be inscribed forever on one of the coveted trophies. Your league Directors will soon be posting sign up sheets for the second draw so remember to find these lists to ensure you are entered in the next draw. If you are not curling in any particular league but want to, please call the applicable Director so he/she has your name. Also, any curler or new members wanting to join and curl for the rest of the season, please call Sandy Eastlake 613-354-7138. For those who are not sure who to call the list of the Executive is posted in the lounge and there are 2008/2009 telephone directories with all members’ numbers available.

Your new Bar Directors Doug and Heather Baker want to thank all volunteers to date but especially thank the monthly Bar Captains: David VanVlack, Tom Ayling, Barry Brummel, Jim Angel, Jack McNamee and Paul McDonald for all their many hours helping with the day to day requirements of running an efficient bar. They further thank all members who step forward and do bar duty after each and every curling draw.

Frank Dunham and Don Currier, your ice technicians are doing a terrific job giving us clean, keen ice to curl on. Lets support them by not wearing fuzzy clothing and removing knees and hands (as soon as possible) from the ice surface.

Saturday the 29^th of November is our Ladies Open and Heather Ramshaw invites all of you to come out and see some terrific curling.

Sunday, 7^th December is our Semi-Annual General Meeting at 1 pm. All members are asked to come out and support your directors and the decisions that need to be made each and every year to keep the club viable and running smoothly. If you have not yet received your agenda by email or snail mail  please call Elizabeth Vandenberg 613-373-0099. There are extra ‘ proxies’ in the mail box on the kitchen counter so if you cannot make the meeting give your proxy to someone who is…your vote is important to the club as a whole.   Sandy Eastlake

MEN’S OPEN A BIG SUCCESS

The Napanee curling community were busy on the weekend with the 40^th Annual Men’s Open Bonspiel – either curling, watching or volunteering to provide the many meals and bar services.  Phil Wilson chaired the other volunteers on the bonspiel committee.  Although the number of rinks entered was down this year from last, there were 24 entries from far and very far: Royal Kingston and Cataraqui, Tweed, Winchester, Oshawa, Carleton Heights, Scarborough, Kemptville, St. Catherines, Ottawa, and North Grenville; some new faces and many familiar ones but, encouragingly, many younger curlers in attendance!  There were six local entries.  The Drawmaster was Hugh Sharpe assisted by his team of volunteers.

Friday afternoon, as all were gathering at the Club for their first game, curlers were given hot soup and “make your own sandwiches” coordinated by Sharon Van Gent and Eleanor Ramshaw.   After 7: 30 pm, curlers were treated to a Friday Night Wing Ding with delicious Chicken Wings sponsored by Rice Financial and served by Christine Ramshaw and her crew.  Nobody wanted to go home and there were still wings left when the bar closed.

A Saturday pancake and sausage breakfast was available for the morning curlers prepared by Diane Davie and all her volunteers.  Curling continued for some and before we knew it Linda Blake and her group were offering a hot chili lunch with all the butter tarts you could eat.  You should be seeing the pattern by now: we offer the visiting rinks so much food they can barely wiggle their ears and then we invite them to curl.  It does give our local rinks a distinct advantage.  Of course, the piece de réstistance has always been the Saturday night roast beef dinner and this year was no exception.  It was a fantastic meal, topped off with home- made pie, coordinated by Moira Sickling and her team of volunteers. Now even the local teams were starting to waddle.  Despite all this food, and some drink, the curling continued - some winning and the other half losing. By late Saturday night it was determined which teams would be there again on Sunday for the final and deciding games, ie, those taking home prizes.

Frank and Joan Banks prepared the Sunday breakfast for the morning curlers.  The semi-finals were played and then lunch was served by Janet Hobin for those competing in the four event finals.  In the end, the Garth Mitchell rink from St. Catherines won the A event (sponsored by Home Hardware) final, taking home the $1000 prize plus next year’s entry fee to the Men’s Bonspiel  donated by Lafarge(Ottawa),defeating the Don Currier rink from Napanee.  All other winning and runner-up teams selected their prizes from a very attractive prize table.  The B event (sponsored by Joyce’s Meat & Deli) was won by Cataraqui’s Ivan Suddergaard defeating Richard Roessner’s rink from St. Catherines.  The C event (sponsored by Burke Printing) was won by Rob Dickson’s team from Tweed who defeated the John Deman foursome from Napanee.  The D event (sponsored by Woodcock’s 401 Automotive & Tire) was won by the David Staples’ rink from St. Catherines who defeated the Robert St. Pierre team from Winchester.  Other generous sponsors included: Shoeless Joe’s, M&M Meat Shops, Moore Bros., George Grant Insurance, Optometrist Dr. Palmer, Barry Brummel of Wager & Myatt Real Estate, McCutcheon Insurance, Mainstay Natural Foods, Hart n’ Hart, AM sports, Napanee G&CC and Emmons Welding.  Without our sponsors and volunteers, there would be no bonspiel.  A heartfelt thanks to both, again. And well done Phil!!

CURLERS FOCUS ON HOCKEY

 It’s not often that the Napanee curling community is focused on hockey but this past week was certainly one of those times.  The National Women's U18 Hockey Championships really were the only games in town this week and what a fantastic display of hockey they put on for those many who took the time to go and watch.   I’m not qualified to comment on what they did or how well they did it but I do want to report on something that was very obvious to me during the week at the Strathcona Paper Centre.

The volunteer spirit of the curling club flowed over into the organization of the U18 hockey this week, big time.  Wherever you looked this past week, you saw volunteers from the curling club busily engaged in the many duties they had accepted.  Eleanor Ramshaw, and her curling teammates, provided all the lunches for all the volunteers, all week.  And, Sandi McNamee, and her curling teammates, provided all the dinners for all the volunteers, all week.   These were contract arrangements with the Host Organizing Committee for food services and the money earned went to the curling club.  There was no money involved for the Security team but John Deman had recruited many curlers who were involved with that all week too.  And, everywhere you looked, in so many other areas in the U18 organization, you saw curlers doing their thing for the community.  And, for those curlers who were not able to volunteer to help, they came to watch games whenever they could.  So, from my biased perspective, Napanee curlers can be very proud of their contribution and support of this latest wonderful, and successful, Napanee event.

Meanwhile, back at curling, the Club is busy preparing for the Mens Open Bonspiel starting Friday, 14 Nov, running all weekend with the finals on Sunday.  The Ladies Open bonspiel will be held two weeks later on 29 Nov.  Come and watch some good curling, at the smaller Napanee rink, and enjoy the friendly atmosphere at the Club. The next general curling meeting for all members will be held at 1 pm on Sunday 7 Dec.

It didn’t take long for curlers to get in the swing (and sweep) of things. All leagues are well underway and all those with some Club responsibility are busy trying to deal with those details we all knew would arrive but not sure what or where they would be.

We are enjoying excellent ice which, for those of us still struggling with the game, causes some frustration as we cannot, honestly, blame missed shots on the ice! Thanks to Frank, and his many helpers, for giving us such wonderful ice. Our guest curlers coming for the Men’s Open Bonspiel, on 14th – 16th November, and the Ladies Open, 29th November, will be in for a real treat. There are still openings for teams wishing to curl in the Men’s so, if interested, call Phil Wilson 373-2252.

If members have not yet volunteered to help at one of the bonspiels, or for the many jobs we need to do as volunteers at the Club, don’t be shy. Step right up and ask any of the Directors what you would like to do or what needs volunteers and I’m sure we can fit you in someplace, sometime. A reminder that we are able to keep our curling fees low, compared to other clubs in the area, only because we do much with volunteers versus hiring personnel that then costs the Club which has to be passed on the members. Volunteering is a win-win situation.

The 2008-2009 NDCC telephone directories are now available at the Club. Thanks again to Burke Printing for their continuing support for these directories.

And, it is not too late to curl. Come and see us, or call Sandy at 354-7138 and we should be able to accommodate your needs. We are very interested in more Junior curlers and all queries can be addressed to Dave Travers at 373-9916.

It will be a little quieter at the curling Club this week as so many curlers are volunteers at the U18 National Womens U18 Hockey Championship being held at the Strathcona Paper Centre. Support your community and Womens hockey in Canada by watching a game or two, around your curling.

Welcome back to another season of curling. This year we have 244 members; 23 of whom are new to the club and/or to curling in general. I would like to thank, Ian Munro and Andy Palmer
for their time and talents ensuring our new and returning members had some instruction prior to their first game. Frank Dunham, our Ice Technician thanks Don Currier, Rick Siegner,
Steve Eastlake and Tom Ayling for their assistance in the preparation of the ice this year. The superb painting on the ice was carried out by Rick & Phil of Capital Painting Ottawa. Our House Directors Bill Ryan and Gord Mitchell give special thanks to Chris Ramshaw for the major renovation job in the club kitchen/bar area helping to ‘spruce up the club’. All that and a new floor in the kitchen too! It looks so much brighter and better – thanks from all curling members.

Your new Board of Directors/assistants: President/Men’s Section- Bill Hogg, VicePresident/Kitchen – Sandi McNamee, Mixed Section- Cindy Woodcock, Ladies’ Section - Janet Hobin/Gayle Johnson, Junior –Dave Travers, Ladies’ Bonspiels - Heather Ramshaw, Men’s/Mixed Bonspiels –Phil Wilson, Fundraising - Christine Ramshaw, Ice /OCA Rep- Steve Eastlake, House –Bill Ryan and Gord Mitchell, Rentals – Shirley Bush, Membership – Sandy Eastlake/Ted Davie. Your treasurer Lia Dufour and secretary Elizabeth Vandenberg are busy with one set of books or another.

