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Men's bonspiel was a blast

The Comox Valley Curling Club hosted the annual Men's Open Bonspiel on the weekend, with 22 local and six out-of-town teams taking part. Competition was fierce, yet a lot of fun and camaraderie was enjoyed by all.

 

 

 

The Comox Valley Curling Club hosted the annual Men's Open Bonspiel on the weekend, with 22 local and six out-of-town teams taking part. Competition was fierce, yet a lot of fun and camaraderie was enjoyed by all.

Sunday's finals saw some fantastic shot making. "It was almost better than watching the Brier," a Brier watcher remarked.

In the A final two local teams battled hard with Jeff Pilon (Norm Cote, Paul Mansueto, Darren Richards) prevailing over Wayne Harris (Alan De Jersey, Fred Pugh, Brian Baltis).

In the B final Campbell River's Ed Schmuland (Calvin Porter, Daryl Knowles, Ian Hay) went toe-to-toe with local favourite and curling club manager Brent Aitken (Andy Kwan, Randy Veitch, Roy Semenchuk), with cagey veteran Schmuland winning.

The C final was between two local teams with Ron Schmidt (John Davis, Buck Briggs, Dave Fogtman) withstanding a late rally by Jack Holden (Marty Duda, Bob Burns, Chuck Brown) to take the win.

The D final (which was the third game in a row for each team on Sunday) was not only a battle of wits but also stamina between local Craig Bernes (Shawn Holland, Trevor Buckingham, Dave Robbins) and Campbell River's Tom Veary (Ron Reynolds, Kevin John, Bruce Manson).

The scoring was back and forth and the game was not decided until the last rock of the last end when Bernes made his final hit for the victory.

"Special mention has to go to the Shack and Towne teams from Victoria," an event spokesperson said. "This was their very first bonspiel and they took full advantage of what an out-of-town bonspiel is meant to be. Thanks for coming guys, we enjoyed your company and hope to see you back next year.

 

"The club is indebted to our sponsors, Ron Schmidt of Assante Wealth Management; Paul Paquette of Little City Signs; Rick Thomson of Colonial Countertops; and Tony Pisto of ScotiaMcLeod. Thanks guys, without you our bonspiel would not happen," the spokesperson said.