The 2011 edition of the Salmon Arm Junior Bonspiel saw 23 teams and nearly 100 kids competing in two divisions – novice and advanced. Teams came from Kamloops, Lumby, Enderby, Armstrong, Vernon, 100 Mile House and Salmon Arm.
The novice division featured 12 teams of up and coming curling stars aged six to 12 years. ‘Organized chaos’ is how it was described by the spectators: kids upstairs, downstairs, eating pizza, curling and just hanging out together.
The advanced division featured 11 teams of kids of all abilities melded together for a competition focused more on fun than the final outcome. The older, more experienced curlers supported and mentored the younger and inexperienced.
The finals in the advanced division were played Sunday afternoon, where Salmon Arm teams took the medals. Brandon Boyd’s rink broke open a close game with three points in the seventh end, defeating Sheldon Bemister of Enderby in the A event. Jared Jenkins of Salmon Arm, in likely the last junior event of his career, eked out a victory over Brendan Cliff of Armstrong, taking a one-point lead into the last end. And, in the C event, the Todd McCauley rink of Salmon Arm needed three in the eighth to complete their comeback victory over Shannon Campbell of Kamloops.
