We’re half way through the curling season and everything is still AOK. All is proceeding according to plan so far and there have been no surprises. Our membership numbers are good and every section is healthy.

We have already spent most of what we had planned from the Capital Fund for this fiscal year, new viewing chairs. The only other purchase planned is a new brush for the shoe cleaner on the ice. Our five year capital spending fund plan has been approved by the Board and will be presented to the membership at the AGM on June 8th. However, if approved we will be looking at new lounge chairs, checking out styles, materials and costs.

On behalf of all the members, I would like to congratulate Pat Seawright, Lois Roberts, Carole Murray and Blanche Leslie. These ladies made it to the semi-finals of the Provincial Senior Ladies Championship. They went through the round robin with only one loss. Once again,UCC has been well represented.

 As you are aware, the former Investor’s Bonspiel has been canceled; however, the Toronto Curling Association with a new sponsor will be hosting a new Toronto Men’s Bonspiel commencing January 9th to 16th, l999.

I’d like to thank the Sterlings and their committee for putting together a terrific New Year’s Eve Party. A great time was had by all.

REMEMBER the Auction to be held on Saturday March 28th and by popular demand my favorite auctioneer "Teddy" (Ted McDermott) will be returning. Ron Beveridge has his committee and the posters will be up soon.

We are all saddened by the death of John Galloway. He will be missed by the Men’s Section, particularly as he was a valued sponsor for many years.

See you on the ice.!!

Having been just a little tardy in submitting a report thus far this year, we will try to bring everyone up to date on what has so far been a very good year.

Following are the results of the first two draws for each of Draw Curling and Team Entry.

DRAW CURLING RESULTS

First Draw:

MONDAY EARLY: Bill Creber, Allen Chocorlan, Stephen Paul, Glen Jewett

MONDAY LATE Jim Coverdale, Jim Gates, Gerry Meade, Tim Peat

WEDNESDAY: Bob Lucas, Charlie Fisher, Brian MacMillan Bill Climie

SECOND DRAW;

MONDAY EARLY; Art Leganchuk, Roger Kemp, Greg Elliott, Gord McPhee

MONDAY LATE; Ross Baker, Gerry Meade, Bill Burrows, Paul O’Rourke

WEDNESDAY; Steve Matthews, Ken Lott, Gary Davis, Wayne Morrison.

FIRST DRAW

Group A: Mike Purcell,

Larry Hope, Lorne Franklin, Bill Purcell

Group B: Jim Sharples, Bill Creber, Duncan McDougall, Bob Pippy

Group C: Carl Glatt, Jim Fryer, Mike Donahoe, John Wellwood

Q School: Bob Lucas, Charlie Fisher, Brian MacMillan, Bill Climie

SECOND DRAW:

Group A: Steve Matthews, Ken Jeffery, Peter Wilson, John Mathers

Group B: Al Blair, Del Hicke, Harry Sear, Don Garland

Group C: Brian Turner, Ian Fockler, Bill Carey, Ray Mills

Q School: Gary Holling, Bill Burrows, Ed Seal, Misha Selucky

This annual event was held this year October 27 through the 31st and again proved to be a great kick-off to the season. Run by a superb committee consisting of Peter Wilson, Gary Holling and Gerry Meade, the Hockey Shoot-out theme proved to be very popular. Thanks to Jamie Perkin and Home Hardware for their continued generous support for this event, and special thanks to Imperial Oil for the great hockey prizes!

FIRST EVENT WINNERS

Lorne McLean, Bob Davies, Gary Holling, Joe MacDonald

RUNNERS-UP

 Al Blair, Doug Payzant, Rob Hargrave, Glen Jewett

SECOND EVENT WINNERS

Jim Dibblee, Jim Gates, Ron Beveridge, George McPhee

RUNNERS-UP

Ross Baker, John Nicol, Bill Lee, Sylvio Roy

THIRD EVENT WINNERS

Dennis sborne, Bill Bishop, Bill Pentecost, Stephen Paul

RUNNERS-UP

Jim Musgrave, Kent Tomasik, Gordon Kerr, Rick Proctor

FOURTH EVENT WINNERS

Steve Matthews, Mike Donahoe, Jack Silverthorne, Doug Whalen

RUNNERS-UP

Art Leganchuk, John Grant, David Busato, Bill Pennell

UPCOMING EVENTS

February 6 & 7 Men’s open Bonspiel

February 16-20 Dixon-Garland Bonspiel --- sign up now for what should be an "Olympian" event.

Every Sunday morning - the Crazy Birds!

And finally, congratulations and best of luck to Jim Sharples, a sometime curler at our Club (we still can’t figure out how he does it!) who will once again be representing Ontario at the Canadian Seniors Championships later this month.

We had 4 entries in the Seniors - Carl Glatt, Bill Creber, Ken Bates and Al Blair.

Al’s team of Glenn Nelson, John Nicol, and Ross Baker won the "A" side and Ken’s team of Rick Chilton, Frank Szyszka and Garry Grant won the "B" side. They gave it a good try at the region but came up a little short. Better luck next time and congratulations on winning the zone!

