100 Mile Curling Club rocked the house Jan. 18-20, with local teams taking wins in all three finals at its annual Men’s Bonspiel.
The event was a huge success, says club president Joanne Doddridge, with 14 teams in total and visitors coming from Quesnel, Williams Lake, and Chilliwack and beyond. The local Todhunter rink included family members from Florida and Abbotsford and a player from Chase.
The win in the A Event final went to the Atkinson rink from 100 Mile House, skipped by John Atkinson, with third Bob Berke, second Kelly Powell and lead Wayne Venos.
With several rocks in play in the seventh end, Atkinson stole one to go ahead 5-3 over the Pethick rink from Quesnel. In the final end, Berke threw a takeout with his first rock, to lay one buried. Pethick needed a raise takeout for a tie, but Atkinson stole one for a 6-3 win.
The B Event final went to the 100 Mile House Todhunter rink 7-6 over the McNabb rink, also from 100 Mile. Winning team members were skip Bill Todhunter Sr., third Bill Todhunter Jr., second Sheldon Todhunter and lead Mel Dodge.
Trailing in the final end, without the hammer, McNabb third Chris Betuzzi made a draw behind guards, but Todhunter Jr. exposed it by peeling the guard. Todhunter Sr. followed with a raise takeout to get the team out of trouble then threw the final rock to make a solid takeout for the win.
It was another home team battle in the C Event final with the Smith rink from 100 Mile House claiming a 5-3 victory over the Babuin rink.
The tail end of the final end saw Babuin down without the hammer, but laying two after his last shot. Smith was on target with his final shot, making a double takeout and taking the win. Smith team members were skip Gordon Smith, third Don Kinasewich, second Brian Considine and lead Nick Goshorn.
Doddridge says many of the shots made in all three finals were nothing short of amazing.
“They were throwing through ports, skinnying by guards, calling weight-sensitive shots, and there were always lots of rocks in play. The crowd was part of the action and they rose and fell with every shot.”
Honourable mention went to the Tesky rink from Williams Lake, which placed third in the A Event and has qualified to compete at the 2013 senior men’s provincials.
