Cribbage has always been a family pastime for Quebec Command player Ernie Michaud. “I come from a big family—I have seven brothers and sisters. We played cribbage together as kids and now we are playing with our own kids,” he said.

That family tradition had just brought the players from Hon. John Diefenbaker Branch in Laval to North Bay, Ont., where he was part of the winning team for the Dominion Command Cribbage Championships.

B.C./Yukon player Leslie Matheson starts a winning streak.

PHOTO: TOM MacGREGOR

Michaud, playing with his son Zaccherie, nephew Daniel Michaud and niece Staci Proulx, won in a close game against teams from Saskatchewan and Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario.

The tournament held April 25-27 was hosted by North Bay Branch which has a large two-storey building next to an impressive cenotaph built to commemorate the First World War and augmented by walls of remembrance added a few years ago.

Planned opening ceremonies were postponed from the Friday evening to Saturday morning because mechanical problems with an airplane had stranded the Newfoundland team in Ottawa for the night.

The ceremonies went ahead Saturday morning with President George Milne acting as master of ceremonies. Dominion Command Sports Committee Chairman Ed Pigeau placed a wreath assisted by Ontario Command First Vice Brian Weaver and Zone H-2 Commander Len Burnham.

With the Newfoundland team still missing, the day began with the singles competition under the watchful eye of tournament co-ordinator Ken Faubert. A pacer player from the branch was asked to fill in for the missing player.

Play was in round robin format with each team playing nine rounds consisting of two legs each. One point was awarded for each win and a skunk counted for two points. Most commands send only one four-person team and draw singles and doubles from that team, but B.C./Yukon, Saskatchewan and Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario commands still send the provincial winners in each category.

It didn’t take long for attention to focus on Leslie Matheson representing British Columbia/Yukon Command. She had at least one win in every round coming in with a final score of 12 points. “I’ve never seen a player have a run of wins like that,” said Pigeau.

Her nearest competitors were Robert Borden Halayda from Henderson Highway Branch in Winnipeg, representing Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario and Mike Kelly from O’Leary Branch in Prince Edward Island Command who both ended regular play with seven points. A tie-breaker gave second place to Halayda.

For Matheson, who is originally from Prince Edward Island, winning was a nice surprise. “I only joined the Legion last year. I joined the Legion because I wanted to play cribbage,” said the member of Cloverdale Branch in Surrey. She became more involved with the Legion and now has a job in the kitchen at the branch.

Still she took her win philosophically. “You don’t come to the dominion tournament to win. You come to meet people. Winning was just a bonus,” she said.

Barry Dillon of Prince Edward Branch in Victoria was no stranger to winning at dominion level. He and partner Richard Falle successfully defended the win in doubles play which they racked up at the 2013 championships at Mersey Branch in Liverpool, N.S.

While Dillon and Falle have been playing together for about five years, Barry has been a winner in teams before. “I’ve been to dominion level six times and I’ve won three. That’s a
50 per cent winning record,” he said.

Doubles winners Richard Falle and Barry Dillon accept their trophy from Dominion Command Sports Committee Chairman Ed Pigeau and Zone Commander Len Burnham.

PHOTO: TOM MacGREGOR

Dillon and Falle, who describe themselves as “transplanted Newfoundlanders,” found their competition coming from the newly arrived Newfoundland team. Play in the doubles competition had already begun with North Bay Branch members filling in when the Newfoundland team from St. John’s Branch finally arrived Saturday afternoon.

Newfoundlanders Charlie Grenning and Jimmy Hallway took their places and jumped right into the competition. “The (substitute players) won three games for us and we just kept building on that,” said Grenning.

“We were in the lead from the beginning,” said Falle. The Newfoundland team gave chase
remaining a point behind B.C. most of the game.

Then in the last round of play, the B.C. duo and the Newfoundlanders faced each other. B.C. had nine points to Newfoundland’s eight. The Nova Scotia duo of Leon and Gail Mattatall was behind with six points. B.C. took the first leg and could not be beat.

