March. Winter will be leaving us soon. Spring is on the way. What a great time of the year!
What Has Been Happening Around Here?
It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of Claude Gagnon in the last week of January. Claude was, how shall I say it, just a good guy. He was well liked, a good curler and a hard worker for the club over the years keeping our finances under control.
Our deepest sympathies to his mom and dad, Mary and Al, and the rest of his family.
A man phones home to his wife:
Husband: It’s really cold out there today. How’s it going?
Wife. Windows frozen. Do you know what I can do for it?
Husband: Sure. Just pour warm water over it.
Wife: OK. I’ll try that.
When he get home he asks his wife if the warm water worked.
Wife: No. Now the whole computer is messed up.
Here’s a friendly reminder from your Accountant /Auditor, John Ford
A new year has come and ALMOST gone. Spring is just around the corner and the PRESIDENT is cracking the whip. He has given me two options: collect all the outstanding debts or consider paying them myself.
And, you know I will not let the last option happen.
As is our normal practice, March will be the last month that we will allow the use of chits. We do this to ensure the club does not carry any receivables over the summer.
The process is very simple. If members’ bills are not paid by April 30, 2013, the outstanding amounts have to be considered as BAD DEBTS in our books. This has the undesired result of members’ club privileges being revoked until their bill is paid, in cash, and the future use of chits by them being banned.
As you can see, it is important that you pay any outstanding balances shown on your March 31st statement by April 30th.
Should you not be in a position to pay the account in full, I would appreciate a call so we can make some sort of arrangement.
Contrary to rumours, I am not the mean person some people make me out to be. I am always willing to be helpful to anyone who approaches me before April 30th. Having to chase people for payment puts me in a bad mood.
You don’t want to see that.
Thanks everyone....I’ll see you at the AGM meeting in June.
Two drunks are walking along. One drunk says to the other, "What a beautiful night, look at the moon."
The other drunk stops and looks at his drunk friend. "You're wrong, that's not the moon, that's the sun."
They began to argue when they come upon another drunk. They asked, "Sir, could you please help settle our argument? Tell us what that thing is up in the sky that's shining. Is it the moon or the sun?"
The third drunk looked at the sky and said, "Sorry, I don´t live around here."
Lyle Bradford Calcutta
Another successful Calcutta has come and gone. However, this one was extra special because it was our 100th anniversary Calcutta.
Chairman Ed Jones and his committee took extra care to make sure this one, as our Centennial Calcutta, would be remembered. Their objective was to get as many people from as many club organizations as possible involved in some way in the event.
The objective of having 16 teams compete fell short by 2 teams. It was difficult to get people to commit to playing for a full week.
However, in everything else, the participation by club members from all club organizations was fantastic. The attendance (45) at the auction was larger than anyone could remember. There were 120 people in syndicates and many people who were not playing came out to watch the curlers do their thing and bet in the exactas and
pari mutuals.
So who won?
A winner: Renate Huester A Runner-up: Gordon Bowles
Peter Graham Sophie Belanger
Shirley Elliot Nick Backman
Scott Grafton Rob Philion
A consolation: Cathy Hughes/ B winner: Anthony Altobello
winner Kelly Ryan Craig Brander
Gerry Sims Jim Doyle
Daniel Philion Jeffrey Cohen
Adam Freilich
C winner: Mike McKeown
Chris Morrin
Marc Philion
Sandra Arseneault
Hint for next year: Bet on any team with a Philion on it.
Winners at the auction::
$75 - Bill Eastbrooke in the draw for all 120 people in syndicates
50 - Gerry Sabourin in the draw for those in attendance (45) at the auction
50 - Scott Grafton for being the closest in guessing the amount collected at the
auction ($5,655)
Winners of the Draw to the Button contest:
All 56 curlers tried their skill at drawing to the button just before the curling began. The top 8 finishers were eligible for the finals on the last night. The winners were:
1st place - Richard Delivia ($100)
2nd place - Erin Ryan ($60)
3rd place - Don Sproule ($40)
Ed Jones asked me to pass his thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and a special thank you to the following people for their invaluable assistance in running this competition:
Erin Ryan - for the food for the teams as they finished their games
Brian Shee - for the statistics of the games being played. These were especially important this year in determining wild cards.
