Local Mixed Teams Amongst the Best in Province

Nugget Column #24 – Tuesday March 17th, 2015

Six teams gathered at the McIntyre Curling Club in Timmins this past weekend for a winner-take-all Mixed Provincial sanctioned by the Northern Ontario Curling Association.

Two teams from the North Bay Granite Club earned their berths from an East Qualifier held in New Liskeard only a couple of weeks ago. As suspected, the local teams fared well and both secured a playoff spot by posting the best win-loss records after round robin play.

Team Brown, who was quick out of the gate, won four straight games by the end of the day Friday to lock up a place in Sunday’s final. Despite there being another day of curling and one round robin game remaining; Jeff Brown, Courtney Chenier, Bobby Ray, and Joanne Come would remain focused while reveling in a day of rest and relaxation.

In the meantime, Team Charlie Robert with Mackenzie Daley, Ryan Forget, and Laura Forget won their last round robin game to avoid tiebreakers and contributed to a thrilling semi-final match on Saturday evening against the defending Team Koivula of Thunder Bay. While exciting to watch, the Granite Club curlers entered the eighth end down one and without hammer which lead to their excellent run at the championship ending there and then.

Sunday’s final started with three blank ends, which was to nobody’s surprise considering Team Koivula participated in fifteen blanks over the course this competition alone. While Team Brown was happy to keep the score tight and create opportunity late in the game, the opportunity in the seventh end came attached to the risk of giving up a pile. When a few delicate shots came to rest only inches away from the perfect position a shot for three was left for the defending skipper who executed flawlessly.

We are proud of our teams and look forward to cheering on Team Northern Ontario: Colin Koivula, Oye-Sem Won Briand, Chris Briand, and Amanda Gates when they travel to the Weston Curling Club in Toronto for the 2016 Canadian Mixed Curling Championships.

CURL FOR A CURE FOR BREAST CANCER

This Saturday March 21st the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation is marketing its first-of-its-kind fundraiser in the Northern Ontario region. Michelle Girash, Community Development Officer, looks forward to enticing families and new curlers to participate in this event with hopes that they will be attracted to the many great benefits curling has to offer.

Interested teams or individuals pay $30/person to participate and may register online at www.cbcf.org/northbaycurlforacure. A one-hour orientation to curling for beginners will go from noon – 1pm with games following until close to 5pm. Snack foods, non-alcoholic beverages and live entertainment provided by Brian Risk will also be included while some prizes will be awarded to some extraordinary novice curlers and fundraisers.

The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation’s latest campaign #onenewthing says it would surprise you to know that 1/3 of breast cancers could be prevented by living well. The exercise provided by curling fits perfectly into a healthy regimen, and it may be just right for you – try “one new thing” this Saturday.

Bobby Ray General Manager North Bay Granite Club