This season in the various leagues we have: Mon Men - 22 teams; Wed Men - 10 teams; Thurs Men - 14 teams; Tues Up & At'Em - 17 teams; Tues Mixed - 11 teams; Fri Mixed - 16 teams; Wed Ladies - 7 teams; Thurs Ladies - 11 teams. Juniors have 20 curlers with more to register. A reminder, juniors get to try curling without paying until the third week and no expensive equipment is
needed so call Dave Travers at 373-0016 if interested.

We wish to thank our sponsors who have participated in our curling club advertising programme:“on ice advertisement” is Colour Connection, A & M Sports, Country Traditions Frozen Foods, Exit Reality, Tim Hortons, Centre Street Auto, Napanee Opticians and Murray Drywall; Button advertisement is Bert's Golf, Tammy's Country Kitchen, Scotia Bank and Home Hardware Building Centre; and Wall advertisement is Wagar & Myatt Ltd Real Estate Brokers, Goodyear Canada, Doyle's Winsows, George A Grant Insurance Brokers Inc, Napanee Beaver, Pringle Ford, Giant Tiger, D & L Carpentry & Kitchen Design, Colio Estates Wine, Canadian Awning & Canvas Residential, The Dominion of Canada General Insurance Company, Quinns Meats, Sign Me Up Hart 'N Hart, M & M Meats, Patricia Dafoe Insurance Agency Inc and Woodcock's 401 Automotive & Tire Centre.

Your Bar and Kitchen Directors have compiled their lists for volunteer duties, so please check for your name as to which Bonspiel, event, duty you are slated for. The Volunteer Chart in the foyer is posted for your viewing pleasure!!! I believe Sandi McNamee is still looking for a few Captains – great opportunity: less cooking, more organizing!

The telephone directories are ready for pick up thanks to the sponsorship of Burkes’ Printing. There are lots of other periodicals/notices at the Information Centre and on various bulletin boards so take a look this week.

This past weekend, Napanee teams had a clean sweep at the Royal Kingston Senior's Bonspiel: Winners Robert Paul, Paul Dickson, John Deman and Bill Creighton and the runners-up: Walter Genereux, Ken Clancy, Bill Casselman and Kees VanGent. Congratulations and what a great start to the season.

Remember to mark your calendar for the Men’s Open Bonspiel - 14th – 16th November; Ladies Open - 29th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 7th of December at 1 pm.

I thank the Napanee Beaver who generously print our curling article every week as yet another donation to the club. Many thanks.

Well, the 2008 curling season started off with some good and some bad experiences!

 First, the good experience.  The 6^th Annual “Swing and Sweep” event, organized by Heather Ramshaw and Kim Dickson, was held on Saturday and by all reports it was a great experrience, again.  The event started off in the morning with a Shot Gun start at the Napanee Golf Club.  A soup and sandwich lunch at the curling club by Eleanor Ramshaw was available for participants at noon with normal bar services provided by Dave VanVlack and Gerald McCracken.  The two four end curling games followed lunch with everyone enjoying the new, beautiful ice provided by Frank Dunham and his many volunteer helpers.  Everyone worked up an appetite for the delicious dinner prepared by the organizers mothers (Eleanor Ramshaw and Chris Moore), Sandi McNamee and other curlers.  Thanks to Bea Moore who tirelessly worked in the kitchen all day.  At the curling club, everyone pitches in and helps as necessary. That is part of the great curling club experience in Napanee.

Christine Ramshaw prepared an amazing raffle table with donations by many local sponsors with all monies going towards the 2008-2009 Fundraising campaign.  Thanks to our local sponsors.

A Swing and Sweep plaque, with the 5 previous winners inscribed, was donated by Chris and Eleanor Ramshaw and presented to the winners; Paul Dickson, Steve Angel, Daryl Latimer and Robert Dickson. The  Runner-up team was Bill Hogg, Mark Dunham and Heather Ramshaw.  Other prizes went to: Robert Dickson for the Men’s Closest to the Pin, and Paul Murphy for the Men’s Longest Drive.  Joyce Meredith won both the Ladies prizes: Longest Drive and Closest the Pin.   Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all participants and all those who made this event so successful and so much fun.

And now, some thoughts about the not so good experience.  The organization of curling clinics this year was a disaster and the person responsible should try again next year.  Well, that was me and I apologize to all those inconvenienced and disappointed by this lack of attention to detail and circulation of information in a timely manner.   I will try it again next year.  Being away at the time did not help and when I did return my system was not receiving e-mails, so even your complaints were not received.  Please accept my apology and feel free to remind me of my shortcomings at the rink.  My thanks to Sandy for trying to pick up the pieces.

See you there.

          Last Wednesday the RKCC held their annual Grandmother/Great Aunt Bonspiel and four rinks from Napanee competed.  The theme was 'Support our Troops" and 96 ladies did just that, most in red with “Support our Troops” ballcaps, etc.  An Izzy Doll pattern was sent to all participants in the hope that the bonspiel could collect a few to send to our troops for distribution to children around the world on their patrols. A representative from Base Kingston was the guest speaker and the ladies turned over 537 dolls -- 100 of them came from the Napanee Teams. Sandi McNamee, Norma Jackemeck, Heather Baker and Diane Davie won both games and came 5th out of 24 rinks.

The Napanee rink of Walter Genereux, Ray Snider, Ed File and Andy Graham were in Thornhill this weekend for the 2^nd Annual Provincial Grand Masters Curling Championships.  This level is limited to those curlers over 70 years old, so not all can compete!  Having previously won the Zone 4 playoffs, the Genereux rink represented us well ending up as the runners-up in the Second event and were defeated by well known provincial champ Joe Gurowski.  Now that everyone knows your ages (roughly) you can expect to see much more respect both at the Club and on the street.  Congratulations for putting Napanee on the Ontario curling map.

The annual Martin & Walters, the final curling club event of the year, was held Saturday and was great fun for the sixteen teams. Convenor John Deman and statistician Sandy Eastlake kept all entertained while Sandi McNamee ensured all hungers were sated and Jim/Anne Angel quenched all thirsts. This is not your normal curling bonspiel.  Every end is designed to be different and presents various challenges like curling around/through pylons, delivering your rock with a stick, discovering it’s not the closest rock to the button that scores but the ones in the house farthest from the button, etc.  That’s why it’s called a funspiel. The winners this year were Paul Spooner, Al Thompson, Phil Berry and Jim Peets beating Robert Hough, Jane Hough, Frank and Mark Dunham by just one end. All curlers picked out one of the many prizes generously donated by Country Traditions, Mr. Sub, Pizza Hut, Flowers by Barbara, La Pizzeria, Movies ‘N More, Paul’s Pizzeria, Dairy Queen and the Smiling Wilderness Family Restaurant. Keeping with tradition, the curlers then gorged themselves with a three table pot luck and those that were still able tried their hand at the barefoot draw to the button turkey/ham toss won by Steve and Sandy Eastlake. Many participants helped throughout the day and we thank you all for helping us make this a funfilled ending to the 2007/2008 curling season.

The annual general meeting was held at the Club on Sunday.  We can happily report that the Club had a good year and remains financially stable, thanks mainly to our volunteers and our advertising supporters.  Thanks to all the Directors, plus the Treasurer and Secretary, who managed our Club this year.  Special thanks goes to John Deman, outgoing President, and Bill Hogg, incoming President.  We are always happy to see new faces at the Club and we hope more in the area will be curious enough to come out in the Fall when curlers get together again for a season of fun – together - and see for themselves.

This is the final reminder that the annual curling Banquet will be held at the Club on Friday, 18 April.  This is an evening of cocktails, dinner and dance overshadowed by FUN so call and get your tickets from Sandy at 354-7138.

As this is the last article this season, I thank the Beaver for their generosity and cooperation in printing our weekly article on curling activities in Napanee.  Hopefully, I will be writing to you again in the Fall.  Have a great summer and stay in shape for curling next season.

          The Napanee & District Curling Club is now into its last two weeks of curling and all members are trying their best for their final chance to get their name on one of the coveted trophies…Good luck and good curling to all 280 of you. This has been a prosperous season for us with all our bonspiels being successful thanks to the hard work of club volunteers.  I have never been part of a club with an 88% volunteer rate and I personally thank all of you. For you other 12%, next season will have plenty of opportunities for you to get this rate even higher.

Club teams representing us at other Club Bonspiels have been successful too. Added to the events already written about is the 7th Annual Marvin Valensky Memorial Stickspiel (an event which raises funds for the Kingston Chapter of the Kidney Foundation) at the Royal Kingston Curling Club; Hugh Sharpe, Ed File, Don Currier and Ric Jones were the bonspiel winners   Ron Graham's team with Chris Ramshaw skipping, Ron vice, Heather and Christine Ramshaw came in second.  Christine also came in second in the ‘draw to the button’ shoot out.  She was just inches away from the button and donated the $100 prize back to the Kidney Foundation. Wow, what club representation!! Meanwhile, Andy and Cathy Palmer/Paul and Rebecca Murphy won the D Event of the Trenton Mixed skins. Way to go guys!!

The Monday Mens are down to three final teams vying for the Mens Club Championship. Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Paul Murphy in A is patiently waiting to play the B side winner whose final game is between Ken Clancey, Joe Jackemeck, Mark Dunham, Jack McNamee versus Walter Genereux, Ray Snider, Jim Head, Barry Small. By the time you read this article one of these teams will have won and will be playing Robert Paul on Monday 24^th of March.

