Charlottetown’s Charlie Wilkinson rink, which includes 3rd Ken McGregor, 2nd Phillip MacInnis, and lead Bill Doherty, is now the only defeated team at the Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Senior Men’s Curling Championship, for curlers age 50 and over, being played at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. The Wilkinson team defeated the Clair Sweet foursome from the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary by a 13-8 score this evening to win the A section final of this triple knockout event. The high scoring match included a stolen deuce by Wilkinson in end two, followed by a stolen five ender, and another steal of two in ends three and four.

Three teams have only one loss, and, along with Wilkinson, will be competing for the B section honours, with the Rod MacDonald/John Likely rink from Charlottetown and Montague taking on Wilkinson, and Summerside’s Blair Jay foursome battling the Sweet team in the B section semi-finals, with the winners advancing to the B final. The B semis and final, originally scheduled for 1 and 6 on Saturday, have now been moved to 10 am and 3 pm, respectively, due to the forecast storm.

One rink, the team of Donald Whitehead, Frank MacDonald, Dario Zannier, and Kenny Stewart, from the host Crapaud club have 3 losses, and are now out of the competition. Still alive with two losses are defending champion Bill Hope from Charlottetown and Cornwall, and three rinks from Summerside’s Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club, skipped by Mel Bernard, Barry Cameron, and Marc LeClair.

In games in Friday’s 1 pm draw, Wilkinson scored 4 in the 6th end to bring a speedy conclusion to game against Jay with a 9-2 score, Hope beat LeClair 8-3, MacDonald/Likely downed Cameron 8-1, and Sweet stole 4 in the 8th end in a 9-4 win over Bernard.

In other 6 pm matches, MacDonald/Likely edged Bernard 8-6, Crapaud’s Whitehead team, despite a five-ender in the 5th, lost 13-8 to LeClair, and Jay doubled Hope 10-5.

The C flight semis go Sunday at 1, with the C final at 6 pm. The two game championship round, between the winners of the 3 sections, goes Monday at 1 and 6 respectively. If Wilkinson were to win all three sections, the championship round would not be played. If a team wins two sections, they would play in both championship games, and take the championship if they won either game.

The eventual winner will advance to the Canadian Seniors championships, March 17-25 in Abbotsford BC.

(by Tim Gall)

NAPANEE, ONT. — It was too little too late for playoffs, but the Sarah Fullerton rink is on a three-game winning streak after two more victories Thursday at the Canadian junior curling championships.

The Cornwall-Charlottetown team of Fullerton, Michelle McQuaid, Sara MacRae and Hillary Thompson improved to 6-5 Thursday with a 6-4 victory over Nova Scotia and a 7-5 decision against New Brunswick.

Photo special to The Guardian by Tim Gall

P.E.I. Sarah Fullerton watches her shot during action Thursday at the Canadian junior curling championship in Napanee, Ont.

The top three teams will make the playoffs, but the Fullerton foursome is behind four teams and can’t catch the leaders with only one game left to play today in the round robin.

“We were really focussed today, and our goal was to leave this tournament with a winning record,” said Fullerton. “We don’t want it to be our worst nationals, and we are really shooting for every victory we can get.

“Six wins is great. We’d love a seventh, and I think the girls will come out strong (today) and have a great game. Getting that seventh would probably mean fourth or fifth place, and that would be really good.”

On the men’s side of the competition, Alex Matters and his Charlottetown team of Chris Gallant, Kyle Holland and Andrew Cameron fell to 3-8, after losing 10-2 to New Brunswick and 8-6 to Nova Scotia.

“We just want to go out and finish strong,” he said of today’s last round robin game. “Whether we win or lose, we just want to play our best. We’ll want to get one more (win), of course, so we’ll come out and give it our all and see what happens.

After Thursday’s women’s games, Manitoba and Alberta, had clinched the top two places, currently tied at 9-2. British Columbia, now at 8-3, will finish third. On the men’s side of the event, Alberta was in first at 10-1, followed by Manitoba in second, with Northern Ontario and Nova Scotia tied for third.

