The 2018 AMJ Campbell Van Lines BC Mixed Curling Championship came to a close this Sunday, April 22, at the Richmond Curling Centre, with Team Tanaka claiming the championship title in the final draw.

The 2018 AMJ Campbell Van Lines BC Mixed Curling Championship featured teams of four players, two male and two female, playing with the traditional rules of curling in a nine-team triple knockout tournament.

Skip Brent Pierce’s Royal City Curling Club team of third Grace MacInnes, second Matthew McCrady and lead Megan Daniels (2018 BC Mixed Doubles champion), was the first team to qualify for the playoff round with a decisive 7-1 victory over Team Tanaka.

Skip Cody Tanaka’s Richmond Curling Centre and Tunnel Town Curling Club team of third Shawna Jensen, second Travis Cameron and lead Catera Park (2018 BC Juniors champion) became the second team to qualify for the playoff round with an 8-5 win over Team Horning.

The other two teams to qualify for the playoff round were Team De Jong (Victoria Curling Club) and Team Craig (Kerry Park and Nanaimo Curling Centres).

Led by coach Vic Shimizu, Team Tanaka faced Team Pierce once again in their first playoff game, this time with Team Tanaka winning 8-3 to secure their spot in the final game. Team Craig beat Team De Jong 9-5 to move on in the playoffs, but later fell 8-2 to Team Pierce, who would move on to the final game to face Team Tanaka once again.

Team Tanaka took the lead 3-0 in the second end of the final game, with Team Pierce getting on the board with a single point in the third end to make the score 3-1. Team Tanaka responded with two more points in the fourth end. Team Pierce secured their final two points in the sixth end, with Team Tanaka scoring a single in the seventh end to win the game 6-3 and claim the championship title.

Team Tanaka will go on to represent BC at the 2019 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, which is taking place November 5 to 10, 2018, at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Game results and team rosters are available at: http://bot.curlbc.ca//web/Comp?compid=2738

Photos from the event can be found on the Curl BC Facebook page: www.facebook.com/curlbc.ca

The 2018 AMJ Campbell Van Lines BC Mixed Curling Championship is set to begin this Thursday, April 19, at the Richmond Curling Centre.

The Mixed Curling Championship features teams of four players, two male and two female, playing with the traditional rules of curling in a nine-team triple knockout tournament. The winner of the event will go on to represent BC at the 2019 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship, which is taking place November 5 to 10, 2018, at the Fort Rouge Curling Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The nine teams competing hail from around the province, from Victoria to Richmond to Castlegar. Notable names include Team Craig’s Wes and Miles Craig and Kesa Van Osch, who together with Marika Van Osch won the 2016 AMJ Campbell Van Lines BC Mixed Curling Championship. This year the three former champions are joined by Kalia Van Osch, who won the 2018 Scotties BC Women’s Championship earlier this year with Kesa.

Team de Jong’s female members, Taylor Reese-Hansen and Mariah Coulombe, won silver at the 2018 CCAA Curling Championship last month with the Camosun Chargers. Reese-Hansen also won the 2018 Boston Pizza BC Junior Championship. Her 2018 BC Juniors teammate Catera Park will be competing with Team Tanaka. Megan Daniels, who won the 2018 BC Mixed Doubles Championship with Nicholas Meister, will be competing with Team Pierce.

Draws begin on Thursday April 19 at 2:00pm. The final championship game will be on Sunday April 22 at 2:30pm and will be followed by the medals and awards presentation.

Draw times, game results, and team rosters are available at: http://bot.curlbc.ca//web/Comp?compid=2738

For Team Ballard and Team Cotter, representing BC at the 2018 Canadian U18 Curling Championship was an experience they are not likely to forget.

Both teams qualified for the Canadian U18 Championship by winning the 2018 Optimist BC U18 Curling Championship this past March. The Canadian U18 Championship is for athletes ages 17 and under (as of June 30, 2017), and this year it took place in St. Andrews, New Brunswick from April 9 to 14.

While the results were maybe not what they were hoping for, competing at the Canadian U18 Championship was a great way for the BC boys’ team, Team Ballard, to prepare for the 2019 Canada Winter Games, which they qualified for earlier this month.

Skip Dawson Ballard’s team of third Hayato Sato, second Joshua Miki and lead Troy Chong of the Royal City and Coquitlam Curling Clubs finished fifth in Pool B with one win and four losses in round robin play. The team was led by coach Bryan Miki, who was a member of Greg McAulay’s 2000 World Championship team.

