RANGELEY – The second consecutive season of Rangeley area curling concluded on March 5 with a championship bonspiel held on Haley Pond. In a closely contested match, the champion team of Pete Christensen, Doug Dunlap, Jim Farrar, and Allen Wicken, edged out runners-up team of Greg Andrews, Dawn Drexel, Ken Johnson, and Brent Quimby. The final score was 4-3.
Both teams curled stones with sharp accuracy, as every curler on each teams placed one or more stones on or very near the “button”, at the center of the “house” or scoring target. Opponents were nearly as accurate, delivering “knock-out” stones that bumped would-be scoring stones from scoring positions. The deciding score in the match came when the eventual winners edged an opponent stone by only ½ inch in the next to last round of play.
The curling season drew 15 people over a two-month period. Plans are to hold a third season starting in Jan. 2018. Matches are “pick-up”, as in a pick-up basketball game, with teams formed by the people who attend on a given evening. The public is invited to learn this ancient Scottish game, which is played all over the world – including Rangeley, Maine.
Appreciation goes to Chris Levine who organized the program in 2016, manufactured 16 curling stones, and researched dimensions for the curling “sheet” – the stretch of ice used for curling matches. Pete Christensen and Bob Daviau maintained the ice throughout the season. Ecopalagicon Nature Store of Rangeley donated trophies for the bonspiel.
