Countdown to the 125th MCA Bonspiel

CurlManitoba President Resby Coutts released the following statement regarding the 125th MCA Bonspiel which will be held January 17th-21st.

As of Noon, Thursday, December 27 there are 323 entries for the 125th annual MCA Men's bonspiel. While the entry deadline is still a few days away, it is becoming clear the target of 512 teams will not be achieved. Curlers who are still thinking about it - or who like to wait to the last minute - are encouraged to do it NOW for a couple of reasons.

1) While there is a JANUARY 2, 2013 - 4:30PM deadline after which entries WILL NOT be accepted - it is possible your entry will not be accepted the closer we get to the deadline. The explanation is simple - in order to ensure that every team gets the guaranteed six games, there will be a cut off of entries at perfect draw numbers (example 448 is 64 fewer that 512 and represents the next closest to perfect) in order to prevent teams facing byes or artificial defaults early in the bonspiel. The number before 448 is 384 - and perhaps that is once again the realistic number.

2) A number of clubs have been asked to commit ice for the bonspiel and if the delay is too long in cancelling those commitments, there will be an obligation to pay that ice rental. While those clubs will be disappointed by not hosting any bonspiel games, the bonspiel's business model and entry fee revenue are not sufficient to allow for payment of un-used ice.

At the number we have now, and with an expectation that there will be more between now and New Year's Day, we can already say this will once again be the world's largest bonspiel. The only question now is - how large will it be??