A recent sports event had 8-ball pool teams from all across the province heading to Estevan to take part in the tournament at the Estevan Legion. With 288 games played, it was quite the process, with the hometown Estevan 2 team coming out on top.
That consists of Steve Valentine, Steven Lalonde, Burt Blondeau, and Doug Cairns, who talked a bit about the road to get there.
"It was quite the grind, but it was a lot of fun," said Blondeau.
"Surprisingly enough, we've been at it for a few years. And we've missed last year by one point. This year, we won it by one point," said Cairns.
The team says that practice is what matters most, and keeping a cool head can win games.
"When you miss, don't get down on yourself," said Valentine, "Think about the next shot. Don't worry about the last one."
Throughout the tournament, 9 teams from different Legion halls all over the province showed up at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #60 in Estevan. All in all, 288 games were played, as each player played two games against their opponent. Local Legion president Frosty Forrest welcomed them all on Saturday.
"It's been growing. The first few years it wasn't much but the last few years it's like the tournament has alternated between ourselves and Swift Current. Now we're getting some other teams in. I believe Rosetown probably is going to host it next year, and that's excellent. We need to get teams playing from all over," Forrest shared.
Next up, the team will be headed to New Brunswick to represent the province at the national championships.
The team says that being able to see the community come together with a game like this is great, with a lot of work going into making it run.
"The local Legion for putting this on, a lot of volunteer hours and effort go into it, which is excellent," said Blondeau. "Frosty and Willie and well, everybody, Diane and like, I don't want to leave anybody out. There are a lot of people who make this happen. So it's a great event. This was my fourth time in the Legion tournament."
It's also an opportunity to meet some old friends again through the sport, says Lalonde.
"You play them, you meet them once a year, but it's like yesterday that you were with them or hanging out with them."
For Frosty, this tournament means a lot more than just playing 8-ball pool. Each player was a member of their local Legion outfit. "Near[ly] everyone here has a connection to a veteran or are aware of veterans that have maybe struggled and received assistance through the Legion. That's the reason the Legion's here is because of veterans and that we need to help them when they're in need. That plays a big role and that's in everybody's heart here, I think, that has come to play."
At the end of the night, Forrest thanked everyone for coming down and adding to a great event.
"Thank you all for making this a success. I played a lot of tournaments over the years, as a lot of you have, and this is the only tournament where you see guys get beat two games straight, and they go with the other guy, a big smile on their face. There's camaraderie, friendship, and it just makes a pleasant experience."
This event wouldn't have happened if it weren't for the community that showed up, Forrest expressed. "Anytime we've hosted this, the response from the business community has been absolutely over the top. We've got, I think we counted up here last night, 75 door prizes and these aren't trinkets. These are, I mean, they're good quality door prizes. That's all just from our community involvement and I just got to say how much we appreciate that."