A Victoria team won the men’s B.C. curling championships at Esquimalt’s Archie Browning Sports Centre, while a Vancouver-based rink took its second straight women’s title.
Victoria’s Team Schneider took the B.C. title by defeating fellow locals, Team Montgomery, 5-2 in the men’s competition. The win earns the men a spot in March’s national championships – the 2024 Montana’s Brier in Regina, Sask.
Most of Team Schneider are repeat champions, but the team has changed its skip — and as a result its name — since last year when they competed as Team Gaultier.
Although most of the team lives in Victoria, Regina product and skipper Catlin Schneider will get to compete in front of his hometown crowd at the national championship.
“It’s pretty sweet, as any provincial title is,” Schneider said in an interview as he was between flights on his way back to Saskatchewan on Monday (Jan. 29). “Even a little more sweet that it’s a hometown Brier coming up.”
Schneider was raised in a curling family, and his dad also competed in a Brier championship.
“I kinda grew up in the sport,” he said.
Vancouver’s Team Grandy repeated as women’s champs in Esquimalt, with an 11-3 victory over Kamloops’ Team Brown. Team Grandy will compete in the 2024 Scotties Women’s Curling Championships in Calgary, Alta. from Feb. 16 to 25. The Vancouver curlers made it to the semifinals during last year’s Scotties national championships.
Grandy was undefeated in the B.C. finals.
“It feels amazing,” skip Clancy Grandy said in a press release. “I’m really proud of the team for what we put together this week.”
Greater Victoria has had two of its four curling clubs close in recent years, but Esquimalt club president Alan Teasdale said that he’s starting to see an uptick in membership.
“It’s nice to see the downward trends somewhat reversed and going up,” he said.
With curling’s popularity lagging during the pandemic, Schneider said it’s the job of the sport’s top players to try to boost popularity.
“It’s a great sport, and it should be exposed a little more,” he said.
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