2l Year 1999Briar Edmonton(Alberta capital) When word cameto us duringthe 1998Briar in Torontothat Edmontonwas chosenfor the localeof the CanadianMen's CurlingChampionship described as, "The Last Shootoutof the Century", the Friars knew that was the placewe wantedto celebratethe millennium year curling fest. Word of our acceptancewas sent back with George Friedrick who was the only Edmontonianpresent at our'98 Friars'Briar Associationannual meeting. Georgeinformed us that Don Brown and Harold Witte were alreadv thinkins about who misht be on their organizationalcommittee. Theearly brochures sent out by the EdmontonLabatt committee featured Kevin Matin directing a rock into the house.To the surpriseofmany curlingfans, the winnerproved to be onefondly rcferredto by the mediaas "the greatHunka-' who ably representedAlberta in 1999but was eliminatedliom the top five who qualifiedfor the finals. Anotheradjustment that curlingfans who havepreviously (as in'87) watchedthe gamesplayed in EdmontonColiseum, now hadto addressthe buildingas, "Sky ReachCentre". Someofthe bestgames ever seen in the final two days of play saw Howard ftom New Brunswick win over Campbellof Nova Scotia, Shymkoof Saskatchewaneliminate Howard, Jeff Stoughtonof Manitoba win over Hemming of Quebec, Quebecdefeat Saskatchewaq only to lose in the final gameto Manitoba'sJef Stoughton. Hemming'scurling skills and great sense ofhumour captured the admirationofthe fans. Fromthe tim€ of our arrivalin Edmontonuntil our departure,the friarswere well lookedafter. Most ofus, crcaturesofhabit, tendedto choosethe hotelwhere \re stayedin '87. Two changes \Merenoted - one, the name was no longer Relax In4 but Travelodge;two, no red sweate. bearingthe hotelname was on Friar bed ashad been the casein '87, courtesyof the assistant managerwho was Hugh Chdstmas' son Jim, recently of saintedmemory. The wise men and their spousesftom the Easttended to choosethe Holiday Inn. lt is reportedthat one of the latter, travelling alone, op€nedwhat he thought was his suitcaseand out poppeda woman's negligee. Thepoint you mustmake, when writing up this incident,suggested a fellow Eastemer,is that he tried to contactthe womanl Thenthere wasthe professol alsofrom the East, who realizedabout two hoursbefore the storesclosed, that he left his curlingtrousers at home.Fast trips by taxi to a curlingsupply house and a tailor'sshop remedied the situationfo. him- The '99 Friars'Biar beganwith a kick-off breakfast(at 8 a.m.)at the SharnrockCurting Rink where the gameswere to be played Tuesday,March 9- Greetingswere extendedand copiesof the Draw handedout. When the clatter of breakfastand the questionshad been answeredabout the dmw and point system,Chairman Don Brown called for a period ofquiet while the prayer of Briar Herb Erikssonwas ofered. 9',7 PRAYER FOR THE OPENING OF FRIARS' BRIAR ,99 Heavenly Father,from aqoss our great land, Canada,fiom east and west, your servantsare gatheredat SHAMROCK funk to tmndle rocksin theFriars' Briar '99. With foot in hackand broom in handwe slidethe rocks on icy sheets. While the ice is cold,may our heansbe warm in fellowshipthrough tiese daystogether. As we seekto win medalsfor our tearns,let us rememberthat we are your servants,and that our healthand strengthfor the task are grvcn by you. W€.pray that your holy angelswill watch over us and protect us from all harm aswe sweepand slide on the icy surface In the nameofour crucifiedand risen Lord. Amen. ty9 per The lrst qgnes day for eachrink beganfor someat 9:30 a m. Other gameswere playedat I-of and3:15 p m. Therewere four draws per day on Wednesaay,itrursaay-ana friaay. After five games for eachteam were completed, tile top eigtrttearns enierJ ine ihampionship round.andplayed a knock-out competitio;for the meialJ ff," otf,"i i*Jue rinks entereda secondround robin andstandins was determined by points(10 for a wirq 2 for eachend won, I for a blankend, and 5 eachfor itie game).elt gu-e, *er" Jighi;ndr. ' canadian clergy Curling, accordingto our letterhead,"is developedunder the Board Directors of of The Friars'Briar Associationfor-the recreational oi .inirt".., pri".t., employedpersons,'. Over the years "nloyi"ntoiou. ar auempthas l*'.11!.!11-.1rn"oeenmaoe to keep rutes :hurch- "r,irt"no", to a minimumand enjoyment and camaraderie paramount. Aftho;gh at timesduring our yearlyBriar the level of competitionanO shff frastJen surprisinglyhigh, at othertimes it is evident that rinks abieto comi Aom a given ..gion ar; nJ"quipped with the samelevel ofskill good and health.Realizing this, the Edmonto-nCommittee d-id'a novel thing in that whenthe thrcemedals and the founh placetie envelopetraC Ueen given out, eachnnk, on: wijl' teastpoinrs_ gained arring tr,e iiiiai. hadfirii of theprizes assemDted5^rlyg on:l,l the :he irc* awardstable. Themedal winners sought their worldly rewari last. Theremust be something aboutthis kind ofarrangementsuggested6y a bibl" Sory o. u"i.e in.this.years rop performances.The Guy Schotzrink from Catgarytook rnefl:T.o:':^,1.,goro r ne !d *:* Omanrink &omcalgary took the silver. TheDon Brownrink fromEdmonton tookthe bronze.The George Budd rini< piaced fourth. a"rg;"irhi;;;;;;; fine rinksr A shoot-outbetween East andWest took placebetween the 5s and 6s drawson Wednesdayto dete.minethe holderfor the nert ye- of the HeavenlyHost Shieldmade available to the 98 Association by the Calgary Cuding Club in 1997. The lead on eachrink threw one rock and pointswere recorded according to the rock'sresting place on the rings. TheEast, consisting of Ontario,Manitoba and Saskatchewanplayers won handilyfhis year againstthe Alberta and BritishColumbia leads. Anotherinteresting contest saw members ofthe Albertalegislature pitted against members ofthe press. Theywere led out on the ice by a piperin kilts and historianCliff McMurtry who was delegatedto hold the broom. Friars, standingalong the sidelines,were encouragedto sweepthe stoneswhen needed. It hasbeen rumored tlat somemight even haveused their feet to restrain the speedof rockstossed by the moreinexperienced curlers. Don Brown,our localchairman and scorekeeperfor the eventdeclared a drawat thecessation ofthe rcckfest. Like mostsignificant events, this year'sBriar wasno different-A Daily Bulletinwas issuedfor the benefitof the folks on the twenty panicipatingrinks and their friendswho droppedby to showtheir interest.There were comments on the proceedingsofthe daybefore, announcements about eventscoming up, a bit ofgossip aboutparticipants and thoughtsfor the day, someserious and somehumorous. Thesewere geally appreciated! The non-curling event that friars always look forward to is the evening banquet and program whenthe feelingofcomraderie reaches its peak. Thisyear's meal and program on the Thursday washeld at the CoastTerrac€ Inn. Masterofceremonies. Don Anderson.ext€nded briefwords ofwelcomeand called for the singingofthe NationalAnthem. (Thelaypersons always say it is wonderfulto heara groupofclergy sing).Kutch Imayoshi, Vice Chairofour Associationgave a Prayeroflnvocation. Thenthe mealwas served . (Thesecond thing observed by our lay people, is how our clergy love to eat). During the time that guestswere picking up their meal, smorgasbordstyle, and while it was being eate4 music was provided by th€ RobertsonWesley United Church Oldtimer's Band (GrahamCook, Ada and Clive Gooderichon the wind instrumentsand Gib Brimacombeon the piano). As the guestswere gathedngthis group had played somefamiliar tunes to which all wereinvited to singsuch improvised songs as: Friars on the Rocks,The Far Bonspiels,O Give Me A Lead, In the GoodOld CurlingTimes, Sweeping Stones, Sweeping Stones and Put on Your Old ScotchBonnet. 99 Followinga wonderfulmeal the chairmanfor the eveningcalled on Herb Erikssoq our Poet Laureate,for thisyear's oIlering. Thesewere his wordsfor us: In '87 the City ofchamps hostedthe Friars' Briar. Now onceagain we welcomeyou to setthe ice on fire. Theclergy curlers of ourland from eastand west havecome andtrundled in the roarin'game to brinsthe medals home. At SharnrockRink the ice was keen- the curlen keento win. From hackto ringsthe stoneswerc sent and sweepersbrought them in. Godhas been with usthrough these days offellowshipand fun, Protectingus from injury until eachday is done. Now we saythanks that you havecome andwish you all thebest. We hopeyou haveenjoyed the games which you haveplayed with zest. May God be with you on your way, be it by car or plane, andwhether you have won or lost, We'rehappy that you came. In orderto introducewhat was to b€comea popularcommodity among the '99 Friars,two founding membe$ of the Association were called forward to receive copies of a 9" x 12" brightly colored cartoon. The caption at the top read, "Why the Friar's Briar sometimestakes awhileto get going". Guysand gals with a varietyof dressand hair do's arestanding back ofa set ofrings. Onewith black shoesand trouse.sstood with feet ast ide on either side ofthe rings, saying, with obvious preaching porMerand conviction, "Let the one without sin cast the first stone". Rocks and broomslie domant on the other half of the rings, waiting for the action to begin. Only onein the backrow hadsigns ofwearing a haloover his headl Moving fiom the ddiculous to the sublime,which is often the case in th€ course of our daily livesand ministry ChairmanDon introducedthe secondon his rink, BenKellert, who sangwith great feeling and obvioussincerity, a sacredsolo. Last but not least on the evening's programbefore severalmotions of thanks and the Annual Friars' Briar meetingwas a