The 80-plus World Championships mixed bonspiel attracted 12 teams from the Lower Mainland including one from Langley. Other teams represented Abbotsford, Haney, White Rock, Richmond, Chilliwack, Cloverdale, Tsawwassen, and North Delta.

All curlers had to be over the age of 80 to participate.

Coordinator Ernie Wah said the 21st annual event is named the world championships "because there is not another 80-plus bonspiel in the world, that we know of."

While competitive, this bonspiel is as much about participation as it is about winning and losing.

"The camaraderie is the biggest portion of curling," said Wah, a director of the Pacific Coast Masters Curling Association. "It really is."

Some of the curlers use a stick to throw the rock so they don't have to bend down to get into the hack, Wah noted, which is a secret to their curling longevity.

"It's kind of like shuffleboard," Wah said. "Most curlers end up with knee problems. To get out of the knee problems, they use sticks, now."

Each year, the bonspiel rotates to different Lower Mainland clubs.

Wah estimated that this is the third year the event has been held in Langley.

The competition was opened Tuesday by Langley MLA Mary Polak along with Langley Township mayor-elect Jack Froese.

The oldest curler at the event, 90-year-old Dick Deck who competed with the Langley team, threw the opening rock to kick off the bonspiel.

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender and others were in a room next door to the curling rink to announce that Langley would host the BC Seniors Games in 2014. "I'm told there's over 2,000 years of experience that's on that ice," he said, about the bonspiel.

tlandreville@langleyadvance.com