There are plenty of traditions around the holidays, whether they be those involving family or community.
In Yellowknife, there has been one tradition that involves both family and community and it continued at the Yellowknife Curling Centre on Dec. 26.
The Koe Family Boxing Day Bonspiel once again hit the ice that day and it was another sellout this year with 18 teams taking part, said Lynda Koe, the event’s organizer.
This year’s champions was Team Cotterill, made up of skip Aaron Cotterill, Brynn Ostvik, Matthew Johnson and Leanne Elchyshyn. They won all of their games and ended up atop the standings with the most points to capture the coveted championship trophy.
“This was our second year together as a group, but most of us have played with other teams in past years,” said Elchyshyn.
The bonspiel runs under modified rules, while still keeping within the proper parameters of the sport. Each team plays four games and each game lasts four ends. The scoring system is made up in a way that rewards teams for playing well with points awarded for the score in each end, points for winning an end and points for winning a game.
“I think there were a couple of undefeated teams, but we ended up with enough points to win,” said Elchyshyn.
Koe said among the full compliment of teams were at least three new ones and that’s always a bonus for the curling centre.
“We’re always looking for new people to come out and play and this is a good way to attract them and get them interested,” she said. “The weather was nice that day, so that may have had something to do with it.”
The business community also stepped up big, she added, with around two dozen businesses donating prizes of some sort for the day.
“The support (businesses) have shown over the years has been just amazing,” she said.
As for the champs, Elchyshyn said they will “absolutely” be back to defend their title in 2024.