Click for full story in today’s Guardian.

PEI’s Sara MacRae (CCA photo)

The PEI men’s rink, skipped by Alex Matters didn’t fare as well today, losing 8-6 to Nova Scotia (Stuart Thompson of Halifax) this morning, and 10-2 to New Brunswick’s Josh Barry foursome this afternoon and have a 3-8 win-loss record. Alberta leads the men with a 9-1 record, followed by Manitoba at 8-2. Ontario and Nova Scotia are 8-3.

The top three finishers make the playoffs, with the winners advancing to their respective finals on Saturday (women) and Sunday (men), with both games televised live on TSN at 8:00 pm AT. The second and third place finishers meet in semi-finals to determine the other finalists.

The winners of the M&M Meat Shops Canadian Juniors will then represent Canada at the World Juniors, March 3-11 in Östersund, Sweden.

Day one is over at the PEI Credit Unions Provincial Senior Men’s Curling Championships, for curlers age 50 and up, being played at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, with two draws completed, and all nine teams seeing action in the triple knockout event.

Three teams have swapped skip and third positions from their original rosters, with Rod MacDonald now calling the game on the John Likely rink, Marc Leclair taking over as skip on the Dale Cannon team, and Donald Whitehead now calling the game as skip, with Frank MacDonald throwing fourth stones on their rink (according to Canadian Curling Association convention, the player who calls the game, regardless of throwing order, is considered to be the skip).

Four teams are undefeated, with 1-0 records – the Blair Jay and Mel Bernard rinks from the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside, the Clair Sweet team from the Maple Leaf club in O’Leary, and the Charlie Wilkinson rink from the Charlottetown Curling Club. The Barry Cameron rink from the Fox, and the Rod MacDonald (John Likely) team from Charlottetown are 1-1, while the defending champion Bill Hope team from Charlottetown and Cornwall and Summerside’s Marc LeClair (Dale Cannon) team are 0-1, and the Donald Whitehead (Frank MacDonald) foursome from the host club are 0-2.

The opening draw saw Wilkinson down Whitehead 11-6, and Likely edge Cameron 8-7. In the evening, Bernard doubled Hope 6-3, Jay got by Rod MacDonald 6-4, Sweet downed LeClair 7-1, and Cameron edged Whitehead 9-8.

The opening ceremonies took place prior to the start of draw two, with Marc LeClair from sponsor Credit Unions of PEI throwing the ceremonial first rock, assisted by Dario Zannier, Kenny Stewart and Raymond Thomson, all from the host club. Also on hand for the opening ceremonies were club manager Krista Fall-Clyke, and PEI Curling Association President George Koke.

Friday through Sunday draws are at 1 and 6 pm, with the championship round on Monday at 1 and, if necessary, 6 pm. In the event that one team sweeps all three triple knockout sections, the championship round will not be needed.

End-by-end results are available at LiveCurling.com.

The eventual winner will advance to the Canadian Seniors championships, March 17-25 in Abbotsford BC.

The 2012 Credit Unions of PEI Provincial Seniors Curling Championships, for curlers age 50 and over. will take place on consecutive weekends this year, with the men’s event going Feb. 9-13 at the Crapaud Community Curling Club, and the women’s championship taking place the following weekend, Feb. 17-21 at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton.

In last year’s women’s final, the June Moyaert rink from the Montague Curling Club unseated the two-time defending champion Shirley Berry foursome from the Cornwall and Charlottetown curling clubs by a 12-4 score  to win the women’s  championship. Other members of the Moyaert rink were Sherren MacKinnon, Terri Thompson, and Kathy Clarey

In last year’s men’s event, the Charlottetown and Cornwall Curling Club rink of Bill Hope, Craig Mackie, John Mullin, and David Murphy swept all three triple-knockout section finals, all against the Bob Matheson rink from the host Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary, to win the championship.

