There was some major action at the Duncan Curling Club this morning, as men’s Draw Three had some major results.

The game, which started at 9:00am and served as the A qualifier, saw Team Adam Fenton come roaring out of the gate, putting up single points in the first, third, and fifth ends. Although Team Nolan Blaeser got on the board with one in the sixth, a three-point Fenton seventh put an end top any hope of a late-game rally. When the game ended in the ninth, Fenton was victorious with a score of 8-2, and received a direct entry to the championship final.

The women’s side of Draw Three, also at 9:00am, saw a trio of exciting games. The Team Holly Hafeli vs Team Keelie Duncan matchup saw the lead flip-flop a number of times, but a big tenth for Hafeli—with three points—sealed the deal for a 6-5 victory.

The Team Bryelle Wong/Team Kaelen Coles-Lyster game saw Wong break out early and stay in the lead for the entire game, but dogged determination by Coles-Lyster nearly closed the gap in the later ends, resulting in a close 6-5 victory by Wong.

End Three also saw the Battle of the Bowles, as Team Elizabeth Bowles took on Team Emily Bowles in the women’s A qualifier. With sister skips, the game was a true family affair that saw Emily’s team take an early lead and press their advantage into the later ends. When it was all over, Team Emily Bowles took the game 10-4, and earned a direct entry into Sunday’s final.

Draw Four, which started at 2:00pm, saw some big surprises for both the men and the women.

Team Blaeser vs. Team Calder Fadden turned the men’s draw into a rout, with Blaeser dominating the board from the get-go. Although Fadden managed to get one point in the fourth, the game ended in handshakes after the fifth, with the score 9-1 for Blaeser.

Similarly, on the women’s side, Team Keelie Duncan shellacked Team Coles-Lyster 8-1 in a game that ended after six ends. As an elimination game, however, it also proved to be the end of the line for Team Coles-Lyster in this event.

Team Bryelle Wong also scored big over Team Elizabeth Bowles, in a game that saw Wong pile on the points until their 10-2 victory in the ninth.

During the break between draws, Curl BC chairman Neil Campbell presided over the awards ceremony, with results which were particularly meaningful as the recipients had been voted by their peers at the BC U21 Championships.

In the coaching categories, Karen Lepine received the Asham Junior Men’s Coach Award, and Carley Sandwith-Craig was awarded the Asham Junior Women’s Coach Award.

Karen Lepine and Carley Sandwith-Craig receive their coaching awards from Curl BC chair Neil Campbell

Among the players, Coburn Fadden from Team Fadden received the Gordon Hooey Sportsmanship Award, and Sasha Wilson from Team Emily Bowles was awarded the Flora Martin Sportsmanship Award.

Coburn Fadden and Sasha Wilson recieve their sportsmanship awards from Curl BC chair Neil Campbell

Making the ceremony all the more msignificant was a special presentation from Team Marshall (Jackson Marshall, Troy Cowan, Mac Ellis, and Duncan Gallop), a former junior team from the Duncan Curling Club. Upon aging out of junior curling, the team discovered they still had $600 in their account, and graciously decided to split the money between the two U21 sportsmanship winners as encouragement to keep curling.

Along with their former coach, Kelly Meikle, Team Marshall gifts their leftover team funds to Coburn Fadden and Sasha Wilson

After the awards, Draw Five began at 7:00pm. Women’s games saw Teams Holly Hafeli vs. Wong. Wong started off well with a two-point first but was soon overtaken as Hafeli racked up five points in the next three ends. Wong would put three more up on the board, but Hafeli’s five-point sixth end effectively put an end to a Wong comeback, and the game ended with an 11-5 Hafeli victory in the eighth.

Over on the next sheet, Team Keelie Duncan too on Team Elizabeth Bowles which see-sawed between leads before Bowles pulled out a couple of 3-point ends, culminating in a 9-6 victory.

On the men’s side, Team Thomas Reed and Team Fadden battled it out in a competitive match which ended in a 5-5 Reed win.

Tomorrow: Team Wong meets Team Elizabeth Bowles in the C Qualifier at 2:00pm followed by the women’s semi-final at 7:00pm; and the men’s semi-final, featuring Team Blaeser vs. Team Reed, starts at 7:00pm. Be sure to catch all the action on www.youtube.com/curlbctv and www.cbcsports.ca.