Brooks Cactus Pheasant curling classic well-regarded
Medicine Hat News
In just three short years, the Cactus Pheasant Curling Classic in Brooks has become one of the best events on the World Curling Tour.
Last year, 24 of the who’s who in men’s curling converged on Brooks and played for the $70,000 in total prize money.
Glenn Howard successfully defended his 2008 title and pocketed $22,000. Kevin Martin of Edmonton won the inaugural spiel back in 2007.
“Our first year we weren’t trying to reinvent the wheel,” said organizer Lawrence Block. “My first call was to Kevin Martin. We talked and listened to the curlers and asked them, ‘what makes a good event?’” added Block. “What we heard from the curlers was, good rocks and good ice. So we went out and hired the best ice maker and brought in the best rocks.”
Organizers hoped a cash spiel of this magnitude would spark awareness of curling in Brooks.
“Our numbers were dwindling and we were looking for ideas to generate some interest and put curling back on the map,” said Block.
It has worked, especially in the junior curling, where the number of participants has increased from 12 to 50.
“There’s no doubt the event has perked up the numbers, but our junior people, Gary and Deb Hankins along with Rob Goldade deserve a lot of credit as well,” said Block.
Along with Howard and Martin, the bonspiel has now attracted a number of international teams. Attending last year were David Murdoch from Scotland, Ralph Stoeckli from Switzerland, Niklas Edin of Sweden, Thomas Dufour from France, Rui Liu of China and American John Shuster.
“The field is getting better and better. Martin and Dave Nedohin say they circle Brooks as one of the first events
they want to attend,” said Block.
As far as any thoughts of expanding the field of 24, or adding a women’s division, Block says all is fodder for dialogue.
“Bigger doesn’t necessarily make it better, but at the same time, discussions are ongoing and we’ll have to make some decisions about those things. The formula with 24 teams is nice and I hate to tinker with it too much,” added Block.
The Cactus Pheasant has also become bigger than just curling.
“The community has really embraced it and we’ve had great success with volunteers and sponsors. It’s more than just curling as we have the beer garden (Cactus Patch) and in the past three years have had bands like Prism and Trooper,” added Block.
The dates for the 2010 bonspiel haven’t been set, but Block hopes they can secure October 28-31.
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REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community — 75
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