Your league directors are busy compiling the awards to be presented the last week of curling; the bonspiel crew and Kitchen/Bar Directors are busy preparing for the closing Martin and Walters – March 29th; your Vice President is trying to ensure all will be ready for the banquet – April 18^th ; and all directors along with the secretary and treasurer are typing their reports for the closing General Meeting – March 30^th at 1 pm. All these and more are posted on the easel for your information. See you on the ice…….Sandy Eastlake  

           Ted Davie is doing a great job on this article but he is away at the Brier so you will have to put up with my write-ups for a couple of weeks.

The “Hot Shots” competition convened by Chris Ramshaw with Christine as his assistant and Eleanor making a delicious chili lunch was great fun. Twenty-two curlers raised, tapped, doubled and drew their best to be the annual Hot Shot winner; thanks to the sponsorship of Larry Pringe, Pringle Ford. This seasons’ winner was Case VanGent with runner up Cheryl Scrivens. The B event winner was Cynthia Woodcock with runner up Sandy Eastlake…Better luck next year, guys!!!!

            The second draw for Thursday men's had Ian Munro, Dave Haines, Grant Miller, Dennis Snider as the winning team with Brian Chadwick, Jack McNamee, Phil Berry, Terry Young in 2^nd place. Most of our leagues are now into their last draw --- where did the curling season go --- although the winter itself can be over any day now!!! The other league(s) second draw winners are not available to me at this time so check out our informative Web Site www.ndcc.ca  maintained by Heather Ramshaw or on the tables in Rebecca Murphy’s monthly Newsletter. Thanks ladies.

            The sign up sheet for helpers for the Banquet Friday, 18^th April is posted and tickets are available from Bill Hogg (convenor), Shirley Bush, myself, Jane Hough, Janet Hobin, Gayle Johnson and Angela Cronk. Also posted is the sign up sheet for our annual closing “Martin&Walters” which is great fun for members, family and friends. The convenor John Deman has a few surprises up his sleeve and the pot luck supper is always a mouth watering display of many different dishes. 

            Your agenda for the closing General Meeting Sunday, 30^th March at 1 pm has been emailed and there are copies for those without email on the kitchen counters or our Web Site. This year 7 of our 12 Directors’ terms are up and although some of them have agreed to stay for another term we really need members who have not served to step forward and fill the vacant positions.  Your current outgoing Directors have approached a lot of you already or will be doing so soon. So please review the nomination form and volunteer to do your part to ensure the continued prosperity of this your curling club. See you on the ice……….Sandy Eastlake 

            In case you missed them, the Highland Lassies have come and gone for another year.  If you missed the colour and the swirl of tartan kilts you may have heard the piercing sound of the bagpipes.  Master Piper, and NDCC member, Hugh Goldie added some pomp and ceremony as he “piped” the participating lady curlers on the ice for the two first draws.  You had to be there to appreciate just how special it can be. The annual ladies bonspiel, coordinated by Heather Ramshaw and her always supporting family members Eleanor and Christine, with the assistance of Liz and Andy Graham, was a wonderful experience for the 16 teams involved.  This year there were representative teams from Toronto (2), Picton, RKCC (6), Cataraqui, Garrison and Napanee (5).  The food, ice and hospitality maintained the Napanee standard of ‘second to none’.  Rebecca Murphy’s Napanee team of Jane Pearson, Cindy Woodcock and Lana Latimer was the top point winner with second place going to Judy Poirier’s Garrison team, third place to Grace Armstrong’s Picton team and fourth place to Colleen Bennett’s Royal Kingston team.   Rounding out the top 8 teams who were all offered a wonderful selection from the prize table included Fran Cooney’s RKCC team, Jordan VanVlack’s NDCC team, Benita Murphy’s NDCC team and Mary Jane Elvin’s NDCC team.   Well done to the many volunteers who made this bonspiel another NDCC success and thank you for your time and talents.

The second round of the Tuesday morning Up & At’Em league was won by  Sandi McNamee (George Elliott, Rick Siegner and Jennifer Clarkson) with two teams tied for the runner-up: Ted Davie (Elaine Badgley, E. Vandenberg/M. Therien and Bill Neville) and Sandy Eastlake (Rich Libby, Shelley Alkenbrack and Marg Martin).

            An important aspect of developing and maintaining curling as a recreational choice in Napanee is our Junior curling programme.  For reasons not completely understood, we have been having some difficulty attracting enough junior curlers to come out to learn about the game.  However, Ian Munro continues the programme and was pleased to host the Eastern Ontario Junior Curling League and the Eastern Ontario Little Rock League teams at the NDCC on 17 February.  Napanee did not have any curlers in the Bantam or Junior teams but had two Little Rock teams (under 12).  Both teams played well and the players reported that they enjoyed their first ever experience at this level of competition.  The next event for our Little Rock curlers is the Moo Spiel in Trenton in early March and curlers are preparing enthusiastically for their second appearance in that annual event.

            Despite our lack of Junior curlers feeding the system, we are seeing some success this year for our high school curlers.  Mark Dunham has continued to work with high school students interested in curling for several years with mixed results.  He himself was a product of a school curling programme which produced many wonderful curlers, some still in the club.  Mark is very pleased with his NDSS Boy’s School team this year.  The team led by the very competent young curler Scott Chadwick includes Wes Kerr, Justin Murray and Chris Galamb.  Last week, in Kingston, they won the KASSAA (Kingston Area Secondary School Athletic Association) playoffs and will represent our area in the EOSSAA (Eastern Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association) held in Garrison Mar 5-6.  Napanee supports you all the way to the National Schoolboy’s Championship!  Go for it NDSS – and good curling.

          I think the town is still buzzing with the excited talk of the success of the Sweethearts Dinner held at the club for our Ladies on 13 February.  All those fancy dressed men, under chief cook and bottle washer Jim Angel, did well to organize, prepare and serve a very good meal with all the trimmings.  Thanks to all the men who participated and helped make the evening memorable. I discovered we did have some outside help that should be recognized: Heather Baker provided the wonderful dessert selections and Sandi McNamee roasted the potatoes for us.  Thanks ladies.  We obviously needed your help.  Special thanks to John Stimpson who provided wonderful mood music on piano and guitar during the entire dinner and then music for dancing following the meal.  It was a very nice touch and added greatly to the success of the night.  Ladies should mark their calendars for next year’s similar event now.

Walter has pulled it off yet again!  On Friday, the finals for the Zone Grand Masters were held at the Club and Napanee has another winner this year.  Walter Genereux (teammates Ray Snider, Ed File and Andy Graham) won the privilege to represent this Zone at the Provincial playoffs in Thornhill the weekend of 28-30 March by defeating the Hutchinson team from Tweed.  Who says there isn’t much sport left in men over 70?

            Unknown to me last week was the good news that another Napanee rink had won a local bonspiel.  Gayle Johnson (vice Kim Pringle, second Kelly Roantree, and lead Louise VanHeighten) won the Queen of the Castle bonspiel in Picton on 09 February.  Well done ladies and thank you for spreading the ever increasing curling reputation of Napanee.

            The results of the first curling league draw are published; a bit late but better late than never.  Monday night Mens: A Draw: Ian Munro and Paul Dickson, B Draw: Bob Marriott and C Draw: Cam McFadyen; Up & At’em: Ray Snider and Jean Morrison; Tuesday Mixed: Marc Babcock; Wednesday Seniors: Dave Travers; Wednesday Ladies:June Hicks; Thursday Ladies: Michele Penner; Thursday Mens: Ian Munro and Friday Mixed: Ken Clancey.  Congratulations to all winners and their teams.

            Curling watchers are reminded that the Ladies Highland Lassie bonspiel will be held at the club on Saturday, 23 February.

BONSPIEL TIME

            It is February and that means bonspiel after bonspiel after various levels of provincial playoffs.  It’s hard to keep up with all the activity.  This past week for Napanee curlers was no exception.

            On Wednesday, Jack McNamee coordinated the annual Town & Country one-day bonspiel at the NDCC.  There were two last minute cancellations but the remaining fourteen rinks played two eight end games each and between games were treated to a delicious meal provided by Sandi McNamee and her team in the kitchen.  Congratulations to the bonspiel winner skip Walter Genereux and his team of Don Walker, Ray Snider and, import lead from RKCC, Ernie Carter.  Apparently, the success was mainly due to their import!  As usual, there was plenty of bird seed to go around for the other competitors.

            On Friday, the Club hosted the first level of the Zone Playoffs for the Provincial Senior Masters.  Napanee was represented by Walter Genereux (teammates Ray Snider, Ed File and Andy Graham) and Frank Dunham (teammates Hugh Sharpe, Frank Banks and Ron Reynolds).  There were also a rink from Quinte and another from Tweed.  After the dust settled, Genereux was the two game winner and received a bye to the finals.  Dunham and Tweed (both one game winners) square off next Friday morning at the Club and the winner of that game gets to play Genereux in the afternoon but must beat him twice to advance to the Provincials in Thornhill.  How many other sports provide opportunities for provincial competition for those over 70 years of age?  Just another advantage of the game of curling that one appreciates as we get older.

            On Saturday, four Napanee rinks entered the 25^th Annual Pat Lid Bonspiel at the Cataraqui CC.  Congratulations to the Frank Dunham rink (John Deman, Robert Hough and Murray Halliday) for tying for second.  Some may wonder when Frank has time to maintain our wonderful ice!!

