A classic Canadian game found in many basements across this country is picking up in popularity with online shoppers around the world buying locally-made boards and learning the trick of the flick.
“We can sell hundreds of boards,” said Ted Fuller who runs a board-making company called Crokinole Canada. “Today, my wife sent 40 boards out the door and I was helping pack.”
He started making and selling the octagonal boards, typically made out of maple, about four years ago from his home in St. Marys, Ont., because he loves the game that he learned to play with his grandfather.
Fuller says he’s selling boards mainly to the U.S., which makes up 80 per cent of the market. But he says he is also seeing sales in Japan, the U.K. and Australia with eight to nine suppliers across Canada.
“[The Internet] makes it so that it’s widely accessible,” Fuller said. “Crokinole is made traditionally by people like Mennonites and different individual woodworkers who now have access to build a Shopify website and basically put their boards online and all through Amazon.”
The concept of Crokinole is similar to curling but is played on small circular or octagonal wooden board, with two to four players flicking discs with their fingers, trying to score the most points by getting one in the middle.
Although Fuller said that there are some Canadians who have never heard of the game, he says it was created in Perth Country, Ont. by Eckhardt Wettflaufer, more than 150 years ago.
His cheapest board sells for $95 but can run as high as $600 for a tournament-style board made of premium Canadian maple — the type pros might practice on for the World Crokinole Championship that happens each June in Tavistock, Ont.
Crokinole on ice
But Crokinole isn’t just played on a wooden board. And it’s not just being shipped outside of Canada.
Londoner, Tom Bitz took his passion for the game and added a twist this winter. With the help of his neighbours, he created a 1.5 square meter board on ice last month that sees players use hockey pucks as discs.
It’s an alternative to ice hockey that’s easier on the body, he explained, noting that he used to play the real game when he was a kid.
“It’s just something to look forward to that we really don’t have a lot of right now,” said Bitz.
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