Four junior curling teams have secured spots at the 2016 Tim Hortons B.C. Junior Curling championships, thanks to their success on the B.C. Junior Curling Tour.
Five curling centres hosted B.C. Junior Curling Tour
bonspiels, with the final event taking place at the Esquimalt Curling Club last week. That’s where the final tour points were awarded in the inaugural year where provincial qualifying was determined by tour results.
On the junior men’s side, Langley’s Tyler Tardi’s rink of third Daniel Wenzek, a Burnaby native, second Jordan Tardi, lead Nicholas Meister and fifth Sterling Middleton, clinched the top spot with three overall wins out of four tour appearances. The team collected a total of 73.75 points.
Taking the second berth was Royal City Curling Club’s Matthew McCrady rink. The team, which includes third Zac Curtis, second Liam Purgavie and lead Jacob Umbach, accumulated 54.175 points over four appearances.
On the junior women’s side, Nanaimo’s Sarah Daniels’ rink, including third Dezaray Hawes, second Marika Van Osch and lead Megan Daniels, finished with the top score of 64.1 points. They took part in four events, winning all four.
The Kamloops rink of skip Corryn Brown, third Erin Pincott, second Samantha Fisher and lead Sydney Fraser placed second with 32 points over three tour appearances.
Both junior women’s teams now have a guaranteed spot at the 2016 Tim Hortons B.C. Junior Curling championships, which take place Dec. 29 to Jan. 3, 2016 at the Kamloops Curling Club.
The five B.C. Junior Curling Tour events were: the Anita Cochrane Memorial Cashspiel in New Westminster, the Abbotsford Junior Cashspiel, the Rick Cotter Memorial Cashspiel in Vernon, the Interior Beverages Junior Spiel at the Kelowna Curling Club, and the Esquimalt Optimist Junior Cashspiel.
Five-time B.C. men’s champion Jim Cotter, who was instrumental in setting up the B.C. Junior Curling Tour, enthusiastically supported the efforts of the teens.
“It has been great to see so many young teams get the opportunity to compete early in the season. We’re glad the inaugural tour has been so warmly welcomed by everyone and we hope to see it grow bigger and better every year,” said Cotter.
The 2016 Tim Hortons B.C. Junior Curling Championships will see eight boys and eight girls teams play against each other in an eight-team round robin with a four-team page playoff.
It means a further six berths are available per championship. Playdowns will take place in Prince George and Port Moody Nov. 20-22.