            All friends, family and fellow curlers congratulate Rob Dickson and his rink for making it to the Provincial playoffs in Waterloo last week.  We were all disappointed (probably nothing compared to Rob and his teammates) with the final results there but we are all still are in awe of their success just to get to Waterloo.  Thinking of the thousands of Ontario curlers who would have been very proud just to make it through even one level of the competition required to get to Waterloo, it was a fantastic accomplishment for Rob and his team to represent the zone at these Provincial Brier playoffs.  They should be proud, as we are, of their curling success.  It seems to me that Howard and the rest were just fortunate that the Dickson rink didn’t find their groove earlier.  Beating Middaugh in the 10^th draw and Lobel (one of the finalists) in the 11^th draw, must of felt reeeaaal good. There will be another day, Rob, and look at the experience you are collecting at your age. Let this be a warning order for future Brier hopefuls in Ontario: the Dicksons will be back!

SWEETHEARTS VALENTINE DINNER 

            Well, it’s that time of year again when our thoughts turn to romance (hard to believe that only happens once a year now) and the curling club is abuzz about the annual Sweethearts Valentine Dinner.  Traditionally, on a night close to Valentines Day, the men of the club hold a dinner for the ladies in the club, and guests too when there is space available.  And when I say “hold”, I mean the men organize, prepare, cook and serve a special dinner for their loved ones with minimal assistance from the women.  It’s hard not to get a lot of free advice.  This year the dinner will be held on Wednesday, February 13^th.  The night starts at 6 pm with the “gathering” of the guests at the curling club, dressed to the hilt, who are greeted by men in “fancy” attire. The guests are served choices of tasty hors d’oeuvres and offered the cocktail of their choice.  While this is going on, you will see and hear the wild scurry of men in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on the three-course meal soon to be served.  At 7 pm, the guests are formally seated and the dinner commences with a light and delicious consommé followed by the main course (kept as a secret until served) and an incredible dessert – not quantity but quality this year.  And, of course, a wine of your choice will be offered.  The programme says “entertainment” is included and, I believe, that is still being developed and rehearsed as I write.  This is one of the big hits of the season and nobody should miss it.

            Limited to only 80 seats due to space limitations at the club, tickets are initially sold to members only.  However, after January 21^st, tickets are also available to any lady who wishes to come.  The cost is $25/ticket and if there are some men out there wondering what to give their loved one for Valentines this year (while you are down south golfing), here is a special deal.  Tickets are still available from Ron at 613 354-3761.  Don’t wait too long or you may miss the opportunity of the season.  Hopefully, we will see 80 ladies on the 13^th.

            The Town and Country Men's Bonspiel is this Wednesday, February 06 and the Ladies Highland Lassie is on February 23.  Both spiels are full.    

GOING TO THE MOVIES AT THE CURLING CLUB

           The annual Mixed Open Bonspiel was held this past weekend attracting curlers from far and wide.  Lots of good fun and good curling were conspicuous all weekend.  Organizer Rebecca Murphy did a great job pulling the many volunteers together to produce the results achieved.  The Clubhouse was well decorated for the “Movie Theme” with posters and cinema paraphernalia and most teams took up the challenge with fantastic movie costumes for the Saturday night dinner and dance.  Thought, work and creativity were demonstrated with the various entries representing the movies Titantic, Monty Phython, Blues Brothers, Wizard of Oz, Matrix and others.  It was quite obvious that the participants had come to have fun and the winning combination of friendly hosts, engaging visitors, great food and an obliging bar staff made for a great weekend.  As curlers were leaving the big question seemed to be: “What is the theme for next year?”

            Oh yes, there was plenty of great curling too!  Finals were held Sunday and congratulations goes to our local rink of Ken Clancey, Linda Blake, Daryl Latimer and Beth Clancey won the “A” event, runner-up was the Tim Bakunyi rink from Quinte CC, and the third place consolation prize was the Rob Gray rink from Carleton Place.  The “B” event winner was Amber Moulton and her Junior team from St. Catherines and Ottawa and the runner-up was Dave Wolovick from the RKCC.  “C” event winner was NDCC’s Andy Palmer and runner-up was Dave Travers also from the NDCC.  “D” event winner was Dean Clark from RKCC and runner-up Jim Mullen from the NDCC.  Rebecca had organized great prizes for all the winners thanks to our sponsors the Napanee Beaver and Commonsense Financial.

            You might not realize the number of volunteers required for the decorating, draw, ice, kitchen and bar necessary to run a bonspiel for three days.  For this event we needed over 50 and in the NDCC tradition they came out and gave their time and talents willingly and that is truly the success of our Club.  As has come to be expected in Napanee, the food was terrific all weekend: Fri night snacks, Sat breakfast, lunch and dinner and Sun breakfast and lunch.  The Sat night feast was catered by Water’s Edge Catering and it was delicious!  From where I sat during the weekend observing the many volunteers, special mention goes to Rebecca Murphy for all her hard work and great organizational skills and to Tom Ayling who was everywhere all weekend: bartender, helping prepare the ice and ably assisting the drawmaster.  Thank you both, and all the other volunteers, from all your grateful club members.

            Congratulations to the Andy Palmer rink consisting of wife Cathy, Jane and Robert Hough who won the Open Mixed bonspiel at the Cataraqui CC last weekend.

WEEKEND FULL OF CURLING

The Napanee & District Curling Club was a very busy place this past weekend.  Saturday was the annual Senior Mens Bonspiel and Sunday was a Ladies Club Bonspiel.

            The fifteenth annual Senior Mens “Deacon’s Bench” Bonspiel, organized by Walter Genereux, was a booming success.  Eight Napanee teams and eight outside teams from Brockville, Kingston clubs and Quinte met for three six-end games and the Napanee teams fared very well.  The high point three game winner was the Joe Jackemeck team (Frank Dunham, Dave VanVlack and Kees VanGent) from the home club.  The other three game winner was the John Deman team (Ted Davie, Paul Spooner and Hugh Sharpe), also from Napanee.  The high point two game winner was the Larry Waller rink from the RKCC.   Waller has won this bonspiel for the past SEVEN years.  The high point one game winner was Mike Breen, also from the RKCC.  The winning rinks all received boxes of steaks.  Thanks to the sponsors: Quinn’s Meats, Brier Fox Golf Club and Goodyear.

            In case you are wondering, the name “Deacon’s Bench”, comes from the  Bonspiel Trophy.  A friend of Walter’s, very handy with his hands, had built a Deacon’s Bench and with the left over wood he made a small curling rock of wood that bears the plaques with the names of the annual winning rinks. As everyone has come to expect, the food was absolutely wonderful again this year.  Soup and a sausage roll for lunch, organized by Jane Hough and her team, and a full roast beef dinner, organized by Elizabeth Vandenberg and her team.  Lia Dufour and Jacquie Brown handled the bar.  Don Currier looked after the ice which continues to impress all curlers.

            Last year, in an effort to get the lady curlers of the club from the various leagues together so that they might make new friends and join more leagues, a Ladies Club Bonspiel was held.  It seemed to work, everyone had a good time and so the second annual was held on Sunday.  The normal Skips are displaced by the Vices and generally all the ladies curled in different team positions.  The Cheryl Scrivens rink (Jo Sutton, Diane Davie and Joan Banks) won the trophy (yet unnamed) created by Sherry Pringle, Jane and Robert Hough.  Help us find a name for this trophy (wedding cake shape topped by a chicken wire curling rock).  The ladies have a “regifting” exchange where they pass around gifts better suited for someone else.  A “pot luck” supper topped off the day.

            On Jan 6^th three local ladies teams caught the organized bus and headed for the annual three days of curling and fun at the Chateau Montebello.  Napanee teams have been going to this event for many years and it has a great reputation for being well worth the cost.  Winning teams host the losing teams in their Chateau rooms after each game so the ladies they take the necessary “supplies” for the duration.  At the end of the bonspiel, the ladies entertain each other with skits, song, whatever and generally have a ball.  Hospitality provided by all the curlers seems to be the secret of their success.  See Jean Morrison if you want to go next year.

CURLING AGAIN 

            Curling starts with enthusiasm this week with all leagues active.  All those new Christmas brooms, shoes and apparel will be on display as curlers take to the ice.  Even the ice has had a make over as Frank Dunham and his band of hard workers did a melt down to get all the dirt on the surface, scraped the dirt off and it now looks like as bright and clean as it did when we started curling in October.  Hopefully, all curlers will take note and observe the requirement to wear only clean footwear on the ice, cleaning the bottoms of their shoes every time they go out on the ice.           

            The holiday break was also used to train more “Smart Serve” bartenders and we now have over 50 trained with another 20 taking the course soon.  Well done to all those involved with solving this problem so quickly and thanks to the many bartender volunteers. 

            The clinics were held on 6 January as planned.  Andy Palmer trained another 10 skips, John Deman trained 6 new curlers and many members came out to get back in the “swing”.  Practicing ends as the leagues get going again. 

            Happy New Year to all curlers and especially to those readers north of the Soo who try to keep track of what is going on in Napanee by reading the Beaver weekly.

CURLERS TAKE A CHRISTMAS BREAK

             This week marks the end of organized curling at the Napanee District Curling Club for 2007.  The Club will be closed from December 22 and will undergo ice maintenance from 27 Dec to 02 Jan inclusive.  Some scheduled curling will take place the first week of January but members are encouraged to contact their league coordinators to check what team they are on and when they next curl.

