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Macklin hosts annual Bunnock World Championships

Jul 27, 2016 | 5:03 PM

Thousands are expected to come to town this weekend to watch a sport which has entertained audience since the Second World War.

Macklin will hold its 24th annual Bunnock Championship over the July 29 weekend. Kim Gartner who is the coordinator of the tournament said he isn’t surprised at how far people will travel for a shot at being crowned number one.

“People come from literally all across the globe,” Gartner said. “We’ve had teams from Japan, Chile, Columbia, Australia, the list goes on and on.”

Bunnock, or bones as it is sometimes referred to, was brought to Canada by Russians after the Second World War. It was created by the bored sons of soldiers stationed in remote locations. Coloured bones are used to knock down white ones to score points. The inventors of the sport used the ankle bones from dead horses because those were the only ones which would stand upright on the ice.

According to Gartner, horse bones are still used today.

“There used to be a store in town that made them. They got the bones from the slaughter house. We’ve never had any complaints from animal rights groups because the horses are already dead so we are basically recycling. There are some companies that make synthetic ones but we already have enough to supply the whole tournament,” Gartner said.

The game is played with two to four people per team. There were 80 teams the first year and that number has risen to 320.

“The main attraction is the game,” Gartner said. “On Friday night we will have a trade fair and a car show but on the weekend it’s strictly games. It has run perfect every years. Each game is a half hour and we’ve never started a single one late. There has never been a controversy or a fight.”

Gartner said there will be 48 courts with games starting at 9 a.m. After Saturday’s games at Macklin Lake Regional Park, 32 teams will move onto the playoffs while the other teams will play for prizes and cash. According to Gartner the tournament is one of a kind.

“There are a few other tournaments around but those are usually run by people from the area who have moved to other places. This is the World Championship and there has never been a team to win twice.”

Gartner said anyone can play bones. Teams have players ranging from three years old to 83.

 

Greg Higgins is battlefordsNOW’s city municipal affairs and health reporter. He can be reached at ghiggins@jpbg.ca or tweet him @realgreghiggins.