Bill Bedford, Gerry Sims and Howard Davidson - for their help on auction
night
Jeff Cohen – for preparing the draw schedule
Kari Parm – for his work behind the bar
Spares – all those who offered to play as spares
Curlers – everyone who signed up and played in the competition
Rob Philion, Mark Watson, JIM MATCHETT (oops….I have to get that
keyboard repaired) and Sandra Jones – Ed’s committee
Of course, the biggest thanks go to Ed Jones who managed the whole thing beautifully from start to finish.
Shotgun wedding: A case of wife or death.
Messages from Match Chairman Kevin Alladin
Two months to go in the season and everything is heating up. March is really a busy month curling-wise in the club, so here's a rundown of where we are at:
Past-President's and Grafton-Hunt Ladders
We are in the final phase of each competition. At this time, we have had only one week of competition as we have had the Lyle Bradford Calcutta. This phase of competition will end in early April then we will have the Past-President's and Grafton-Hunt championships followed by the Ladder championships. More details as to the qualifying teams, dates and playoff format will be in the April ROAR. For current results, please see the match bulletin board or the club website.
Centennial Bonspiel
On March 1, 2 and 3 we will be hosting 16 teams for our Centennial Open bonspiel. We hope that you will come around and watch some great curling! We have 2 Montreal West teams entered so come in and cheer them on!
Shamrock Bonspiel
At this time we have 17 teams registered in the Shamrock Bonspiel – March 11-16. This is a team-entry event. The entry fee of $160 is payable before your first game. The fee
gets you 3 games of curling guaranteed, dinner Friday night and lunch for the finalists Saturday and other surprises.
Dominion Playdowns
On March 25-28, we will be holding our Dominion play downs. The men's and
women's teams who win these events will represent Montreal West at the Regional play downs in April. For eligibility details or to sign up, please contact me. This event is free.
If you have any questions, concerns or ideas, please do not hesitate to contact me at
514-515-7780 or
Entertainment
Here’s a report from Erin Ryan:
Thanks to those who attended the Super Bowl Party. A good time was had by all! A big thank you to Anne for all her help and to Kari for the outstanding smoked meat meal!
The next event is the BINGO Night on Friday, March 8th at 7:00 p.m. The cost is $10 and there will be prizes and light snacks. See sign-up sheet on the bulletin board.
There was a knock on the door this morning. I opened it and there was a youngman standing there who said: "I'm a Jehovah's Witness".
I said, "Come in and sit down..., what do you want to talk about?"
He said, " Darn if I know..,I've never got this far before."
Ladies’ Green ‘n Gold Centennial Bonspiel
Here is a report from Geneviève Lemieux:
The centennial year edition of the Ladies Green ‘n Gold Bonspiel took place on Saturday, February 9th. Teams from local area clubs, as well as our own leagues, participated. Each team was asked to come up with a team name and accessory depicting one of the decades from 1912 to 2012.
The Organizing Committee of Rosemary Cochrane, Dale Huston and myself supported by an enthusiastic team of volunteers, hosted the two-draw event.
Six teams participated. In the end, it was the Concordia Team of Kerry Laughlin, Kelly Ryan, Colleen Ryan, and Brianna Thicke/Cathy Hughes, who emerged victorious, winning the tournament and being the only team to win both of their games. Cash prizes went to the winners, and to the second-place team, Baie d’Urfé.
Cathy Hughes, Chair of the MWCC Centennial Committee, presented the Green ‘n Gold trophy to the winners.
And let’s not forget the Canfir Team (Erin Ryan, Nancy Duplessis, Jo-Ann Mumford and Lisa LeMesurier), who nabbed the prize for best costume, fluorescent Pop Rocks of the 1980s. Dare we say, a good time was had by all!
Tournoi féminin Vert et Or, un franc succès!
Le 9 février dernier s’est tenu au club le tournoi anniversaire Vert et Or. Chaque équipe qui s’inscrivait devait choisir un nom d’équipe et un thème se rapportant à l’une des décennies du siècle dernier.
