It was another really special and super fun day of curling Saturday at the Cornwall Curling Club for our 2nd Annual ParaSport and Recreation PEI – Cornwall Curling Club Mini-Spiel!!
This heart-warming event is a true celebration of community….bringing together experienced and fun club curlers with Para-Athletes~ most who curl during the “ParaSport Learn to Curl” program here at our Club on Sunday afternoons.
So much fun was had by all…with lots of great shot-making and tons of laughter! A very special thank you to Event Chair and Cornwall Curling Club Board of Director Member Bill McGuire, and to ParaSport and Recreation Program Coordinator Kyla Dunn for their time and efforts in organizing this event. Also, a thank you to ParaSport and Recreation Executive Director Tracy Stevenson for her work leading up to the event.
All curlers were welcomed in the morning with fresh coffee, donuts, and muffins that were donated by an anonymous donor, and some fresh apples that were donated to our club by O’Connor Glass Ltd earlier this week! We also provided a ticket for a free beverage to all participants!
The morning social time found our members and ParaSport Athletes visiting and getting ready for two 6-end games!
After the morning games, all of our mini-spiel participants enjoyed some super delicious pizza from Sam’s Family Restaurant & Lounge right here in Cornwall!! (On a side note, many of our members have commented on how Sam’s makes the best pizza , and it is now their “go-to” pizza place since trying it here at Cornwall Curling Club events! Take it from us… it’s AWESOME! )
A big thank you to Sam’s owner Fadi, who delivered right to our door. Fadi and his team are the best!
During lunch, we handed out some prizes for our participants by drawing from a hat. While our prize pool was a little lower this year (as both of our not-for-profit organizations did not want to ask too much of local businesses during these unusual times)… every prize we presented was appreciated by curlers!
One of the most coveted prizes was a Curling Canada “Curling Cares” Calendar that was donated by our very own World Champion, Cornwall Curling Club Member Lauren Lenentine…. and was signed by her team Team Zacharias!
The calendar was won by Para-Athlete, Matthew Green, who was thrilled!
Thank you, Lauren!
After lunch, there was some really exciting curling on all four sheets, and some very close games!
When it was all said and done, there was a three-way tie for first between Team Cudmore, Team Kennedy, and Team Sweetapple!
To decide the winner we had the “mates” throw to the button. The closest two would then have their team “leads” throw ~ with the winner being determined by closest to the button.
The winner of the “mate” challenge was Club and Board of Director member Sharon Campbell. our Club Ice Magician …we mean Technician … Brent Irving getting second closest (over his wife and Women’s Club Champion Team Member, Angela Sanderson).
Winning Team Kennedy
We then saw Para-Athletes Stella Walsh and Nick MacIntyre showdown on behalf of their teams! Stella made a beautiful draw right down the middle and the rock softly floated almost right to the button landing gently in the 8 foot of the house to win the 2nd Annual ParaSport-Cornwall Curling Club Mini-Spiel for her team, Team Angus Kennedy!
Team Cudmore
Team Garth Cudmore was awarded second place…and was excited for such a great competition!
Both teams went home with a little money honey!
Our generous members and ParaSport athletes also participated in a small but important fundraiser~ where all funds raised would be donated to the Red Cross for support to those suffering from the current war in the Ukraine. The fundraiser saw our event raise $100.00 dollars. However, ParaSport-Cornwall Curling Club Mini-Spiel Chair and Board of Director Member, Bill McGuire won $100.00…. of which he promptly donated back to put towards the Red Cross donation.
This made the total amount our club raised and donated $200.00! With the Federal Government of Canada matching this donation, it will mean of efforts would result in $400.00 going to the Red Cross from our little event! 
A very big and heartfelt thank you to all members for coming out today and being such beautiful hosts to our ParaSport guests.
Thank you to the ParaSport athletes for your friendship!
We love this event and in the words of Bill McGuire, “hope to be back next year… bigger and better than ever”!
If you are a local business and are interested in partnering with our club and ParaSport in offering this lovely event in 2023, please contact our Club Manager for more information!