Another reminder that there will be a refresher curling clinic (and Skip clinic) on 06 January at 1 pm.  Members interested in either clinic, or require more information, are to contact Sandy at 354-7138.  If you did not sign up for the clinic but would like to  throw some rocks, practice your slide or lean on your broom like a Skip, please feel free to join the clinic on the 6^th.  This is a special welcome to new members who may like some extra time to improve their style and game.

There are two bonspiels scheduled at the NDCC in January: the Senior Mens on Saturday 12 January and the Mixed Open on Fri/Sat/Sun the 25-27 January.

Make a member of your family very happy on Christmas morning by giving them a membership to the NDCC for the remainder of the 2007-2008 season.  Good chance you will know where they are and what they are doing, some of the time.

Your Board of Directors wish all members of the Club a very merry Christmas and good curling in the new year.  This is the last On the Button article until January ’08.

            There will be a refresher curling clinic (and Skip clinic) on 06 January at 1 pm.  Members interested in either clinic, or require more information, are to contact Sandy at 354-7138.

JUNIOR CURLING AT THE NDCC            

          During the winter, the young are often attracted to more popular school sports like hockey and basketball but we all know that we should be planning for things to do when we “grow up”.  This is not a question of maturity but one of physical capabilities as we age.  Individual sport is where we all end up, eventually, for the rest of our lives.  Golfing in the summer and curling in the winter, both with good social opportunities, is a winning Canadian combination for the rest of our lives. Most of us wish we had started both, sooner.  Curling for the young offers something to do (vice nothing to do) during the winter months with the added bonus of regular exercise, competition with friends and a controlled social opportunity – all for a very reasonable rate – and its great fun!  The long term potential of a curling club is usually measured by its Junior curling programme and the NDCC is trying to attract more young curlers and some more experienced curlers to assist in their training and education.

          Last year, the NDCC sponsored a 4H programme to design a curling club.  Last week, the winner of that competition was selected and awarded a free membership in the Junior curling programme for the year.   Congratulations to Amanda Sherwood.

          There are currently 25 Junior curlers registered ranging from 6 to 16 years.  Through a cooperative agreement there are another twelve 4H members and offers have been made to the local schools for them to join as well.

          Ian Munro, the Director Junior Curling, is encouraged by the response this year but would like to see more.  However, even with the present number curling, he needs more help.  The Juniors curl twice/week: Wed 4-5:30 and Sun 7-8 pm.  Ian needs adults to assist Wed and they do not need to be curling instructors – more like adult supervisors to help keep the programme focused and the Juniors curling safely.  On Sun, he could really use one or two experienced curlers.  Come on members of the NDCC, call Ian at 354-1828 and volunteer to help.

          This year Ian is looking for some out of town competitive games for his Junior curlers.  The Eastern Ontario Junior Curling League (EOJCL - all clubs from Brockville to Belleville) will have some league games together on 16 Dec with another outing 17 Feb and someone with a few hours to help organize these events would be appreciated.   Parents, you need to give Ian a call too, either for more info or to register your child.

          Members are encouraged to watch for  “sign up sheets” for the next period of curling and any new curlers interested in joining please call Sandy at 354-7138.

 LADIES OPEN ANOTHER CLUB SUCCESS 

            It was another busy week at the Napanee & District Curling Club but the two main events this week were the Trillium Grant recognition ceremony on Wednesday, already fully covered by the press, and the Ladies Open Bonspiel held on Saturday, 24 November.  Jordan VanVlack, bonspiel co-ordinator, was extremely happy with the whole day.  As usual, the volunteers did their good work and the warm, friendly atmosphere at the Club made all our visitors feel very welcome.  The sixteen teams were mainly from Kingston and Napanee but there was one, again this year, from as far away as the Riverside Club in Ottawa.  They played two games each and the team with the highest points won which was the Judy Poirier rink from Kingston Garrison.  And as the teams were leaving, they made it clear that they will certainly be back next year for the Open and probably at our next Ladies ‘spiel (Highland Lassie) in February too.  With great food all day, super ice, very good prizes and the typical friendly Napanee atmosphere, why wouldn’t it be a great success? 

            The great food was the result of breakfast captain Shelly Alkenbrack, lunch captain Ingeborg Donald and dinner captain Sandi McNamee and their teams of helpers.  The super ice continues thanks to Frank Dunham and Don Currier and all their bonspiel helpers.  The good prizes were from our many local sponsors and coordinated by Liz Graham and Misty Ventura.  Interesting to note that Jordan had organized the draw so that the ladies had time between their games to eat and do some local shopping of which, apparently, many took full advantage.  The drawmasters were Hugh Sharpe and Phil Harrington while Anne and Jim Angel, Earl Bush and Jack Barker ran the bar.  

            The next big event at the Club will be the mens Ontario Curling Association and the ladies Scott zone playdowns on 8/9 December.  These involve those Eastern Ontario teams with aspirations of representing their provinces at the annual Brier and Scotts and guarantees excellent curling for those interested in watching the games live. Come on down and check out the great atmosphere that weekend,  enjoy a drink with the other spectators and see in person how the experts behind the glass seldom make a mistake.  If you are not a club member, come and see why our club as such a great reputation.  It is not too late to join the club for curling in the second half after Christmas!

MEN’S OPEN A SUCCESS - AGAIN  

            The annual Men’s Bonspiel was a success again this year thanks to the good fun, great food and genuine fellowship provided by the Club.  However, this, as always in our club, was built on sound organization and the many, energetic, reliable volunteers who are the saving grace for all our events.  For most of our visiting curlers this weekend, the support given by our many volunteers blew them away.  If they could be so lucky!

             Organizationally, Phil Wilson, Bonspiel Chair, and his team of volunteers, kept the schedule on track, on time, for a well-run affair.   Well done Phil!  The 32 rinks included curlers from Oshawa, London, Ottawa, Quinte, Tweed and many other closer clubs.  The Milne team, from Richmond, use this bonspiel every year as a reunion of college mates and includes one curler from France who keeps coming back to Napanee.  His accumulated air miles may be of a future 50/50 draw prize. 

            The competition this year was excellent, with many extra end games, and may be connected to the fact Napanee will host the OCA Zone Playoffs 8/9 Dec.  The Zone winners will playoff later to determine which team will represent Ontario at the Brier.  Several of the rinks in our bonspiel will return to compete for the OCA Zones.  The winners for this year were: A event- John Collins, Quinte and Runner up Ivan Suddergaard, Cataraqui; B event- Cam McFadyen, NDCC and Runner-up Ian Munro, NDCC; C event- Andre Chapman, Quinte and Runner-up Ed Warren, Carleton Heights; and D event- Bob Tester, Cataraqui and Runner Up Kevin McLean, NDCC.  Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all participants for making this a great spiel.

            Then there was the food!  It’s hard to believe so few men could eat so much in one weekend.  There was a lot of sweeping this weekend and most were there without their wives.  What’s to hold them back?  Even good food requires organization and Sandi McNamee, our Kitchen Director, provided that for us.  She had able Captains, and their teams, to look after every meal: Friday night Captains Sharon VanGent, Eleanor and Christine Ramshaw; Saturday breakfast Diane Davie, Saturday lunch Linda Blake and Saturday dinner Joan Ives; Sunday breakfast Shirley Bush and Sunday lunch Liz Graham.  The lady volunteers waited on the men all weekend in a manner they were unaccustomed to, and the men loved every minute of it.  Thank you ladies.  Let’s hope the men are willing and able to do as well at the Ladies’ Open Bonspiel next weekend.           

Not to mention those responsible for the excellent ice everyone enjoyed would be a major oversight.   The club gives a special thanks to Frank Dunham, Don Currier and their many assistants for a job well done.  According to our visitors, our ice is as good as any ice in Eastern Ontario.  Keep it up guys!

     Welcome back all last year’s curlers and a special hello to our new curlers.  Where else in the neighbourhood can you get regular exercise, good clean fun, fellowship and weekly winter social opportunities for such a reasonable price?  The NDCC is still the best kept secret in Town. 

            As you should note, Sandy Eastlake has moved on from this column after many years of dedicated contributions.  All members of our curling club are in debt to her for the many facets of the club she had directed, some of which she is still doing.  I’m sure many are unaware of what she does year after year so here are some facts.  The Membership Director, that’s Sandy, organizes the membership applications, registration days, takes all that info and puts it into the database (that includes identifying those curling in each league, new curlers, those only curling in one league, volunteers in all aspects of our club and those wishing lockers), sends league lists to each league Director, sends relevant volunteer lists to each functional Director, sends membership lists to OCA and Treasurer, coordinates e-mail address distribution and types, copies and distributes our annual telephone directory.  Now the rest of us can start to curl.  Of course, she is still busy organizing the clinics for our new curlers and allocating lockers to all those who had requested. If you consider the number of curlers in our club, hopefully you will realize all the work that this lady has done for some time.  Next time you see Sandy at the club, thank her for her dedication and the hard work she has done/continues to do for our curling club.  Heck, demonstrate your gratitude, buy her a drink! 

            Each year the Club is fortunate to have local sponsors advertise in our Club which provides much appreciated revenue.  These have been done in three categories this year: wall advertisement (Barry Brummell – Wagar & Myatt, Goodyear Canada, Doyle’s Windows, Geo A Grant Insurance Brokers, Napanee Beaver, Pringle’s, Giant Tiger, M & M Meats, D&L Carpentry, Colio Estate Wines, Cdn Awning & Canvas, Hart N’ Hart, Napanee Bulk Food, North Key Construction & Orkney Residential and the Dominion of Canada General Insurance); on ice advertisement (Colour Connection, A & M Sports, Country Traditions, Exit Reality, Tim Hortons, Shear Magic Hair Styling & Spa, Napanee Opticians and Dairy Queen) and the button advertisements (Tammy’s Country Kitchen, Scotia Bank, Home Hardware and Bert’s Golf).  If you have the opportunity, please support our sponsors.