Jim Bell and team represented us at the Nokia Cup and it was unfortunately a "wait till next year" result.

In the Bantam mixed we sent two entries to the zone and they won both the "A" and "B" sides.

"B" side winners were Lindsay Osborne and her team of James Hardman, Heather Nicol and Brendan Osborne, with the "A" side taken by Ryan Hardman, Tammy Sale, Michael Anderson and Kim Brown. Congratulations! Good luck at the Region at Tam Heather January 24-25.

rather puzzling. There will be more playoffs in February for the right to represent Ontario in the l999 Canadian Championship and the sign-up sheet is on the mixed bulletin board. Why not sign up and give it a try?

A REMINDER

There’s still time to sign-up for Colts and Masters plus Bantam boys and girls.

We are having a good season. Our numbers are holding steady and that is good news. The sympathy of all members goes to Rita Galloway on the passing of John who has been a long time member and Club supporter.

The Christmas Turkey Spiel was full with 48 curlers on one draw - the 6 man rinks made for much discussion behind the glass.

WINNERS:

Don Allison, skip, Bob Taylor, Roy Burnfield, Les Hillcoff, E. Magur and Doug Rowe.

RUNNERS-UP

Al Blair, skip, Jack Chessman, Dave Parsons, Jack Silverthorne, Norm Kettlewell and Jake Rousseau.

RUNNERS-UP

Don Allison, skip, John Nigh, J. Quinn, Les Hillcoff, E. Magur and Doug Rowe

We curl most Wednesday and Friday afternoons from 12:30 to 4 PM Teams are made up from those who are there. The winners of each game throw off for high points and steaks. The losers throw off for pork chops. Camaraderie is a highlight of this section.

It’s hard to believe that we have passed the halfway mark on our curling calendar. We continue to have a successful series of curling events.

OKJ BONSPIEL

We were shocked and saddened to hear of the passing of Bill Hood on October 22. Bill was a loving family man who was deeply committed to helping others and supporting his community. We were very proud to have Bill as an honourary member of our Club. It was especially nice of Bill’s wife, Mollie, to join us during the Bonspiel and present the trophy. Mollie spoke fondly of Bill and his sponsorship of the Ladies Section over the years. On behalf of our Executive and all the Day Lady members, we extend our deepest sympathy to Mollie and her family.

The Bill Hood Trophy was won by Colleen Hamar and her team of Isobel Nigh, Karen Blackman and Janet Roblin.

9 AM Draw - FIRST PLACE

Connie McDermott and her team of Anne Azlen, Robyn Greene and Lynda Hammond.

SECOND PLACE

Marilyn Parsons and her team of Laura Ferguson, Mary Aiken and Lorene Reid

THIRD PLACE Mary Gellard and her team of Bonnie Cochrane, Aileen Damp and Ruth Owen.

SECOND PLACE

Naomi Rutherford and her team of Judy Lloyd, Joanne Schoch and Ruth Oster

THIRD PLACE

Kay Corlett and her team of Anne Dann, Pat McDougall and Cathy Campbell.

FIRST SCHEDULE WRAP-UP

On December 16th we completed our first schedule with playoff games followed by our Christmas Luncheon.

The Unionville Broadloom Trophy was presented by Helen Wright to the winning team of Lois Roberts, Marg Currie, Sue Davies and Bets Lobban.

First Runner-Up Carole Murray, Colleen Hamar, Linda Band and Cathy Campbell

Second Runner-up

Blanche Leslie , Doreen Harris, Maureen Dudley and Marcie Dercola

Third Runner-up

Connie McDermott, June Speers, Sue Musgrave and Ruth Oster

Elly Stam presented the Supreme Lighting Trophy to Andrea Kerr, Sue Gordon, Robbyn Greene and Ann Lawson

 First Runner-up

Mary Anne McLeod, Dorothy Boynton, Lynda Hammond. Second was played by various spares.

Second Runner-up

Linda McKendry, Marydale Tapscott, Sue Smith and Sheila Roy

Third Runner-up

Eleanor Crossen, Doreen Small, Aileen Damp and Janet Bernardo

After the curling, amidst festively decorated tables, we were treated to a traditional Christmas buffet dinner planned by Elly Stam and her great helpers.

Pat Maybury and her committee provided us with some comical entertainment and a special guest appearance by " SANTA", alias Frank Corcoran. Joyce "The Bust" Miles, our pianist, supplied us with caroling music. Pat also collected your donations for the Yellow Brick House. Thank you for your generosity!!

LADIES OPEN BONSPIEL

 cherub garden statuettes and bronze wall cherub plant holders.

Craig Cats, owner of Wine Knot, was on hand to conduct the "Wine Tasting" segment of the day. He presented some interesting facts about wine as well as answering our many questions. Thanks Craig!

Winner of the 2nd Draw Royal Doulton figurines, as well as the trophy for the overall high points, was Pat Reid of Avonlea.

Winner of the 1st Draw Royal Doulton figurines and second overall points was Kelly Evans from Port Perry.

