The 2011 Ferguson Funeral Homes Provincial Stick Curling Championships will be held at the Montague Curling Club from Feb. 1-3. Last year in Crapaud, the duo of Walter Callaghan and John Vincent from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton edged the Gordie MacDonald/Floyd Stewart twosome from Montague by a 5-4 score to repeat as winners of the fourth annual men’s and mixed section, while Ruth Stavert and Gloria Clarke from Cornwall got by the Shirley Lank/Ruth Walsh pair from Cornwall and Crapaud by a 7-5 score to win the inaugural women’s stick championship.
Fifteen mens/mixed teams are entered this year, and will play a round robin format, while the top three teams from the two round robin pools advancing to a championship round. The three team women’s section will play a double round robin, with all three teams advancing to the championship round, with the second and third place teams playing in the semi, and the winner playing the first place team in the final.
The top four men’s/mixed teams and the top two women’s teams from the PEI championship earn the right to compete in the Maritime Stick Curling Championships, March 15-17 at the Beaver Curling Club in Moncton. The top two teams may also compete at the 2011 Canadian Open Stick Curling Championship, March 23-25, 2011 at the Golden Ears Winter Club in Maple Ridge BC.
Men’s/mixed round robin play starts at 10 am on Tuesday, with women’s action beginning at 2 pm. The championship round gets underway with the men’s/mixed quarter-finals, Thursday at 12:45 pm. The semi-finals in both divisions go at 2:15, with the finals at 4:45.
Team rosters
Men’s/Mixed Pool A
Bob Acorn/ Willie Nicholson (Ch’town)
Barry MacDonald/ Howard Kerwin (Montague)
Vince Fisher/ Kimball Blanchard (Cornwall)
Walter Callaghan/ John Vincent (Western)
Floyd Stewart/Gordie MacDonald (Montague)
Peter Larkin/ Rev. Art Pendergast (Western)
Bob Leard/ Carter vanIderstine (Montague)
Harold Brister/Clifford Arsenault (Silver Fox)
Men’s Mixed Pool B
Sterling Whiteway/ Russ Noiles (Montague)
Bazil Higginbotham/ Sterling Higginbotham (Montague)
Edwin Walker/ Woody Pauptit (Silver Fox)
Vern Chowan/ Grant Laird (Cornwall)
Sherrill Barwise/ Eddie Bernard (Maple Leaf/ Western)
Charlie Campbell/ Barb Campbell (Cornwall)
Ernie Stavert/ Sterling Stratton (Cornwall)
Women’s Division
Audrey Callaghan/ Ann Barwise (Maple Leaf/Western)
Shirley Lank/ Mary Plamondon (Cornwall)
Ruth Stavert/ Gloria Clarke (Cornwall)
Draw schedule and results available at peicurling.com/stick
In stick curling there are two curlers per team, who deliver their rocks with delivery sticks, with each team member delivering from opposite ends. Sweeping is allowed only from the hog line to the back of the house at the playing end. Two curlers, one from each team, alternately deliver 6 stones each per end, while their teammate skips that end. The roles are then reversed, and the partners deliver the stones back. No stone may be removed from play until the fourth stone of each end. Games are six ends and take about an hour to play. For more information on stick curling, including complete rules of play, visit www.stickcurling.ca.
Ferguson Funeral Homes is the provincial sponsor for this event, along with Bob’s Stick of Montague who donate delivery sticks. Trophy sticks are donated by the national sponsor, Sure-Shot.