CANORA - After winning the 2022 Canora Two-Person Stick Bonspiel, Bill Foreman and Robert Waselenko of Canora answered any doubters who may have thought it was a fluke by once again taking the top spot.
An even dozen teams were entered in the bonspiel held on Feb. 20 at the Sylvia Fedoruk Centre, with each team playing three games under the Brandon Draw format. The games were six ends, with each team throwing six rocks per end. Players stayed at the same end for the most part throughout the game, alternating shooting all six rocks each end. They were allowed to meet at centre ice for a timeout once per game.
Sweeping is allowed only after the rock crosses the hog line. No takeouts are allowed until the fifth rock in each end, even on rocks in the house, which means there are usually lots of rocks in play.
Under the Brandon Draw scoring system, teams get one point per end won, and two points for the winner of the game. In the event of a tie, each team is awarded a single point.
After the three round robin games, the top four teams advanced to the playoffs: Foreman and Waselenko, Kelly Beblow and Bob Kolodziejski of Canora, Ron Hoehn and Arnie Makowsky of Canora, and Nick Woloschuk of Buchanan and Peter Wiwchar of Canora.
In semifinal action, the Foreman/Waselenko and Beblow/Kolodziejski teams were victorious to advance to the final.
In the championship game, it was almost like there were two different games. Beblow and Kolodziejski started fast, and led 3-0 after stealing two points in the second end. But in the third, a successful last-rock draw for two by Waselenko seemed to completely reverse the momentum. He and Foreman then combined to steal four points in the final three ends, for a 6-3 victory. After the game, the winners declined to indicate whether they would be going for a “Three-peat” in 2024.
Other teams participating in the bonspiel were: Mark and Kelly McTavish, Donnie St. Marie and Ally Rock, Koren Baillie and her grandmother Natalie Trebick, all of Canora; Barb and Kevin Collingridge,and Vern and Judy Schick, all of Good Spirit Acres; Darryl Stevenson of Burgis Beach and Ernie Gazdewich of Canora, Bill Gulka of Canora and Dave Zbeetnoff of Yorkton, and Vickie Stevenson of Burgis Beach and Don Probe of Canora.
