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The Whitehorse Curling Club will play host to the Whitehorse Motors Ladies Bonspiel this weekend.

Fourteen teams have registered for the tournament, which will run Saturday and Sunday.

The bonspiel format is aimed at encouraging play and will feature five six-end games in a skins style format.

"This is one of my favourite bonspiels,鈥� said organizer Donna Scott. "It promotes all levels of skill and because of the skins format, there are lots of rocks in play.

Anything can happen in an end, right down to the last rock. Heck, teams even high-five their opponents when a great shot has been made.鈥�

To score, the end must be won by either stealing one or more points, or by winning at least one point. Two points are then awarded per end for the team that wins the end, and one point is awarded for the team who loses it.

In the event an end is blanked, both teams take one point. After the five games are played, points are totaled to determine final standings.

The objective is to ensure all participants are enjoying curling, Scott explained.

The aim is to prevent teams from quitting early because the games are lopsided, so every end produces points for both teams to keep games close.

Traditional curling sees a series of events where winners carry on and losing teams are often eliminated after three games.

The format used for the local ladies bonspiel has proved successful in generating interest from all levels of play.

Teams are seeded so that stronger teams face each other and the less-experienced players have a chance to play at their level of curling.

Ties between teams are common, and are broken via draws to the button completed prior to the spiel.

Teams will enjoy five games of curling, a potluck banquet and a champagne brunch on Sunday.

This style of spiel has garnered interest from as far away as Scotland, as European clubs have requested information from the Whitehorse club on how to generate more interest and participation in bonspiels.