Blair Yoshida, Jay Diamond, Martin Shaff, and Todd Hamin (pictured left-right) caused more than a few raised eyebrows when they posed for a team picture last month in front of San Francisco’s landmark Golden Gate Bridge.

Yoshida, Shaff and Hamin are Winnipeggers who got the call from Diamond, a native-Winnipegger now San Francisco resident and life-long friend of Shaff’s. “Why not come curl in the Golden Gate Bonspiel – celebrating the 50th anniversary of curling in San Francisco?” Diamond asked.

Why Not? No good reason not to fly half-way across the continent in late May to curl - like curlers everywhere, 'any excuse for a bonspiel' will do.

Complete with Asham Curling sponsorship, the self-dubbed Bisons on the Bay team joined 23 others from across North America. The list of teams shows representation from the Hollywood Curling Club, the Wine Country Curling Club, the Seattle Granite Curling Club, Milwaukee Curling Club, Texas, Chicago, Vancouver & Richmond, Ottawa, two teams from Winnipeg, and others.

You can hear the smile in Martin Shaff’s voice when he says that other Winnipeg team were ‘imposters’. “They are all ex-Winnipeggers who live in the States now,” he explains. “

For the record, the imposters’ line-up included John Ingham, Craig Coombe, Billy Wicks, and Trevor Griffith

As with any such event, Shaff says the win-loss record is a long way down the list of priorities. However, he says his squad set the benchmark for the bonspiel by providing competition for three of the teams listed as winners on the Golden Gate Bonspiel website. (www.goldengatebonspiel.com).

The games were played in the Fremont Ice Centre, practice facility for the NHL’s Sharks. Shaff was particularly complimentary of the ice-crew’s ability to scrape the ice with a zamboni. He admits it was ‘a little heavy’ at times (5-8 seconds) but that they also played on 24 second ice.

“It was different but it was great fun”, admits Shaff who calls himself a social curler competing regularly on a company team (Pratt’s Wholesale) at Rossmere.

Yoshida, Shaff, and Hamin have never curled with Diamond before but it is a fair guess they’ll do it again, first chance they have to go back to the San Franscisco bonspiel.