The next day was set up for team play. Each team was divided into an A and B side and played simultaneously in the round robin format.

A skunk helped give the lead with seven points to the B.C. team of Keith Christiansen, Mike Pozonyi, Linda Cole and Christina Willoughby from Maple Ridge Branch. Both the Quebec team and the Alberta-Northwest Territories team of Lawrence Dunseath, Anne Dunseath, Inger Clausen and Shirley Lauman from Jasper Place Branch in Edmonton were close behind with six each. Ernie Michaud and his team kept winning while Alberta’s luck began to falter.

The Saskatchewan team of Harley Brown, Shirley Brown, Shiral Brown and Larry Richie from Elrose Branch caught fire after a slow start and was heading toward the lead. By the end of the seventh round Quebec had taken the lead with 21 points followed by Saskatchewan with 19. The Manitoba-Northwestern Ontario team of Tom Durham, Nellie Allard, Marie Westcott and Dennis Massicotte from Winnipeg South Osborne Branch was still within scoring distance with 17.

In the eighth round Quebec was limited to two points while Saskatchewan took four points, tying the game at 23-23.

“I don’t like to watch the scoreboard. If I do, I get nervous and then I make mistakes,” said Ernie Michaud. “Daniel is the one who keeps track of that and lets us know if we’re in the lead.”

Quebec made no mistakes in the final round, scoring four points to Saskatchewan’s three. Quebec had won with 27 points followed by Saskatchewan at 26. Manitoba came in third with 24.

The winning team from Quebec is (from left) Ernie Michaud, Staci Proulx, Daniel Michaud and Zaccherie Michaud.

PHOTO: TOM MacGREGOR

The tournament was over just in time for players and dignitaries to get back to their hotels to change for the evening banquet where Pigeau presented the trophies and prizes.

Pigeau thanked the Local Arrangements Committee chaired by George Milne as well as all the volunteers who drove players around and worked on meals, including breakfasts, an early spring barbecue and a pickerel dinner.

“The hospitality has been wonderful,” said Dillon. “The people in North Bay are the most welcoming. We kind of see them as the Newfoundlanders of the North.”

Results

Teams: Que. (Hon. John Diefenbaker Br., Laval) 27; Sask. (Elrose Br.) 26; Man.-N.W.O. (Winnipeg South Osborne Br.) 24; B.C./Yukon (Maple Ridge Br.) 22; N.S./Nunavut (Elmsdale Br.) 21; P.E.I. (O’Leary Br.), Ont. (Iroquois Falls Br.) 19; Alta.-N.W.T. (Jasper Place Br., Edmonton) 17; N.B. (Oromocto Br.) 16; Nfld.-Lab. (St. John’s Br.) 15.

Doubles: B.C./Yukon (Prince Edward Br., Victoria) 10; Nfld.-Lab. (St. John’s Br.) 8; Man.-N.W.O. (Dauphin Br.), N.S./ Nunavut (Elmsdale Br.) 6; Sask. (Carrot River Br.), Ont. (Iroquois Falls Br.), Que. (Hon. John Diefenbaker Br.) 4; N.B. (Oromocto Br.), P.E.I. (O’Leary Br.) 3; Alta-N.W.T. (Jasper Place Br.) 2.

Singles: B.C./Yukon (Leslie Matheson, Cloverdale Br., Surrey) 12; Man.-N.W.O. (Robert Borden Halayda, Henderson Highway Br., Winnipeg) 7; P.E.I. (Mike Kelly, O’Leary Br.) 7; Sask. (Larry Ritchie, Elrose Br.), N.S./Nunavut (June Hawley, Elmsdale Br.) 6; N.B. (Barry Acker, Oromocto Br.) 5; Ont. (Saunders Denault, Iroquois Falls Br.) 3; Alta.-N.W.T. (Lawrence Dunseath, Jasper Place Br.) 2.