Dan Falloon
Ken McKinnon thought he’d never see the day when he would hoist the trophy for the local men’s bonspiel.
But at age 74, everything clicked into place for McKinnon on Sunday as he won an international showdown in the ‘A’-event final against Tom Mayer of International Falls by a 6-3 score.
McKinnon said he’s competed in every men’s bonspiel since 1961, but had never been able to win it.
“It was pretty exciting for an old fella like me to get the top prize,” he enthused.
“I’d gotten into the prizes numerous times, but was never fortunate enough to be number one.
“We put it all together this weekend and we went through undefeated, so it’s quite a thrill,” he added.
McKinnon faced a familiar rival in Mayer, noting the games always are enjoyable, but moreso when he comes out on top.
“It was a good game, it was rather ironic,” remarked McKinnon. “It was Tommy Mayer and the boys from International Falls and we have curled against Tommy numerous times over the years in the Monday night league.
“We always had good games, always had a lot of fun, and we always used to call it an international match.
“They’re a good bunch of guys and we always enjoy curling together,” McKinnon added.
The big key for McKinnon was being able to keep an even keel in each game over the course of the weekend—unlike another rink that McKinnon checked in on between matches.
“It’s basically just consistency,” he reasoned. “The big thing is not having a bad game, like Jennifer Jones did in the [semi-finals of the world championships].
“She curled so well in the round-robin, and then she gets into the playoff round and they sort of collapsed,” he noted.
McKinnon’s road to the ‘A’ final included wins over the Eyolfson, Kelly, and DeBenedet rinks while Mayer was on a longer track, forced to defeat the Hudson, Bolen, Jordbro, and Skinner teams.
In the ‘B’ final on Sunday, Ron Silver edged Dan McFayden 5-4 while Adam Bolen downed Rich Peri 5-2 to capture the ‘C’ crown.
The field again was a little thinner than in years past, with just 24 rinks hitting the ice—down from 28 last year.
Organizers had been hoping to fill a full field of 32 teams.
