Comox Valley Curling Club club champions Ron Schmidt and Kim Jonsson headed to Campbell River to compete in the North Island B.C. Club Challenge March 30, 31 and April 1.
Both teams lost their first game of a double knockout format but there was no stopping either team from there on. Schmidt, who has won four North Island championships, skipped his team of Norm Cote, 3rd; Jeff Pilon, 2nd; Darren Richards, lead to capture the men's title against the McCorquodale team from Port McNeill with a last rock victory in the final game.
Jonsson, who moved up to replace Deb Goodwin, skipped her team of Lonnie Schopp, 3rd (throwing last rocks); Lori Ross, 2nd; and spare, Linda Martin who played lead. Kim and teammates took a three-game winning streak that ended with cinching first place in the final game against Cadwalder of Port McNeill after a disappointing first game defeat to the local McCurrie team.
Kim, Lonnie and Lori have won five of the past eight North Island Challenges and hold the 2011 Dominion-B.C. title under skip Deb Goodwin. The Schmidt and Jonsson teams will join the champions from each of the six regional B.C. Club Challenge Championships at the Pacific International Cup which now doubles as the Dominion Curling Club Championship-British Columbia.
The 13th annual PIC will be held April 18-22 in Richmond. The men's and women's champions will then compete for the Canadian title in the Dominion Curling Club Championship from Nov. 19-24 at the Scarboro Golf and Country Club.
In other news, the CVCC Ladies league wrapped up the season with the three sub-leagues playing in a single knockout draw on March 27-29 to claim the Ladies Curling Club Championship. The Sherry Gray and Mary Holden teams were the top point holders for the Tuesday Early and Colleen Robson and Deb Goodwin held the point spread for the Tuesday Evening league. Thursday 4:45 had top points to Colleen Robson and tied for second was the Deb Woods and Gloria Sandberg teams. Wild card draws went to Sandra Gallaway, LeeAnne Alberti and Michelle Haider.
The single knockout playdown saw the teams of Gloria Sandberg, LeeAnne Alberti, Sherry Gray and Sandra Gallaway fall to the Goodwin/Robson teams (Holden and Haider withdrew). The match continued with Colleen Robson skipping her team of Melanie Rait, 3rd; Val Schultz, 2nd and Mare Michell, lead against the Goodwin team where Kim Jonsson (throwing 3rd), moved up to the skip position in Deb Goodwin's absence with Lonnie Schopp, 3rd (throwing 4th); Lori Ross, 2nd and Linda Martin, lead.
It was a great game to watch with the first end finishing with a steal of one for Kim's team when Colleen's rock under curled to take out only one of the two opponent's rocks. The next two ends gave one point to each with the hammer but the 4th was a cruncher with the Robson's team taking four.
The game shuffled back and forth to the 7th end where the score was two up for Colleen. Kim's team, with hammer, set up a great 8th end with three rocks counting. Colleen had to do an in-off shot on a rock at the side 12-foot to force an extra end but her rock hit and stuck giving Lonnie a clear shot to take three for the win.
– Comox Valley Curling Club