By Steve Hubrecht
Curlers from the Columbia Valley and abroad are getting ready for more nights of outdoor curling magic with the return of Bonspiel on the Lake.
The annual event will see 320 curlers competing in two separate outdoor bonspiels on the frozen surface of Taynton Bay, just off the shore of Kinsmen Beach this coming weekend, from Friday, Jan. 17 to Sunday, Jan. 19.
The curlers will be part of 80 different teams, a lot of them local, but many from other parts of British Columbia, Alberta, and some from south of the border. Of those 80 teams, 64 will be in the main Bonspiel on the Lake while 16 will take part in the separate Hunger Games Bonspiel.
The latter event is a recent addition, and got its ‘hunger games’ name because the teams in it play most of their games on Saturday night, while all the curlers in the main bonspiel are enjoying their traditional dinner, dance, and live music.
Invermere Curling Club vice-president Richard Brunner explained that it’s a testament to the Bonspiel on the Lake’s ongoing and legendary popularity that some curlers will jump at the chance to skip dinner and play on the ice of Lake Windermere during the Saturday night dinner break.
This year is the 40th edition of the main Bonspiel on the Lake, which began in 1982, but skipped a few years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been full since it began and getting a spot in it is no easy task.
“I think the biggest draw is the uniqueness. It’s always been pretty rare to have an outdoor bonspiel, and it’s only gotten more rare these days. So to have an outdoor bonspiel of the size we do is pretty special,” said Brunner.
One of the most interesting aspects of the event is how “the lake ice is a great equalizer. You always have good teams and bad teams. But (in the Bonspiel on the Lake) the good teams don’t necessarily always win, and the bad teams don’t always necessarily lose,” he told the Pioneer.
The lake ice is never the same from day to day, let alone from year to year. It can even change consistency and texture dramatically within the span of a few feet. This presents new and unique challenges for the outdoor curlers to contend with each time they throw a rock.
“Curling is a much more interesting game on lake ice. Mother Nature plays a big role,” said Brunner.
The bonspiel doubles as a fundraiser for the Invermere Curling Club, typically raising about $20,000 for the club. Brunner outlined how volunteers spent countless hours creating the outdoor curling ice, and setting up the dance and dinner.
This year work on the bonspiel started back on Christmas Eve, when volunteers began plowing away snow and flooding the frozen surface of Taynton Bay to make the outdoor curling rinks as smooth as possible. They’ve been continuing to do so at least two or three times a week ever since, and spent last Saturday, Jan. 11 putting up the rink perimeter boards and the lighting posts to illuminate the curlers at night.
The first night of the Bonspiel on the Lake, on Friday, Jan. 17, coincides with the District of Invermere’s annual Snowflake Festival. This year the festival has live music, an Indigenous dance group, snowsuit storytime with the Invermere Public Library, ice carving, and fireworks.
The festival is held on Kinsmen Beach, adjacent to the bonspiel, from 5 to 8 p.m.

PHOTO RYAN WATMOUGH