If you were at Boston Pizza on Sunday, the lounge area was packed to the gills of people of all ages and backgrounds – deep in concentration, plotting their next move. What were they plotting their next move in? Cribbage. Yorkton's Cribbage Tournament held its game night, with numerous teams competing to win a beautiful, full size, handcrafted wooden cribbage table.
“It's just something we decided to do,” says Danial Holm, the event organizer, of the tournament's genesis.
“There wasn't one. The Legion has one, I guess, but I don't think there is one in town [per se]. It was just something to try to get some customers in on a Sunday afternoon, let them enjoy themselves, and have a couple of beverages.
“This is probably our sixth tournament,” Holm says, motioning to a table.
“It started with this crib tournament, that they're playing over there – just to see if anyone was still playing crib nowadays.”
Clearly, there were.
“The tables get lots of use. It's taken off. This time we've got eight teams. Normally, we try to have sixteen teams. It's a doubles tournament [with] elimination rounds, [and] it usually goes for about four or five hours. This is almost a guaranteed way of bringing at least some people in the door at least, and like I said, they're also having fun.
Holm would like to see the tournament expand.
“We'd like to grow it a bit. We only run it during the winter months, because during the summer everybody's at the log cabin or what have you. It's just another thing where the more people the better. On top of that, it also helps beat the winter 'drearies'. Last tournament we had even some younger ones; some in their 20s. To me, it's kind of nice to see. Like I said, I've been at the table and to see what everyone can do. It's nice to see people still playing crib.”
