Round robin play wrapped up Saturday night at the inaugural The Dominion Provincial Curling Club Championships at the Crapaud Community Curling Club.
In the women’s division, the rink of Vanessa Hamming, Ruth Walsh, Lindsay Moore and Heather MacRae from the host club advanced directly to Sunday’s 5:30 pm final by finishing atop the round robin standings with a 4-1 win-loss record, their only loss being to Summerside’s Barb Currie rink on Saturday afternoon, when Currie grabbed four points in the first end and three in the third to win 9-5. Currie, and Rushell MacDonald of the Maple Leaf Curling Club in O’Leary both had 3-2 win-loss records, but MacDonald receives second place honours by virtue of her 7-6 extra-end win over the Silver Fox skip on Friay evening. Currie had the hammer in the extra, but MacDonald stole a single for the victory.
MacDonald and Currie now face off in the semi-final, set for 1 pm Sunday, with the winner playing Hamming in the final. Other members of the Rushell MacDonald foursome are Suzanne Getson, Audrey Thomson, and Leah Harris, while Faith LeClair, Paula Baglole and Flo Birch round out the Currie team.
Paula Creamer of Charlottetown and Gail Greene of Montague both finished play with 2-3 records, while Cornwall’s Lorianne Davies rink ended at 1-4.
There was a very tight race in the men’s section, with four teams finishing with 4-2 win-loss records. As no team beat all the others in round-robin play, draw to the button results had to be used to determine the first and second place teams. Cornwall’s Brock Spence rink had the button in their pocket with results of only 67.5 inches, by far the best in the tournament, and come out in first place, advancing directly to Sunday’s 5:30 pm final. Second place went to the Louis Walsh foursome from the Silver Fox, with a distance of 123.5 inches. They will play the third place finisher in the semi-final at 1 pm, with the winner facing Spence in the final. Completing Team Spence are Sean Ledgerwood, Chris Montigny and Jay Carr, while Doug Walsh, Walter Benson, and Ray Thompson round out the Walsh foursome.
As PEI Curling Association rules dictate that a team cannot be eliminated from a championship round solely by a draw to the button, a tiebreaker, set for 10 am, is required to determine the third place team. The two teams in the tiebreaker are skipped by Daryl MacDonald of the Maple Leaf, and Donald Clarey of Montague. The winner of that game meets Walsh in the semi.
Playing with MacDonald are Glen Betts, Lowell Morrison and Joey Ellsworth, while Pat Birtwistle, David Rice, and Cameron Lerch are the other members of the Clarey rink.
The Gordon Fall foursome from the host Crapaud club ended play at 3-3, while Leslie Hardy of the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton was 2-4, and the Robert Jenkins squad from Charlottetown finished at 0-6.
The winning men’s and women’s teams will advance to the 2009 national The Dominion Curling Club championship at the St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto Ontario November 24-29. The 2010 championships will be held on the Island, at the Charlottetown and Cornwall clubs.
This new event is designed to give regular club curlers across the country an opportunity to compete in provincial and national level competitions. Club curlers are those who enjoy the sport recreationally, supporting club leagues on a regular basis each curling season. Now, these teams will have an opportunity to demonstrate their skill against other curling clubs in their province and country. Any profit generated from provincial or national Dominion Curling Club Championship events will be directed to charities including the Canadian Paraplegic Association, as well as developmental curling initiatives in communities across Canada.