It was the tournament of the century... or at least the last tournament of the century. It was also the first tournament of the new century (depending on which point of view you take with the whole year 2000/millennium thing). And yes, RocksCanada was there with the exclusive story on the Year 2000 All-Star Rockin’Vitational. Held over three snowy, action-packed days at the Vervulex 2000 Centre (formerly the David G. Fremlin Arena) on McCarell’s Lake near Sault Ste. Marie Ontario, this inaugural Winter Rocks tournament promises to become a time-honoured holiday tradition. Preliminary rounds were played on December 31st 1999 and January 1st 2000, with the final being played on January 2nd. In the evenings, the competitors socialized, trained, or sought treatment for injury in the sauna. The highlight social activity was a special All-Star Millennium Banquet on New Year’s Eve. Never before had so many of the game’s historic legends gathered for a celebratory feast of sausages and beans - lots of beans. The All-Star banquet was followed by a celebrity bonfire, at which the rockists and some of their dedicated fans rang in the New Year together.
The MLROC (McCarrell’s Lake Rocks Organizational Committee) had every reason to be proud as the tournament ran smoothly, despite concerns that the games would be marred with technical difficulties. There was certainly no Y2K bug to be found in the area, although there were reports (from everyone except Fremlin, who lost his voice) of a cold virus going around. In fact, the nearest problem to confront your brave heroes was reported to have occurred in a place referred to as "Brown Mountain" (it should be noted that it is still under investigation as to whether this problem was a result of the Y2K phenomenon). This is not, however, a story about Brown Mountain. Instead, it is a story about the most significant event in Winter Rocks history - the first Winter Rocks tournament officially recognized by CARTA. By all accounts, the tournament was a knockdown hit.
"I believe this to be the most ambitious event that CARTA has taken on in its history of serving as the ambassador for the game of Rocks in Canada. I consider this event to have been a huge success and a great example of the powerful wonder of Rocks in this great country of ours." says Slugger, co-commissioner of CARTA and creator of rockscanada.tripod.comEven before the event began, there was an atmosphere of tense expectancy. As this reporter stepped into the club house, situated not more than 200 ft. from the pits themselves, and gazed over them with anticipation, he could feel the electricity in the air. The invited competitors that were able to make the arduous trip to this Valhalla of a location (the road to heaven is, after all, quite bumpy) were busy selecting their throwing rocks, which were specially imported from Bayfield Ontario, that historic cradle of the Canadian game situated on the shores of beautiful Lake Huron. The official line up of competitors was small, but select and included the veterans: Junior (a co-creator of the sport), Fremlin (the reigning summer rocks champ), Bobby D, Slugger, and Buzz. In addition, there was the relative newcomer ManCake (who’d had a cup of coffee in CARTA a couple of years ago) and the promising unknown rookie from the west coast league, RedRob. Fan favourites who were forced to send along their regrets included Frog (reportedly hunkered down in a secret bunker somewhere in the Toronto subway, zealously protecting 135 cans of Spam from the coming Y2K apocalypse) and Studak (who was performing instructional duties in the UK Premier league, netting our lad an audience with Her Majesty). All the competitors in attendance commented that these lads were sorely missed; not to worry, however, as (in a moving tribute) the competitors honoured their missing comrades by drinking their first Fitty in the "missing man" formation.
Rocks Canada: Play Where You Are! Make Rocks a Part of Your Life!