As Team Ballard did not progress to the Championship Round, they spent the last few days of the Canadian U18 Championship taking part in a mixed doubles competition, in which athletes from different provinces were matched together to form teams. Chong, together with PEI’s Lauren Ferguson and Newfoundland coach David Trickett, claimed silver in the mixed doubles competition.

2018 Canadian U18 Championship mixed doubles silver medallists: Troy Chong (BC), Lauren Ferguson (PEI), David Trickett (NL).

Miki received the Boys Coach Fair Play Award (voted on by the umpires) and the Boys Coach Sportsmanship Award (voted on by players and coaches). Chong was the Boys Pool B Sportsmanship Award winner.

Representing BC in the girls’ tournament, skip Jaelyn Cotter, third Kaila Buchy, second Katelyn McGillivray and lead Cassidy Schwaerzle of Vernon Curling Club advanced to the Championship Double Knockout Round after finishing fourth in Pool A with three wins and three losses.

Led by coach Jim Cotter, a seven-time Tim Hortons Brier participant, the BC girls started off the Championship Round with a stunning victory over Alberta, who had finished first in Pool B with five wins and one loss.

Alberta took a 7-0 lead in the first two ends, but Team Cotter gradually battled back, starting with two points in the third. Alberta got a single point in the fourth end to make the game 8-2 before BC scored deuces in the fifth and the sixth and singles in the seventh and the eighth to tie the game 8-8 and take it to an extra end. BC ended up scoring two points in the ninth end to win the game 10-8.

“We were able to fight back with the win because of the friendship my team has,” said Jaelyn Cotter. “We are such a strong group of girls and even after one of us misses, we make sure to keep each other up and happy and not let one another get down on themselves.”

“With that, our friendship, teamwork and positivity enabled us to come back with a win. Not only that, we had at least five other provinces cheering us on along the sideboards. When we would make a shot, they all roared with excitement and cheered us on, which was another huge part as to why we won, because of the motivation they all gave us.”

Team Cotter later lost 8-4 to both Saskatchewan and eventual champions Nova Scotia and did not progress to the semifinals, but still found their experience competing on the national stage a valuable and exciting one.

“Representing British Columbia was such an amazing experience and was also such an honour to do,” said Jaelyn Cotter. “I wouldn’t want to represent my home province with anyone else but my teammates, who I have been great friends with for many years.”

Game results and more information can be found here: http://www.curling.ca/2018under18/

The Travelers BC Club Challenge and the Pacific International Cup wrapped up this weekend, with the Richmond Curling Centre’s men’s team and the McArthur Island Curling Club’s women’s team winning both events.

The two tournaments took place simultaneously at Richmond Curling Centre, with the winners of the Travelers BC Club Challenge progressing to the Pacific International Cup final, where they met the winners of the International Pool, which featured teams from the United States, Australia, Singapore, and the Yukon.

Richmond’s team of Vic Shimizu, Cody Tanaka, Trevor Bakken, and Mark Yodogawa finished BC Pool play with six wins and one loss. After a 7-1 semifinal win over Kamloops, they progressed to the Travelers BC Club Challenge men’s gold medal game, in which they beat the previously undefeated Langley Curling Club team with a score of 8-6.

Richmond met the Arizona men’s team in the Pacific International Cup final, claiming the championship title with a 7-1 win.

McArthur Island’s women’s team of Lori Olsen, Kelsey Martin, Lisa Robitaille and Andrea Bourassa also finished BC Pool play with six wins and one loss. They progressed straight to the Travelers BC Club Challenge women’s gold medal game, in which they beat Campbell River 10-4.

The Pacific International Cup women’s final featured McArthur Island and California. McArthur Island won the game 7-6.

With their Travelers BC Club Challenge wins, Richmond and McArthur Island will now represent BC at the 2018 Travelers Curling Club Championship this November.

More information on the Pacific International Cup can be found here: http://www.picup.ca/home.php

More information on the Travelers BC Club Challenge can be found here: http://www.bcclubchallenge.ca/

Semifinal play wrapped up Saturday afternoon at the 2018 Coastland Engineering and Surveying Canadian Masters Curling Championship at Cloverdale Curling Club and Peace Arch Curling Centre. [Read more…]

Congratulations to the winners of the 2017-18 Optimist Clubs of BC Youth Curling Raffle. [Read more…]

Langley’s Team Tardi will be competing in the Sportsnet Grand Slam of Curling’s Humpty’s Champions Cup over April 24-29 in Calgary, Alberta. [Read more…]