Dylan Stang of Macklin throws the shot of the Bunnock World Championship on Aug. 5 during the championship final. Stang’s shot knocked down all five remaining bones to win the game and win the tournament at the same time. Dylan’s grandfather Rudolph Stang, 84, was the captain of their team and the oldest player in the tournament.
Kenneth Brown
of The Crossroads
The 26th Bunnock World Championship in Macklin could not have ended on a higher note after an emotional win by one of the tournament’s long-time organizers.
This year’s Bunnock World Championship was held on Aug. 3-5, and the games were played on Aug. 4-5 at the bunnock grounds at Macklin Lake Regional Park. A total of 320 teams enter the popular tournament each year and, for those who do not know, every team has four members.
After a hard fought two days, the Rudolph (Rudy) Stang team won the tournament defeating the Vince Flewell team two games to none in the best-of-three final. The winning team included Rudy and Dylan Stang from Macklin, along with Rudy’s children Brian Stang and Lisa Holst from Saskatoon.
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The Bunnock World Championship winning team of Rudolph Stang (centre) celebrates with the championship trophy after winning the final in the most amazing fashion on Aug. 2. Left to right: Scott Wildeman, president of the Macklin Bunnock Association, Dylan Stang, Rudolph, Lisa Holst and Brian Stang.
Flewell is from Red Deer and he was joined by his daughters Blaze and Rivver Flewell, along with Blaze’s significant other Devon Hobbs of Edmonton. Third place went to the team of Greg Gartner, Shari Gartner, Pierre Gagnon and Joy Gagnon of Edmonton.
The event focuses on the bunnock tournament, but the three-day event includes other attractions. There was a craft and trade fair, car show and shine and craft beer tasting on Friday, a Calcutta auction, open air dance and fireworks on Macklin Lake on Saturday, and a pancake breakfast and another open air dance on Sunday.
Rudy, the captain for the 2018 champions, was the oldest player in the tournament at 84 years old. The youngest player was five-year-old Henry DeCae. Rudy is also an original member of the tournament’s organizing committee.
The Flewell team struggled in the opening game and the Stangs won, but Flewells turned things around for the second game to go bone for bone with the Stangs. After a couple of ends in Game 2, the Flewell team ended up with three bones left standing. The Stang team was behind in the game, but it set up the moment of the tournament.
Dylan, the youngest team member at 19 years old, came up with seven bones left standing. He took out two bones with his first throw, and then he made the shot of the tournament taking out the remaining five bones with a single toss.
There were several comments heard suggesting that Dylan’s winning toss produced the most amazing result ever seen on a bunnock court in Macklin. The Stang team won the final after two straight games, but the Flewell team was gracious in defeat and happy to finish in second place out of 320 teams.
After celebrating with his team and family, Rudy said his best previous result in the tournament was a fourth place finish, so he had never placed on the podium. The top three teams in the tournament get medals, so it is extra special to place in the top three.
Rudy, who is still a member of the organizing committee, has played in the tournament every year since it started and he said it was unbelievable to win. He had a similar reaction when asked about his grandson’s amazing shot.
“I’ve never seen a shot like that in my life and I never will again,” he said, recognizing that it was an unbelievable throw by his grandson and watching the five bones go down was his favourite moment of the day and weekend. “Somebody up there was helping.”
He said he could not thank the organizing committee, volunteers and other contributors enough for what they do. The team with the oldest player in the tournament won, and Rudy said he believes the ability for anybody of nearly any age to play and succeed at bunnock is what keeps the tournament going strong.
One team consisted of four 12-year-old players wearing team shirts that read, Bone Armour, a take on the Under Armour brand. Rudy said the team of 12-year-old kids ended up beating an awful lot of teams on the weekend and it shows that the game is for everybody. Rudy says he plans to return in 2019 with a team consisting of four generations of his family, so he has plans to have a great grandchild on the team.
Dylan said he first played in the tournament when he was 10 years old. He noted that he has been practising the game with his grandad for a long time, and the bones stay up in the shop yard from June until August each year. They practice together and alone, but it has all culminated in an unimaginable experience for them, he said.
“I would never had imagined this,” he said, recognizing that he was speechless and his grandad once told him he would be a champion if he could beat him one on one behind the shop. “I couldn’t imagine a better way to win the championship than with him.”
According to Dylan, there is no more fitting bunnock champion in the world than his grandad and he could say it because they had just won a world championship. It was really a gift to watch the five bones fall on his final toss, he added.
Scott Wildeman, president of the Macklin Bunnock Association, said the organizing committee works had throughout the year to prepare for the tournament, but the group has it down to a science and the event nearly runs itself on the weekend. He said it was another successful year for the tournament.
“We thought it went really well again this year,” he said, recognizing that the tournament ran smoothly even with a bit of precipitation and it amazes him how many people from outside the community offer to help while they are in town playing in the tournament.
The spirit of the teams was on display and no one complained about playing in the rain at any point in the tournament, he said. The showers were brief during play, but it did rain. He said the tournament just keeps getting better.
Wildeman said each year committee members wonder if the momentum of the tournament is going to slow down, but it just keeps picking up steam. The president said it is to the point that organizers plan to keep the tournament going for the foreseeable future. He thanked the committee for all of its hard work and dedication.
He noted that it was amazing to see Rudy win the tournament and, after several years of involvement as a player and organizer, he has never seen Rudy get so emotional. Wildeman said he would like to thank all of the volunteers and sponsors for helping to make the weekend a success.
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