Nine rinks, with players from six curling clubs, are entered in this year’s men’s event, with eight teams from five curling clubs entered in the women’s section. All four skips from last year’s finals are back again this year, with Matheson playing third for Clair Sweet on the lone entry from the Maple Leaf club.

The winning rinks from this year’s events will advance to the Canadian Seniors championships, March 17-25 in Abbotsford BC.

Here are the team rosters for this week’s men’s competition (skip to lead, club or clubs):

Mel Bernard, Ted MacFadyen, Lou Nowlan, Earle Proude, Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club.
Barry Cameron, Paul Matheson, Dwayne MacNeill, Jim Arsenault, Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club.
Dale Cannon, Marc LeClair, Dave Riley, Bruce Montgomery, Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club.
Bill Hope, Craig Mackie, Matt Smith, David Murphy, Charlottetown and Cornwall CC.
Blair Jay, Kevin Ellsworth, Mike Trudeau, Roland Richard, Silver Fox Curling & Yacht Club.
John Likely, Rod MacDonald, George Koke, Doug MacGregor, Charlottetown/Montague CC.
Frank MacDonald, Donald Whitehead, Dario Zannier, Kenny Stewart, Crapaud Community Curling Club.
Clair Sweet, Bob Matheson, Muncey Harris, Wayne Arsenault, Maple Leaf Curling Club.
Charlie Wilkinson, Ken McGregor, Phillip McInnis, Bill Doherty, Charlottetown Curling Club.

The teams will play a triple knockout format, with the first draw this afternoon at 1 pm, and draws at 1 and 6 pm daily through Sunday. Opening ceremonies are this afternoon at 5:15 pm. The two game championship round goes Monday, also at 1 and 6 pm. If a team wins all three triple knockout sections, they will be declared the champion without playing the championship round. If a team wins two sections, they will play in both championship games against the third section winner, and will win the event if they take either game. If there are three separate section winners, the team that played in the most section finals will advance to the second game, and will play the winner of the first game, between the other two section winners, in the final.

Here are the opening draws:

Thursday Feb. 9 at 1 pm:
Ice 2: Charlie Wilkinson (Charlottetown) vs Frank MacDonald (Crapaud Community)
Ice 3: John Likely (Charlottetown/Montague) vs Barry Cameron (Silver Fox)

Thursday Feb. 9 at 6 pm:
Ice 1: Bill Hope (Charlottetown and Cornwall) vs Mel Bernard (Silver Fox)
Ice 2: Blair Jay (Silver Fox) vs winner Likely/Cameron from 1 pm draw
Ice 3: Dale Cannon (Silver Fox) vs Clair Sweet (Maple Leaf)
Ice 4: Losing teams from 1 pm draw

Complete draw at PEICurling.com/seniors. End-by-end results will be available at LiveCurling.com

The Juniors, Women’s. Masters, Men’s and Women’s championships are now complete, but a number of provincial curling championships remain, and will be held in February and March.

Entries have now closed for the following events:
PEI Credit Unions Senior Men (age 50+), Feb. 10-13 in Crapaud. Nine teams are entered.
PEI Credit Unions Senior Women (age 50+), Feb. 17-20 at the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton. Eight teams have signed up

Provincial age 17 and Under, Feb. 17-20 at the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht Club in Summerside. 4 men’s and 6 women’s teams are entered.

Ferguson Funeral Homes Provincial Stick Curling Championships, Feb. 21-23 at the Silver Fox. 12 teams have signed up for the Men’s and Mixed division, while four teams are entered in the Women’s section.

The Provincial age 15 and Under, February 24-25 at the Crapaud Community Curling Club. Eight boys and four girls teams have signed up to-date.

The entry date has been extended to February 10 for the KFC Provincial age 12 and Under Curling Championships on Feb. 26, as well as the new “12 and Under Fun Tournament” on March 4. Both events are at the Crapaud Community Curling Club.

Closing date for the Junior Mixed, March 9-12 at the Montague Curling Club, is also Feb. 10. This event has 20 and Under and 15 and Under divisions.

