MIDDLETON, N.S. - One. Just one. One card left!
No deck, no shuffling, just the one lone card sitting on the table. On Nov. 23 at Middleton Curling Club when the evening’s ticket is drawn from the drum, it will be for the whole thing, the pot from the evening’s ticket sales and the accumulated pot for the ace of hearts.
It is not often that a card defies all odds and manages to survive until the very end.
A year of Fridays, a year of shuffling and hoping and disappointment, and it comes down to this one last card. A perfect example of the winner takes all. And the winner that night is expected to take home at least $17,000.
As in the past few weeks, the next door Masonic Hall will also be selling tickets, with overflow seating and a snack canteen for those wanting to escape the noise and crush at the club. Ticket sales begin at 6:30 p.m. and the final draw will take place at 8 p.m.
The proceeds for this fundraiser have benefited the youth programs at MCC and last weekend the club hosted a clinic for new student curlers who had tried the Rocks and Rings program. Most of the curlers were more interested in getting out on the ice than in off-ice practice, and co-ordinator Dawn Spidle led them through an hour of drills and instruction.
Sunday evening Spidle was back with the adult Learn to Curl group, doing essentially the same drills, with the only difference being the weight of the rocks. Young curlers have the same instructions for sweeping, but the adult granite rocks, weighing about 40 pounds, are too heavy for throwing effectively. The club has two sheets of Lite Rocks for student learners. These weigh about half as much but react in exactly the same way as the larger rocks and allow for transfer of skills to the larger rocks at a later stage.
Afternoon League had the first of their afternoon home-and-home away games at Berwick last week, taking four teams to the new facility and coming out on top by two points for the day. However, the trophy and bragging rights are not awarded until the second day when Middleton plays host to Berwick on Nov. 30. The winners are decided by aggregate points for the two days in this friendly exchange which has gone on for years. The curling is only part of it, as home-and-home games also involve snacks and socializing afterwards and this makes for a great outing.
Information on all MCC events can be found by going to www.middletoncurlingclub.com
Article by Karen Sotvedt, a member of the Middleton Curling Club.
