There was a whole lotta shakin’ goin’ on this past weekend at the Nanaimo Curling Centre, as the local club hosted the annual Ladies’ Open Bonspiel.
A total of 32 local and visiting teams enthusiastically took part, with the theme of this year’s competition being ‘Shake Your Booty.’ Brenda Chaplin was chair of the bonspiel’s organizing committee, assisted by Marg Blackley and Joanne Phillips. Volunteers earned high praise for their efforts in staging a top-notch event. In addition to competition on the ice the bonspiel featured fun activities, a champagne breakfast, and some very imaginative decorations upstairs at the club.
As for the curling itself, finals in each of the bonspiel’s four events were played on Sunday. Again this year Bastion Trophies sponsored the championship A event, where both finalists were from out of town.
For the second year in a row, a national women’s squad from Korea chose to use the Nanaimo event as a training ground. The Koreans dominated in most of their games, but had their hands full in the final against the Val Schultz entry from Courtenay/Comox. The two teams had traded single points, and were tied 3-3 after seven ends. With her final stone, Korean skip Yeong Ju Ryu needed to make a precision draw to the button to take a 4-3 victory.
The bonspiel’s B event was sponsored by Jim Pattison Hyundai, and featured an all-Nanaimo final. In that game, skip Zorka Smith stole three ends in a row to pull away from Teri Gauthier for a 7-2 win. Smith was backed by Wanda Cullen, Kelsey Blake, and Monica McKinnon, while others on the Gauthier team were Brenda Redman, Melissa Harris, and Janet Povey.
Damsels Fashions was the sponsor for the bonspiel’s C event. In the final, locals Leslie Shearer and Glynis Davis teamed with visiting players Lorraine Jeffries and Susanne Grundison to post a 7-2 win over the Nanaimo foursome of Anita Chambers, Eleanor Voysey, Stephanie Voysey, and Janice Stromar. Third place went to local team Lorraine Gagnon, Tracey Newlands, Debbie Pulak, and Kelly Bleau.
Sponsor for D event was Harbour Chandler, and the final saw Nanaimo skip Nicole Backe and her team score a 9-4 victory over clubmate Dianne Smith. Others on the winning team were Renee Fisher, Rhonda Stoner, and Heather Osachoff, while Smith was backed by Shirley Learmonth, Andrea Trepanier, and Nancy Friday. Third in D went to local skip Teri Palynchuk and her teammates Donna Gannon, Jodi Crawford, and Keri Negrin.
More bonspiel action will be featured at the curling centre next week. The Nanaimo Senior Ladies’ Bonspiel is scheduled to start Monday (Feb. 15). Teams can still register, with information available by contacting the club at 250-753-3474.
Whatever your sport, a reminder in closing to play your hardest, play fair, and show good sportsmanship.