There is no denying that the sport of curling has morphed over the years, far more with every passing decade, most notably at the highest most elite level of the game.

And still, it’s honestly not all that hard to find pockets of curling history and lore that are celebrated equally between club curlers who devotedly make their way to their weekly club outing as well as curlers who rank among the very best in the world.

A quick glance at the now century old proclamation that announced both the creation of the Baxter Cup and the “amendments to the conditions of the Baxter Cup competition” that was added 25 years later tells you everything you need to know about just how deeply passionate the participants in 2025 are regarding the passage of time in this northern tradition – and all that is embraced in the fabric of such a special event.

For the uninitiated - and I suspect there are many, even within the Sudbury curling scene - the Baxter Cup is the annual competition that pits five men’s rinks representing the Little Current Curling Club against five equally competitive foursomes donning the colours of the Espanola Curling Club.

The event is staged over two separate weekends, with each venue playing host to a singular set of five games and champions crowned based on total aggregate score over the entire ten game series.

A simple enough format to withstand the test of times, even as some of the guidelines that were deemed necessary for inclusion on the original Cup document might now cause one to smile, at least ever so slightly, based on the extent to which times have changed.

“On the retirement of any member of the (managing) Committee by reason of death or otherwise, the remaining two members shall at once appoint a successor to take the place of the member so retired, but at all times the Committee must be composed of two members resident at Little Current and one member at Espanola.”

So decreed George E. Baxter of the Town of Little Current, businessman and creator of the hardware that bears the family name, in the year 1925.

How can one not love all that it is to be involved, even just a little, with the Baxter Cup?

“I signed up twenty years ago, but there was a waiting list,” explained Dave Gallant, a soon-to-be retired Espanola high-school teacher who has curled the bonspiel (if a two-team curling competition is deemed worthy of that moniker) some 15 times or so and is now one of two Espanola trustees responsible for assembling teams.

“There is still a waiting list and we had to have some very challenging conversations again this year.”

And all this for a chance to partake in what amounts to just two eight end games of curling.

Dave Gallant, and so many like him, truly grasp the extent of the desire for involvement.

“It was even more than I thought it would be,” he said, recalling his initial entry point whereby he earned a half point of Baxter Cup seniority, filling in for a sickness-induced absenteeism but only for the Little Current leg of the home and home affair back in 2011.

“The sense of tradition and the re-telling of the history of the Baxter back to when there was no road back and forth, that travel was all by train – when communities would come out and parade the curlers into the club; just to be part of that is special,” Gallant continued.

And if you still are not convinced that the Baxter Cup remains a really, really big deal for these folks, ponder for a moment the fact that John Hodder of Little Current recently participated in his 63rd consecutive Baxter Cup (notwithstanding Covid).

That kind of longevity can make the assembling of quartets a bit of an interesting jigsaw puzzle, as Dave Gallant explains. “There’s traditions – but even these have morphed recently,” he noted.

“Seniority rules; the more Baxter Cups you have participated in, that was your seniority. The most senior curlers were usually the skips, but now, we try and keep the men’s teams together. We let the teams sort out the lineups. Some of the most senior Baxter curlers don’t want to be throwing last rocks, but may want to hold the broom.”

Because for as much as this is a highly anticipated social event – there is actually a break after the fourth ends to allow teams to enjoy a mid-game cold beverage – scores are counted. A lengthy losing skid here is no more acceptable than it might be for an up and coming U20 quartet.

“The skips introduce their teams over dinner and after dinner, you draw cards to see which sheet you’re playing on,” said Gallant. “You don’t know who you are playing until that time. It’s only at that time, when everybody is heading out on the ice, that the competitiveness kicks in.”

In 2025, for the Baxter Cup winning Espanola formation, the competitiveness clearly kicked in when they returned to a very familiar setting. Up just three points in total following the five matchups in Little Current, the mill town men outscored the islanders 42-24, winning three of five at home at playing to a 7-7 draw in another.

“It’s always fun to try and get your name on the trophy,” said Gallant.

Especially when you are dealing with a trophy that pre-dates the birth of every single participant who is vying for the right to hoist it high.