Feb. 3-Both defending champions rinks are repeat winners at the Ferguson Funeral Homes Provincial Stick Championships in Montague.

Photo L-R: Ruth Stavert, Gloria Clarke

In the three team women’s section, the Ruth Stavert and Gloria Clarke due from the Cornwall Curling Club went through the double round robin competition with a perfect 4-0 record. Under the rules, they are automatically declared the champion. The second and third place teams from the round robin played off for the runner-up position, with the Shirley Lank/Mary Plamondon twosome from Cornwall, who were 2-2 in round robin play, taking the honours by beating the Audrey Callaghan/Ann Barwise rink from the Western and Maple Leaf clubs, who did not pick up a win in the competition, by a  9-2 score.

Photo (L-R): Walter Callaghan, John Vincent

In the men’s and mixed section, the The Walter Callaghan/John Vincent duo from the Western Community Curling Club in Alberton was among four teams finishing round robin play in the 15 team men’s/mixed division with just one loss, ending up in second place in their pool, as they lost 6-2 to Charlottetown’s  Bob Acorn/Willie Nicholson twosome,  who also had one loss, in their round robin encounter.

Callaghan/Vincent then beat Sherril Barwise and Eddie Bernard from the Maple Leaf and Western clubs, who were third place in the other pool,  by a 6-2 score in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-final round, where they edged out the two time champion Ernie Stavert and Sterling Stratton rink from the Cornwall Curling Club by a 4-3 score. In the other quarter-final, the Bazil and Sterling Higginbotham pair from Montague doubled their clubmates Bob Leard and Carter vanIderstine 6-3.

In this afternoon’s semi-finals, the Higginbothams beat the Acorn/Nicholson team 6-4, while Callaghan/Vincent edged Stavert/Stratton 4-3. This set up the  final between the Higginbothams, and the defending champion Callaghan/Vincent team, and put Stavert/Stratton and Acorn/Nicholson in the consolation game.

Both the final and the consolation finals went into extra ends, with Acorn/Nicholson taking a deuce in the extra to beat Stavert/Stratton in the consolation game, and Callaghan/Vincent also scoring an extra end deuce to repeat as champions, with a 7-5 win over the Higginbotham rink.

The top four men’s/mixed teams and the top two women’s teams from this competition earn the right to compete in the Maritime Stick Curling Championships, March 15-17 at the Beaver Curling Club in Moncton. The top two men’s/mixed 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.

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.