The Comox Valley Curling Club held its 2013 Mixed Bonspiel this past weekend, with 24 teams from all over Vancouver Island participating.
Action started Friday night and continued Saturday with a break for a delicious banquet dinner. The survivors made it to Sunday, where the competition really heated up the ice.
The A event (sponsored by Finneron Hyundai) final pitted Norm Cote against Cliff Carr-Hilton. Cote led early and Carr-Hilton tried to battle back, but it was not to be. The Cote rink included skip Norm Cote, third Lonnie Schopp, second Craig Bernes and lead Laura Cote.
The game was extra special as Schopp was playing against her two nieces on the Carr-Hilton team. Relatives watching the game didn’t know who to cheer for! Finishing third was the Steve Whynott rink.
The B event (sponsored by Thrifty Foods) final had two local teams battling it out as Randy Veitch took on Duffy Simpson.
Veitch was up by one coming home with the hammer. However, Simpson stole two in the last end to squeak out the win. Skip Duffy Simpson had the help of third Liz Hodgson, second Brian Huxley and lead Eileen Morin. Finishing third was Ken Rodonets.
The C event (sponsored by Boston Pizza) had Michele Haider playing Richard Tanguay in the final. Haider was unstoppable, getting off to an early lead and never looking back.
Skip Michele “Fireball” Haider made some terrific shots along with third Tyler Somerville, second Sylvia “Sly” Mossey and lead Tom Somerville. Third place went to Cody Hall and fourth was Josh Pisto.
The D event final featured Richard Lewis against Mike Imrie. The "Deadly Ds" can be one of the most gruelling events to win, as games are back to back to back.
The survivor (winner) was skip Imrie with third Shauna Imrie, second Mike Meeres and lead Donna Viklund. Third was Vern Reimer and fourth went to Jason Andrew.
"Win or lose, a great time was had by all with camaraderie, great food, and competitive curling," an event spokesperson said. "A big thank you to all our sponsors, Finneron Hyundai, Thrifty Foods and Boston Pizza, without which this bonspiel would not be possible."
Local Curlers Busy
Colleen Robson was picked up by a Nanaimo team for the Senior Women's Coastal Playdown at the Howe Sound Curling Club in Squamish, Jan. 18-20.
Skip Debbie Jones-Walker's rink with third Colleen Robson, second Debbie Pulak and lead Shirley Wong went undefeated to claim the A event and secure a spot at the B.C. championships, Feb. 11-6 at Trail.
The three other teams who qualified to represent the Coastal zone are Brenda Ridgeway (Nanaimo), Karen Lepine (Langley) and Kathy Smiley (Royal City).
The men's zone qualifier goes Jan. 25-27 at Juan de Fuca where the Comox Valley rink of skip Wayne Harris, third Richard Tanguay, second Al deJersey and lead Rick Thomson will compete.
The B.C. winners advance to the Canadian Seniors Championships, March 16-24 in Summerside, PEI.
The Comox Valley Curling Club sent their young gals to compete in the Zone 6 playdown for the Juvenile Women's event in Powell River, Jan. 18-20.
Jordan Koster, McKenna Fox, Kyla Olsen, Keni Michell, Jessica Jensen and coach Mickey Colburn had a great showing only to be defeated by Qualicum's Emily Smith in the B event.
The Marika Van Osch team from Juan de Fuca claimed the A event. The qualifiers advance to the Tim Hortons BC Juvenile Curling Championships, March 7-10 in Prince George.
These events can be followed on http://playdown.com.
– Comox Valley Curling Club