Much to the surprise of Bentley Curling Club president Kyle Brink, when he arrived at the Bentley curling rink midday on February 12, he found water spraying from a burst pipe that had frozen in the upstairs lounge men's bathroom and water soaking through the ceiling and walls down into the lower level men's washroom and into the main lobby soaking all the carpets and covering the floor.
"It is lucky I came in when I did or water may have been running a long time until someone came in to curl on Thursday night. Then it could have been even worse (more damage)."
He was quick to shut off the water supply and contact a local plumber who repaired the burst line. As much water as possible was vacuumed up and the wet carpets rolled up. Ceiling tile and drywall repairs remain to be made and then painting.
Similar damage occurred about eight years ago when a toilet in the men's upstairs washroom cracked.
Despite the water damage, the 2014 Bentley Men's Skins Bonspiel with eight teams participating ran February 14-15.
Teams were guaranteed three games, with the top four getting an extra game.
Placings were decided by the amount of money earned on skins won.
The top two teams, the Norm Rieu team and the Walter Lloyd team, met in the gold medal match. Rieu, with other team members Ted Lewis, Tim Feador, and Don Bridge, won the first four skins in the game for $80, and Lloyd with Gerald Peterson, Urs Mueller, and Pierre Van Velzen won the last four skins which had carried over to the last end for $220 making the top money winner the Walter Lloyd team with $355 total and the Norm Rieu team second with $220 total.
Third and fourth place after the round robin, the teams of Kyle Brink and Art Dykstra, met in the "bronze medal" game. Each team won $100 in that game giving the Brink team a total of $220 and the Dykstra team a total of $215 in winnings.
Participants were offered free coffee and candy the whole time as well as bison sausage, chili, and buns Friday night and Saturday, and pizza after play was all done.
Teams enjoyed the ‘Skins’ format and the sociability.