             A reminder to check the list of volunteers posted by Kitchen Director Sandi McNamee to see when you might be doing breakfast next or if you are to bring pie or cookies for the Men’s Open  Bonspiel this weekend, 16-18 November. The general public is welcome to watch curling any time but a very good time would be during that weekend when the quality of competition is expected to be very high. Hope to see you at the Club.

"On the Button" - By Sandy Eastlake (as featured in the Napanee Beaver)  

      Welcome back to another fun filled season of curling. This year we have 270 members; 31 of whom are new to the club and/or to curling in general. I would like to thank Joe Jackemeck, Gayle Johnson, Craig Manley, Beau Maracle, Cam McFayden, Ian Munro, Andy Palmer and Kim Pringle for all their time insuring our new and returning members had full instruction prior to their first game.  Steve Eastlake and Frank Dunham, our new Ice Technician heartfully thank Don Currier, Rick Siegner, Dave Travers, Ian Munro, Andy Graham, Chuck Gray, Brian Hobin, John Deman, Chris Ramshaw and Tom Ayling for their assistance in the preparation of the ice which took many, many extra hours because of the installation of the new Headers (pipes). This expensive Header replacement was completed upon receipt of a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and we thank them immensely.  Our House Director Jennifer Clarkson give thanks to Cor Vandenberg, Tom Ayling, Ian Munro, John Deman, Shirley Bush, Chris Ramshaw, Chuck Mercer, Steve Eastlake, Jim Angel and Frank Dunham for helping ‘spruce up the club’.

The 5th annual Swing and Sweep showed members and friends a great day on the links/on the ice thanks to co-ordinators Heather Ramshaw and Kim Dickson. I heard that the weather conditions were much more friendly than last year.  Lunch was ready and served at the curling club (soup and sandwiches) by Eleanor Ramshaw. Jim and Ann Angel had the bar open and Bill Ryan and Shirley MacDonald help keep everyone served all afternoon. Curling was played by all participants on the great ice prepared by Frank Dunham. Dinner was prepared by Chris Moore, Eleanor & Heather Ramshaw, Sandi McNamee and a few other curlers. Beth Clancey helped out as well in the kitchen all day.  All participants helped with the clean up of the club and dishes.  Jim Sunstrum's team of Hugh Sharpe, John Deman and Jeff Sunstrum won the spiel with the Ian Munro's team a close runner-up.  Gift baskets prepared by Jennifer Clarkson and the Wilton Cheese Factory as well as a picture donated by Christine Ramshaw from the Playground Childcare Centre were raffled off at the end of the night with monies going towards the 2007-2008 Fundraising campaign. Heather and Kim thank all participants, volunteers and supporters for an excellent day once again; and a special thanks to Eleanor Ramshaw and Chris Moore, their mothers’ for their endless help with any activity their girls volunteer for.

Your new Board of Directors (and assistants): President/Mens-Mixed Bonspiels - John Deman, VicePresident/Mens Games - Bill Hogg, Mixed Games - Diane Shea, Kitchen - Sandi McNamee, Junior - Ian Munro, Ladies Bonspiel - Heather Ramshaw/Jordan VanVlack, Fundraising - Christine Ramshaw, Ice - Steve Eastlake, House - Jennifer Clarkson, Ladies Games - Janet Hobin/Gayle Johnson,  Bar/Rental - Jim Angel/Tom Ayling/Shirley Bush and myself your Membership Director welcome you to another fully scheduled winter of curling. Your treasurer Lia Dufour and secretary Elizabeth Vandenberg are busy with one set of books or another.

Our leagues this season have: Mon Men - 20 teams; Wed Men - 10 teams; Thurs Men - 10 teams; Tues Up & At'Em - 17 teams; Tues Mixed - 15 teams; Fri Mixed - 26 teams; Wed Ladies - 7 teams; Thurs Ladies - 11 teams. Juniors have 20 curlers with more to register. Remember, juniors get to try without paying until the third week and no expensive equipment is needed so call Ian Munro 354-1828.

Your Bar and Kitchen Directors have compiled their lists for volunteer duties, so please check for your name as to which Bonspiel, event, duty you are slated for. The Volunteer Chart in the foyer is posted for your viewing pleasure!!! I believe Sandi is still looking for a few Captains – come on ladies – it is just “cooking’ after all.

            The telephone directories are ready for you to pick up thanks to the sponsorship of Burkes’ Printing and there are lots of other periodicals/notices at the Information Centre and on various bulletin boards

Remember to mark your calendar for the Mens Open Bonspiel - 16^th – 18^th  November; Ladies Open - 24^th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 2nd of December at 1 pm.

I want to thank The Napanee Beaver for letting me be ‘a little wordy’ in this my first and last article of this curling season. I am remiss in not getting part of this published last Wednesday. I have thoroughly enjoyed writing to you and I know my successor, Ted Davie will also keep you well informed with club happenings/events. It is time for you to see someone elses smiling face each week in our On The Button’ article.

See you on the ice or in the lounge…..I have been heard to say more than once “Its twelve o’clock somewhere”.

      The Napanee & District Curling Club has now completed its first week of curling with 270 members; 31 of whom are new to the club and/or to curling in general. I would like to thank Joe Jackemeck, Gayle Johnson, Craig Manley, Beau Maracle, Cam McFayden, Ian Munro, Andy Palmer and Kim Pringle for all their time insuring our new and returning members had full instruction prior to their first game.  Steve Eastlake and Frank Dunham, our new Ice Technician heartfully thank Don Currier, Rick Siegner, Dave Travers, Ian Munro, Andy Graham, Chuck Gray, Brian Hobin, John Deman, Chris Ramshaw and Tom Ayling for their assistance in the preparation of the ice which took many, many extra hours because of the installation of the new Headers (pipes). This expensive Header replacement was completed upon receipt of a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and we thank them immensely.  Our House Director Jennifer Clarkson give thanks to Cor Vandenberg, Tom Ayling, Ian Munro, John Deman, Shirley Bush, Chris Ramshaw, Chuck Mercer, Steve Eastlake, Jim Angel and Frank Dunham for helping ‘spruce up the club’.

Your new Board of Directors (and assistants): President/Men's-Mixed Bonspiels - John Deman, VicePresident/Mens Games - Bill Hogg, Mixed Games - Diane Shea, Kitchen - Sandi McNamee, Junior - Ian Munro, Ladies Bonspiel - Heather Ramshaw/Jordan VanVlack, Fundraising - Christine Ramshaw, Ice - Steve Eastlake, House - Jennifer Clarkson, Ladies Games - Janet Hobin/Gayle Johnson,  Bar/Rental - Jim Angel/Tom Ayling/Shirley Bush and myself your Membership Director welcome you to another fun filled winter of curling. Your treasurer Lia Dufour and secretary Elizabeth Vandenberg are busy with one set of books or another.

The 5th annual Swing and Sweep was another success thanks to co-coordinators Heather Ramshaw and Kim Dickson. I heard that the weather conditions were much more friendly than last year.  Lunch was ready and served at the curling club (soup and sandwiches) by Eleanor Ramshaw. Jim and Ann Angel had the bar open and Bill Ryan and Shirley MacDonald help keep everyone served all afternoon. Curling was played by all participants on the great ice prepared by Frank Dunham. Dinner was prepared by Chris Moore, Eleanor & Heather Ramshaw, Sandi McNamee and a few other curlers. Beth Clancey helped out as well in the kitchen all day.  All participants helped with the clean up of the club and dishes.  Jim Sunstrum's team of Hugh Sharpe, John Deman and Jeff Sunstrum won the spiel with the Ian Munro's team a close runner-up.  Gift baskets prepared by Jennifer Clarkson and the Wilton Cheese Factory as well as a picture donated by Christine Ramshaw from the Playground Childcare Centre were raffled off at the end of the night with monies going towards the 2007-2008 Fundraising campaign. Heather and Kim thank all participants, volunteers and supporters for an excellent day once again; and a special thanks to Eleanor Ramshaw and Chris Moore, their mothers’ for their endless help with any activity their girls volunteer for.

Remember to mark your calendar for the Men's Open Bonspiel - 16^th – 18^th  November; Ladies Open - 24^th November and the General Meeting Sunday the 2nd of December at 1 pm.

            As I write this article, the second last of the season I do it with mixed feelings. I really want to get into my flower gardens but I also wouldn’t mind being on the ice. The General Meeting went well and we thank all those who attended. John Deman thanked the outgoing Directors, Ken and Joan Ives, Chris Ramshaw, Ron Graham, Liz Graham and Linda Smith for all their many hours spent for the betterment of the club. There were no major issues to report for the minutes but we welcomed the new Directors Janet Hobin/Gayle Johnson, Christine Ramshaw, Sandi McNamee, Jim Angel and Bill Hogg. Unfortunately we did not get a nominee for the Ladies Bonspiel position and we would like all of you ladies to consider volunteering and filling this position.

