A record number of teams took to the ice for the 10th annual Nissan Super Seniors Squares Spiel, Nov. 21-23.

Doug Campbell, chair and drawmaster, says offering parity in competition plus a great social atmosphere is proving to be a winning combination.

Campbell adopted a 55-plus Sports philosophy of peers competing against peers in reinventing the seniors' bonspiel, 10 years ago. For two years before this, it had been cancelled due to lack of registration.

"The youngest player is 51, our oldest is 88. So we have squares that match the ages and whether they want to be in social or competitive," explains Campbell.

"It has been very successful. The ice is great, and we had 38 teams, which is a record."

"We're really proud that we've built up the interest. We have two teams from Black Diamond, one team from Airdrie, and four or five from Calgary. We're really happy we got 25 or more from Cochrane."

He has a personal goal of seeing it grow to 40 teams. The biggest challenge is accommodating everyone's schedule, but he's determined to do it.

Winners of each of the seven squares walked away with $300 from the event. There were also numerous special prizes up for grabs.

Winning rinks were:

  • A Square: 1st, B. Zubot; 2nd, L. Durand; 3rd, S. Horne
  • B Square: 1st, C. Butchko; 2nd, D. Campbell; 3rd, B. Strain
  • C Square: 1st, L. Danielson; 2nd, L. Dosdall; 3rd, A Lillies
  • D Square: 1st, C. Whittal; 2nd, R. Heller; 3rd, C. Chenier
  • E Square: 1st, K. Boothe; 2nd, A. Neumeier
  • F Square, 1st, J. Dyck; 2nd, J. Paramchuk
  • G Square, 1st, K. Munro; 2nd, V. Cote

Cochrane Nissan has come on board as the title sponsor this year. In addition, Campbell says they truly appreciate the generous support of 31 other local businesses.