Ever thrown a curling stone off a crampet? Ever attended a "Beef & Greens"? Ever been through a traditional "Curler's Court"? No? Than it's time you came to New Zealand and discovered curling's rich background.

All these experiences can be yours if you attend the Naseby Curling Club's "Traditional Bonspiel" in July of 2002.

The club is celebrating its centennial next year, and decided to hold a special international bonspiel to mark the occasion. The event will take pace in July 2002, at three rinks in Otago, a province in the South Island. Two of these rinks, Naseby and Alexandra, are outdoor venues, while the third, Queenstown, has a roof, but three walls are open. They are multipurpose rinks with artificial ice. At the time of writing there are no dedicated curling rinks in NZ. It was originally hoped that the July winter of 2002 might supply natural ice for this bonspiel, but what with the climate change and global warning this cannot be relied upon.

NZ curlers traditionally play 21 ends in a game, two games a day, just as the Scots did many years ago! However, the "Traditional Bonspiel" will be reduced to 8 or 10 ends for this particular tournament. Club players from throughout the world are invited to take part regardless of whether they come as a team or not. NZ club players will make up teams where there is a shortfall.

Teams can be mixed sex, or all of one gender. All players will play in the three venues, with days off in between for travelling, sightseeing, golf or whatever. If you come, pack your curling brush in with your golf clubs, because winter is the best season for golf down under.

While the teams are in the Maniototo (Naseby) area, they will be invited to a Beef and Greens (the traditional Scots curling dinner), and will also get the chance to be part of a Curlers Court.

Until recently, New Zealand has been isolated from the rest of the curling world, so the traditions, lore, and spectacle of these occasions are virtually unchanged from the original customs brought to NZ by our Scottish forefathers well over a century ago.

The principle difference in our centennial bonspiel, will be in the delivery of the stone. Instead of starting the delivery from the hack, and then sliding out to the near hogline, the curler stands on a metal platform called a "crampet" (which can be seen in the photo to the left), to deliver the granite. The crampet (also spelled "crampit") is about a metre in length and is placed on top of the ice (where the hack would normally be) for the delivery. The in-turn or out-turn can still be applied and most newcomers adapt very quickly to this kind of delivery. Two things are certain: you will find it different (but fun), and you will never need to worry about a hogline violation!

Curling in New Zealand may not be quite the same as in other parts of the world, but we venture to say that nowhere else is the game played with more enjoyment.

The social side of curling plays a major part in New Zealand too, both during and after the game - but that's another story!