            On a better note I want to congratulate all the third draw winners. Starting with Monday Mens Club Championship – Steve Angel, Paul Dickson, Daryl Latimer, Darrell Pritchard with Don Curriers rink taking the runner up spot; followed by Wednesday Senior winner Walter Genereux, Ron Graham, Al Thompson, Walter Bell; then Thursday Mens winner Marc Babcock, Daryl Latimer, Scott Chadwick, Moe Drew. Next in line was the Tuesday Up & At’Em with winner Walter Genereux, Elaine Badgley, Paul Spooner, Anne Angel; the Tuesday Mixed winner Cam McFayden, Kirk and Ingeborg Donald, Beth Primeau. The Friday Mixed winner was Ken and Beth Clancey, Daryl and Lana Latimer. Last but certainly not least was the Ladies winners of Wednesday of Linda Blake, Jane Pearson, Anne Knapp, Laurie VanStraalen; then the Thursday ladies winner Janet Hobin, Elaine Badgley, Marilyn Cole, Norma Clarkson. Good curling to all of you.

            The Martin and Walters held last Saturday showed 24 teams having to draw from the dreaded envelope. Thanks to John Deman and his committee of Joan Ives, Shirley Foley, Paul McDonald, Ken Ives and myself the day was a great success with Liz Grahams’ team taking the top position with Don Pearson, Terry Young and Ray Moore. All participants made it to the glittering prize table and then proceeded to enjoy a three table pot luck. Lana Latimer won the eventful turkey toss later in the evening and a few of our members’ children enjoyed a final skate before the ice plant was shut down.

            Last on our agenda for the 50^th season is our annual banquet on Friday 27^th April. If you somehow did not get your ticket please call me 354-7138. This is going to be the biggest banquet ever as ex curling members and honored past presidents have been invited. The Beaver will be graciously covering this event so I will say adieus for this season; leaving you with this reminder --- invite all your friends to join us next year for another fun filled season at the Napanee & District Curling Club and call me with their address so I can send them an application early next fall. Have a great, fun summer and see you on the ice in the fall…….

             The 2^nd annual Hot Shot competition last Saturday was great fun. Thanks to the sponsorship of (Ford of Canada) Larry Pringle the lucky winner Bill Hogg now gets a chance to win a two year lease on one of their gorgeous vehicles. The convenor Chris Ramshaw did a great job keeping statistics with the help of Ron Graham, Bill Hogg, Heather Ramshaw and many of the participants. Eleanor Ramshaw, Barb Graham and Joan Ives served up a delicious Chili and Salad lunch with various kinds of chili prepared by Eleanor and Ron.

            By the afternoon the event was down to the final four curlers: Tom Ayling, Bill Hogg, Heather Ramshaw and Frank Dunham. Ayling and Hogg both made the dreaded “double takeout” resulting in a tie so they had to do a “closest to the button” shoot out. As all the rest of the participants watched with fingernails in mouth, Hogg bested Ayling by only a rocks’ difference. Great curling to both of you and thank you Chris for a fun filled day at this the second last Saturday of this 2006/2007 curling season.

            Next up is the closing Martin & Walters, Saturday the 31st and I am pleased to say we have three draws this year. Further information call John Deman 352-5523. Last, prior to the Banquet on the 27^th April, is the closing General Meeting on Sunday, 1^st of April at 1 pm. This meeting is for all members to voice their opinions and views on the day to day running of YOUR curling club.    

           The Napanee & District Curling is now into its last two weeks of curling for the 2006/2007 season. With this being the 50^th year of the club, Eleanor Ramshaw and her committee of Sharon VanGent, Benita Murphy and Sally Lambert are busy with the preparations of making this the best banquet ever. Ron Graham convenor of the banquet still can use your help with set up or clean up, so sign up today on the kitchen bulletin board and make our preparations easier and faster (as the saying goes “the more the merrier”). You should have no trouble getting your ticket(s) for this banquet, just ask Shirley Bush, Liz Graham, Chris Ramshaw, Jane Hough, Angela Cronk or myself.

            The club was well represented last week at the Sterling Ladies St Patrick bonspiel on Wednesday by two of our ladies teams. Shirley Bush, Sandi McNamee, Liz Graham, Cheryl Scrivens ended up 3^rd and Myself, Michele Penner, Barb Graham, Lorraine Wilson came 8^th. We also had two teams in the Tweed Ladies bonspiel last Saturday and we at least made the draw come out even. I am not naming names but we had a great time.

            I am sure you all know by now there sign up sheets on the easel for the Hot Shot competition on the 24^th and the closing Martin & Walters on the 31^st. The Hot Shots is a lot of fun as we all try to copy the TV elite curlers making double takeouts, draws to button…and so on. For further information call Chris Ramshaw 354-2003. The closing Martin & Walters is for curlers to finish the season playing a game or two with their teammates but also it is for any member wanting to get in one more game prior to season shutdown. The sign up sheet has team listings AND individual listings. Individuals will be curling too so if you signed up as an individual please check – your name is already in a team position or will be shortly. This is a closing FUNSPIEL so join us with family and friends. Call John Deman at 352-5523 if you have further questions about this fun day.

            For all you winning teams, presentations and awards will be made next week, the last week of the season. Congratulations to all of you!! This leaves a lot more time for dancing at the banquet and by the way, my dance card is not full yet……….

           The Napanee & District Curling Clubs’ “Little Rockers” (a newly formed team of young juniors) competed at the zone 4 playdowns in Belleville on Saturday March 3rd.  The team consisted of Thomas Hatch (lead), John Edwards (second), Gabriel Charlebois (vice) and Lian Kennelly (skip).  The team finished the day with an impressive one win and one loss record.The first game was against the Trenton club. Each team took three ends with the Napanee group finishing on top with a score of 6-4. The second game was against a challenging group from Quinte.  After losing the first four ends the Napanee group rallied back to take the final two ends losing 5-2. The curlers would like to thank Ian Munro, Janet Hobin and Scott Chadwick for helping them develop their skills throughout the 2006 - 2007 season. The team will compete again on March 25th in the Reid's Dairy second annual little rock Moo-spiel in Trenton and we wish them good luck, good curling and a lot of fun.The little rock program is showing more and more young juniors trying the sport of curling as these rock react the same as a regular curling rock but are half the weight.

            From one extreme to the other, two of our Senior Mens teams are also due a congratulations for making it to the winners circle at the annual Quinte Seniors Mens Bonspiel. In this 3-6 end game event Walter Genereaux, Ken Clancey, Kees VanGent and Ken Healy placed third while the team of Ed File, Brian Chadwick, Frank Banks and Andy Graham placed sixth. Great curling gentlemen.

            Our annual Banquet on the 27^th of April will be extra special in this our 50^th season at the club. You can get your ticket from Shirley Bush, Liz Graham, Chris Ramshaw, Andy Palmer, Angela Cronk or myself. There is a lot of set up and clean up for this annual event and we are looking for help with the set up and/or the clean up of the club for the banquet, so please volunteer and do your part to make it a little easier on the Directors and organizers of this your 50^th Anniversary banquet. The sign up poster is on the bulletin board near the kitchen waiting for your signature.

            As the season winds down you still need to ensure your calendar is marked for the Hot Shot competition on the 24^th; the closing Martin & Walters on the 31^st and the closing General Meeting on the 1^st of April at 1pm. All members should have received their agenda by now but if not please check the mail box on the kitchen counter. If yours is email and you did not receive it let me know. There are extra copies at the back of the mail box. You should consider filling one of the six directors positions and ask your friends to do the same. Included in the agenda package is a nomination form with the six positions listed and a brief description of their duties. A full statement of duties is hanging near the minutes and also beside the nomination box. Feel free to talk to the current director and he/she will give you an even fuller description of what is involved for the position you are planning on volunteering for.

           The club hosted the OCA Regional playdowns last weekend and thanks to the long hours of kitchen captain Eleanor Ramshaw and her crew of Charlene Huffman, Sandy Cassleman, Elizabeth Goldie, Sandra Semple, Sue Mercer, Shirley MacDonald, Lorraine Willows, Janet Hobin and Anne Angel she managed to keep all 64 curlers well nourished from morning snacks, lunch and supper from Saturday morning until late Sunday. Our OCA representative Steve Eastlake thanked Andy Palmer for his assistance and the ice crew of Gary Cound, Frank Dunham and Ray Moore. The curlers gave their thanks to Paul McDonald and HankJohn Reinink for quenching their thirsts.

            I imagine most of you have been watching the Briar this week and have seen the Ford “HotShots” competition that all the teams participate in each and every year. We will be having our 2^nd annual Ford HotShots at the club on Saturday 24^th March so make sure you mark your calendar. Chris Ramshaw is busy preparing the sign up sheet so be on the look out for it on the bulletin board.

            Congratulations are in order for Chris Ramshaw, Ron Graham, Christine Ramshaw and Chuck Mercer on their 3 game win and third place position at the Stick Bonspiel at the beautiful new Royal Kingston Curling Club last weekend. I have it from a good source that Mercer actually got to practice in his league game last Tuesday….way to go Shirley.

            A few other happenings around the club are drawing near so be sure to look for the posters advertising the closing Martin & Walters on the 31^st of March and the General Meeting on the 1^st of April --- and no it is not an “April Fools” joke. As an owner of the Curling Club it is in your best interest to attend this General Meeting to keep yourself informed on the events and finances of your club. The tickets for the banquet on the 27^th of April are now available for purchase; please see Shirley Bush, Liz Graham, Chris Ramshaw, Andy Palmer, Angela Cronk or myself. With this being our 50^th season many guests are being invited and we urge you to help by getting your ticket as soon as possible. We are looking for help with the set up and/or the clean up of the club for the banquet, so please volunteer and do your part to make it a little easier on the Directors and organizers of this your 50^th Anniversary banquet. The sign up poster is probably already hanging in the lounge waiting for your signature.