Entries close on February 23 for both the Provincial Mixed, March 16-19 at the Silver Fox, and for The Dominion Provincial Curling Club Championships, March 22-25 at the Montague Curling Club. Most clubs are holding their club championships over the next few weeks to determine their entries.

Entry fees for each event, and online entry form are at PEICurling.com. Payment for each event may be made online or by cheque, and must reach the PEICA by one week after the entry deadline.

P.E.I. women’s rink roars back against Saskatchewan after disappointing loss to Northern Ontario, Matters foursome drops to six losses at Canadian junior curling championships

NAPANEE, ONT. — P.E.I.’s Sarah Fullerton had tears in her eyes after an afternoon loss, but sent a strong message to the other teams with a blowout win in the evening at the Canadian junior curling championships.

Fullerton and her Cornwall-Charlottetown team of Michelle McQuaid, Sara Mac , and Hillary Thompson dropped to five losses in the 7-5 afternoon loss to Northern Ontario.

Photo special to The Guardian by Tim Gall

Michelle McQuaid, mate for P.E.I.’s Sarah Fullerton rink, calls the line during Wednesday night’s game against Saskatchewan at the M&M Meat Shops Canadian junior curling championships in Napanee, Ont.

Combined with the evening victory, the team’s record is 4-5 with three game left in the 12-game round robin, behind seven other teams.

Only the top three make the playoffs, but tiebreakers can make that number higher.

“We definitely need some help at this point (to make playoffs), but, you know what, we have that Island crest on our backs and we’re just going to play every game representing our province,” Fullerton stated as she wiped away a tear. “It really means a lot to have that patch on our back.”

Alex Matters and his Charlottetown team of Chris Gallant, Kyle Holland, and Andrew Cameron won the evening contest 6-5 over Saskatchewan.

Earlier in the day the team lost to Northern Ontario. The PEI squad is now at 3-6.

After Wednesday’s games, Manitoba, Alberta, and B.C. had 7-2 records, followed by Nova Scotia and Ontario in junior women’s play.

On the men’s side of the event, Alberta was in a first place tie, at 8-1, with Manitoba. Nova Scotia and Northern Ontario were next at 6-3.

Click for full story in The Guardian.

(by Tim Gall).

As I sit here writing my final column, I’m reminiscing over the last ten months, and how much of an impact they have made on my life.

On March 15, 2011, at around 9:30pm, I got the call of a lifetime. Greg Stremlaw (CEO of the Canadian Curling Association) was on the line, and had called to congratulate me on the position I had earned on the Canadian Youth Olympics curling team. And that’s where my journey started.

In April, I said the hard good-bye to my mom as I boarded a plane for the first time by myself destined for Regina, where I met my new teammates. Stepping off the plane in Toronto just over one week ago was a hard good-bye as well: it was the last time we would be travelling not only as a team, but as Team Canada.

Even though it was a quick, and slightly rushed good-bye, it did not take away from the amazing experience we had in Innsbruck.

Derek, Thomas, Helen and I arrived in Innsbruck first. Corryn was competing in provincial playdowns so she was joining us the next day. To say the view was amazing was an understatement, and it was even cloudy out! Throughout the rest of the week, up until Friday, we did a lot of sight seeing. We went up into the mountains and got a great view of the city, then headed up to the ski jumping venue at Bersigel to check out where the Opening Ceremonies were to be held Friday night.

The time seemed to fly by! We finally got some ice time, and it felt amazing. The rocks and ice were really good and we were ready to play. That night we were all bussed to Bersigel for the Opening Ceremonies. Corryn, being the Team Canada flag bearer, headed up at a different time and wasn’t with the team until about half way through the ceremonies. The ceremonies were two hours long (and involved lots of standing!) and ended with a massive fireworks show.

The next morning we were ready to play, but a power outage through the night postponed our game. We were disappointed that we couldn’t play, but we spent an hour at the venue playing football and hanging out with our families, then headed back to the village to prepare for the next game.

