Bonspiel
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A bonspiel is a curling tournament, traditionally held outdoors on a frozen freshwater loch. The word comes from the Scottish Gaelic[1] and means league (or alliance or household) match (or game). Though not mandatory, curling teams involved in bonspiels often wear theme costumes. This is meant to contribute to the well known "intimidation tactics" often employed by curlers.
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[edit] Bonspiels in North America
[edit] Canada
Although Bonspiels originated in Scotland, the most notable tournament in the world nowadays is The Brier, the Canadian Men's Curling Championship. For Canadians, this tournament equals or nearly equals the importance of the Olympics and the World Curling Championship. Canadian Women's Curling Championship tournament is called Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Several Cashspiels are played in Canada every year. The most important cashpiels are part of World Curling Tour (WCT).
[edit] United States
The United States Curling Association (USA Curling) is the national governing body of the sport of curling in the United States. Many bonspiels are listed on the USA Curling web page, http://www.usacurl.org/. Most bonspiels in the United States are held indoors in dedicated curling facilities. Bonspiels are popular throughout the United States during curling season, which is typically October through April. Some special bonspiels are even held in the summer.
[edit] Bonspiels in Europe
[edit] Scotland
In Scotland itself outdoor bonspiels are now very rare; most lochs which formerly hosted bonspiels have rarely frozen over in recent years, for example Loch Earn. The word spiel[2] (Scots: game, match, competition) is sometimes used on its own to refer to an informal curling game, for example parish spiel. The most important Cashspiels in Scotland are part of Curling Champions Tour (CCT) which was previously called World Curling Tour Europe (WCT-E).
[edit] Other European countries
Many bonspiels are held in the European countries every year. Especially Switzerland hosts multiple Curling Champions Tour events but there are tens of bonspiels outside of Scotland and Switzerland every year.
[edit] Bonspiels in other continents
[edit] New Zealand
Curling bonspiels are held when ice conditions permit in the Maniototo, part of Central Otago in the South Island. The region is one of the few in New Zealand to have conditions suitable for outdoor curling, and is doubly suitable due to Otago's original European settlers mainly being from Scotland. Several artificial and natural lakes around the towns of Oturehua, Naseby and Patearoa provide good conditions, on average every second or third year. A bonspiel was held for the first time in six years in mid-July, 2007, on Oturehua's Idaburn Dam and another in July 2010. There are also indoor curling rinks in Otago's main centre, Dunedin, and in the small town of Naseby. and open air ice rinks in Naseby and Alexandra.
[edit] List of Notable Bonspiels
- The Bonspiel or the Grand Match, between the north and the south of Scotland, held on a frozen loch (most recently the Lake of Menteith, Stirling) when the winter is cold enough. It was last held in 1979.
- The Brier (Men's Senior Championship of the Canadian Curling Association). This is regarded by most curlers as the world's premier curling championship
- The Tournament of Hearts (Canadian Ladies Curling Association Championship)
- The Men's World Curling Championship (Scotch Cup/Silver Broom) WCF WCC
- The Women's World Curling Championship WCC
- The World Junior Curling Championship (WJCC) WCF
- The Winter Olympics
[edit] Origin of the word "Bonspiel"
The origin of the word is primarily Gaelic which originated in Central Europe in the 5th Century B.C.
Since Curling is believed to have originated in Scotland, it's likely that Bonspiel is a modern adaptation of the Scottish Gaelic words: "Bonn"(coin) [3] and "Spéil"(skate)[4] meaning "Coin Skate" or "Cornerstone Skate"(archaic definition).[5]
However, "Spiel" may also have been used to mean "Game" as it is in other European languages influenced by Gaelic origins. In that case, the Scots prior to the known 15th Century history of the game may have intended the word (or words) to mean "Bonn Spiel" or "Cornerstone Game".
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=bonspiel&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype
- ^ http://www.dsl.ac.uk/dsl/getent4.php?query=spiel&sset=1&fset=20&printset=20&searchtype=
- ^ "Rannsaich am Briathrachan Bheag" (in (Scottish Gaelic)). .smo.uhi.ac.uk. 2010-02-20. http://www2.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/bb/lorg.php?faclair=bb&seorsa=Beurla&facal=bonn&tairg=Lorg. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ "Rannsaich am Briathrachan Bheag" (in (Scottish Gaelic)). .smo.uhi.ac.uk. 2010-02-20. http://www2.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/faclair/bb/lorg.php?facal=sp%C3%A9il&seorsa=Gaidhlig. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
- ^ "Coin - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary". Merriam-webster.com. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coin. Retrieved 2012-02-17.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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Look up bonspiel in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Am Baile - Highland History and Culture - Curling Bonspiel
- Keeping the tradition of Grand Match curling alive, Royal Caledonian Curling Club
- Bonspiels in the United States
- Curlingcalendar - List of international bonspiels
- BONSPEIL AT CARSEBRECK POND (1935) (archive film from the National Library of Scotland: SCOTTISH SCREEN ARCHIVE)
