Top notch pool players from across Canada were in town over the weekend for the Royal Canadian Legion's Dominion 8-Ball national championships.

The event, which has seen a bit of hiatus in the organization in the past but has made a comeback, saw 7 provinces represented. Among those was Saskatchewan, who's team consisted of Doug Cairns, Burt Blondeau, Burva Connor and Jim Barnstable, all local competitors. 

"We were all nervous, and it was quite fun at the same time," said Cairns, "We had fun, and it's been quite a good experience."

The winning team hailed from Alberta, as did the singles winner, while the doubles victors came out of New Brunswick.

"I'm super pleased with the way it went. I've played in a number of these, and I think I'm biased, but I think this is the best one they've ever had," shared 'Frosty' Forrest with Estevan Branch 60 of the Legion.

(L-R) Doug Cairns, Burva Connor, Jim Barnstable and Burt Blondeau represented Estevan and Saskatchewan on a national level.

"It ran smooth, the players were excellent. We played a lot of pool, we played 84 matches of three games per match Saturday alone, and we were done by suppertime, so it moved along. The food was good, the camaraderie was good, and that's what it's all about. It's about a bunch of Legionnaires getting together and having some friendly competition, and I think we nailed it on that."

He added that they would certainly consider hosting the event again in the future.

"I was really impressed with the level of play for one thing, we're talking about some of the best pool players in the country," chimed in Angus Stanfield, a Vice President of national Dominion Command in the Legion and in charge of all the organization's sporting activities, "(And) the sportsmanship. There were a couple of times during the weekend where the competitive edge was right there, and yet they all thought for the good of the game, the good of the sport. I just thought that the sportsmanship shone, it was really good. They showed all the respect in the world for the local people that were putting it on, I think everybody really felt at ease and enjoyed themselves."

"You get that in a small community. You don't always get that same feeling in the city. I gotta say too, prairie hospitality is second to none, it really is. There's something about prairie people, that, it's magic," he added.