Blackfalds, Alberta is getting ready to host its first ever Battle of the Bunnocks, a three-day event that combines a bone-tossing tournament with live music, food trucks, and a community market. The event runs from August 21 to 23 at Sterling Industrial Sports Park.
Organized by Central Sport and Game Day Adventures, the event is designed to introduce more people to Bunnock while creating a fun festival atmosphere. Bunnock is a game where players throw replica horse ankle bones at their opponents’ rows of bones from about 10 metres away.
Festivities begin Friday, August 21 with a community mixer from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. where newcomers can learn the game while enjoying live music, a beer garden, and a community market. Tournament play continues on Saturday and Sunday.
Trevor Thomas, CEO of Central Sport, said the organization aims to create sport tourism opportunities while providing accessible sporting events for residents of all ages and abilities. “One of Central Sport’s mandates is to create sport tourism opportunities for our communities in Central Alberta. We know how important sport is in people’s lives from physical, mental, and just that social benefit that people get out of sport,” he said.
Greg Gartner, President and CEO of Bunnock, noted that his father Joseph H. Gartner won the Macklin tournament six times and that a memorial tournament is held in Edmonton every June. The game was brought to Canada by German-Russian immigrants in the early 1900s and formalized in the 1960s by Joseph H. Gartner of Macklin, Saskatchewan.
Registration for the tournament closed on August 15, but spots were available in both beginner and champion divisions. Bunnock sets are available for purchase on-site.
