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Curling season concludes

Championships decided on the ice and in chili contest
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THE WAYNE HARRIS rink of (l-r) Alan deJersey

The Comox Valley Curling Centre had its wind-up for the season with a Member Appreciation Night which included a chili cook-off and league curling finals. It was an overwhelming success with well over 100 members attending.

The chili cook-off was a hit with 13 entries, all with their unique twist on this famous dish. The choice to pick out one winner was difficult: each entry chose a name for their chili and the owner was not revealed until the end of the evening.

The winner, with a tie, was the Cowgirl Chili by Sylvia Mossey and the Double Ender by Sharon Walker. A magnificent chili ladle was awarded to Sylvia by Amber Dufour. Many thanks to the gals who brought the salads, to all the chili chefs who made this evening so much fun and to Janice Ainsworth, who got the chili challenge going.

The interest then focused on the rink where eight teams were vying for the big win. The Thursday Senior Competitive League tie-breaker to determine the B division aggregate winner saw Dell Roberts, skip; Gord Tooker, 3rd; Gary Smythe, 2nd and Garry Mills, lead take the win from Knobby Clark, skip; Terry Kirkoski, 3rd, Jim Mason, 2nd and Ernie Dean, lead.

The Ladies division saw Deb Goodwin, skip Lonnie Schopp, 3rd; Kim Jonsson, 2nd and Lori Ross, lead take on a friendly match  against the Dufour team skipped by Amber with Deb McLean, 3rd; Brenda McPherson, 2nd; May Reimer, lead with a game they all enjoyed and offered "compliments" to each other on some dubious shot making. As they said, there is always a positive to every shot and sometimes the comment was a simple statement like, "Nice hair!" Lots of laughs at that one. The Goodwin team represented the club at the North Island Club Challenge hosted by CVCC.

The men's final with Wayne Harris, skip, Richard Tanguay, 3rd, Allan deJersey, 2nd; Rick Thomson, lead had a very tight game against Ron Schmidt, skip; Norm Cote, 3rd; Jeff Pilon, 2nd; Darren Richards, lead. The score was reflected by who had hammer with one point per end until the seventh when the Harris rink blanked the end to take hammer into the eighth.

A "hold your breath" finesse shot by Wayne cinched the deal taking out Ron's counting rock to win the championship in a real nail biter. The winner usually goes onto the North Island Club Challenge however the Harris rink had competed at the provincial level and were not eligible. The rink that will compete is the runner-up men's team from the Tuesday league with Mike Imrie, skip; Jim Bostock, 3rd; Alex Imrie, 2nd and Mike Meeres, lead.

The fourth game on the ice was a challenge between two mixed teams from the Monday Open and Wednesday Mixed. Ross Thomson, skip; Allison Watt, 3rd; Jeremy Frazier, 2nd; Sylvia (Sly) Mossey, lead took on the formidable Ray Michell team. Ray skipped his teammates Melanie Rait, 3rd; Matt Grundzinskas, 2nd and Mare Michell, lead Roberts to a back and forth game with the Thomson team adding up the rocks for the win.

It was great curling and the spectators were lined up at the glass watching the action unfold. The club was buzzing!

The Ladies League standings saw the Colleen Robson team of Stasia Johnson, Ellie Nicholas, Mare Michell, Val Schultz, LeeAnne Alberti in 1st place in both Tuesday and Thursday followed in 2nd and 3rd respectively by Gallaway and Ferguson for Tuesday and Sandberg and Dufour for Thursday.

The Men's League standings for Tuesday league was Wayne Harris, Richard Tanguay, Alan deJersey, Rick (Countertop) Thomson taking the top spot with the aggregate going to Duffy Simpson, Al Chappin, Tony Wong, Ralph Von Kampen. Thursday winner and aggregate was Ron Schmidt, Norm Cote, Jeff Pilon, Darren Richards.

Next season's finale will be a club championship for teams of all leagues who have played together in the season in a sanctioned league. It will take on a similar format as this year with a chili cook-off included by popular demand.

The season is over however six months will go by in a flash and October will see the curlers back on the ice. If anyone is interested in the sport of curling, we encourage you to give it a try. Clinics for beginners will be advertised in September and more information will be available on our website - www.comoxvalleycurling.com or you may email info@comoxvalleycurling.com.

The Comox Valley Curling Centre has been chosen as the host site for the 2014 Tim Hortons BC Senior Curling Championships for the first time since 2004 and we are gearing up already for this major event. The championship will take place from Feb. 17-23 and feature the top eight menʼs and womenʼs teams in the province aged 50 and over. This will be a great time to showcase our Valley and to give more exposure to the great sport of curling.

 

– Comox Valley Curling Centre