Our loss to Austria on that first day just made us want the win more. We had an amazing record throughout the week, with just one more loss in an extra end against Sweden. It was really good to have a bit of a challenge, including the mental challenge of having to play in the extra end. We finished the round robin with a 5-2 record, coming in second place for our pool. In the cross overs we played the Czechs, and it was a battle until the end. We did pull out another win which put us into the semi-finals against Italy. Unfortunately, Italy was on fire and we just had an off game. It was really hard to kiss our gold medal dreams away, but after a while we realized that there was still a medal to be won, and we were going to do it.

We came out against the Swedes with a desire and will to win. We took two in the third, but we gave up a hard three in the fourth. Coming back from a three-ender is probably one of the toughest things to do in a tight game, but we still pushed on. Coming home in the final end we were up one without hammer. At that point, we had accepted the fact that we would probably be playing an extra end, but we just could not let them get two. Things were getting edgy when Thomas came down to throw his last shot. Sweden was facing two and we had to hit something. And, with fine style, Thomas made an awesome double! With just one far corner guard, Sweden drew behind, landing in the back of the eight foot. And again, Thomas made a great shot and froze to it. The Swedish skip only needed to hit half the eight foot to get the point and force an extra. It was probably the most nerve-wracking thirty seconds of my life waiting for their skip to go to the other end of the ice and throw his rock. As soon as it left his hand all three of the Swedish players started sweeping, and the mate soon came out to help. Their rock stopped – just two inches short from being shot. We had won!

Thomas immediately gave me the biggest hug! I started shaking the other team’s hands but Derek got to me with another huge hug before I could finish. After handshakes, we did a group hug. It wasn’t gold, but winning that bronze felt pretty amazing. Helen came out from the coaches’ bench and gave us all hugs too. We had to get ready for our mascot ceremony, but I also made a quick run over to the sidelines to see my family.

The next day we were supposed to get our medals but the ceremony was postponed until after the Mixed Doubles competition. Unfortunately I was eliminated in the first round of Mixed Doubles, but that meant I could spend some time with my family. We finally got our medals on Sunday, and it was so worth the wait! My grandfather hadn’t been able to make it to the final game, so I made sure once we got to see our families that I showed him the medal first. He was so proud of me. It really meant a lot to me for him to be there.

We then headed off to the Closing Ceremonies, which was just a quick half hour ceremony followed by a dance. The next morning was an early one, and we headed off to Munich Airport. We did have some difficulties getting out, but after a 26-hour delay, we finally got in the air. It felt amazing to be home again. As great as Innsbruck was, two and a half weeks is a long time to be away, and it was good to see my friends and family.

Since getting home, things have settled down. My curling club had a celebration party for me. I have started to get caught up in my studies, and I think I can finally put my medal in its box and leave it there for more than six hours!

As the end of this journey approaches, I’d like to thank some people. First of all, a huge thanks to the Canadian Curling Association for supporting us throughout this journey. Without the opportunities the CCA provided us with, I do not think we could have reached our podium goal.

Thanks to my teammates Corryn, Derek and Thomas. I couldn’t ask for three greater athletes to call not only my team, but my family. We have become so close over the last ten months. I feel as if you are my brothers and sister. I am truly going to miss you guys and I hope to see you at Nationals sometime.

Thanks to our coach, Helen Radford. You fit right in with our family as our ‘travel mom’. You offered us so much of your expertise, and I think I speak for the team when I say it helped us the whole way. You were a great coach and I’m sure since we both come from the Maritimes, I will see you again somewhere along the road.

To my family and friends, thank you for all your support. It was really great getting little text messages or messages on Facebook throughout the week wishing us good luck and congratulations.

And last, but not least, thanks to my mom. She has been with me the entire way – years ago going out on the ice and watching me slide until I got it right, until now, freezing on the ice with me almost three times a week, just to watch my line and run through drills with me. I really couldn’t have done it with all your help and support, and a big part of this bronze medal goes to you!

It is kind of sad writing this last column, but having these memories to read in years to come will allow me to relive the journey, complete with its joys and laughs!