Men's and women's team’s from the Comox Valley Curling Club qualified for the 2012 BC Club Challenge, an event dedicated to the grassroots of curling. It involves club curlers who qualify in the six regions’ Club Challenges.
The Ron Schmidt team with Norm Cote (third), Jeff Pilon (second) and lead Darren Richards finished the men’s competition with a bronze medal in a hard fought game against Peace Arch.
The ladies team, representing Island North, was skipped by Deb Goodwin with teammates Lonnie Schopp, third; Kim Jonsson, second and Lori Ross, lead.
“Wow, it has been a journey," Schopp said when round-robin play finished at the Dominion Curling Club Championship in Richmond April 18-22.
With five wins and two losses, the team placed second overall.
In the semi-final game against the Shawna Jensen team from Tunnel Town, representing the Mainland Coast region, the Goodwin team controlled the game for a comfortable 9-4 win. The final game against the team of Desiree Schmidt from Beaver Valley of the Kootenays was a tight game. They battled hard, one rock, one
end at a time with the game going an extra end in a nail-biting finish giving the Comox Valley team a 9-8 win for gold.
This is a ‘two-peat’ for the Goodwin team that won the BC Dominion Curling Club Championship title. They compete at the Canadian Dominion Championship in Scarborough, Ont. in November.
Clinching the BC gold was exhilarating for the team but this year the provincial winner played the winner of the International Pool to claim the Pacific
International Cup trophy. There were two events being played at the same time at the Richmond Curling Club, one with provincial teams and the other with women’s teams from Alaska, Yukon, California, Colorado, Minnesota and Washington. With one more game to play, the Goodwin team focused their attention to the game and rallied with a comfortable lead, defeating Washington-1 by a 9-4 score.
Schopp provided club members with updates throughout the week. One comment says it all: “This event is one that is well worth taking the effort to qualify for. It is an experience that I wish all players could have. The host committee is first class, and the organization of such an event is spectacular.”
The team appreciates the messages and support they received.