Le comité organisateur, formé de Rosemary Cochrane, Dale Huston et moi-même, supporté par une fière équipe de bénévoles, a donc accueilli 6 équipes féminines le 9 février pour un tournoi de deux parties. Au total des points c’est l’équipe Concordia formée de Kerry Laughlin, capitaine, Kelly Ryan, troisième, Colleen Ryan, deuxième et Brianna Thicke/Cathy Hughes première qui a remporté le tournoi, étant la seule équipe ayant obtenu deux victoires.
Elles se sont vues remettre le trophée par Cathy Hughes, présidente du comité du centenaire. L’équipe de Baie d’Urfé est arrivée deuxième.
Une mention spéciale a été décernée à l’équipe de Canfir (Erin Ryan, Nancy Duplessis, Jo-Ann Humford et Lisa LeMesurier) pour le prix du meilleur costume avec leur concept fluo Pop Rocks des années 80. Ce fut somme toute une journée bien appréciée par toutes les participantes!
How many bureaucrats does it take to change a light bulb?
Two. One to screw it in and one to screw it up.
Day Ladies
Here is a report from Cathy Wardlaw:
Our current Tuesday and Thursday competitions will be completed in early March following which our match committee has scheduled two interesting mini-competitions.
On Thursdays we will play the ‘skips as leads’ competition while on Tuesdays it will be a ‘round-up’. Both should be fun and a nice way to wind up the season.
Also, Fun Day is April 9th. We encourage everyone to sign up.
Reminder: The LCA Jackson is March 21st and is open to everyone. Fun curling then meeting together for lunch at ‘aux vieux Duluth’.
Social News: Thanks to Paula Percy and Linda English for hosting our bridge social on February 27th, and, of course, thanks to all the volunteers and contributors throughout the entire season.
Dixie Clark Invitational – March 12th.
Preparations are well underway. We invite everyone to participate as volunteers or spectators and stay for lunch to share in our Centenary Cake.
Sign up on the poster in the Ladies Locker room.
Mixed Day Curling
Interclub
We played 5 interclub games in February.
1) At Lachine we had 2 wins and 1 loss. The winning teams were:
Joe Balogh, Pierre Dufour, Mike Homonko and Jacques Lacroix
Chester Sawczyszyn, Bill Bedford, Bob Carson and Dave Dubeau
2) Royal Montreal visited us at our club and we had 2 wins and 2 losses. The winning
teams were:
Ron Pilkington, Ray Dubrule, Rick Hughes and James Botsford
Joe Balogh, Pierre Dufour, Mike Homonko and Gerry Sabourin
3) Hudson Legion/Rosemere visited our club. Against Hudson Legion we had 1 win
and 1 loss. Against Rosemere we had 2 losses. The winning team was:
Maureen Custy, Doug Allan, Rick Hughes and James Botsford
4) At Ville Mont-Royal we had 3 wins and a tie. The winning teams were:
Chester Sawczyszyn, Bert Mombourquette, Doug Allan and Dave Dubeau
Ron Pilkington, Chip Mowat and Gary Barker
Claude Labrecque, Dennis Hunter, Rick Hughes and James Botsford
The team that tied was:
Joe Balogh, Mike Homonko, Gerry Sabourin and Jean-Marie Martin
5) St-Lambert was at MWCC and we had 2 wins and a tie. The winning teams were:
Cyril Bernard, Pierre Dufour, Jean-Marie Martin and Jacques Lacroix
Ron Pilkington, Peter Graham, Bert Mombourquette and Gary Barker
The team that tied was:
Joe Balogh, Ron Neill, Doug Allan and Dave Dubeau
Things are going so well for the interclub teams that coach and general manager,
Chip Mowat, has decided to take a month’s vacation in Florida.
A couple of nuns were sitting in front of 3 guys at a hockey game. Their habits partially blocked the men’s view. They decided to badger the nuns in an effort to get them to move.
1st guy: I think I’m going to move to Utah. There are only 100 nuns living there.