The Almonte Curling Club’s fourth annual Ottawa Valley Lefties Curling Championship, sponsored by Dairy Distillery, was held at the Almonte Curling Club on February 22. Twelve teams of left-handed curlers from Ottawa and the Valley, and as far away as Oakville, competed for the championship trophy and cash prizes.
Neal McCarten, Dairy Distillery’s director of operations, said, “we are proud to partner with the Almonte Curling Club to sponsor this unique competition.” Dairy Distillery, one of Almonte’s local success stories is now the title sponsor for this unique Lefties Championship.
The Bonspiel has grown over its four years to 12 teams playing in the Lloyd Simpson and Ed Douglas pools, named after two of the most well-respected lefties from Almonte’s glorious curling history.
Since only about 5% of curlers are left-handed, it was a rare and unique sight to see a full rink of lefties competing for this Valley Championship.
The games were very competitive and curlers enjoyed meeting fellow lefties from many clubs.
The overall winning team came from the Huntley Curling Club in Carp. Skip Dave Hayley, Norm Rajala, Ron Harvey and Don Campbell received the Championship trophy from Almonte Curling Club President Steve Conlon.
The runner up team of Gary Maxwell, Skip Dave McEwing, Tim Brown and Art McKenzie came from the Richmond Curling Club.
The third-place team came from the host Almonte Curling Club and the fourth-place team came from the Carleton Place Curling Club.
Pictures of keen lefty curlers in action at the Almonte Curling Club on Feb 10.
