Bonspiel

A Bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared artificial ice. Though it is not mandatory, curling teams at bonspiels often wear themed costumes.

Bonspiels originated in Scotland, but the most notable competitive curling tournament in the world nowadays is The Brier, the Canadian Men's Curling Championship. For Canadians, this tournament equals or nearly equals the importance of the Olympics and the World Curling Championship. The Canadian Women's Curling Championship tournament is called Scotties Tournament of Hearts. Several Cashspiels are played in Canada every year. The most important cashspiels are part of the World Curling Tour (WCT). Many local curling clubs and other organizations in Canada also host casual, social bonspiels.

The United States Curling Association (USA Curling) is the national governing body of the sport in the United States. Many bonspiels are listed on the USA Curling website. Most bonspiels in the United States are held indoors in dedicated curling facilities. Bonspiels are popular throughout the United States during curling season, typically October through April. Some special bonspiels are held in the summer as well as some that are hosted by clubs that play on arena ice as there are usually fewer scheduling conflicts with other sports at the area such as hockey and figure skating.

In Scotland, outdoor bonspiels are now very rare; most lochs that formerly hosted bonspiels, such as Loch Earn, rarely freeze over anymore. The word is sometimes used to refer to an informal curling game, as in parish spiel. The most important Cashspiels in Scotland are part of the Curling Champions Tour (CCT)

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