On April 6, around 40 members of the Pontiac Fish and Game Club as well as other curling enthusiasts gathered at the Shawville Curling Club for the annual Fish and Game bonspiel.

As the last bonspiel of the year at the club, the event served as an opportunity for members of the Fish and Game Club to catch up on old times and sip a few brews while raising money for the curling club.

“It’s the last spiel of the year,” said Bruce Hodgins, the event’s main organizer. “It’s a good spiel. It makes the club money and it’s fish and game so it’s all the guys who hunt or fish.”

For Rick ‘Stinger’ Hodgins, a resident of Shawville who has participated in the tournament for almost 30 years, the best part of the event is the chance to meet with familiar people who have similar interests.

“It’s a good get together,” said Stinger. “Everybody gets talking about their hunting and stuff from the year before. Everybody knows each other, you know. We’ve all grown up together.”

However, the event isn’t quite as popular as it once was, according to Hodgins.

What used to be a two-day event with 12 to 18 teams was cut down to one day with only eight teams participating. Hodgins attributed it to the lack of youth in the area and their lack of interest in the sport itself.

“There’s no young people left here,” said Hodgins. “All our young people are gone to the city. They don’t curl. But it’s still good, you know. A lot of the old guys are still here.”

For Brad Harris one of the participants and a member of the Pontiac Fish and Game club, the event gave him a chance to play a sport he hasn’t played in decades.

“The last time I curled was in this,” said Harris. “That was 25 years ago.”

At the end of the event, team Goeland Lake, consisting of skip Trevor Tanguay, third Al Keuhl, second Tim Murray and lead Robert McCord proudly lifted the Clair Jake Memorial Trophy as the newest champions of the Fish and Game Bonspiel.

Pictured, Doug Hodgins walks next to a sliding rock waiting to sweep the ice.

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