A total of 32 teams competed in the inaugural Peter Minogue Rocks and Hearts Charity Bonspiel at the North Bay Granite Club over the weekend.
The bonspiel is named after the late Peter Minogue, a well-known and respected businessman and supporter of numerous local charities, who was inducted into the North Bay Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.
A well-rounded athlete, Minogue had a true passion for curling. He skipped many winning teams and came close to making it to the brier a few times.
The highlight of the weekend for local curlers was having the opportunity to meet, and in some cases, play against Olympic gold medal skip Brad Jacobs and three-time Canadian and world champion Brent Laing.
“I’m really happy to be here in support of some great causes and to help out the Minogue family is fantastic,” said Jacobs.
“We’re just here to have a lot of fun, and raise some money for charity, and make some shots and entertain some people.”
In keeping with Minogue's giving nature, three local non-profits will share in the proceeds from this fundraiser held in his honour.
The money will be evenly split between the Military Family Resource Centre, the North Bay Regional Health Centre Foundation, and the Canadore College Foundation.
It is a rare opportunity to have the calibre of curlers like Jacobs and Laing attend a fundraising bonspiel during the busy curling season.
As luck would have it, on this occasion, they were able to fit it into their schedule.
“This just happened to work out, and it is right down the road from us in northern Ontario. l am just thrilled that it worked out,” said Jacobs.
“We actually have a golf tournament in Sault Ste. Marie that supports the hospital, that supports a scholarship and junior curling and junior golf. So obviously they’ve added in the military aspect here, another really great cause, all really near and dear to us as well. They’re causes that I think are needed and so we’re just trying to do our part, have some fun and give back.”
A number of years ago, Brent Laing won the Jamaica Spiel and the North Bay Classic at the Granite Club. Last year his wife, Jennifer Jones, won the Women’s World Curling Championship in North Bay.
“There are so many great curling events, especially charity events. So when somebody you know like Brad Minogue here in North Bay runs one, it is always fun to be a part of it, and bring up some friends and just have a good time and raise money for some good causes, especially in a city like North Bay that is close to home and full of great people,” said Laing.
“This is more of a relaxing weekend, hanging out with the guys and meeting some new people. Throwing rocks is always good. I’m getting old, so keeping the body loose is never a bad thing.”
Co-chair Brad Minoque, who played against the two men over the years, appreciated their efforts to play in this bonspiel.
“And it is nice for the other curlers. It is very unusual to ever play with people who won an Olympic medal or are the best in the world. That is what is so unique about this experience, to just be out on the ice with those guys,” said Minogue.
“They’ve even allowed us to fill one of their places for each game, which is a great honour. So we’ve picked people who we think would appreciate that, and get a kick out of that. Mixing with the other players out there is just a really neat experience.”
Local curler Pat Graham knew going in that it was going to be a fun weekend.
“There is a great turnout for this, great support from the community. There is a lot of experienced curlers here, and obviously, Brad Jacobs and Brent Laing are great draws for the public,” said Graham.
“But there are some brand new curlers who really don’t know what they’re doing and they’re learning to love the game. It’s all positive.”
North Bay’s growing reputation as a curling community isn’t lost on Jacobs.
“It has been unbelievable in the last little while in North Bay. I watched the World’s last year on T.V. and it was nothing like I’ve ever seen before, to be quite honest. I had conversations with Brent Laing and Jennifer Jones about the World’s, and in particular, Jen, shortly after they won the World’s here, and she said it was unbelievable. It looked that way on T.V. and when it looks that way on T.V., that’s pretty special,” said Jacobs.
“It is great to see another community in northern Ontario doing so well in growing the sport and getting a lot of attention around it. Hopefully, this is going to bode very well for curling in North Bay and Northern Ontario.”
