"The Drag Effect" LGBTQ+ Pridespiel '26

We are back on cold, hard ice and ready to welcome 16-20 teams to all of the Pride-filled fun this "family"-friendly bonspiel can offer!

WHEN: February 12-15, 2026 - Thursday night draws may not be needed, based on registration (see below).

COST: $440/Team, $110/Player (USD) 

FORMAT: Open (Teams can be any mix/order of genders) 

WHAT'S INCLUDED: A 3-game guarantee, Friday night Trivia, Saturday night Drag Bingo, a raffle table full of loot to raise money for charity - and, as always, Food and Drinks are included!

SAVE THE DATE: Registration for The Drag Effect: Rings of Fire opens Monday, October 20th, 2025 at Noon (Central).

This will be for individuals, groups, and teams that have at least one member within the LGBTQ+ community. If you fly a rainbow flag (or other colorful banner), we want to see you comin' in hot!

Please understand: Windy City Curling loves and welcomes ALL allies, but as always, we want to ensure everyone within our rainbow family has a chance to play. That is why we kindly ask individuals, groups, and teams of all-cisgender/heterosexual curlers to wait to register until Monday, November 3rd, 2025.

REGISTRATION INFO: We have room for 80 players (20 Teams total).

You can sign-up as an individual, duo, trio, or full team. When registering a group/team, click on the "Group" option, and then enter '2', '3', or '4' in the sign-up process. This helps us keep the right people together on the ice. (As for getting together off the ice? That's on you.)

Don't have a full team? Register anyway. We mean that. We strive to make this event as accessible to all LGBTQ+ curlers as possible. We understand not everyone has a team of clubmates to travel with and we're more than happy to help form rinks. We have a lot of fun playing "teammate matchmaker," so join us and make some new friends!

FIRST DRAWS: If at least 16 teams register, the First Draw will occur Thursday, February 12th at 7:30pm. All other draws will start the morning and early afternoon of Friday, February 13th.

Preference for First Draw Times will be given out in the order teams register, regardless of whether or not they're new or returning players. This allows us to keep things fair, and serves as an incentive to register early.
If you *want* to play Thursday night, please feel free to select that option. You'd be doing us a solid. It's also a sure-fire way to guarantee you won't have an early-morning draw on Friday.

HOTEL INFORMATION: We have once again reserved a block of rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott - Oakbrook Terrace from February 12th-15th. 

Room rates (breakfast not included):
Standard single king-size bed - $98/night USD
Two queen-size beds - $118/night USD

NOTE: We're currently waiting for the link where you can book your rooms online to "go live." We'll send it along to registrants via email (and post it on our website) once that happens.

ABOUT THIS YEAR'S THEME: It's our fourth year of running The Drag Effect, and it just happens to take place alongside another awesome bonspiel that happens every four years: The Winter Olympic Games!  So we're going to be carrying a torch for our favorite roaring game with rings - and we want you to do the same.

But please don't feel like you're locked into sporty looks. You are more-than welcome to play around with this theme HOWEVER YOU WANT. 

Whether you're 'Walking the Hogline' like Johnny Cash (who fell into a burnin' ring of fire); gathering your favorite hobbits, elves, dwarves, and other warrior-friends to chuck a cursed ring into the fires of Mount Broom; or even breaking out some hoop skirts that just happen to be red, orange, and yellow... we want to see it all!  Same goes for team names: be as creative as you'd like. (Or don't. There's no costume contest or any prize for best team name. It's all just for funsies.) 

All we ask is that you please not wear anything on the ice that could potentially damage the surface (i.e. - glitter, sequins that could fall off, feathers from a boa, etc.).

BONSPIEL ENTERTAINMENT

There's plenty of fun to be had off the ice, too!

THURSDAY NIGHT MIXER: Once again, we're going to throw a mixer/party at the club Thursday, February 12th at 7:00pm. This is our way of welcoming everyone to Windy City Curling for the weekend. We've done this for the past three bonspiels, and it's always a lot of fun. So even if you're not playing Thursday night, come join us!

DRAG BINGO w/ AURORA DIVINE: Our favorite Bingo Queen returns Saturday, February 13th at 8:00pm to host a fun-filled evening of games, performance, laughs, and prizes!  Aurora is a staple of the Chicago drag & bingo community and we're honored she's returning to us for a fourth year in a row! So come see how she puts a fun twist on the "Drag Effect" in curling!

Find Aurora on Instagram HERE: https://www.instagram.com/theauroradivine/

PUB/CLUB/CUB TRIVIA w/ JOEL PETTIGREW: Everyone's favorite Polar Bear is back to put your off-ice knowledge to the test with another awesome round of team trivia on Friday night! (Exact time TBD, based on how many teams are in the bracket, and how Joel does in the bonspiel, lol.)

ANY QUESTIONS?
Email us! We'll respond as soon as we can. --> This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.