Young curlers gathered at the Whitehorse Curling Club Sunday in honour of one of the game's greats.

The third annual Suzanne Bertrand Memorial, sponsored by McDonalds, saw 22 curlers participate in a fun spiel that included music, unique competitions and plenty of smiles.

"Suzanne did a lot for the junior programming for many years,” said bonspiel organizer Rhonda Horte.

"She was instrumental in Little Rockers and a lot of different junior programs. Almost all of these curlers have been coached by Suzanne at some point.”

Bertrand, a dedicated volunteer and longtime curling coach, died in February 2010 after a battle with cancer. She was 62. The following year, she posthumously entered the Sport Yukon Hall of Fame in the coach and builder category.

"We just want kids to come out and curl,” said Horte of the reasoning behind the annual spiel. "Some years it's a bit more competitive than others. We want to make sure that all the kids have fun.”

The day saw teams mix their rinks and play three four-end games, with the older junior players pairing up with Little Rockers.

"We do traditional curling games, but it depends on the skill levels of the kids,” Horte said. "It was awesome the way it worked out this year, because the older curlers mentored the younger ones.”

Because the bonspiel was not played traditionally, no overall winner was named.

"There's always somebody sad that way,” Horte said.

Bertrand's relationship with the Yukon capital began in 1967, when she took a job in the north as an elementary school teacher,

Her name became synonymous with Whitehorse curling shortly after she began volunteering with the club in 1981.

She was well-known for coordinating numerous programs, including after-school leagues, Little and Junior Rockers programs, as well as Special Olympics curling.

Bertrand coached at three Canada Winter Games, three Briers, two Yukon/N.W.T. Championships, and several Arctic Winter Games.

When she was not making a major contribution to youth programming, Bertrand was a driving force behind the club's bingo fund-raisers.

Her son, Chad Cowan, made multiple appearances at the Brier, Canada's national men's championship.

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The Masters Playdowns scheduled to occur this weekend at the Whitehorse Curling Club were cancelled due to a lack of teams.

"We ended up not having to hold the championship, because we didn't have two or more teams register in either category,” said Linden Mattie, executive director of the Yukon Curling Association.

"We had one ladies team register, so they will be going to the nationals. There were no mens' teams registered so we have extended the registration deadline for mens until we receive the first registration and payment from a team, at which point they will become our representative team.”

The Canadian Masters Championships will be held April 8 to 14, 2013 at the historic Port Arthur Curling Club in Thunder Bay, Ont.