DIAMOND SENIORS

Nancy Davis and her rink of Marydale Tapscott, June Speers and Mary Grant proudly represented our Club at the zone playdowns held January 5-7 at Annandale. Thanks Ladies!!

PROVINCIAL SENIOR FINALS

Our region Senior B team winners of Pat Seawright, Lois Roberts, Carole Murray, Blanche Leslie and alternate Joyce Sherman played in the provincial finals held in Ingersoll January 13 to 18. They were outstanding, making it to the semi-finals. We are all very proud of your accomplishment. I’m sure it was an experience you will never forget! Congratulations Ladies!

Dates for these are posted on the bulletin board in the ladies lounge.

REMEMBER ALL-STAR SPIELS are beginning. You must watch the board and sign up for them. Each one has a different theme. You play on a different team each week and you get points for just being present.

Curling is a great game where friendships are made and fun is had. So keep on "Rocking" to the end!

The first round robin was completed on January 15, l998. Thirteen teams competed - seven in Flight A and six in Flight B.

Congratulations also to the new young skip Colleen Hamar. Colleen took over the skip’s position this year of the team of Marilyn Parsons, Stephanie Andrew and Sandra Davies. They won all their games in the Flight B and move into A with 45 points toward their Grand Aggregate score.

The UCC ladies are very aware of the challenge of team entry and also very much appreciate the sponsorship of Trizec Hahn Corporation through the auspices of Greg Wilkins.

We all miss Vera this year, due to their move and busy schedule, and hope she will be back with us next year.

The second schedule of the Evening Ladies Division began on December 2 with a full complement of curlers (96). All the ladies have been informed that they can call a day lady to spare for them when anyone from our division is unavailable.

Saturday, January 17 was an in-club spiel which has been referred to as the Spaghetti Spiel in recent years. However, this year the name was changed to the Pasta Spiel. Pasta Vita was a semi sponsor in that they provided some of the lasagna for the lunch. According to our bonspiel chairperson Carolyn Whitaker the spiel was a success. There were two 6 end games with lunch afterwards. According to Carolyn the net of the spiel was $0; no profit, no loss.

The next bonspiel for our section will be Saturday, February 21. This is our annual Guest Day where members bring in family, friends and neighbours to curl. This is traditionally a very positive way to generate interest in the game of curling.

Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday "Wing Night" continues to be a success. Chicken wings are brought in and we enjoy these after our games. We have been doing this for a few years now and it is great fun!

Since there is no curling for our section the week of March 3 we are going to put together some games on Wednesday, and Thursday, March 4 and 5 with members of the Day Ladies section. This has been discussed on and off for some time now and with Christine Pierce and Lois Dickson doing the planning, it will be a reality this year. We are hoping to have 32 ladies from each group. These will be 6 end games with refreshments served afterwards.

The Mixed Curling group has almost finished their 2nd draw and will soon be starting the third and final one! There has been great participation in our bonspiels. The week long spiel held in November was sponsored by Bill Carey (Midland Walwyn) and organized by Fran and Glenn Allan. The event was a wonderful success with the following teams making it to the prize table:

MAIN EVENT WINNER

Al Gates, Phyllis Gates

Brian Monti, Sandy Taylor

RUNNER-UP

Connie McDermott, Joan Allen, Wayne Morrison, Annie Brind

SECOND EVENT WINNER

RUNNER-UP

Christine Pierce, Dave Busato, Kelly Tooley, Doug Crocker

THIRD EVENT WINNER

Kent Tomasik, Debbie Gates, John Koke, Don Dougall

RUNNER-UP

Al Andrew, Gail Browne, Ed Seal, Joan Izzett

FOURTH EVENT WINNER

Bill Bishop, Paula Donahoe, Diane English, Simon Lau

RUNNER-UP

Rick Chilton, Gayle Coleman, Marion McMahon, Carolyn Geenen

Our 2nd schedule has 2 bonspiels. The Trivial Pursuit Spiel, co-sponsored this year by Ron Cooley and Charlotte Kelly, will have been held by the time this newsletter is read. Wayne and Lynn Morrison have a l950’s theme all worked out for this fun spiel. The winners of the bonspiel will be published in the final issue.

The next bonspiel is the ever popular "Life’s a Beach" sponsored by Don Garland. This spiel combines the efforts of a team entry made up of new and experienced curlers and will start February 12. Brian Monti and Louise Ferri have great curling, food and entertainment planned!!

Just a reminder to all mixed curlers - PLEASE make sure you note when your games are and if you have a scheduling conflict please get a spare as well as letting your skip know you won’t be at the game. Good curling to the end of the season everyone!!

It is great to have the Brick sponsor the annual Men’s Bonspiel from January 1999. It promises to be better than ever. This spiel is the longest continuously run spiel in the world.

We will be glued to our TV sets this next while as we hopefully watch the Mike Harris rink from Tam Heather rock on to the gold medal podium. Mike spoke to the TCA Junior Bonspiel and his message to the kids was, "Never give up".

Good advice for all of us!!

HAVE FUN...KEEP ON CURLING! Friends are just a stone’s throw away!!

Wendy Sear,

Typist