BARB HOOPERSpecial to The NEWS
The triple knock out draw of the B.C. Mixed Curling Championships — held at the Qualicum and District Curling Rink last weekend — turned out to be a best two-out-of-three series, or two-team showdown.
Both team Craig, Vancouver Island representatives, and team Tanaka from Tsawwassen won their first two draws and met each other to battle it out for ownership of the first qualifying position.
Team Craig outplayed their opponents by gaining a six point lead in the fifth end and sent Tanaka packing to the B event.
Undaunted, Tanaka rallied with a win against team Forrest, overtaking them with a score of 7-2 which secured them the second qualifying berth.
When they met again on Saturday night, Team Craig was up by two points and had three lying in the rings with the last rock of the game still left to be played.
Skip Cody Tanaka sent the crowd into a frenzy when he delivered his final blow and blasted Craig out of the house while leaving one point on the board and tying it up at one game each.
This left the Kerry Park (Naniamo) team playing in the bronze medal game against Team Buchy of Kimberly, which holds three provincial titles under their belts.
Evenly matched but coming out unscathed, Craig swept into the final with a 5-3 score.
During Sunday’s showdown a time out was called because Skip Craig “knew that we were in a position to win the game here and now depending upon making the next play perfect.”
It looked easy as Team Craig delivered on their strategy and closed the game early with a 7-2 victory over Tanaka, earning themselves a trip to the Canadian Nationals being held in Yarmouth Nova Scotia this November.
