A Powell River men’s curling club team faced off against the best squads from around the province in Richmond last weekend.
“I thought we did as good as we hoped,” said skip Jim Schutz.
Gord Milne, Dick Vanderkemp, Kyle Gareau and Schutz travelled to Richmond to compete in the Pacific International Cup, a tournament which decided who represents BC at The Dominion Club Challenge, the Canadian national curling tournament held in November.
The team played seven games in the round-robin-style tournament and finished with four wins and three loses. They went into a four-team tie-breaker to determine who would finish second and third, but they lost their game so they didn’t advance into the medal round, Schutz said.
“Overall we did pretty good,” he said. “We played good enough to win, and the games we lost, we should have lost.”
Eight international teams from around the United States, Australia and New Zealand were invited to play in the tournament in addition to the eight BC teams. The last match of the tournament was between the top BC team and the top international team. “But it’s just for bragging rights though,” said Schutz.
The tournament was for amateurs who are looking for a little more challenge. “It’s just for club curlers, not the curlers you see on television,” said Schutz.
Schutz said he was talking to some curlers from California who play on ice rinks they share with minor hockey teams. “They’ll come in after the hockey team finishes and do a dry clean with the Zamboni and then pebble it for the curling ice, and the ice is 20 times screwier than what we curl on,” he said. “They’re sliding out with the rock and their foot gets caught in a skate rut. It’s unbelievable what they put up with to keep the sport up in California.”
The team was able to attend the Pacific International Cup after coming out on top of the North Island BC Club Challenge held in Comox recently. The men represented Powell River as they went up against teams from Comox, Campbell River, Parksville, Port Hardy and Qualicum. They met each team in a round-robin tournament and lost only to Parksville, which they defeated in the second round to clinch the tournament.