            All the leagues are now into the last draw of this the 50^th anniversary season at the Napanee & District Curling Club. Your directors are now busy preparing for the closing General Meeting on the 1^st of April and getting ready for your annual banquet on Friday, April 27^th.

            I am happy to announce the last of the second draw winners and as with the first draw most of these leagues had to wait for the very last game to find out the winner. This really shows the competitiveness of each team whether they are self picked or drawn from “that sometimes dreaded hat”. I have heard it from a good source that Earle Bush has even been threatened and/or bribed when it comes to drawing those team names.

            Congratulations to the Tuesday Mixed winners Bill & Sandy Casselman, Mike & Trish Szafranski, with runner up Marc & Vicki Babcock, Merv & Anne Connery. Next is the winning team from the Up & At’Em league – Linda Smith, Sandi McNamee, Carmen Milligan, Gail Spencer followed closely by Ron Graham, Jacquie Brown, Liz Griffiths, Wayne Tunstead. The Wednesday ladies ended their draw with Joanne Jones, Susi Reinink, Brenda Charette, Jane McQueen winning their draw with the runner up team of Liz Graham, June Hicks, Anne WhalenKnapp, Joan Reynolds. The Thursday ladies league ended with Sandi McNamee, June Hicks, Barb Graham, Elizabeth Goldiewinning the draw and Benita Murphy, Susi Reinink, Pat Benn, Marilyn Cole right on their coattails as runner up. Last, but with 24 teams, definitely not least is the Friday Mixed winning team of Ken & Beth Clancey, Daryl & Lana Latimer followed by 3 teams tieing for runnerup due to the closeness in the standings – 1^st - Jack & Sandi McNamee, Kees & Sharon VanGent; 2^nd - Paul Dickson, Lana Jaeger, Brian & Cynthia Woodcock; 3^rd - Don & Debbie Currier, Hugh & Elizabeth Goldie. Congratulations again to all of you. I also have some good news for a couple of the Friday teams on the first draw results. After recalculating and finding some lost data, Diane Shea announced there was three teams in contention for the winning position and because of byes, etc she has named all three 1st draw winners: Ken Clanceys’ team (listed above) and Jim & Peggy Sunstrum, Grant & Cindy Crowson and Scott Dickson, Kim Dickson, Paul & Jane McQueen with the team of Paul Dickson (listed above) taking the runner up position.

            We are hosting the Regional Intermediate men and women play downs this weekend, 3^rd- 4th; so come out and see some terrific curling games. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our annual closing Martin & Walters funspiel set for Saturday the 31^st of March this year. 

            Last week was a busy one at the Curling club. The Sweetheart Dinner convened by Ron Graham with helpers John Deman, Shirley Bush, Lia Dufour, Jennifer Clarkson, Connie Pritchard, Sharon VanGent and Brock Laing showed our lady members how elegant our men can be all dressed up in “not curling” garb. The ladies had only oohs and aahs for the delicious meal prepared by Jim Angel with helpers Ted Davie, Chuck Mercer, Bill Ryan, Roger Cole, Andy Graham and served to the ladies in 5 courses by John Deman, Kees VanGent, Joe Jackemeck, Bill Hogg, Darrell Pritchard, Chuck Gray and Jim Sunstrum. At the bar Earle Bush and Jack Barker kept all thirsts quenched and Mr. Tim Hall provided entertainment for the ladies throughout the evening. Mr weatherman kept myself and a few others from enjoying this festive night out but I have heard it from many sources that the entire evening was terrific. Ron Graham gave his thanks to all his helpers and to all the kind sponsors of Wallaces Drugs, Mayhew Jewellers, The Basket Case, Pritchard Linens, Colio Estate Wine, Smarts Florists, Marie Davy, Wellness in the Woods, Sherry Pringle, Michele Penner, MaryAlice Paul, Jennifer Clarkson and Marg Pearce.

            The Highland Lassie Bonspiel last Saturday gave us another notch in our successful bonspiel belt. Linda Smith thanked her committee of Michele Penner, Shirley Bush. Bea Moore and drawmaster Ron Graham for helping her obtain this notch. Linda went on to thank all her sponsors for enabling her to present a gorgeous prize table – Marj Pearce, Lynja Injections, Lockharts Fine Linens, Gray’s IDA and the Silver Corkscrew. The winning team from Cataraqui Roberta Hutchins thanked all the helpers for a great day and especially the kitchen crew. Our Kitchen Captains Shirley Bush, Gloria Cawley and Joan Ives presented hearty meals all day long and they thanked their helpers of Penny Flaro, Jane Hough, Marg Martin, Shelley Hudgins, Tricia Cammaart, Mary Alice Paul, Ken Ives, Joan & Frank Banks, Ann & Merv Connery, Shirley Foley and Marilyn Cole. The second place team from RKCC, Donna Smith continued with a thank you to Earle Bush, Andy Graham and Ken Ives at the bar and Gary Cound, Rick Siegner, Robert Hough for great ice to curl on. The Napanee teams did well with Heather Ramshaw coming third, Shirley Bush fourth, Jean Morrison fifth and Jordan VanVlack eighth. Thanks Linda for all your work…..it really showed on Saturday. Another highlight of the evening was a presentation by Fran Clooney and Linda Miller of RKCC who gave our club a 50^th anniversary quilted wall hanging depicting our curling club pin/years of operation and various quilted rocks. This presentation shows the closeness and camaraderie of all the curling clubs in this area and we thank RKCC immensely.

            In my next On the Button article, I will have a list of the second draw winners which are still being compiled and are not ready for me to publish yet.

Happy Valentines’ Day. I am going thru my wardrobe looking for something comfortable to wear tonight to our 2^nd Annual Sweetheart dinner at the Napanee & District Curling Club. I imagine our gentlemen servers are sorting through their closet and ironing their outfit for tonight also.

 The Town & Country bonspiel held last Wednesday was another success for the club. The winning team of Robert McPherson from Belleville thanked Jack McNamee/Hugh Sharpe and their committee of Robert Hough, Paul Murphy and Robert Paul for an excellent day of curling, dining and socializing. Hugh Sharpe thanked all the sponsors for letting him present the wide variety of prizes for the winning teams: Home Hardware, O’Neill Farm Supply, Country Depot, Clow Farm Equipment, Moore Bros.,RONA, Hank John Reinink and Sharpe himself. Ian Munro the 2^nd place winner went on to thank Sandi McNamee and her crew of Michele Penner, Susi Reinink, Joan Reynolds, Marjorie Elliott for a delicious dinner; Carmen Milligan and George Elliott for keeping all the 64 curlers glasses topped up and Gary’s crew of  Frank Dunham and Rick Siegner for great ice to curl on.

            The Monday night Men’s League is now into the Club Championship playoffs with the top 16 teams playing a double knockout format. The teams of Robert Paul, John Deman, Ken Clancey, Rob Dickson, Chris Ramshaw, Ian Munro, Ed File, Andy Palmer, Don Currier, Frank Dunham, Paul Dickson, Kevin MacLean, Ken Healy, Tom Hayes, Ken Ives and Reg Gore will be battling it out over the next 7 weeks for that coveted name on the trophy winning position. The second draw winners were A division – Robert Paul, Robert Hough, Paul McDonald, Paul Murphy; B division – John Deman, Ted Davie, Paul Spooner, Bart MacLean; C division – Tom Hayes, Gerry Haggerty, Jim Head, Steve Cooper. Honorable mention goes to Rob Dickson, Don Currier, Bob Eamer and their team mates for winning the runnerup positions in this 2^nd round of curling.

            Come out to the club on Saturday 17^th for our Highland Lassie bonspiel and watch some more terrific shot making by 16 ladies teams from all over the area. See you there……….

         Some of your league directors are busy preparing lists for the final draw of the season while others are busy tracking the win/loss ratio of their league(s). The winter this year – or lack thereof, until now – seems to have simply past me by. If your leagues’ second draw is nearing completion, please remember to sign up for the last draw of this the 2006/2007 curling season.

         The volunteer board is filling nicely with the check marks I wait patiently to see and I thank you all for your continued help with the bar, kitchen, ice and the list goes on. Thanks to Robert Hough, who takes a lot of time welding and fixing all the broken chairs that happen to “fall apart” during the season, we all have a place to sit when we arrive at the club. However, if you haven’t had time or been approached to help yet – and now have an hour or three to spare - contact one of the directors – and lend a hand. Once each of you look at the Volunteer Board you will see how ALL of you are needed to pitch in and keep the club looking nice, running smoothly, and financially prosperous. There are still a lot of events from now until the end of the season needing bar, kitchen, committee or just general setup/clean up helpers. 

         Still to come is the Town & Country Bonspiel, Wed 7^th and the Highland Lassie Bonspiel, Saturday 17^th. I am also looking forward to the “Sweetheart Dinner” on Wednesday, 14^th February.

         Full information about our club happenings are available at www.ndcc.ca thanks to Heather Ramshaw and as I write this article, Bill Hogg is busy preparing February’s Newsletter.

            During the curling season each and every year a lot of club curlers form teams and enter Bonspiels at other area clubs. Congratulations to Andy/Cathy Palmer and Robert/Jane Hough on their B division win at Cataraqui last weekend. Great curling to Hugh Sharpe, Robert Paul, Bill Casselman and John Deman who won their division at the Mens’ Brighton bonspiel.

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